Chief Weroance Powhatan (Opitchapum) - Names and Connections

Started by Debbie Gambrell on Wednesday, July 7, 2021
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7/7/2021 at 11:10 AM

I'm trying to connect these folks to a line in my Ancestry tree and having a bit of a challlenge.

The only "Opitchapum' I can find references to is actually Opitchapam who was a brother of Pocahontas' father and both being brothers of Opechancanough who is my lines.

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/opechancanough-d-1646/

By the time Pocahontas left for England in 1616, a rumor circulated among the colonists that Powhatan had gone visiting to the Potomac River out of fear of his brother, leaving the governance of Tsenacomoco to Opechancanough and another brother, '''Opitchapam'''.

I'm sure there were probably multiple NAs with the same names and you have a different father connected to your Opitchapum, but I can't find anything on Mangopeesomon Opitchapum (Wina). There are no sources or any info the profile for Opitchapum, BUT the link provided in his father's About section goes to Opechancanough, not to any info on Mangopeesomon Opitchapum (Wina.

So, it 'seems' that your Opitchapum was either the brother of Opechancanough who is in my lines, who was a brother of Pocahontas' father OR he was a son named for that brother. Knowing which is accurate will help clarify.

I realize NA lines can be challenging and confusing and I realize that getting their names correct can prove challenging as well, which is why any info we can provide in their About secitons is important.

For example, Chief Patawomeck Hoyter (Powhatan)

Fnu {Patawomeck) Hoyter

Patawomeck is not a first name. It's a Powhatan tribe:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patawomeck

So, Chief Patawomeck Hoyter could be any NA. this doesn't identify her other than to indicate she was from the Patawomeck tribe of the Powhatan confederacy. The same is true for her mother.

And on Chief Weroance Powhatan (Opitchapum) - Opitchapum or Opitchapam would be his name, as Weorance is the same title as chief and not a name:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weroance

So, Chief Weroance is like saying Chief Chief. His name would be Opitchapum, Weorance of the Powhatan.

Which brings us back to his relationship to Opechancanough. I do believe he was his son, named after his brother, based on their birthdates, but I have no other sources to validate that.

But I would suggeset that you use the name Opechancanough instead of Mangopeesomon Opitchapum (Wina) for his father because that's how he is known. It seems your link:

Mangopeesomon Opitchapum

is a duplicate for this one that is the Master Profile for him on Geni, and they should be merged so the Geni pathways are correct:

Opechancanough "Mangopeesomon", paramount chief of the Powhatan

Just trying to help, because those of us tracing NA lines run into challenges all the time trying to identify actual names, not just titles, and finding sources for the information on these folks.

Thanks.

7/7/2021 at 11:34 AM

Marsha Gail Veazey - can you help out with this tree?

It needs a curators touch, and you’re already curating Pidanske (Robbins) Hoyter

I merged some duplicates.

7/7/2021 at 12:19 PM

I'd be happy to curate it technically. I'm not an expert content-wise, though. I'll make the changes Debbie suggests. Feel free to contact me directly, Debbie! :)

7/7/2021 at 12:26 PM

Debbie, for Chief Patawomeck Hoyter, I'm going to change it to Chief Unknown Hoyter per your point. I put Patawomeck Powhatan in the suffix field as others put 'of Essex' or something like that. Does that work for you?

Please send me the link for Chief Weroance Powhatan (Opitchapum) so I can make changes to it.

For Mangopeesomon Opitchapum (Wina), the link you first put is isolated so I can't merge it to the MP. Geni has marked it as fictional. We don't have to worry about that one messing anything up.

7/7/2021 at 1:21 PM

Thanks so much! That's makes it all much clearer for others tracing such lines. :)

Yeah, Erica isolated that one after reading my post, so that got that one out of the way. And also on the one you're asking about:

Chief Weroance Powhatan, DUP TREE DO NOT MERGE

7/7/2021 at 1:32 PM

BUT, since Opitchapum - which I've found to be spelled Opitchapam - mentioned above has been isolated, that cut that line, I think. Based on the dates, there was one who as a brother of Opechancanough and Pocahonatas' father. He's mentioned here:

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/opechancanough-d-1646/

I also noticed this time that he changed his name to Sasawpen, as Opechancanough had changed his to Mangopeesomon, even though it's more commonly known by his original name.

However, the profile manager had linked a son to Opechancanough / Mangopeesomon, named Opitchapum, assumably after his brother. That's the one that got isolated and is no longer connected. He could be a son as was attached, but there was nothing in his About section to give further information.

Chief Weroance Powhatan, DUP TREE DO NOT MERGE

Nor did I see any additional information on his mother. Quite often it's so difficult to identify their mothers.

I'm definitely no expert on any of this either and find it all as challenging as anyone to sort and try to get rightly connected.

7/7/2021 at 1:37 PM

Geez!

To make it even more complicated, that link above states yet another name change for the brother Opitchapam -

Powhatan died in April 1618 and was succeeded by his next younger brother, Opitchapam, who took the new name of Otiotan (Itoyatin).

So that brother would have been a pretty big deal since he succeeded Pocahontas' father.

7/7/2021 at 1:39 PM

So the brother Opitchapam is well documented, but I haven't found any documentation for the supposed son of Opechancanough by the same name. That's where the disconnect is at this point.

7/7/2021 at 1:44 PM

That doesn't mean he didn't exist.

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