Great Leader: Hendrick Theyanoguin of the Mohawk

This Hendrick (1691-1755), who was from the Bear Clan through his mother, is often confused with the earlier Wolf Clan Sachem Hendrick Theyoninhokawaran who was one of the "Four Mohawk Kings" to visit Queen Anne in 1710.  In fact, they are two separate people.  We'll focus on the later Hendrick here.

He was born in Westfield, Massachusetts to a Mohawk woman of the Bear Clan and a Mohegan man.  In both societies, the mother's line was the more important, which meant that he was raised by her family and groomed for a leadership role in Mohawk society.  As a baby, he would've been given a childhood name, but he was baptized Henry or Hendrick by a Dutch Reformed pastor when he was a year old and the name stuck.  He was also referred to by the English as Hendrick Peters or sometimes King Hendrick, which leads to further confusion.  The name Theyanoguin was a title name that referred to his role and position within his society.  He moved to Canajoharie, one of the Mohawk's main towns along the Mohawk River near modern-day Fort Plain, New York, and presided as leader of the Mohawk Bear Clan.  Although he wasn't one of the Fifty Sachems of the Iroquois League, he sat in Council and played a prominent role in it, eventually becoming its spokesman to the White world. 

He worked closely with the Superintendent for the British Indian Department, Sir William Johnson and, although the Iroquois hoped to remain neutral during the French and Indian War, Theyanoguin  led a contingent of Iroquois Warriors to aid Johnson in capturing Crown Point in 1755.  Despite their alliance, the Mohawk were already feeling pressure to cede their lads and move on, something Theyanoguin refused to consider, telling the governor of New York, "by and by you will expect to see the Nations down here," meaning that the Iroquois might expand their range further down into New York than they already were. 

Theyanoguin was killed at the Battle of Lake George on September 8, 1755, trying to stop the French army from advancing.  His horse was shot out from under him and he was stabbed by a bayonet.  In 1769, in part to honor his old friend, Sir William Johnson paid for the building of the Anglican Church at Canajoharie, on land donated by the Brant family.  The church still stands today, one of the only remnants of Canajoharie (the Mohawk village not the modern town) to remain standing

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