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Queen Ann (Pamunkey chief)

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Queen Ann


Queen Ann appears in Virginia records between 1706 and 1715 as ruler of the Pamunkey tribe of Virginia. Ann continued her predecessors' efforts to keep peace with English colonists.

She became the leader of her tribe after the death of her husband Totopotomoi in 1656, who was killed when he took troops to help English colonizers in Virginia when inland mountain tribes invaded in the mid-1650s.

Ann's last record in history was in 1715, when she was noted as visiting the colonial authorities. She had come to seek fair treatment for her tribe, who suffered encroachment and raids by settlers. The Pamunkey had, in spite of Totopotomoi's sacrifice, been treated poorly by the English settlers in the intervening years.

It has been suggested that Queen Ann and Queen Betty may have been the same person:

Sparse documentation and the Powhatan Indians' practice of changing their names on important occasions have led to confusion in identifying the principal leaders of the Pamunkey. It has been conjectured that the niece who succeeded Cockacoeske, Mrs. Betty, and Ann were the same woman and that she changed her name to Ann after Queen Anne ascended the English throne in 1702.

Queen Ann had a son, whom she sent to the Indian school at the College of William and Mary in 1711. His name is not known.

Ann is believed to have died around 1723.

References

Queen Ann (Pamunkey chief) Wikipedia