Western Niantic Tribe
Variant Names
Nehantic, Nayantaquit, the Seaside Indians
Meaning
People of the “point of land on a tidal river” (Trumbull, Indian Place Names, 36)
Location
Between the Thames and Connecticut Rivers, mostly at the mouth of the Connecticut River, around Niantic Bay and Niantic River, and in parts of modern East Lyme and Waterford, Connecticut
Language
Algonquin. Y-dialect similar to the Pequot, Mohegan, Narragansett, and Montauk
Traditional Villages
Niantic, Old Lyme, and Oswegatchie
Inter-Tribal Affiliations
Mohegan, Wangunk, Quinnipiac
In a petition to the General Assembly of Connecticut, local Lyme, Connecticut physician, Vine Utley, sought compensation for medical services rendered to the Niantics. Among the Niantics listed was Lydia Waukeet; she was billed for Utley's attendance for the period between July 19, 1801 and July 18, 1819. It is unclear what condition was being treated but, the nominal charge for nearly two decades of medical care suggests infrequent treatment at the very least.
Mercy Sobuck was a member of the Niantic community of East Lyme, Connecticut. She married Joshua Nonesuch and had three children: John, Mercy Ann, and Betsy. After Joshua's death, she had another son Zaccheus. Mercy Sobuck Nonesuch died in East Lyme in the fall of 1849. Brown and Rose, Black Roots, 270.
Tom Obed was a Niantic Indian from what is presently Lyme, Connecticut. According to Jan early Eighteenth-Century account book, Obed, with other Niantics, exchanged at John Chandlers' trading post the beavers, bears, and deer they hunted and trapped. Eva L.
Joshua Nonesuch was the husband of Mercy Sobuck of the Western Niantic community in East Lyme, Connecticut. Joshua worked periodically for Joshua Powers, a neighboring farmer in East Lyme from at least 1804-1813. In a petition to the General Assembly of Connecticut, local physician, Vine Utley, sought compensation for medical services rendered to the Niantics. Among the Niantics listed was Joshua Nonesuch, for attendance between May 22, 1807 to March 21, 1821.
Dr. Vine Utley sought compensation from the Connecticut General Assembly for medical services provided to a Niantic Indian named Benajah Parsons through the period of August 4, 1814 to March 21, 1821. Dr. Utley was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempt, his petition being rejected.
