POCAHONTAS A STORY YOU MAY NOT KNOW By Janet Grunst

POCAHONTAS

A STORY YOU MAY NOT KNOW

Statue of Pocahontas
at Jamestowne

The story of Pocahontas that most of us learned as children is very different than the story I heard a few years ago when we relocated to within eight miles of Jamestowne/Jamestown, VA. I found out from a friend that her husband is the Mattaponi Indian tribe historian, one of the two remaining tribes of the Powhatan nation.  Several years ago, Dr. Linwood “Little Bear” Custalow and his coauthor Angela L. Daniel “Silver Star” published the sacred oral history of The True Story of Pocahontas. Her story was hidden for four hundred years by her people for fear of potential retribution. Their treatise explains the motives behind the myths as well as a reasoned explanation of their version of her story.

Dr. Custalow explains that the Algonquian tribes of the Virginia Coastal Plain did not have a written language so the oral history was passed down through quiakros (Powhatan priests) within each of the tribes in a “strict and disciplined manner to maintain accuracy”. These Mattaponi elders were venerated and protected leaders to ensure their story would be truthfully told.

The English version of her story primarily comes from the writings of Captain John Smith. However, there are significant differences in the Powhatan and John Smith/English versions of the Pocahontas story: Here are a few:

Her birth and family:

Smith/English Version - Pocahontas was born to one of many alliance wives.

Powhatan Version – Pocahontas, whose original name was Matoaka, was born to Chief Powhatan Wahunsenaca, the paramount chief of the Powhatan chiefdom, and Pocahontas of the Mataponi, who died in childbirth. Pocahontas’ mother was his first wife, the wife of choice and the one he loved. Other wives were alliance marriages, temporary unions meant to unite the 30 plus tribes under one paramount leader and to increase the Powhatan nation. Matoaka was later called Pocahontas to honor her deceased mother. As the last child of her mother she became particularly favored by her father.

Relationship with John Smith and English:

Smith Version –Pocahontas wandered freely through the Jamestowne/Jamestown settlement and risked her own life by to save his when he was in the midst of a four day ceremony making him werowance, a “secular chief” of the English tribe.

Powhatan –Pocahontas was ten years old and did not live near Jamestowne. As the chief’s beloved child, she would not have wandered freely but always been under protective supervision. She was often with her father when he was in the midst of the English so she would be familiar to Smith. The Powhatans accepted the English as another tribe, even making Smith werowance. During these ceremonies, in which quiakros would have been involved, children were not present. In addition to not being present, there was no need to save Smith’s life as his life was not in danger.

Pocahontas kidnapping:

English Version– Pocahontas was kidnapped and held for ransom by Captain Samuel Argall when they learned that she was staying with a northern tribe. She was to be kept as a bargaining tool, to get what food they wanted from the Indian nation and to ensure their well being. The English at Jamestown were trying multiple methods to make their venture profitable to continue to validate their presence and ensure that financing of Jamestowne continued from the Virginia Company and the crown.

Powhatan Version–Pocahontas had come of age, and for her protection and to keep her away from the “English” tribe that had grown greedy in their demands and usurpation of land, she was married to a warrior, Kocoum, brother of the chief of the Patowomac (northernmost tribe). While in his village she and her husband had a son. In order to protect his village from the English threats, the Patowomac chief collaborated with Argall and allowed him to kidnap Pocahontas. Argall gave the chief a copper pot to make it appear that the girl was given up for material goods. Sometime after she was kidnapped, Argall’s men returned to the village and killed her husband. Chief Powhatan Wahunsenaca paid the ransom for her release, but she was not returned. He was reluctant to mount a rescue attempt for fear of endangering Pocahontas.

Pocahontas conversion and marriage:

English Version – Pocahontas was transferred to a location near present day Richmond where she was instructed in the English language and ways, and taught about Christianity. She was told that her father would not meet her captor’s demands. When Pocahontas grew depressed, a request was sent to her father to send one of her sisters. During Pocahontas captivity she became acquainted with John Rolfe, an English colonist who had learned how to cultivate tobacco from the Powhatans. A pious widower, Rolfe wanted to marry Pocahontas, but required her conversion to Christianity. She was baptized, took the name Rebecca and was married to Rolfe.

Powhatan Version – Her father sent Mattachanna, the sister who raised her, and her husband, Uttamattamakin a priest of the highest order and an advisor to Pocahontas’ father. Nothing is known of what happened during Pocahontas captivity until her sister and brother-in-law arrived.  When they were reunited, Pocahontas informed Mattachanna that she had been raped and was pregnant. Mattaponi history suggests reasons why they believe someone other than John Rolfe was the father. Pocahontas’ feelings were unknown, but as Powhatan royalty, she probably saw the alliance as helpful to her people and that would have been very important to her. Pocahontas gave birth to Thomas Rolfe sometime later.

