The first inhabitants of New Jersey were various Native Americans, or Indian, tribes. We don't have a lot of history on them. Most of them passed history to younger generations by story telling or kept records in a fashion early European settlers didn't understand. When the early Europeans settled most Native Americans conformed to the settlements, or died from hardship. Early Europeans brought new germs the Native Americans were never exposed too and the germs spread through them like plagues. Many died in battle or relocation to indian reservations with harsher living conditions. The Lenni-Lenape were the dominant tribe in most of New Jersey at a guesstimate population of 3000. Most of what is left are towns and streets with Lenni-Lenape names such as Communipaw, Crosswicks, Hackensack, Hoboken, Ho-Ho-Kus, Passaic, Pompton, Rahway, Secaucus, Succasunna and Watchung, to name only a few. The word Lenni means pure or original, and the word Lenape means people; it is believed they branched from the Algonquin tribes further west. Another known tribe inhabiting the area was the Powhatan Renape. Manhattan Island is named for the Man-A-Hatt-A tribe that traded it to the Dutch in the 1600's for approximately $24 worth of goods. Most of the practicing Native Americans were removed from the state by the early 1800's; in 1832 the State of New Jersey appropriated $2000 to extinguish the right, title and interest the Lenni Lenape held against them.
