Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Mingo is the black servant of Sir William Batten, Samuels neighbor, who enters the diary on three occasions (so far).
Each entry offers a little tempting information to build on. We learn that Mingo is a very trusted servant, on one occasion gets beaten by underpaid sailors while carrying his masters’ cloak. He has enough of a sense of humour to share a joke with Samuel on Valentine’s day 1661. He seems to be good with animals as well: the parrot in the April 10th entry recognises him immediately.
Black servants seem to be kept firstly as an exotic luxury. “At last we made Mingo, Sir W. Batten
Mingo’s origins.
For Professor Rucker’s definition of ‘Mingo’ as a name deriving from the Wolof of Senegambia, with other occurrences amongst the Hausa and Mandika, see the diary annotations for 14th February 1660/61.
‘Domingo’ and its derivatives clearly have nothing to do with the case.
“Having connotations of” is not the same as “Is derived of” , I think ?
See http://ise.uvic.ca/Library/SLTnoframes/society/tavern.html
for the text of a drinking song “Monsieur Mingo”, and you can hear it as well if your computer can handle Real Audio files.
This is from Henry IV, Part Two, and it was published in a collection of drinking songs in 1611;
I suggest the name “Mingo” survived the transition because it was a well known name with a certain connotation, while other black servants that are mentioned for instance are called “Jack”.
Mingo appears to be a name of an Iroquois tribe in Pennsyvania in the 1600’s
[control f Mingo]
” The Mingo ……..
By 1740 there were almost a thousand Mingo living in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio….”
http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~rstephen/livingeaston/local_history/Penn/Penn_family_part_1.html#iii)%20introduction
“…With two exceptions - the Mingo occupation of the upper Ohio Valley and the Caughnawaga migration to the upper St. Lawrence - the Iroquois did not, for the most part, physically occupy this vast area but remained in their upstate New York villages…”
So he may have been North American Indian
no proof except that names usually have some odd connections
Mingo Indians
From Allan Eckert’s “That Dark and Bloody River”-
“The Mingoes were not a tribe but rather a very loose confederation of Indians from a variety of tribes-Senecas, Cayugas, Delawares, Wyandot and even a few Shawnees-who disgruntled with the politics of their individual trbe or simply expatriates …had banded together. Chief Logan(early 18th C.):’We are all warriers and we are all chiefs. Among the tribes to the south, a chief is called a Mingo, so we now call ourselves Mingoes, as we are all chiefs”’.
“…to the south” could connote that the name came from slaves or run-away slaves and thus of African origin.
Mingo In Batten’s Will — Reproduction & Transcript
“These extracts from his will reveal that Batten wanted his ‘servante Mingoe a Negroe’ to become lighthouse keeper upon his death. The servant was also left a legacy of £20 per year for life - a substantial sum of money at the time.”
Reproduction:-
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/work_community/docs/batten_will.htm
Text transcript:-
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/work_community/transcripts/batten_will.htm