Pocahontas travel to England and death:

Pocahontas & Thomas Rolfe
The Sedgewood Portrait

English Version – John Rolfe, Pocahontas and Thomas Rolfe, and some Powhatans (including her sister and brother-in-law) traveled to England to demonstrate the potential profitability of tobacco, thus assuring continued support for the Virginia colony. Pocahontas was presented to the crown and society, thereby assuring England that relations with Native Americans were positive. In March of 1617, shortly after departing England, Pocahontas suddenly became ill and died. Rolfe requested the Captain make port at the closest church, St. George’s Church at Gravesend, where she was buried. The English attributed her death to pneumonia or tuberculosis.

Powhatan Version – Samuel Argall, her captor, was the Captain of the ship the Rolfe family traveled to and from England. Not yet on the open seas, Pocahontas and Rolfe dined in the Captain’s quarters. After returning to her room, she immediately began vomiting, and told her sister “that the English must have put something in her food”. Mattachanna tried caring for her but Pocahontas went into convulsions. Rolfe was summoned and she died within minutes. After her funeral, young Thomas Rolfe was given to relatives of John Rolfe in England to raise. The ship, passengers and crew continued their voyage to Virginia. Pocahontas was in good health when they left England. It is believed that she had gotten information of schemes to dethrone her father and take the Powhatan land, and that she would share that knowledge with her people. Mattaponi sacred oral history believes she was poisoned, but they do not know by whom, or how many people were involved. Chief Powhatan grew despondent and had to be relieved of his responsibilities. He died within a year. Some descendants of the Indian son Pocahontas bore are still alive today. Her son, Thomas Rolfe, was raised in England and returned to Virginia as an adult after John Rolfe was deceased. His descendants number among many prominent Virginia families.

Popular Novels of Colonial Times

Have you ever wondered what people read in the Colonial era besides newspapers, pamphlets, the Holy Bible, and their church prayer books? Some people were avid readers, so much so they would surpass the most passionate readers of our times in the number of books read in a year.

Here is a list of popular novels of the 18th century. You may recognize some of the authors and titles. Of course you can still acquire copies of these novels in e-book and paperback. If you'd like to listen to them in audio format for free, go to http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/genre/Historical_Fiction

The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, 1678

Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel DeFoe, 1719

Memoirs of a Cavalier, by Daniel DeFoe, 1720

Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe, 1722

Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, 1726

Pamela, or A Virtue Rewarded, by Samuel Richardson, 1740

The History of Tom Jones, by Henry Fielding, 1749

The Castle of Ortranto, by Horace Walpole, 1764

The Vicar of Wakefield, by Oliver Goldsmith, 1766

Evelina, by Fanny Burney, 1778

Camilla, by Fanny Burney, 1796

Rita Gerlach lives with her husband and two sons in a historical town nestled along the Catoctin Mountains, amid Civil War battlefields and Revolutionary War outposts in central Maryland. 

She is the author of seven novels set in the Colonial Era, among them her popular historical drama series, 'The Daughters of the Potomac', and five-star romance 'The Rebel's Pledge'.

http://ritagerlach.blogspot.com/

New Release Review: J. M. Hochstetler's Crucible of War

Crucible of War
American Patriot Series 4
By J. M. Hochstetler
Sheaf House, September 3 2012

Reviewed by Lori Benton

Brigadier General Jonathan Carleton rejoins General George Washington’s army to find the patriot cause on the verge of extinction. In a daring gamble the American force crosses the Delaware on Christmas night 1776, to defeat outposts at Trenton and Princeton before vanishing into the mountain bastions around Morristown. 

Drawn ever deeper into the intrigues that swirl around British General William Howe, Elizabeth Howard and her aunt, Tess, move to Philadelphia in summer 1777 to gather intelligence while waiting for the British attack. 

Ambushed and almost captured as the Americans dig in at Brandywine Creek, Carleton is transferred to General Horatio Gates’s army in the upper Hudson Valley where British General John Burgoyne closes in on Saratoga. With decisive battles looming, Elizabeth and Carleton face a crucible of war that tests their mettle, faith, and love to the very limits.

Review

Waiting for this fourth book in the American Patriot series was a little like the long wait for each other that characters Jonathan and Elizabeth have been forced to endure. But now our wait is over. Crucible of War is here and at the start we find Jonathan back from the frontier and his life with the Shawnee put on hold. That doesn’t mean he’s happy about it. Crucible of War delves into Jonathan’s struggles to force himself back into a mold his soul no longer fits, and into a relationship with Elizabeth Howard he’d once thought lost, while the tides of war continue to swirl around them and threaten repeatedly to sweep them apart. Will their love again be put on hold?

As in her previous installments in the American Patriot series, J. M. Hochstetler weaves an historical tapestry rich in detail and accuracy, a riveting story of adventure (battles and narrow escapes), intrigue (the spying continues), and a romance (complicated with excruciating tension by the presence of Elizabeth’s friend and would-be suitor, the physician Pieter Vander Groot) in which choices must be made that wrench the heart but honor God.

J. M. Hochstetler has given us an engaging new chapter in the on-going saga of how an enduring nation—and an equally enduring romance—were forged in the Crucible of War.

