Hunnic Matinecock Tribal Nation
Official Archive of Ancestral, Historical, Genealogical, Treaty, and Public Records
The Hunnic Matinecock Tribal Nation maintains this page as a public record of the documents, archives, genealogies, petitions, deeds, rolls, and historical materials that support the Nation’s continuity.
The purpose of this archive is to present the Nation’s record in an organized, transparent, and verifiable form.
The Nation understands its ancestry and authority first through Indigenous law.
Public records are used to document, corroborate, and clarify relationships that arise through:
- Bloodline and descent
- Maternal and paternal inheritance
- Sachemic succession
- Marriage and family alliance
- Adoption and incorporation
- Collateral kinship
- Confederated relationship
- Land stewardship
- Compact and treaty
- Continuing national responsibility
No colonial, state, federal, genealogical, or commercial record is treated as the original source of Indigenous identity or authority.
The records presented here form part of a cumulative evidentiary foundation maintained by the Nation.
I. Evidentiary Standard
The Nation evaluates its historical and ancestral record through multiple forms of evidence.
These include:
- Indigenous law and custom
- Family genealogies
- Oral and inherited traditions
- Vital records
- Church and burial records
- Census records
- Land deeds
- Petitions
- Court records
- Colonial records
- State and federal archives
- Tribal and community histories
- Dawes-era records
- Documentary genealogy
- Genetic evidence used as supporting context
- Continuing governmental records
- Institutional and diplomatic continuity
No single document is treated as conclusive for every question.
Each source is evaluated according to:
- its origin;
- its date;
- its purpose;
- its authorship;
- its relationship to the people named;
- its consistency with other records; and
- the Indigenous legal context in which the relationship arose.
The Nation distinguishes among documented fact, inherited tradition, genealogical reconstruction, legal interpretation, and continuing research.
II. Sachem Catoneras Record
Historical Identification
Sachem Catoneras is a foundational maternal ancestor of the Hunnic Matinecock Tribal Nation.
The surviving historical record expressly identifies her as an “Indian native Sachem.”
Records associated with approximately 1685, 1705, and 1713 further establish that Catoneras possessed inherited Indigenous interests connected to Crab Meadow.
The record indicates that:
- her interests were inherited;
- the interests arose through her Indigenous family;
- her son, Jan Cornelissen, derived his claim through his mother and her Native relations;
- the claim did not originate through a colonial grant; and
- the family remained connected to the Indigenous landholding and sachemic network of western Long Island.
These records form a central part of the Nation’s documentary foundation.
Catoneras–Van Texel Kinship Compact
Catoneras entered into union with Cornelius Jansen Van Texel, also recorded as Van Tassel.
Through that union, her maternal Indigenous ancestry, inheritance, kinship, and family responsibility continued into later generations.
The Nation recognizes this relationship as the:
Catoneras–Van Texel Kinship Compact
The Compact reflects:
- Indigenous marriage and family law
- Maternal succession
- Intercultural alliance
- Land relationship
- Descendant continuity
- Shared family responsibility
- Continuing kinship
The Compact is a Nation-held interpretation of the Indigenous legal and familial relationship preserved through the historical record.
The surviving records corroborate the relationship and its consequences.
They did not create the relationship.
Crab Meadow Record
The Crab Meadow materials are central to the Nation’s understanding of Catoneras and her descendants.
The record identifies inherited Indigenous interests and places Jan Cornelissen’s claim through his mother and her Native family.
It also connects the family to a broader Indigenous landholding and governmental network.
The Crab Meadow record is therefore significant for its evidence of:
- maternal inheritance;
- Indigenous family title;
- Native ownership;
- descendant succession;
- sachemic relationship;
- and the continued legal importance of Indigenous kinship within colonial proceedings.
III. Tackapousha and Opsam
Tackapousha was the principal sachem of the Massapequa and a major Indigenous leader within the western Long Island political sphere.
His authority is reflected through records involving:
- land stewardship;
- diplomacy;
- territorial responsibility;
- Indigenous ownership;
- negotiated relations;
- family alliance;
- and intercommunity government.
Opsam is identified in the historical record as Tackapousha’s son.
