Peter Jethro facts for kids
Peter Jethro (also known as Jethro or Animatohu or Hantomush) was an important Native American leader from the Nipmuc people. He lived in the 1600s and was a writer, translator, preacher, and landowner. He was also a Praying Indian, which meant he lived in a special community and learned about Christianity. For a time, he worked with John Eliot in the praying town of Natick, Massachusetts.
Early Life and Work
Peter Jethro was born around 1614. His father was Tantamous, a Nipmuc medicine man. Peter Jethro said he was one of the original Native American owners of the land near what is now Maynard, Massachusetts.
By 1635, Peter Jethro lived in Nashobah, near Concord. He was there when Native Americans sold land that is now downtown Concord to the colonists.
Around 1650, Peter Jethro moved to Natick, a praying town. There, he studied with John Eliot, a missionary. Eliot said that after Peter Jethro became a Christian, he was sent to preach to other Native American communities. In 1674, Daniel Gookin, who oversaw the Praying Indians, said Peter Jethro was a "grave and pious Indian." He asked Peter Jethro to be a missionary preacher in Lancaster and Sterling.
Peter Jethro knew both English and the local Algonquin languages. This made him a valuable translator and writer for land deals between settlers and Native Americans. In 1665, he was part of a group that transferred land around Lake Quinsigamond to the settlers.
During King Philip's War
In August 1675, Peter's father, Tantamous, and ten other Native Americans were wrongly accused of a crime during an attack in Lancaster. They were cleared when the real person responsible was found.
During King Philip's War, Peter Jethro was captured by King Philip's forces. He traveled with them and was present at a battle in Northfield in September 1675. There, he helped free an English captive. Later, Peter Jethro talked with the people who had captured Mary Rowlandson to help her get released. Mary Rowlandson was taken captive during the February 1676 Lancaster attack.
Peter Jethro eventually escaped and turned himself in to the English authorities. He did this because the English offered a pardon to any Native American who surrendered. Some people, like Rev. Edmund Brown, did not agree with pardoning Jethro.
During the war, Peter's father, Tantamous, and his family were ordered to Deer Island. Tantamous escaped, and Peter told the authorities where his father was. He was told his family would not be harmed. However, his father was captured and later died in Boston in 1676. Some historians believe Peter may have been trying to turn in a different person, Monoco, who was responsible for the Lancaster attack, out of a sense of fairness.
In 1677, William Hubbard wrote that "young Jethro brought in 40 at one time," showing Peter Jethro's help to the colony.
Working for Native American Rights
Between 1681 and 1685, Peter Jethro signed documents with other Nipmuc people. These documents protested the sale of tribal lands, including areas near Marlborough, Massachusetts. They argued that some people were selling land without proper authority.
In 1683, several Native Americans, including Rev. Daniel Takawambait, wrote a letter to John Eliot. They asked that church services in the Natick Praying town continue to be in the Nipmuc language, not English. "Olt Jetro" was one of the signers, which might have been Peter Jethro using his father's name.
Also in 1683, Peter Jethro was living with Jonathan Ting. He transferred land north of Mount Wachusett to Ting. This land had been given to Jethro by his Uncle Jeffrey. Peter Jethro stated he had no children.
In 1684, Peter Jethro confirmed land transfers of family land in Sudbury to colonists. He also gave land in what is now Maynard, Massachusetts to settlers there. The Sudbury transfer was witnessed by Rev. Daniel Takawambait. He also signed papers in 1684 confirming earlier land sales, like the Concord purchase. Jethro was involved in land transfers as far away as what is now Vermont.
Peter Jethro was last noted in the fall of 1688, when he went on a trip to the upper Connecticut River valley. No further records of him have been found after that time.
