Take Willow Pond, and creek as a point of occupation, in Queens. Who lived around there? Mind you Willow Pond was created for the World Fair. But Willow Creek was there.
The information is spotty, here is what I found:
Matinecock is supposedly the tribe (1). "The name “Maspeth” derives from a word for “bad water place,” perhaps because people there relied on the salty waters of Flushing Bay and Newtown Creek. Kissena Park was a region once controlled by the Matinecock, and “Kissena” may have meant “cold place.” The name of the large public housing development in South Flushing, “Pomonok,” is from a word meaning either “land of tribute” or “land where there is traveling by water.”"
The Dutch called Flushing "Vlissingen"
"...in 1662, a smallpox epidemic spread through Queens, killing huge numbers of the indigenous people."
Thomas Hicks in the Battle of Madnan’s Neck got Native Americans out of Douglaston and Little Neck in 1656.
"Much later, when Northern Boulevard was being widened in the 1930s, Matinecock graves were discovered there. They were moved and re-buried in the cemetery of Zion Episcopal Church (GMAP), where a stone marker announces, “Here rest the last of the Matinecock.”"
"there are still some Matinecock around. A modern-day tribal leader, Osceola Townsend, has said that some 200 Matinecock families live in and around Queens."
"Matinecocks have stated that Fort Totten in Bayside is land that should still belong to them, and that the fort lies on top of ancient burial ground. In a 2009 documentary film called The Lost Spirits, Eric MaryEa (who is of Matinecock and Italian heritage) explores some of these ongoing struggles."
Immigrants displace other immigrants: "Before the surge of contemporary immigration in Flushing the town was mainly a white, moderate-to-middle income area with residents of Jewish, Irish, Italian and German ancestry. However, by the 1970’s, Flushing saw an influx of Chinese immigrants." (2)
"In 1684, the tribe signed a deed giving the colonists control of all land consisting of Whitestone. The tribe then left Whitestone and headed east towards Long Island."
There were 13 tribes in Long Island and they were a branch of the Algonquins. Long Island was called Sewanhacky, Wamponomon and Paumanake. (3)
Links:
Matinecock Tribe Nation "In 1789 the Flushing courthouse was destroyed by fire, and all records of transactions with the Mattinecocks were consumed."
Willow Pond (YouTube)
