Wicocomico

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The Wicocomico were an Algonquian-speaking Native American group who lived in Northumberland County, Virginia, around the head of the Little Wicomico River. They were related to the Nanticoke people. Captain John Smith first met them on the Virginia mainland in 1608, finding a village of about 130 men near the mouth of the Potomac area. Over time, English settlers and internal disagreements pushed the tribe to merge with nearby Chicacoan groups. The colonial court gave the merged people a 4,400-acre reservation near Dividing Creek, and Machywap, who had an English wife, became their weroance (leader).

From 1659 onward, conflicts with colonists over land prompted the Wicocomico to replace Machywap with Pekwem, a Powhatan ally who was easier for the English to manage. Between 1660 and 1673 they fought many land disputes in court, but the colonists generally won. By 1719 only about 1,700 acres remained of the original 4,400-acre tract. After the last weroance, William Taptico, died, the colonial government confiscated the rest of the lands, and the remnants of the Wicocomico dispersed. The tribe is considered extinct, though some members joined the Powhatan Confederacy and others disappeared from records.

The name Wicocomico appears in many spellings. In modern times, a group calling itself the Wicocomico Indian Nation says it descends from the Wicocomico, but it is not federally or state-recognized as a Native American tribe. Historically they spoke English and Virginia Algonquian, and practiced both Christianity and Native spiritual traditions. Some related groups include the Nanticoke and Pocomoke.