Petition of Isaiah Belain, Abraham Brown, and Lawrence Prince to the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives

The Indian proprietors sent a petition to the State Senate and the House of Representatives requesting that the Indian Guardianship in Dukes County be continued. They learned that their white neighbors petitioned for abolishment of the Guardianship. They mention that they were grateful for the Guardian care exercised over them, and especially for the instruction of the children. A small group of Chappaquiddick Wampanoag women requested a schoolhouse be built and a teacher be paid to instruct the children in 1809.  This 1840 petition was signed by three individuals, with at least two individuals having family members that served as guardians or were part of a council meeting on Chappaquiddick issues.