418 
group has been organized as a reserva- 
tion since 1658, whereas the Upper 
Mattapony have only been organized 
since 1923. 
Rappahannock.—To the north of the 
Mattapony are the Rappahannock 
who are rather widely scattered in the 
area to the south of the Rappahan- 
nock River in Caroline, Essex, and 
Upper King and Queen Counties. 
They are centered especially around 
Indian Neck, Va., and are estimated 
to number from 400 to 500 persons. 
This group was incorporated under 
State law as The Rappahannock 
Indian Association in 1919. ‘They are 
unlike the previous groups mentioned 
in the great amount of dispersion 
which they have undergone as small 
bands. The area inhabited extends 
roughly about 15 miles south and 
west, about 25 miles north and south, 
and in this section the whites consti- 
tute not more than a third of the 
population. 
The Rappahannock are fishers, 
farmers, hunters, and some are expert 
basketmakers. They are undoubtedly 
a mixed group with a varying per- 
centage of Indian blood. A band in 
Upper Essex County has Nelson as 
the most common family name. 
Miscellaneous Tidewater Indians—In 
addition to the important groups just 
mentioned there are a number of other 
Indian remnants in the Tidewater of 
Virginia. The Potomac Indians, for 
example, are a small band of 150 to 
200 persons situated in Stafford 
County about 8 miles due north of 
Fredericksburg, Va., on a small branch 
of the Potomac River. They engage 
in farming and fishing, and their mem- 
bers appear on back roads of Prince 
Wliliam and Fairfax Counties right 
up to Alexandria, across from Wash- 
ington, D. C. 
There are also Indian groups in 
Northumberland County at the mouth 
of the Potomac River estimated to 
number around 300 persons. These 
are thought to be the remnant of the 
Wicomico Tribe of Colonial times. 
Across the Chesapeake Bay on Vir- 
ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1948 
ginia’s eastern shore there are still to 
be found remnants of the Accohan- 
nock Tribe among the colored popu- 
lations of Accomac and Northampton 
Counties. The number of these mixed 
folk is unknown, but they are said to 
be located at Accomac County Court- 
house (Drummondtown) and_ near 
Fisher’s Inlet in southern Northamp- 
ton County. In the latter place they 
bear the family name of Miles. 
Along the shores of the York River 
are also to be found small Indian 
remnants. A band in York County, 
on the south shore of the river to the 
northwest of Hampton, have the 
family name of Wise. On the oppo- 
site or north shore of the York River 
are certain small groups centering in 
Allmondsville and Gloucester Point in 
Gloucester County. The Gloucester 
County groups are said to number 
about 100 persons. At Allmondsville 
the family names are Allmond, Norris, 
and Langston, while those at Glou- 
cester Point are Sampsons. The 
Gloucester County groups are thought 
to be remnants of the Werowocomoco 
Tribe of Colonial times. In the east- 
ern part of Gloucester County is an 
area called Guinea Neck once inhab- 
ited by people called Guineamen who 
may have had an Indian connection. 
Crossing over the James River to the 
southern shore one finds remnants of 
the Nansemond Tribe in Norfolk and 
Nansemond Counties. Their chief 
center is at Deep Creek in Norfolk 
County not far to the southwest of 
Norfolk, Va. Located on the northern 
and eastern edges of the Great Dismal 
Swamp they number about 200 souls 
dispersed rather widely. They are 
widely mixed and have a large num- 
ber of family names. The principal 
names originally were Boss and 
Weaver. They are truck farmers, and 
ship produce to Norfolk commission 
houses. The Nansemond have been 
reorganized as a tribe since 1923. 
Allied to these may be the Skeeter- 
town Indians on the edge of the Great 
Dismal Swamp in Nansemond County. 
The Nansemond, along with the 