Historic. Romantic. Riveting. Rich and multi-layered, Crucible of War is the epic continuation of an unforgettable series. Joan Hochstetler gives us a rare glimpse into America's past, leaving the reader enriched and wanting more. I highly recommend this amazing book and series! ~ Laura Frantz, author of The Colonel's Lady and Love's Reckoning

Purchase Crucible of War 
Amazon
Christian Book Distributors
Barnes & Noble

An award-winning author and editor, J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers, a graduate of Indiana University, a professional editor, and a lifelong student of history. Her contemporary novel One Holy Night was the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year and finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Carol Award. Formerly an editor with Abingdon Press, she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Middle Tennessee Christian Writers, and Military Writers Society of America.

Visit her website here: http://www.jmhochstetler.com/  Or The American Patriot Series blog here: http://americanpatriotseries.blogspot.com/

George Washington: Contending for Liberty

Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth. 

George Washington, General Orders, Headquarters, New York (2 July 1776)

 "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" 

 Galatians 3:2-3

Perhaps the most difficult balance for a Christian to strike is that of good works and faith.

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:17

Because of the glorious grace of God, shed upon us freely by the faith of Jesus Christ, we are free from the tyranny of religious rituals, traditions, and works as a means to appease and win favor with God. Yet, faith is revealed in our actions. What should those actions be?

"O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off." Psalm 139:1-2

Perhaps the question should not be what actions reveals our faith but what motivates our actions? We, being fallible creatures, know not what follows our actions. God, being infallible and all-knowing, understands the heart behind our actions and judges accordingly.

In our pursuit of holiness we quickly create lists of dos and don'ts. Paul rebuked Peter for returning to the religious exercise of separation from the Gentiles. A work of the law Peter sought to use to justify himself in the eyes of the Jews.

Yet Paul saw that being dead to the law and alive in Christ meant his actions must reflect his life in Christ, who fulfilled the law when He died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

"For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in on word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Galatians 5:13-14

Contending for the liberty we have in Christ is superior to all the rituals, acts, and abstinence of religion, which enslaves. But we do not fight with harsh words, accusational statements, and angry countenances. Our contention for liberty is in love: "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

How are you showing your faith? Are your works reflecting the love and grace of God? Or are you executing works, rituals, religious abstinence in order to live the life of a religious mercenary who believes he will be paid for his good works by God with blessings?

"And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment."

I John 3:23

Colonial Gardening by Lisa Norato

In southern New England from whence I hail, the spirit and history of colonial gardening is kept alive in living museums, public historic houses, parks and memorials. Gardening is a timeless pursuit of great interest and reward. Who doesn’t look forward to a little digging in the dirt come springtime? In our country’s earliest days, however, gardening was a necessary part of daily life. Every home, whether in town or country, had a garden. They ranged from the most modest dooryard gardens (that is, small garden plots literally located just outside the front door) to beautiful, sprawling acres like Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Park. They provided sustenance for the family, were cultivated for medicinal purposes and provided the pleasure of fresh flowers which even the poorest of Colonial women could enjoy.

The Plymouth Pilgrims were introduced to local crops by the Wampanoag Indians. Without them, the early settlers might not have survived the winter. These Native Americans taught them many techniques, including a highly effective method of gardening called The Three Sisters. A Three Sisters garden begins with the planting of corn, which could be eaten off the cob or ground into flour. Once the stalks grew, pole beans were sown beside them where they would climb the stalks as opposed to spreading across the ground. This procedure not only conserved space but added nitrogen to the soil. Squash planting followed—anything from pumpkins to crookneck to acorn squashes. The vines encircled the corn and beans, acting as living mulch to help conserve water and control the growth of weeds, while their bristles helped repel hungry critters.

Every home from poor to middle class to gentry had its own kitchen garden for the family’s everyday use. These produced all manner of vegetables and herbs, sometimes even flowers, all crowed together so as not to spare one of inch of soil. Lamb’s Quarter was popular during this time, though is rarely to be found on our modern dinner plates. Today this leafy green is treated as a weed and discarded, but in early America it was commonly consumed for its rich nutritional value and a taste similar to that of spinach. 

Gardening was also a rare way in which a Colonial woman could earn a livelihood. Seedswomen traded in flower and vegetable seeds and many advertised in local newspapers such as The Boston Evening Post. For other women, gardening was a way to alleviate some of the homesickness they felt when they came to the New World by planting seeds and roots common to their homelands, such as the English Rose.

In addition to plant life, gardens would sometimes include a beehive or dove-cote or perhaps even a heavy leaden sundial which would stand for generations. Many were inscribed, like this one owned by a Dr. Bowditch of Boston, which I'll leave you with in parting:

“With warning hand I mark time’s rapid flight

From life’s glad morning to its solemn night.

And like God’s love, I also show

There’s light above me, by the shade below.”

Lisa Norato is the author of Prize of My Heart, an inspirational seafaring historical from Bethany House. A life-long New Englander, Lisa lives in a historic village with homes and churches dating as far back as the eighteenth century.