Joseph Fish, letter, to Nathaniel Whitaker, 1766 July 30
Date30 July, 1766
Call Number766430
abstractFish writes to Whitaker about his mission to the Narragansetts, and about the visit he and his wife made to Mrs. Whitaker.
handwritingHandwriting is formal and clear, yet it has been dimmed by preservation work. The trailer appears to be in Whitaker's hand.
paperLarge sheet folded in half to make four pages has been heavily reinforced, which makes it difficult to gauge the condition of the paper. It appears to be in poor condition, with heavy staining, creasing and wear that results in some loss of text.
inkBrown ink is faded, and dimmed by the reinforcement.
noteworthyAn unknown editor has written the letter X in spots on the document. These edits have not been included in the transcription.
signatureFish signs the document three times: once in full, twice with initials.
EventsFundraising Tour of Great Britain
Revd & Dear
Sir,
Lieſure hour or two, for free Converſation [gap: hole][guess: wh] you, before you Em
‐barked for England. your Departure & important Deſign, lay wi[gap: tear][guess: th]
Weight upon my Mind, as it has done ever Since. And it was m[gap: tear][guess: y]
fixed purpoſe to let you know my special Regard & Concern
for you & Cauſe, by earlier writing: but have been so p[gap: worn_edge][guess: er]
‐petually crowded with Buſineſs, chiefly of a public nature;
that I cant say I have
when Oppty preſented, till now I snatch a few minutes
for that purpoſe.
The Situation of the Indn Charity School, Doings of .y.e
Board, Miſsions &c: I leave to the hands that are employd
in thoſe public affairs; which, conclude, you will here‐
with, have full Acc.t of.— Only Obſerve, That the day of
the Dear & excillent Mr Kirtlands Ordination, appeard
to me very glorious, promiſing great & good events. — Can[gap: tear][guess: t]
but hope the Iſsue will be, The Advancement of the Re‐
deemers Kingdom. —
While Such important Steps are taken, to carry the
Gospel among the Savages, of far distant Tribes, it may,
perhaps afford you & Friends; some additional Pleaſure,
to hear that Learning & Religion are hopefully, reviving, a‐
mong some of y.e Indians near at hand
Beſides the Indian School & Lectures, among y.e Indns
of my own Pariſh, which I've had ye Care of for Many years,
At the earnest Request of the Honle Commiſrs Boston,
I have for nine months Past, been much engagd for y.e
Indians of King Ninnegretts Tribe, in Charlestown Rhode‐
‐Island; where there are above Seventy Indian Families &
more than Three hundred Souls, pretty much in a Body
together.— Authorizd as above, I appointed them an
Engliſh Schoolmaster, of good Capacity & well dispoſd, for
up a Commod.s Schoolhouſe, in which, (tho' unfiniſhd,)
the Master lives & the School is Steadily kept. He had, laſt
winter, (in a private houſe,) above Fourſcore Indn Schollars
in a day, and about 120 that came to y.ethe School, at times,
and their Proficiency at Reading & Writing was very conſi
‐derable. That Laſt being chiefly calld off to Buſineſs, this
Summer, he has, of a Smaler Claſs, about Thirty that
generally attend his School & y.e number is increaſing.
I Viſit & Preach to them about once a month —
Have a Conſiderable Aſsembly of Serious, Attentive In‐
dian Hearers, who profeſs Satisfaction, beyound my Thought.
For they have had Religion Among them theſe Twenty
years, & an Indn Ordaind Minister, for a number of years:
but they are all of the Seperate Stamp,— Very Ignorant:
scarce any of them able to read a word,— unhappily leaven'd with,
yea full of Falſe Religion, — tenacious of their wild Imaginations
& Viſionary things, (which they cannot bear to hear touchd,
though they'll readily hear y.e Opoſite Truths,) And, till now,
Set against, at leaſt, mortally afraid of y.e Standing Ministers.—
So that I must think my self highly Favourd, by y.e Respect
they Shew to my Perſon & Regard for my Labours among ym.
Am in hopes they will, by little & little, come off from their
wild notions, and have a reliſh for nothing but Truth.
Oh that I may have no other View but their best good,
and the Redeemers Intrest. —
I have been much in Journeying, Since you left us.
Laſt Week, returning, with my Wife, from Viſiting our Childn
New Haven, we Spent an hour at your Houſe, Chelſea. And
had the Pleaſure of Dining & Converſing with your Dear
Wife: It afforded us real Satisfaction, to See Mrs Whitaker,
with her Little ones all about her, [illegible] not only in ⅌fect
Health, but more especially, to find her Chearfull, Sociable
& entertaining, (as uſual,) — Evidence that She has happily
She Seems really to enjoy her Self as well as your Abſence can
admit, — your very deſirable Children appear with that
Decorum y.t be[illegible][guess: comes] a well orderd Family. Tis rare to See So
fine, So lovely a Child, as that of yours, wh you never Saw.
Mr Woodward, (till now unknown to me,) appears to be Sui‐
tably attentive to y.e good of the Family. — I thought him
quite an agreable, Obliging young Gentn. — On y.e Whole,
was well pleaſd with the Oeconomy of your Houſe.—
May you, in due Seaſon, return Succeſsfull, and happ[gap: tear][guess: ily]
find your Tabernacle in peace. —
My Time is Out— Have only to wish you much [gap: tear][guess: of]
the Divine Preſence, The Smils of Heaven on your Im‐
portant undertaking,— The Hearts & Hands of all
Britain for newfull Supplys.— That you may, in all res‐
pects, conduct with y.e utmost prudence & Fidelity, — Be
kept unſpotted from y.e Vanities of y.e World, And return
to us richly laden with the Vertues, the Rarities of our
mother Country, And am, Dr Sir,
Joseph Fiſh
Mr Occum — am really glad
to hear y.t he Stands firm, — be‐
haves so well, & meets with so
much Respect. — The Lord keep
him from Pride, Self-Exaltation,
and the Vices of y.e Place & Times.—
yrs & his J. F.—
or Europe, except the Revd Mr Whitefield: Am very glad & thank‐
full that he takes proper Notice of you, & So much befriends the
Cauſe. Let my k[gap: tear] Love & Service be acceptable to him. J. F.—