Debedeavon
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A stone monument can be found on the Historic Court Green in Eastville honoring the "Laughing King."
Location: Historic Court Green 16404 Courthouse Rd. Eastville, VA 23347
Inscription:
Debdeavon
"Laughing King of Accomacke
Emperor of the Easterne Shoare
King of the Great Nussawattocks"
A gallant warrior and a loyal friend to the early settlers of the Eastern Shore.
His timely warning to the colonists of an intended uprising in 1621, saved them from annihilation in the massacre of 1622.
Erected 1938 by Association for the Preservation of VA Antiquities.
The following excerpt is from the Northampton250 REVOLUTIONARY SHORE! A Self-Guided Driving Tour of Northampton County, Virginia which can be found on this website.
"In the early 1620's, the Accawmacke chief, known to the English as "Laughing King" because he was so friendly, willingly gave a large tract to ensign Thomas Savage. Part of those 9,000 acres are still known as Savage Neck, named after the English immigrant rather than after the Native Americans.
Savage had emigrated to Virginia in 1608, and John Smith sent him to live with Powhatan in 1609. He fled Werowocomoco to shelter among the Potowomeke, and became a valued interpreter for both English and Algonquian-speaking tribes seeking to trade with each other. Savage became friends with the Occohannocks and Accawmackes on the Eastern Shore when he assisted in trading expeditions starting in 1621.
The Accawmacke "Laughing King" allowed the Virginia Company to occupy lands on the Eastern Shore, including a salt-making operation. In 1621, the Accawmackes refused to assist Powhatan’s brother, Opechancanough, in his plans for a violent uprising against the colonists. Opechancanough was unable to convince them to supply a poison that could be made from the water hemlock plant, which was abundant on the Eastern Shore. Because of the Accawmacke’s resistance to follow the directions of the Powhatan Chief, many Western Shore colonial settlers’ lives were saved."