Coaxen Indian Village or Weekpink was a settlement named after Coaxen, the name of a local band of Lenape located in Burlington County, New Jersey, along the South Branch of the Rancocas Creek. It is also the name of both a nearby stream and one of two villages known during the historic period, residence of this native group, the other being Weekpink (variously Weekping, Weepinck, Wepink, etc.). Weekpink is also the name of a small run of water that empties into the South Branch of the Rancocas, and is also located within the historic bounds of the Coaxen Indian settlement. This settlement, and both streams, are now located in Southampton Township, New Jersey.
Historical references The first mention of Coaxen comes from a 1691 colonial survey for 400 acres of land to Thomas Evans at the Indian Town of Quaexin on one of the branches of the Rancocas. An Indian village existed on Coaxen Run, now Little Creek, to the rear of the present-day Roberts farm. Coaxen is the accepted form for the past usages of Quaexin, Quakeson, etc. In the Lenape language, Coaxen means there are pine trees, and Weekpink refers to place of bast fibre, which is plant material used for mats and other handicrafts.
Soon after the arrival of Quaker settlers in Burlington County they formed the Proprietors of West Jersey, who, in turn, appointed commissioners to purchase lands from the indigenous Lenape. One of these commissioners was Daniel Wills, who eventually owned large tracts land in what was then Northampton Township, in the vicinity of Rancocas Creek. After his death in 1698, his son, John Wills, inherited much of his father's land, including 624 acres lying near the forks of the river at the South Branch.
John Wills was a member of the colonial council, friend to Governor Robert Hunter, and also served as an Indian Commissioner. In 1713, he was responsible for fending off an Indian war over the fraudulent attempt by John Wetherill:MEHEMICKWON the Indian King who was Commonly by the English Called King Charles made his Complaint to me Several times That John Wetherill had a design to Cheat him of Some of his Land at a place Called Coerping [Coaxen]: I asked him wch way that could be, he Answered that he had made him Drunk and when So had made a writing and got him Set his hand to it And this is what he Affirmed at all times when we Discoursed on that Subject And further he told me that ye Said John Wetherill offered to give him more Drink next morning, the Indian Said he asked the said Wetherill for what he would give him Drink, the said Wetherill Answered do you not know for wt do you not Remember you Sold me the Land last Night, no said the Indian I knew nothing of it, for I was So Drunk last Night, that I knew nothing, not So much as where I was, And if you have done Any Such thing by me when I was in that Condition as to get my hand to A writing, you have Cheated me.Mehemickwon was known to the English settlers as King Charles, a reference to the then reigning monarch in England, King Charles II. He was the acknowledged leader of the Lenape living in the region of the Rancocas, stretching from Assunpink to Big Timber Creek along the New Jersey shoreline of the Delaware River. When Wetherill claimed Coaxen lands from Mehemickwon, the latter threatened retaliation, and Governor Robert Hunter was rightfully worried that a rupture with the Indians was imminent. He used the power of his office to convince Wetherill to destroy the fraudulent deed, and it was burned in the presence of the Indian leader.
To prevent such occurrences from happening again, John Wills took the unique step of deeding the Coaxen lands to the Indians. By 1740, Mehemickwon was dead, and a new leader, King Ossolowhen, had replaced him, but he, too, was deceased. Ossolowhen's brothers and relations were the recipient of John Will's deed:This Indenture made the Sixth day of October 1740 year of our Lord One thousand Seven hundred and Forty and in the Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Second over Great Britain France and Ireland King &c Between John Wills of the Township of Northampton in the County of Burlington and province of New Jersey (Gentleman) of the one part and the Children of the late Indian King Ossolowhen late of the Township of Northampton in the County and province aforesaid deceased and his Two Brothers, called by the names of Teannis and Moonis Indians and Natives of the Westerly Division of the province of New Jersey.The deed provided a metes and bounds description of what was henceforth known as the Coaxen.
The deed from Wills was transferred:Every part and parcel thereof with their and every of their Appurtenances unto the Children of the said Ossolowhen and to his Two Brothers Teannis and Moonis and their Progeny so long as the Water run in the River Delaware and Ancocas or Northampton River To their only proper Use Behoof of the Children of the said Ossolowhen and his Two Brothers Teannis and Moonis and their Generations of[f]spring Stock or Kindred and to such of them as the said Land may descend according to the Custom used amongst the said Indians for evermore... so long as the Water runs in the River Delaware and [R]Ancocas or Northampton river.Thus John Wills, member of the Society of Friends and New Jersey Indian Commissioner, used the form of English-style law to ensure that this land be held in perpetuity to the local Lenape community. His efforts were noted in Samuel Smith's work, The History of Nova Cesaerea [New Jersey], published in 1765. He wrote of the remaining Indian lands in New Jersey:One of these in particular ought to be noted in this place, to the honour of John Wills, sometime one of the council, by whose advice the Indian sachem, called king Charles, laid an English right on a large plantation at Weekpink, containing a valuable tract of land, in the county of Burlington, which is so contrived as to remain unalienable from his posterity, who now enjoy the benefit of it.In 1761, there were approximately forty native residents at Coaxen.
