Tom Nepanet

{{Short description|Christian Nipmuc who took part in King Philip's War}}

'''Tom Nepanet''' (fl. 1676), also known as '''Tom Doublet''', was a Christian Nipmuc who took part in King Philip's War. In April 1676, he began working as an emissary between Nipmuc leadership and Massachusetts colonists.<ref name="ency">{{cite book |last1=Ricky |first1=Donald |title=Encyclopedia of Massachusetts Indians |date=1 January 1998 |publisher=Somerset Publishers, Inc. |isbn=978-0-403-09330-4 |pages=170–171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U9pZQLEDiZYC |access-date=4 September 2023 |language=en |archive-date=5 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905020625/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_Massachusetts_Indians/U9pZQLEDiZYC |url-status=live }}</ref>

Nepanet was imprisoned on Deer Island, but was respected as an interpreter for the English.<ref name="fw">{{cite web |title=Wunnuhhew (Sarah Doublet) |url=https://freedomsway.org/story/wunnuhhew-sarah-doublet/ |website=Freedom's Way National Heritage Area |access-date=5 September 2023 |archive-date=5 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905020612/https://freedomsway.org/story/wunnuhhew-sarah-doublet/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Council of Massachusetts, urged by Daniel Gookin and the family of Mary Rowlandson, sent Nepanet with a letter to King Philip and Sagamore Sam to negotiate the freedom of captives.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ellis |first1=George |last2=Morris |first2=John |title=King Philip's War |date=1906 |publisher=Grafton Press |location=New York |pages=215–216 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/_Topics/history/_Texts/EAMKPW/13*.html |access-date=4 September 2023}}</ref> By May, many of the captives had been released.<ref name="fw" /> That month, Nepanet assisted Captain Daniel Henchman with an ambush outside of Lancaster, Massachusetts.<ref name="ency" />

Nepanet married Wunnuhhew, known as Sarah Doublet. He was her third husband. After their release, the two returned to Nashoba. Wunnuhhew outlived Nepanet.<ref name="fw"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Nepanet, Tom}} Category:17th-century Native American people Category:Nipmuc people Category:People from colonial Massachusetts Category:Native American people from Massachusetts Category:People from Littleton, Massachusetts