Jawhaw, Scipio

Scipio Jawhaw

aka Sip, Jaha, Jawhar

Fitzwilliam, NH

The earliest record of Scipio Jawhaw’s residency in southwest New Hampshire is May 1775.  At the outbreak of the American Revolution, the town of Fitzwilliam held a meeting in order to form a military company. “Sip Jawhar” was included on the list of individuals that the town selectman found ‘destitute’, having no firearm or provisions and, therefore, could not participate in the military action.

References to where Scipio Jawhaw lived at the turn of the 19th century are found in the town's written history written by Joel Whittemore in 1888.  Sip Jawhaw was a neighbor to Samuel Bent who lived in parts of Lots 7 and 8, Range 1 in 1780.  Town legend has it that Jawhaw resided near the south-east corner of town, along a body of water now known as “Sip Pond”.  Whittemore speculated that Sip Jawhaw was formerly enslaved and had married a woman from the Hassanamisco tribe in Massachusetts. Sip Pond was also referred to as Squaw Pond by residents over the years.

Jawhaw was described as an expert fisherman in the town of Fitzwilliam, often fishing pickerel in the pond.  On May 19, 1780, Scipio Jawhaw and three of his neighbors were out fishing in the morning when the skies suddenly went dark and the men had to return home.  This day is famous as a dark day in New England history, caused by large forest fires in Canada.  

Jawhaw and his wife may have lived in the Fitzwilliam region from the 1770s-1810s. Primary sources related to the couple have not been recovered, as of 2024.  A final story outlined in local lore describes an event in 1850 where local resident John Waite was digging a cellar hole and came upon two bodies buried with Nipmuck artifacts. Local residents believed it was Jawhaw and his wife.

SOURCE MATERIALS

Cordette, Robert. “Notes on Sip Jawhaw.” Fitzwilliam Historical Society, unpublished notes, 2021. Historical Society of Cheshire County, Recovering Black History Project files.

Whittemore, B.B. History of the Town of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, 1752-1887, p.271- Archives.org