Moses Tunda Tatamy

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Moses Tunda Tatamy (c1690-1760) or Tashawaylennahan was a Lenape translator and guide.

He was born around 1690 in New Jersey and was a translator and guide for the early settlers of New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. He lived near what is now Stockertown, Pennsylvania and Forks Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, north of Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley, along the Delaware River. He moved from New Jersey as early as 1733. The Lenape were displaced from their land by the Walking Purchase, but on April 28, 1738 Tatamy was given 325 acres by John, Thomas and Richard Penn, the descendents of William Penn. Worried that he would be displaced from his land, he formally purchased it in 1741 for 48 pounds, 16 shillings, and 5 pence. This made him the first native-born individual to make a formal purchase of land in Pennsylvania. After the Native Americans were forced to leave the Lehigh Valley, Tatamy petitioned the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania for the right to remain on his land. In 1745, Tatamy was the first Native American baptized by David Brainerd. He died in 1760 and around 1780, Tatamy's neighbors, Henry and Mattias Strechen, claimed the property, and transferred the it to William Allen. Tatamy's widow was listed on the first United States Census, 1790.

[edit] Casino

In 2003 two Delaware Indian tribes, based in Oklahoma, claimed the land once owned by Tatamy. The parcel is currently occupied by Binney & Smith, the maker of Crayola crayons and 25 single family homes. They went to court to regain title to the land, so that they can open a casino.