ACTIVIST
Solomon Attaquin
Independent from the start, Solomon Attaquin, son Sarah (Sally) Jones and Ezra Attaquin, served as a cook on fishing voyages at age 12 and became a whaler at age 14. (1) As a whaler, Attaquin traveled the world, including seeing Europe, the West Indies, and South America. In his late twenties, Attaquin used his and partners' funds to purchase his own ships and become a coastal trader, moving goods and passengers between the Cape and Nantucket. (2)
Attaquin was politically active throughout his life. He was a prominent participant in the 1833 “Mashpee Revolt '' and served as one of the first Mashpee selectmen when it became a self-governing district. He also, over the years, held the roles of District Clerk, postmaster, tax collector, fish warden, parish moderator and would travel to Boston to meet legislators and present petitions. (3) Attaquin had many connections in Boston and maintained a correspondence with John Milton Earle, an early Anti-Slavery activist who served as the Massachusetts Commissioner on Indian Affairs. (2) Attaquin’s family was also politically involved, with his wife Cynthia Conant (Conet) Attaquin, who he married in 1836, and his father, Ezra Attaquin, prominent petition signers engaged in social and political matters. (4)(5)
In 1840, Attaquin retired from the water and opened up the Attaquin Hotel in Northern Mashpee. Widely known and respected, the hotel hosted many high-profile guests including Daniel Webster, Henry David Thoreau, and President Grover Cleveland who were attracted to Mashpee’s pristine fishing and Attaquin’s knowledgeable hospitality. (6)
1. Past Leaders. Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/past-leaders
2. Handsman, Russell G.; Grover, Kathryn; Warren, Donald. New Bedford Communities of Whaling: People of Wampanoag, African, and Portuguese Island Descent, 1825-1925. New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Special Ethnographic Report. 2021
3. Approved by Cason, E. James. “Summary under the Criteria for the Proposed Finding on the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.” US Department of the Interior, Office of Federal Acknowledgement. 2006
4. Attaquin, Ezra, 1786 - 1876. Native Northeast Portal. (https://nativenortheastportal.com/bio/bibliography/attaquin-ezra-1786-1876)
5. Conet, Cynthia, 1814 - 1901. Native Northeast Portal.
(https://nativenortheastportal.com/bio/bibliography/conet-cynthia-1814)
6. Tavares, Joan. “Memories of the Hotel Attaquin.” Tales From Granny Squannit. Cape Cod News. March 27, 2020 (https://www.capenews.net/mashpee/columns/memories-of-the-hotel-attaquin/article_fa441440-b1dd-57cc-9d84-d995519a6e5b.html)
