Tashawaylennahan was born around 1690 in
New Jersey and was a translator and guide for the early settlers of New Jersey and
Pennsylvania in the early 18th century. He lived near what is now
Stockertown, Pennsylvania and
Forks Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, north of
Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley, along the
Delaware River. He moved from New Jersey as early as 1733. The Lenape were displaced from their land by the
Walking Purchase, but on 28 April 1738, Tatamy was given by John, Thomas and Richard Penn, the descendants of
William Penn. Worried that he would be displaced from his land, he formally purchased it in 1741 for 48 pounds, 16 shillings, and 5 pence. This made him the first native-born individual to make a formal purchase of land in Pennsylvania. After the Native Americans were forced to leave the Lehigh Valley, Tatamy petitioned the
Pennsylvania Provincial Council for the right to remain on his land. In 1745, Tatamy was the first
Native American baptized by
David Brainerd. He died in 1760 and around 1780, Tatamy's neighbors, Henry and Matthias Stecher, claimed the property, and transferred it to William Allen. Tatamy's widow was listed on the
1790 United States census. ==Land Claim==