Hezekiah Calvin, letter to Eleazar Wheelock, 1766 August 11

Author Calvin, Hezekiah

Date11 August, 1766

ms number766461.2

abstractCalvin writes about his frustrations with trying to keep a school at Fort Hunter.

handwritingHandwriting is neat, formal and legible.

paperLarge sheet folded in half to make four pages is in good condition. There is a tear near the remnants of the seal which results in no loss of text.

signatureSignatures on both the body of the letter and the postscript are abbreviated.

layoutLetter begins on one verso, not one recto; one recto is the address page. The first page of the letter (one verso) is in portrait orientation; all other pages are in landscape orientation.

noteworthyOn one recto, in the address to the letter, "V.D.M" after Wheelock's name is an abbreviation for "Verbi dei minister" an informal designation for a Christian minister. The "A.B" after "Sir Wheelock" is an abbreviation for "artium baccalaureus," Latin for bachelor of arts.

Modernized Version Deletions removed; additions added in; modern spelling and capitalization added; unfamiliar abbreviations expanded.

Persistent Identifier
Much Honoured Sir,
With great Pleasure and satisfaction I take my Pen in Hand to try to write You a Letter, and thereby to inform you that we arrived at But­lers berry the 11th of July Well and safe, and Mr. Pomeroy and Sir Wheelock arrived the 17th Sir Wheelock went in the Castle to settle a school there, and the Indians were very much Pleased with his Discourse, and liked very well to have a school there and they made fair promises that they would send their Children every Day Steady; and so I entered the Castle 22nd of July in order to open the School, and I told the In­dians that I should have been glad to opened the school on the 23rd but the Indians were very loathe to send their Children, for what reason I know not, I went to the Indians day after Day to get some of their Children to School, but all this signified nothing, the Indians would make excuses that they had work for them to do, so that they could not send them yet, but they would send them Tomorrow, and so on till the 30th I told them I would leave them, that I could not stay with them Doing Nothing and on the Morrow they sent Five Children, and so on 'til Mr Wheelock came from the Upper Castle; And then I related him all what was done, He told the Indians that Mr Kinne would Preach to them on Sunday following Two of the Clock in the afternoon, so the Indians gathered but they could get no In­terpreter, for the Preacher, they got an Interpreter for Sir Wheelock to interpret what he had to say, and so he told them that it was God’s Day that he would have it kept for him etc. at last he told them that he had let them have the benefit of a school master to teach their Children and when he came in the Castle that he ex­pected to find a dozen or fourteen Children in the School all busy with their Books, but at his expectation, he found but Five Children which made his heart ache and the Indians so
unwilling to send their Children “it seems that they wanted no Schooling and then he asked them what should he do, must he take away so great a blessing that was given them or no, but he would fain try them a little longer he would let me stay with them till the’ fall and so he ended. The Indians replied that they would give an Answer Wednesday following, and on Wednesday the Indians met they said they thanked him for his good will in trying to do them a little good but what can we do there are some that do not want schooling and we are mixed some good and some bad they said they had been and sought out as many as wanted to have a school and they said they could send 15 Children to school the greatest part of the time and if Sir Wheelock thought fit to take me away why they could not help it there was as many as were at home, by and by the rest of the Indians would come home and likely they would have a mind to send their Children at School too, they say also that they are going out to hunt and that they must needs take their Children with them that they cant leave their Children alone etc. etc. — — — —
Sir if I have missed any thing or said any thing Wrong I hope your Son will bring it right I cant tell it no straighter. I have now Eighteen scholars which come very Steady, but it is very hard to bring them to I do my best that I can and yet the Indians will complain that I am not severe enough will it do for me to be a thrashing them continually, how oft have I corrected them within a Week sometimes twice or thrice a Day I hate forever to be a whipping, whipping too much wont do, I told them if I was not severe enough they must in consequence
get a Severer one but I hope Sir in time to bring them to by the help of God which I cannot do without, all these means wont do, they are stubborn People sometimes I am ready to give out With these Indians and with the Pains I have, I have a hard head ache certain time in the afternoon which sometimes is so hard that I hardly know that I am about etc. The Indians say that I shall not come home these three years they think that I am their servant and are obliged to keep school for them and yet they wont send their Children It is true I should be glad to keep School here all my Days but all these things makes me faint hearted together my wanting to see my father Mother and relations —
Oh! how glad should I be if I could do but a Little good among these savages, but yet I think Indians will be Indians they will still follow their evil Practices. etc. But Sir I hope you will overlook the many Blunders I have made in my haste and so re­membering my Love to your Family and School
I remain Your Dutiful though unworthy Servant Hezekiah Calvin
P.S. Please Sir to send me up some stockings by David Fowler if it pleases the and a pair of shoes etc. Yours Hezekiah Calvin
August 11th For the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock
Calvin’s Letter August 11th 1766
For the Reverend Mr. Eleazar Wheelock V.D.M. at Lebanon Connecticut Per favour Sir Wheelock A.B.
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