Fagins, Prudence, - 1838

Prudence Fagins was a member of the Eastern Pequot community of North Stonington, Connecticut.  She first appeared in a memorandum detailing the rental of tribal land in June of 1816.  She was credited for pasturing two head of cattle, belonging to neighboring non-natives, on her lands on the Eastern Pequot reservation. 

For a sixteen year period starting in June of 1822, Prudence Fagins was consistently mentioned in the records of the State appointed overseer of the Eastern Pequot Tribe.  In addition to receiving such staple items as flour, potatoes, corn, molasses, tea, meal, candles and pork, she was credited for the rental of Indian land.  As well as these rights in the common land, it appears that Prudence may have had exclusive use rights to additional land, likely in the form of a small farmstead. 

In the fall of 1833, she sold fifty bushels of apples from her orchard to Silas Chesebrough, the overseer at that time.  In the fall of the following year, $2.50 was expended from tribal funds to repair her house on the reservation.  Prudence died in June of 1838.  Tribal funds were used to pay for her coffin as well as to pay Charles Fagins for digging her grave.

Memorandum of Stock Allowed in Indian Town Pasture, 1816.06.01.00, ICRC; NLCC:PbS, Indians, Eastern Pequot