William Taptico, Last King of the Wicocomico

When John Smith explored Virginia in 1608, he encountered a village with 130 men on the South side of the mouth of the Patawomeke (Potomac) River. These were the Wicocomico people.

English settlers arrived later, and began interacting with the local tribes. Sometime between 1652 and 1655, the Northumberland County Court directed the Wicocomico and Chicacoan tribes to merge, and the new tribe was given 50 acres per fighting man, for a total of 4,400 acres near Dividing Creek.

The Lower Cuttatawomen later merged with the tribe, which was called the Wicocomico since most of the tribe members were originally from that group. Machywap, formerly the king of the Chicacoan, was appointed by the court to be the leader of the tribe, because he was considered a friend of the English and easy to manage. By 1659, Machywap had been deposed, possibly by force, and replaced with a man named Pekwem.

The Wicocomico and the English settlers fought often in court for control of the local lands. Although most of the disputes were settled in favor of the Wicocomico, by 1719 the tribe held only 1,700 acres of their original reservation. In 1705, Robert Beverley, Jr. wrote "In Northumberland, Wiccocomico, has but three men living, which yet keep up their Kingdom, and retain their Fashion; they live by themselves, separate from all other Indians, and from the English."

The last king of the Wicocomico was named William Taptico II.  When he died in 1719, the English took over the lands of the Wicocomico and left the tribe dispersed. William Taptico's wife, Elizabeth, settled his substantial estate and began by signing the documents as Elizabeth Taptico, but by the end shortened the name to Elizabeth Tapp. (It is not clear whether Elizabeth was of European or Native American descent.)

William Taptico II was my 8th great grandfather. Some believe that William's grandfather was Machywap.