I was asked a question today I could not answer definitively even after a bit of looking - and boy is that annoying. So I turn to the teeming.
Was the Shenandoah Valley named for a chief of either the Onandoga or Oneida Nation after he came to the aid of the the Continental Army during the American Revolution or is this just a tale?
Well, according to Shenandoah County itself, the county was renamed Shenandoah County in 1778, but not for a chief, but an entire tribe, and not because of helping the colonials, but ut because they were the locals:
On the other hand I found another vote for the version I heard:
“Joanne Shenandoah… is a Wolf Clan member of the Iroquois Confederacy - Oneida Nation. She is as direct descendant of the legendary Chief Shenandoah, for whom the Shenandoah Valley was named.” ((http://www.powhatan.org/artists.html))
I don’t think anyone can actually be decended from a legend, sam, you actually have to have an honest to goodness person in order to get a line of descendants. It’s a physical thing.
That being said,
"The Shenandoah Valley and the Shenandoah River are located in Virginia. There is disagreement among historians concerning the origins of their names. Some claim that the river and valley were named in the 1750’s by the Cherokee as a friendly tribute to a visiting Iroquois Chief named Skenandoah. Others suggest that the region was named not by the Cherokee, but by the Senedo Indians of Virginia Valley. In the Senedo tradition, Shenandoah means “Daughter of the Moon,” and bears no relation to the Iroquois Chief Skenandoah. "
Well, you’ve certainly reconstructed the debate well; here are the issues placed in direct contrast:
The evidence that the original Shenandoah (or Skenandoah) did anything for General Washington is thin, but sites like this one credit it, and give some background information that can be checked out.
But this site indicates that if you dig deep enough, no one really knows. The implication I see is that the valley has always been called Shenanadoah; the county of Shenandoah was renamed from Dunmore because the Governor (Lord Dunmore) it was named after was too loyalist.