Opsam was among the Indigenous owners connected to the Crab Meadow transaction.
Tackapousha personally witnessed the deed.
Their participation places Catoneras, Jan Cornelissen, and the inherited Crab Meadow interests within a documented Indigenous network of landholding, kinship, sachemship, and government.
The Nation preserves these records as evidence of the wider political order in which Catoneras and her descendants were situated.
IV. Montaukett and Wyandanch Records
Sachem Mongotucksee
Sachem Mongotucksee, remembered as “Long Knife,” was a prominent Montaukett leader during the period before and during sustained colonial contact.
His leadership forms part of the wider sachemic and political history of eastern Long Island.
Grand Sachem Wyandanch
Grand Sachem Wyandanch, son of Mongotucksee, was one of the principal Indigenous diplomatic and political leaders of seventeenth-century Long Island.
His standing is reflected in deeds, agreements, petitions, diplomatic correspondence, and colonial records.
The Nation preserves inherited Montaukett and Van Texel–Van Tassel traditions placing Catoneras within Wyandanch’s close family and sachemic network.
Where surviving records do not conclusively establish biological paternity, the Nation classifies the relationship according to the evidence available.
The record may therefore distinguish among:
- biological descent;
- lineage tradition;
- collateral kinship;
- sachemic relationship;
- political association;
- and confederated alliance.
The Nation preserves both the inherited tradition and the limits of the surviving documentary record.
V. Northeastern Ancestral Records
The Nation maintains records concerning ancestral and kinship relationships among Indigenous peoples of Long Island, Southern New England, the Hudson Valley, and the wider Northeast.
These include the following lines.
Pequot and Narragansett
The Nation preserves ancestral and collateral relationships associated with:
- Quashawan
- Sachem Sassacus
- Sachem Tatobem
- Grand Sachem Canonicus
- Related Pequot and Narragansett families
These relationships are evaluated through family genealogies, inherited tradition, regional history, marriage alliance, and documentary research.
Where precise parentage or branch placement remains under archival study, the Nation records the relationship according to its current evidentiary classification.
Mohegan
The Nation preserves ancestral and collateral relationships associated with:
- Uncas
- We-ta-quash
- Mary Uncas
- Related Mohegan families
These records are understood within the wider diplomatic, marital, and political world of Southern New England.
The continuing history and government of the Mohegan people provide important corroborative context without serving as the source of the Nation’s own authority.
Mattabesett and Wangunk
The Nation’s record includes relationships associated with:
- Sequin
- Sowheag, also known as Sequasson
- Mattabesett families
- Wangunk families
- Connecticut River Indigenous communities
These lines reflect the interconnection of inland and coastal Indigenous peoples through kinship, alliance, diplomacy, and shared regional history.
Wappinger, Munsee–Lenape, and Hudson Valley
The Nation maintains records concerning relationships within the Wappinger, Munsee–Lenape, Ramapo, and wider Hudson Valley Indigenous sphere.
These relationships are understood within a regional history of:
- intermarriage;
- migration;
- shared waterways;
- trade;
- seasonal movement;
- displacement;
- and continuing family connection.
The Nation’s seat in Rockland County is located within this ancient Indigenous landscape.
VI. Haudenosaunee-Connected Records
The Nation maintains records of Haudenosaunee-connected ancestry and kinship, including Kanien’kehá:ka, or Mohawk-related, lines.
These relationships are evaluated through:
- genealogy;
- family tradition;
- marriage alliance;
- adoption;
- collateral kinship;
- confederated relationship;
- and continuing archival research.
The Treaty of Canandaigua of 1794 forms part of the continuing treaty history of the Six Nations.
Within this archive, it is cited as legal and historical context for the political and treaty-bearing status of the Haudenosaunee nations.
It is not treated as a substitute for documentary descent, citizenship determination, or Nation-specific treaty interpretation.
The existence and continuity of Haudenosaunee governments add corroborative weight to the political world reflected within the Nation’s ancestral record.
VII. Cherokee and Southeastern Records
The Nation maintains documented Cherokee ancestry through the Davis, Price, and Smith family lines.
