Matachanna, of the Powhatan

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Matachanna, of the Powhatan's Geni Profile

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About Matachanna, of the Powhatan

Matachanna, a daughter of Powhatan of the Powhatan, was married to Tomocomo, a priest, before 1616, when he accompanied Pocahantas, her sister, on her trip to England.

Was she the same person as "Cleopatra", of the Powhatan?

Historian Helen C. Rountree suggests “Cleopatra” may (or may not) have been Matachanna, a sister of Pocohantas who married the priest Uttamanakin:

https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000095209279076&


From Pg. 143 The History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia.By William Stith.

"This Tomocomo (or Uttamaccomack, as Smith calls him) had Matachanna, one of Powhatan's Daughters, to Wife; was one of the chief of his Council, and of their Priests; and was esteemed a very wise and understanding Fellow among them. He was therefore sent upon this Voyage, by; Powhatan, to take the Number of the People in England, and to bring him a full and exact Account, of their Strength ...."

From p. 164 Love and Hate in Jamestown (New York: Vintage, 2003), by David Price

The Rolfe's were joined by an entourage of 10 or 12 Powhatans, including a priest named Tomocomo, from whom Powhatan had ordered a first hand report on the English homeland; Tomocomo's wife Matachanna, who was also Pocohantas' half sister; and a group of male and female servants ...

From http://www.jeaniesgenealogy.com/2015/11/cleopatra-shawano-powhatan-...

"The Mattaponi say that the mother of Pocahontas and Mattachana was a Mattaponi Indian woman. The 'matta' in Mattachana indicates that her mother was of that tribe. ..."


  • "Matachanna" in Shawnee Heritage II By Don Greene shows several daughters of Chief Powhatan with that name by different wives, born in the 1580s and 1590s, none with known husband or children
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Matachanna, of the Powhatan's Timeline

1587
1587
Virginia, Colonial America
1616
1616
Age 29
Virginia
1676
1676
King William, King William County, Virginia, United States