William Apes

William Apes (1798-1839) was a Pequot writer, activist, and minister. Born in northwestern Massachusetts, he was raised in a family of mixed Pequot, African, and European descent. On his mother's side, he claimed King Philip--a Wampanoag sahem who was assassinated by Plymouth colonists--as his ancestor. Following their parents' separation, William and his siblings were taken to their maternal grandparents, who abused and neglected them. Soon, they were taken in by local families as indentured servants. At fifteen, he ran away to join a New York militia, serving in the War of 1812, where he developed a lifelong addiction to alcohol. In 1821, having returned to his Pequot family in Massachusetts, Apes married Mary Wood, with whom he had four children. He was ordained a Protestant Methodist minister in 1829, and in the same year published his groundbreaking autobiography A Son of the Forest. Written as a response to the United States government's policy of Indian Removal, A Son of the Forest was one of the first of its kind from a Native American author, earning Apes a reputation as a leading advocate for his people. In the last decade of his life, Apes worked tirelessly as an activist, lecturer, and writer, supporting the 1833 Mashpee Revolt on Cape Cod and delivering a powerful eulogy on King Philip in 1836.