Daniel Nimham
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Daniel Nimham (1724-1778) was the last chief or sachem of the Wappingers and was the most prominent Native American of his time in the Hudson Valley. Prior to Henry Hudsons arrival in 1604, the Wappinger People lived on the eastern shore of the Muhheakantuck "the river that flows both ways" from the City of Manhattan, New York north to the Town of Rhinebeck, New York, east into Fairfield County, Connecticut. The Wappinger were allied with the Mohican People in the north, and by the 1700s many had moved north to the mission at Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Although some of the Wappinger lands were sold justly, many landgrabbers took advantage of the native people and exaggerated the amount of land agreed upon.
Daniel Nimham may have learned to speak English through the family of Catherina Brett who lived in what is now the Town of Beacon, New York. She was friends with the Nimham's and allowed the Wappingers to stay on her land after they had been sold. Because of Nimham's multicultural skills, he went to court on numerous occasions to defend his people’s land rights. Daniel Nimham took over as sachem of the Wappinger People around 1745.
In 1766, he, his wife and three other Wappingers traveled to England to speak with King George III of Great Britain. Although he and his group were treated very well, he never had a meeting with the King directly, however he did speak with someone who was in the parliament who agreed they would contact the governor in Albany, New York. When he returned he went to court but lost the case. The lands were never returned to his people.
His son Abraham Nimham born in 1754 had been appointed Captain of the Stockbridge Militia by General George Washington.
Daniel and Abraham Nimham and his fellow Stockbridge Warriors fought for the American cause during the Revolution. They served with Washington at Valley Forge and later with General Marquis de Lafayette's troops. Unfortunately, all hope for fairer treatment under the Americans, ended in August 31, 1778 when the Nimham's and fifty of his fellow Wappinger were killed by Loyalist and British Dragoons in a Battle at Cortlandt Ridge in what is now Van Cortland Park in the Bronx. A stone monument to the Stockbridge Warriors who sacrificed their lives for the American cause marks a trail to the field of battle.
It is said that once each year during his life Daniel Nimham would stand on the very Mountain given his name, and claim the mountains and valleys we see today as the land of his people. A *Sculptural tribute to Daniel Nimham and the Wappinger People is currently being created.
