White Eyes facts for kids

White Eyes, whose Lenape name was Koquethagechton (born around 1730 – died November 5, 1778), was a very important leader, known as a Chief Sachem, of the Lenape (also called Delaware) people. He lived in the Ohio Country during the time of the American Revolution. People sometimes called him George White Eyes or Captain Grey Eyes. His Lenape name was written in many different ways in old records.

By 1773, he was a main speaker for the Lenape Head Council. This showed how respected he was. White Eyes was a skilled war chief and worked very hard to bring peace during a difficult time. He helped create the first treaties between Native Americans and the new United States. His main goal was to create a safe land for his people. Many believe he was killed by an American soldier, and that this was kept a secret by US officials.

Early Life and Lenape Roots

White Eyes was born in what is now Pennsylvania, likely around 1730. He was part of the Turtle Clan of the Lenape nation. Being from this clan meant he was in a position to become a leader. Both his mother and father were also Lenape leaders. The Lenape people traditionally lived in the Delaware River Valley.

Moving West and Helping His People

After a war, European settlers started moving closer to Lenape villages near Fort Pitt in western Pennsylvania. Because of this, the Lenape people moved further west. They settled near Muskingum in the Muskingum River valley, in what is now eastern Ohio.

Many Lenape had become Christians because of Moravian missionaries. These Christian Lenape lived in special villages led by the missionaries. When the Lenape moved west, the missionary towns moved too. This way, all Lenape, Christian or not, could stay together. Even though White Eyes was not a Christian, he made sure the Christian Lenape remained part of the larger Lenape community.

Family Life and Connections

After becoming a chief, White Eyes married Rachel Doddridge (who died in 1788). Rachel was an English colonist who had been captured as a 5-year-old child during a Lenape raid. She was adopted into the Lenape people and became fully part of their culture. They had at least one son, named George Morgan White Eyes.

Rachel had lived with her family on a farm near Chartier's Creek. Her cousin later saw her as an adult at a trading post. By then, she was completely part of the Lenape way of life and was not interested in rejoining her British relatives.

Leading a New Town in Ohio

White Eyes started his own town, which colonists called White Eyes' Town. It was close to the Lenape capital of Coshocton, Ohio. By 1773, White Eyes was the Speaker of the Delaware Head Council. This was a very important job and showed how much his tribe respected him. In 1774, the Lenape Grand Council, a group of chiefs, chose White Eyes as the main chief of the nation.

In the early 1770s, there was a lot of fighting between white settlers and Native Americans on the frontier. White Eyes tried to stop a war that became known as Lord Dunmore's War in 1774. This war was mainly between the Shawnee and people from Virginia. White Eyes worked as a peace messenger between the two sides and helped them agree to a treaty to end the war.

The American Revolution and White Eyes' Death

General Lachlan McIntosh

The American Revolutionary War started soon after Lord Dunmore's War ended. At that time, White Eyes was talking with Lord Dunmore (a British governor) to get a special land grant for the Lenape in the Ohio Country. But when American revolutionaries forced Dunmore out of Virginia, White Eyes had to start new talks with the Americans.

In April 1776, he spoke to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on behalf of the Lenape. Two years later, he made an important agreement between the Lenape and the United States. This was a treaty signed in 1778 at Fort Pitt. It promised to create a Lenape state, with their own representatives in the American Congress, if Congress agreed.

The treaty also said the Lenape would help the Americans as guides. They would guide American soldiers through the Ohio Country to fight against their British and Native American enemies to the north, near Detroit. In early November 1778, White Eyes joined an American group led by General Lachlan McIntosh as a guide and negotiator.

Soon after, the Americans reported that White Eyes had become sick with smallpox and died during the trip. After his death, the alliance between the Lenape and the Americans eventually broke apart. The Americans then lost interest in supporting a Lenape-controlled state. After White Eyes died, Gelelemend of the Turtle Clan became the main chief of the Lenape, as no other leader was ready by clan rules.

Claims of Assassination

Years later, George Morgan, an American Indian agent and trader who was a close friend of White Eyes, wrote a letter to Congress. He claimed that White Eyes had been "treacherously put to death" by American militia (citizen soldiers). Later documents confirmed that White Eyes was indeed killed by an American militia officer on November 5, 1778. Morgan had helped with talks with Native Americans in the Fort Pitt area, so he knew a lot about these events. He also wrote that White Eyes' killing was kept secret to stop the Lenape from leaving the American side.

White Eyes' wife, Rachel Doddridge, was also killed in 1788. Their son, George Morgan White Eyes (born around 1770 – died 1798), who was of mixed heritage, was cared for by their family friend George Morgan. Later, he went to the College of New Jersey (which is now Princeton University). The Continental Congress paid for his schooling, and he graduated in 1789.

Honoring White Eyes

• White Eyes Township in Coshocton County, Ohio was named after the chief. This was done to honor his leadership and his efforts to build an alliance with the American revolutionaries.

See also

• Gnadenhutten massacre
• Frontier warfare during the American Revolution
• Muskingum (village)