Old John Neptune
John Neptune | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1767 |
| Died | 1865 (aged 97–98) |
Resting place | Indian Island |
| Occupation | vice-chief |
| Years active | 1816-1867 |
| Partner | Mary Pelagie Nicola (known regionally as “Molly Molasses”) |
| Children | Sarah Molasses (also known as Sarah Neptune) |
Old John Neptune (Penobscot, (July 22, 1767 – May 8, 1865) was elected Lieutenant-Governor at Indian Island, Old Town, Maine, in 1816, a life-time position. Born into the Eel clan, Neptune had a powerful father, John (Orsong) Neptune, who had been the tribe's war chief. As the most powerful leader of the Penobscot for almost half a century, he was popularly (but incorrectly) known as "the Governor."[1] Also feared, he had the reputation of being a medicine man (m'teoulino, in the Penobscot language).[2]
John Neptune's lifelong partner and mother of his four children was a Penobscot businesswoman, Mary Pelagie Nicola (known regionally as “Molly Molasses”).[3] One of his children, Sarah Molasses (also known as Sarah Neptune), also became a businesswoman.[4]
Shortly after Maine achieved statehood, the areas of the Penobscot and St. John rivers were mapped with guidance from Neptune.[5]
In The Maine Woods (1864), writer Henry David Thoreau described an 1853 visit to Neptune at his Old Town home.[6]
References
- ↑ Prins, Harald E.L.; McBride, Bunny. (2007). Asticou's Island Domain: Wabanaki Peoples at Mount Desert Island 1500-2000, Vol.1. Boston: National Park Service.
- ↑ Eckstorm, Fannie Hardy (1945). Old John Neptune and Other Maine Indian Shamans. Portland, Maine: Southworth-Anthoensen Press. pp. 254–257.
- ↑ "Molly Molasses, Bangor, ca. 1865". Maine Memory Network. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
- ↑ Harvard. "Sarah Neptune, known as Sarah Molasses | Harvard Art Museums". harvardartmuseums.org. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
- ↑ Maine State Archives (October 16, 2019). Maine Bicentennial Moments: The Treat Journal (Video). Secretary of State of Maine.
- ↑ Thoreau, Henry David (1864). The Maine Woods (Project Gutenberg text). OCLC 437036255. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
He told me that he was eighty-nine; but he was going a-moose-hunting that fall, as he had been the previous one.