Private Samuel Paugenit*
Samuel Pocknett/Paugenit (unknown - 1777), of Indigenous heritage, may have been baptized in Natick along with his kin, Joseph Paugenit. Samuel served in Captain Bailey’s Company of the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment under Colonel John Bailey. Little is known about Paugenit’s experiences during the war, but the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment was formed in early 1777 and traveled to Princeton, New Jersey. Later, they joined the Saratoga Campaign in New York.
Prior to the war, on December 9, 1754, Paugenit married Elizabeth Speen, daughter of Benjamin Speen and Rachel Thomas in Natick. Benjamin was the son of the Natick Proprietor, James Speen. (A small group of Indigenous and English men dubbed the Natick Proprietors were designated landowners in the town by order of the Massachusetts General Court in 1719.) James Speen’s granddaughter, Elizabeth, was one of eight heirs when Speen’s estate was administered in 1742.
Although Samuel was not descended from a Natick Proprietor like his wife Elizabeth, he came from a Native family that had acquired lands during their time in the town. Samuel’s father, Eleazer Kenepaukenit/Paugenit purchased lands from some Natick Proprietors. Eleazer left his son Samuel three and one-quarter acres of land when he died in 1741.
Samuel Paugenit was reported deceased Sept. 29, 1777. Although the cause of his death is unknown, Revolutionary War soldiers were far more likely to die from disease than from bullets.
Deeper Analysis: Kenepaugenit, often shortened to Paugenit or Pocknett, means “codfish” in the Wǒmpanaak dialect of southern New England Algonkian. Most of the Pocknett Revolutionary War veterans mustered in from Mashpee. Samuel Paugenit, and his kin Joseph, were exceptions. Both were likley baptized in Natick, though neither had a birth record in the town. It’s possible that the boys’ parents left Cape Cod at a time when smallpox began to ravage Native communities. Devastating outbreaks of smallpox in Barnstable and Yarmouth were documented in the 1750s.
Note: More often than not, service, vital, and/or other historical records were created and kept by men of English and European backgrounds. They employed a wide range of descriptive terms, such as "mulatto," “negro," and "dark complexion." These terms cannot fully capture any soldier's identity, but they do offer clues. In some cases, the surname of a soldier of color connects him to a Natick family that is well documented. Often, these soldiers are Indigenous men. The biographies in this project make it possible to say more not only about a soldier's identity or background, but also about the life he led in Natick and beyond.