Soldiers in King Philip's war. Containing lists of the soldiers of ...

No. XV.
THE GARRISON AT MARLBOROUGH.
OKKOKONIMESTT was what Major Daniel Gookin called, and
Ognonikongquamesit was the name by which Mi*. Eliot knew,
the "Praying Indian Village," situated within the limits of what became
the town of Marlborough. The first English settlers went from
the parent plantation of Sudbury. The Court's grant to the Indians
through Mr, Eliot, in 1654, being prior to that made to the English,
the latter found to their disappointment that this Indian reserve,
right in the midst of their own grant, must be respected by them
if they wished to retain their own rights ; for it is to the credit of
the Massachusetts Council, that its members were, almost without
exception, in favor of upright and humane dealing with the friendly
Indians. These Indians above were a branch of the Wamesit tribe,
it is said, and had submitted to the Massachusetts Colony as early
as 1643, and had received assurance of its protection of their rights.
In 1674 this Indian town contained ten families, and about fifty
souls. They were self-supporting, peaceable, and were becoming
industrious and thrifty, but were evidently regarded with contempt
and distrust by many of the neighboring English, who grudged them
the possession of their grant of six thousand acres, including some
of the best land in the township.
The Indian name of the locality was something like Whipsuppenick,
but this became corrupted with the English settlers to
"Whipsufferage."
The town was incorporated as Marlborough in 1660. The first
actual English settler was John Howe, who settled in 1657-8 ; and
at the division of land in 1660, there were thirty-eight who were
then, or soon after, residents.
Rev. Wm; Brimsmead was settled as their minister, and the new
plantation flourished fairly until the breaking out of Philip's War.
At this time, being a frontier town, it was exposed to attacks from
all directions, and being situated upon the road to Connecticut, it
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