Editing Metacomet (section)

== Family ==
Metacomet's older brother [[Wamsutta]] (also known as King Alexander) briefly became sachem after their father's death in 1661. Metacomet believed their father was poisoned due to English hatred of Native Americans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mark |first=Joshua J. |title=King Philip (Metacom) |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/King_Philip_(Metacom)/ |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref> However, Wamsutta also died shortly thereafter. This led to Metacomet becoming sachem in 1662.

Wamsutta's widow, [[Weetamoo]], female sachem of the [[Pokanoket|Pocasset]], became Metacomet's ally and lifelong friend. He married her younger sister, Wootonekanuske.<ref>Lepore, Jill. ''The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity'', New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998, page 303.</ref> 

Following the defeat of the Native Americans in [[King Philip's War]], Wootonekanuske and their only son were imprisoned. Phillip's only son was sold into slavery in the [[West Indies]].<ref>Lepore, J. (2019). "Chapter 2: Rulers and the Ruled". ''In These truths: A History of the United States''. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.</ref> It is unclear how many other children Metacomet had or what ultimately happened to them, but scholars note that Metacomet only had one son.<ref name="lepore" />

As late as the early 1900s, the Mitchell family of [[Middleboro, Massachusetts]] claimed to be descendants of the famous Wampanoag leader.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Gille |editor-first=Frank H. |date=1998 |title=Encyclopedia of Massachusetts Indians |location=St. Clair Shores, Michigan |publisher=Somerset Publishers, Inc. |page=166 |isbn=0-403-09330-9 |quote=The Namasket, from namaus "fish", aki "land", et "at," was a tribe or band that formerly lived in a village of the same name near present Middleboro, Massachusetts. They were subordinate to the Wampanoag. The village was populous when first known, but the Indians rapidly decreased as white setlements [sic] advanced. In 1794 there were still about 40 members of the tribe. One family, named Mitchell still lived near Middleboro in the early 1900s, and claimed descent from the famous Indian King Philip.}}</ref>

- {{Short description|Elected chief of the Wampanoag Indians}}