top of page

Kecaton, Kiketan, Kikotan, Kicotan, Kicatan, Kicaton

The Kecoughtan, a native nation who lived in Virginia prior to the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia. 
Opitchapam and his wife, Opechanough Kikotan, were born about 1524 to 1644. 

 

​

Opechancanough.jpg

ALGONQUIN DIALECT

​

​Yes and no... I can confirm what you've probably already learned, that "Kicotan" or "Kiketan" was given as the name of a tribal community and/or place name in colonial records. (The spelling variation was normal for that time period-- English didn't even have standardized spelling itself in those days, with a name like "Smith" being variously spelled "Smithe," "Smyth," etc.)
 
I can also add that surnames were not traditional in any of the tribes of Virginia, so it would have been very plausible for a Native American of Virginia to take his band name or a place name for a surname.
 
What I can't do, though, is confirm what language it comes from or what it means. The Virginia Algonquian language has not been spoken natively for centuries, and few records remain of it; there is even less material remaining from the Virginia Siouan language, so it's hard to guess which language a word like that originated from. Additionally, though the Virginia Algonquian language was indeed related to living Algonquian languages like Ojibwe and Cree which are spoken by our volunteers, the relationship is very distant== perhaps similar to how English and Russian are related languages, but most English speakers still cannot recognize more than a word or two of Russian.
 
I do have an old dictionary of the Powhatan language. Although there is no mention of this tribe or place name, there are a few dictionary entries which generally resemble the name: Kekutten, listed as meaning "to say," and Kecuttannowas, listed as meaning "lightning." However, it would be a long shot to guess that the tribe was named after the verb "to say" or part of the word for "lightning." More likely it was a place name that was never recorded in this rather small dictionary.

By Laura Redish
Native Languages of the Americas

Austin Tann photo

Austin Tann

The Tann family is discovered living in Ohio, Indiana, and Ohio during the 17th Century. 

​

Anthony Tann, born 1743, in Virginia, son of Anthony and Susannah (Jefferies) Tann. Anthony Tann married Margaret (Peggy) SWEAT


Their children were:

​

  • Jacob Tann born in 1760

  • Barney Tann 1790 (?)

  • Austin Tann born in 1790 (?)

  • William Tann born in 1794

  • Polly Tann born 1797

  • Charlotte Tann born 1799

  • George Tann born 1820. 

bottom of page