Everyone knows that my family is a little silly, but as some may not know a couple of them are also into genealogy. Here is a bit of history from our MyFamily.com website:

Uncle Thomas Wheeler died at the age of 20 in 1691. He was murdered by the Indians, under the supposed leadership of a chief known as the black sachem. Mr. Wheeler was away from home, out on a hunting excursion, traversing the forests of the town of Preston(dch note-that's in Connecticut), and when near Quinebaug River he met a squad of Indians, who were hunting in the same region, who ordered him to clear out and leave the game to them, as they were the original owners of it. He refused to obey their orders, when they told him if he did not leave the game of the forest to them they would kill and scalp him on the spot. He bid defiance to their threats, when they attacked him with their tomahawks and scalping knives. He defended himself as best he could, and a terrible struggle ensued which resulted in his death, and that of five of the Indians.

Uncle Thomas was the brother of Martha Wheeler,mother of Isaac Williams, father of Atwood Williams,Sr., father of Atwood Williams, father of Mehitable Williams, mother of George H. Leslie, father of Harthan F. Leslie, father of Jean Kemp Leslie, mother of Elizabeth Grace Hadley, mother of Mark who should be on the lookout when using the ferry to New London, Ct.

A note for Mark's father- Williams College is named after cousin Ephraim Williams who was killed in the French and Indian War near Lake George, NY. He left his fortune, by will, to found a free school at Williamstown, Ma. which afterwards became a college named after him. Ephraim's father Ephraim,Sr.'s brother John married Martha Wheeler, sister of the star of the preceding story.

Note: Mark is my first cousin. I challenge you all to trace the exact relationship of Uncle Thomas to myself. Anyone?

After reading the preceding post on myfamily.com I was struck by two things. 1) I could be exceptionally cruel to my children by naming them with family names. 2)Black Sachem sounds like a scandalous name for an Indian chief to me. So I looked up the word Sachem in the dictionary here is what I found:

Sachem n.
1.

a. A chief of a Native American tribe or confederation, especially an Algonquian chief.

b. A member of the ruling council of the Iroquois confederacy.

2. A high official of the Tammany Society, a political organization in New York City.

So now I'm confused was this Indian Chief's name Black Chief or just Black?

Now (or earlier) you might ask, "What is the point of this story?" I am happy to say that there isn't one. But, wasn't it nice to read something that has nothing to do with current Social or Political issues or even Reality Television? I thought so at least.