Bemino facts for kids

Bemino (who lived from about the 1710s to the 1780s) was a very important Delaware and Shawnee leader. White settlers knew him as John Killbuck Sr.. He was a skilled medicine man and a brave war leader during the French and Indian War (1754–1763).

Bemino was the son of Netawatwees, a main chief of the Delaware people. Bemino lived with his community in what is now eastern Ohio. During the war, he teamed up with the French against the British settlers. His warrior groups often attacked areas near the Potomac River, especially in what is now the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. His son, Gelelemend (also known as John Killbuck Jr.), later became a Delaware chief during the American Revolutionary War.

Bemino's Life Story

Growing Up and Family

Bemino was born into a Delaware, or Lenape, family. The Lenape people speak an Algonquian language. Long ago, they lived along the Atlantic coast, from what is now Connecticut down to New Jersey and Delaware. Over time, European settlers gradually pushed them out of their homeland.

The Delaware people had a special family system called matrilineal kinship. This means that Bemino was considered part of his mother's family and clan. This system decided his place in the community. People believe Bemino belonged to either the Turtle or the Turkey clan. In this system, people had to marry someone from a different clan than their own.

Bemino might have been born or raised in eastern Ohio. His father, Chief Netawatwees, and their family had moved there from the Delaware River area. They moved because of pressure from European settlers. Bemino later became a respected medicine man.

Meeting White Settlers

By the 1740s and 1750s, Bemino knew many white settler families. They lived in the valley of the South Branch Potomac River in what is now the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. This area was known as Wappocomo to both Native Americans and white settlers. This name likely came from a Lenape or Shawnee word describing the land.

Bemino first had a good relationship with the new white settlers. Before the French and Indian War started in 1754, a settler named Peter Casey hired Bemino to find a person who had run away. When Bemino tried to get his payment, he argued with Casey. Casey hit him with a cane. Bemino never forgot this and held a grudge against Casey. During the war, he tried to find Casey but never succeeded in harming him.

Bemino also lived for a while among white families in colonial Virginia. He learned a lot about their ways of life and their resources. This knowledge was very helpful when he decided to side with the French during the war.

The French and Indian War

The French and Indian War was the North American part of a bigger war called the Seven Years' War, fought mostly in Europe. After fighting began in Pennsylvania in 1754, Bemino was one of the Native American leaders who chose to support the French against the British.

In 1756, Bemino reportedly led Lenape and Shawnee warriors in a surprise attack. This attack, known as the "Battle of the Trough," happened near Fort Pleasant in what is now Hardy County, West Virginia. About 18 white settlers fought against 60 or 70 Native American warriors. Seven settlers died, while three warriors were lost. Around the same time, Bemino and a small group attacked Vincent Williams, a settler on Patterson Creek. They surrounded his house. Bemino's group lost 5 of 7 warriors, but they eventually killed Williams. His house, with additions, still stands today in Williamsport, West Virginia.

Bemino was also part of the Battle of Great Cacapon on April 18, 1756. Years after the war, Bemino explained how he and his warriors killed two men near Fort Edwards. This area is now Hampshire County, West Virginia. They left a trail of corn meal and waited in a hidden spot.

Captain John Mercer led a group of militia (soldiers) to follow the trail. When Mercer's group passed the hidden warriors, they were attacked from all sides. Mercer and 16 of his men were killed. The warriors chased and killed more survivors. Bemino said that only six of the militia escaped.

In 1756 or 1757, Bemino led a large group of warriors toward Fort Cumberland in Maryland. The fort's commander, Major Livingston, agreed to talk with the Native American leaders. However, he kept them inside the fort and treated them badly, thinking it was a trick. Then he forced them to leave.

Bemino and his warriors attacked two British settler forts, Fort Upper Tract and Fort Seybert, on April 27 and 28, 1758. These forts were in what is now Pendleton County. Fort Seybert had about 30 people, mostly women and children. After the defenders gave up, the warriors spared only ten or eleven of the white settlers, taking them as captives.

Later Years

Bemino had a son named Gelelemend (John Killbuck Jr.). His son became a well-known Delaware chief during the American Revolutionary War.

In his old age, Bemino was visited in the Ohio Country by the sons of Peter Casey and Vincent Williams. By this time, Bemino was very weak and completely blind. When he heard the name of Vincent Williams's son, he said, "Your father was a brave warrior." When he heard that Benjamin Casey was Peter Casey's son, he asked, "Your father owes me eight shillings; will you pay it?" During this visit, Bemino shared many stories of his past actions. These stories helped record history that might have been lost otherwise.

Legacy

• Even though there was a lot of conflict between Bemino and the white settlers, two places in Ohio were named after him: the town of Killbuck and the stream known as Killbuck Creek.