Coaxen and Brotherton By the 1750s, the remaining Lenape in New Jersey, also known as the Delaware Indians by this time, were experiencing ever-increasing pressure on their families and communities. Land frauds, dishonest traders, and loss of access to lands for hunting and fishing, combined with epidemics of disease and social ills (notably alcohol) led to an out-migration to western lands in Pennsylvania and the Ohio River Valley.
A religious revival took hold in some Lenape communities, notably at the Forks of the Delaware (Easton, Pennsylvania area) in the 1740s, under the missionary work of David Brainerd. By 1745, he established a Christian Indian mission at Crosswicks, New Jersey, which relocated to present-day Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey in 1746 at what was called Bethel Indian Town. David Brainerd died of tuberculosis in 1747, as did dozens of his converts, and he was replaced by his younger brother, John Brainerd. The younger Brainerd used Bethel as his base while he traveled in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, bringing Christianity to Indian communities, including Coaxen, Lenape settlements on the Susquehanna River, and to the Stockbridge Mohicans and Wappingers in Massachusetts. In 1749, Brainerd noted the following in reference to Coaxen:Aug. 30: Came to a number of Indians near Rancocas, where I had appointed my interpreter to meet me. I spent some time in private conversation with them, and afterwards called them all together, being about twenty-two in number, and preached to them. They attended on divine worship with seriousness and considerable decency.
Sept. 1: Visited the Indians again. Spent some time in private discourse with them, and then gathered them all together and preached to them. They attended on the several parts of divine worship with seriousness and decency, and one or two seemed to be affected with divine truths...I called the Indians together in one place, and, after prayer, discoursed to them, suiting my discourse to their understanding and the occasion as well as I could; and when I had done speaking to the Indians, turned to the white people, a great number of whom were present, I believe at least one hundred and fifty or two hundred of all sorts,-and gave them a solemn word of exhortation
Sept. 2: Visited the Indians, had considerable conversation with them in a more private manner; then retired a little while for prayer, and afterwards called the Indians all together and carried on public worship...These Indians (being near twenty in number) seem to be generally convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, and one or two seem to be concerned for their souls, and desire to go where they can have opportunity to hear the gospel. I encouraged their going to Bethel, the Christian Indian town, which I suspect a number will do; but others seem inclined to go over towards Susquehanna. May the Lord follow them, wherever they go, with his blessing, and make them savingly acquainted with his dear Son!
Lord's day, Sept. 3: Went to the Indians about nine in the morning; attended divine worship with them, there being now about thirty persons more able to attend on religious worship.
Sept. 4: Went to the Indians; spent some time in conversation, and then called them together and attended public worship; prayed, preached, &c., and after I had done, gave them a more particular account of the state of affairs among the Indians at Bethel, where I live, and advised them to come there. Just as I was about to take leave of them, there came a little boy of about ten or eleven years old, and hung about me and began to cry, upon which I inquired what he wanted. I soon understood that he wanted to go with me; so I asked his parents if they were willing. They said, "yes." So I sent him along with an Indian who belonged to the place where I live. Another showed a very great desire to go, and cried heartily enough because he could not go then; and when I took my leave of them the most of them seemed to be sorrowful. May the Lord bless what has been spoken to them, and grant that the good impressions made on their minds may never wear off till they are brought to a saving acquaintance with himself! With the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1755, the British colonies, including New Jersey, witnessed a violent wave of Indian attacks along the frontier. After Braddock's defeat in 1755, the Delaware Indian communities of the Susquehanna and Ohio river valleys openly allied with the French. In an effort to regain allegiance or at least neutrality of the Delaware, and their Algonquian relatives such as the Shawnee, British authorities directed that any outstanding Indian complaints be addressed. Two groups were formed by Quakers: "Friendly Association for Regaining and Preserving Peace with the Indians by Pacific Measures" was established in 1756, and the New Jersey Association for Helping the Indians was established in 1757.Samuel, Allison (1877). Fragmentary History of the New Jersey Indians; Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Second Series, Vol. IV. p. 33. These, and William Johnson, Indian Agent for the Crown, worked towards settling Indian disputes, including confused land titles in New Jersey.