The record includes Dawes-era documentation associated with:
- Jeremiah L. Davis
- Joseph Price
- Annie C. Smith
- Related Davis, Price, and Smith descendants
These records provide documentary evidence of Cherokee ancestry and historical community connection.
The Nation also preserves Powhatan, Shawnee, and related Southeastern ancestry through separate family lines and marriage relationships.
Each line is evaluated according to its own evidence.
The Cherokee treaties of Hopewell, Holston, and New Echota form part of the historical and legal framework surrounding the Cherokee people.
Within this archive, they provide context for the treaty-bearing nation represented within the Nation’s documented ancestry.
The Nation distinguishes among:
- ancestry;
- Dawes-era documentation;
- historical community connection;
- present citizenship;
- treaty interpretation;
- and governmental jurisdiction.
Each is recorded according to the evidence and law applicable to that issue.
VIII. Colonial-Era Descendant Families
The descendants of Sachem Catoneras and Cornelius Jansen Van Texel continued through families established across Long Island, New York, Connecticut, the Hudson Valley, and neighboring regions.
These include:
- Van Texel and Van Tassel
- Knapp
- Travis and Travers
- Lent
- Outhouse
- Dyckman and Dykman
- Related descendant families
Their importance within the Nation’s record arises through the transmission of:
- Catoneras’s maternal line;
- Indigenous ancestry;
- inherited kinship;
- family memory;
- land relationships;
- and descendant continuity.
Indigenous descent was often carried through families later recorded under European surnames.
Intermarriage, migration, church affiliation, census classification, and participation in colonial communities did not automatically terminate Native ancestry or kinship.
The Nation includes these families where the documentary and genealogical record supports the relationship.
IX. Petitions, Deeds, Treaties, and Compacts
The Nation’s public archive includes records associated with the following instruments and categories.
Long Island and Southern New England Records
- Crab Meadow records
- Montaukett petitions associated with 1685 and 1705
- Long Island Indigenous deeds
- Montaukett land records
- Massapequa-related deeds and transactions
- Mattabesett and Wangunk agreements
- Narragansett and Mohegan diplomatic records
- Treaty of Hartford and related regional instruments
- Catoneras–Van Texel Kinship Compact
Haudenosaunee Treaty Records
- Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1768
- Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1784
- Treaty of Canandaigua of 1794
Cherokee Treaty Records
- Treaty of Hopewell of 1785
- Treaty of Holston of 1791
- Treaty of New Echota of 1835
These records demonstrate the political and diplomatic character of the Indigenous peoples represented within the Nation’s ancestral lines.
They document nations and leaders acting through their own authority.
The application of any particular treaty provision is considered according to:
- the treaty text;
- the original parties;
- Indigenous law;
- the nature of the ancestral relationship;
- continuing governmental interpretation;
- and applicable law.
X. Genealogical Research
The Nation’s genealogical record is developed through the combined study of:
- family records;
- parent-child documentation;
- birth, marriage, and death records;
- church registers;
- census records;
- probate files;
- cemetery and burial records;
- deeds and land records;
- petitions;
- public family trees;
- archival collections;
- and descendant research.
Genealogical platforms may provide useful records, source leads, and relationship pathways.
They are not treated as self-authenticating proof.
The Nation evaluates platform-based material against original records, historical context, family continuity, and Indigenous law.
XI. Genetic Evidence
Genetic evidence may provide supporting information concerning biological relationship, shared ancestry, and broader population history.
The Nation may consider:
- autosomal DNA;
- Y-DNA;
- mitochondrial DNA;
- shared matches;
- family clustering;
- and comparative genealogical analysis.
Genetic evidence is used as corroborative context.
It does not independently establish:
- Indigenous citizenship;
- membership in a particular nation;
- sachemic office;
- treaty entitlement;
- political jurisdiction;
- or governmental authority.
Commercial ethnicity estimates are not treated as final determinations of identity.
The Nation gives greater weight to documented descent, family continuity, Indigenous kinship, and historical record.
