Page 160 - Maryland Historical Trust - Archaeology Colonial MD

Secowocomoco, but they may have later been known as the Choptico who resided just north of the Secowocomoco site. Another interpretation is that they were the Yaocomicos who were seated at the site of what became St. Mary’s City.
As English colonization began to progress, first in the Potomac valley and then the Patuxent, this put immense pressure on the native popula- tions. This effectively disrupted their normal pat- terns of settlements as people became displaced and moved by colonial authorities to reservations and/or away from their ancestral homes. The fol- lowing sections will present case studies of three such sites of displacement, detailing their context, chronology, and material culture.
Choptico Reservation
Little is known from documentary sources about the Choptico before the middle of the 17th century. The closest settlement noted by Smith in 1608 was the settlement of Secowocomoco. The relationship of the Choptico to the people of Secowocomoco is unclear. Smith does men- tion a group he called the Choptico residing on the Choptank River on the Eastern Shore, who could have relocated to the Western Shore later. Regardless, by 1651 the Choptico were firmly planted along Chaptico Bay, a tributary of the Wicomico River.43
It was in 1651 that Lord Baltimore granted eight to ten thousand acres of land at the head
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figure 19
Reconstructed bounds of Choptico Manor.
IMAGE ADAPTED FROM PETER HIMMELHEBER (2002) THE SOIL STIFF AND POOR, ST MARY’S COUNTY’S PROPRIETARY MANORS. CHRONICLES OF ST. MARY’S 48(2).