XII. Public Repositories
The Nation’s historical and genealogical research may draw upon records held by the following institutions and repositories:
- New York State Archives
- New York State Library
- Suffolk County archives and land records
- East Hampton Town records
- Huntington and regional Long Island records
- New Netherland Institute and Dutch colonial collections
- United States National Archives
- Library of Congress
- Connecticut state and local archives
- Rhode Island archival collections
- Tribal and community archives
- Oklahoma Historical Society
- Dawes Commission records
- Cherokee archival repositories
- FamilySearch
- Ancestry
- University and historical society collections
- Church, cemetery, and probate repositories
The presence of a repository on this list does not mean every record has been fully digitized or publicly accessible.
Some documents may require archival requests, on-site review, certified copies, or further authentication.
XIII. Record Classification
For institutional clarity, the Nation classifies its evidence as follows.
Primary Record
An original or contemporaneous record, including a deed, petition, court record, vital record, treaty, roll, or official archive.
Secondary Historical Source
A later historical work, transcription, published genealogy, or scholarly interpretation based upon earlier records.
Family and Oral Tradition
An inherited account preserved through family, community, or tribal memory.
Genealogical Reconstruction
A relationship developed through the combined analysis of multiple records and generational links.
Indigenous-Law Interpretation
A determination concerning kinship, succession, marriage, adoption, alliance, compact, or responsibility under Indigenous legal principles.
Genetic Corroboration
DNA or population evidence used to support, but not independently establish, a genealogical or political conclusion.
Continuing Research
A relationship, record, or interpretation that remains under archival, genealogical, or legal examination.
These classifications allow the Nation to present its record accurately without treating every source as equal in purpose or evidentiary weight.
XIV. Public Record Findings
The Nation’s public record presently supports the following findings:
- Sachem Catoneras is identified in the historical record as an “Indian native Sachem.”
- Her Indigenous interests were inherited through Native family relationship.
- Jan Cornelissen derived his claim through Catoneras and her Indigenous relations.
- The Crab Meadow record places the family within the broader Indigenous landholding and sachemic network associated with Tackapousha and Opsam.
- The Catoneras–Van Texel line continued through multiple descendant families across Long Island, New York, Connecticut, and the Hudson Valley.
- The Nation preserves additional documented, collateral, traditional, adoptive, confederated, and treaty-connected relationships among Indigenous peoples of the Northeast and Southeast.
- Dawes-era records provide documentary support for Cherokee ancestry within the Davis, Price, and Smith lines.
- Treaty and archival records confirm the political and diplomatic standing of the Indigenous peoples represented within the Nation’s ancestry.
- The continuing governments of related Indigenous nations add corroborative historical and legal context while remaining independent in citizenship, jurisdiction, and authority.
- The Nation’s continuity is maintained through ancestry, Indigenous law, organized government, public service, institutional development, and preservation of records.
Statement of Open Record
The Hunnic Matinecock Tribal Nation maintains this archive in the interest of historical clarity, institutional transparency, and responsible preservation.
The Nation welcomes:
- archival review;
- scholarly research;
- genealogical collaboration;
- Indigenous historical exchange;
- correction supported by reliable evidence;
- and the discovery of additional primary records.
The Nation may revise this page as new records are located, authenticated, interpreted, or incorporated into its official archive.
Such revision reflects responsible recordkeeping.
It does not alter the continuity of the people whose history the records preserve.
Official Notice
This page presents a public summary of the Nation’s historical and genealogical record.
Certain records may remain restricted because they contain:
- private family information;
- protected cultural knowledge;
- personal identifying information;
- unpublished archival material;
- sensitive burial information;
- Indigenous intellectual property;
- or information subject to confidentiality obligations.
Public access does not authorize reproduction, commercial use, alteration, artificial-intelligence training, republication, or secondary exploitation of the Nation’s records or cultural materials.
Use of Nation-held materials requires prior written authorization where applicable.
Closing Record
The Nation’s archive is cumulative.
Its continuity is not dependent upon one record, one ancestor, one treaty, one roll, one database, or one outside classification.
The record is preserved through the combined authority of:
- ancestry;
- kinship;
- Indigenous law;
- documentary history;
- family continuity;
- public records;
- living governance;
- and national responsibility.
The Hunnic Matinecock Tribal Nation preserves this record as part of its duty to its ancestors, its people, and future generations.