David Fowler, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1766 January 21
21 January 1766[1766-01-21]
ms number766121.2
[note (type: abstract): David Fowler writes of the progress of his Indian school, the present religious state of the Indians and their want of a minister, news of Kirtland, and personal matters.][note (type: handwriting): Handwriting is clear and legible, though letter case is occasionally difficult to decipher.][note (type: paper): Large sheet folded in half to make four pages is in good-to-fair condition, with moderate creasing, staining and wear. The central vertical and horizontal folds are silked. There are significant remnants of the seal.][note (type: ink): Black-brown.][note (type: noteworthy): The identity of "Joseph" (identified simply as "Joseph") is uncertain; it is likely either Joseph Johnson or Joseph Brant. The letter mentions Joseph Woolley (identified simply as "Woolley"); however, at this time, apparently unknown to Fowler, Woolley is dead. On one recto, in the second paragraph, the identity of the Indians to whom Fowler refers is uncertain; Fowler's mission was in an Onedia town, but Chamberlain's mission was in a Mohawk town. In the last paragraph on two recto, it is uncertain to whom "Master" refers, and so he has been left untagged. Some contents of the letter are similar to those of 765365. There are two trailers; one is in Wheelock's hand, the other uncertain, although it could be Wheelock's. There are sums on two verso in an unknown hand; these have not been transcribed.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): Aa]Aa After
much [Warry | worry]Warryworry and Fatigue about my
[Houſe | house]Houſehouse and Journeys after [alſo | also]alſoalso hungry Belly I began to keep my School
[ſteadily | steadily]ſteadilysteadily
[ſometime | sometime]ſometimesometime in November[1766-11]. My Scholars learn very well: I
find it is [impoſſible | impossible]impoſſibleimpossible to keep the Children [ſteadily | steadily]ſteadilysteadily to School. [illegible] Men labour and work as [Engliſh | English]EngliſhEnglish do: They are lazy and inh[illegible]u- man pack of Creatures as I ever [ſaw | saw]ſawsaw. in the World; They have [ſeen | seen]ſeenseen me working and [tuging | tugging]tugingtugging Day after Day and never [offerd | offered]offerdoffered to help me in the [leaſt | least]leaſtleast thing I had ^[above] to do^to do in my [Houſe | house]Houſehouse only [finiſhd | finished]finiſhdfinished covering it and [illegible] left me. I was [oblig'd | obliged]oblig'dobliged
^[above] to^to eat with Dogs near two Months & I
[ſay | say]ſaysay with Dogs because they are [allways | always]allwaysalways licking Water out [off | of]offof the Pails and Kettles we [uſe | use]uſeuse: Now I live like a Gentleman, I have a
[planly | plenty]planlyplenty of Corn, Flour, Meat, and rotten [Fiſh | fish]Fiſhfish.— I applied to
Sir William[pers0292.ocp] for [Proviſion | provision]Proviſionprovision; accordingly, he order the [Commading | commanding]Commadingcommanding Officer at the Royal Block [Houſe | House]HouſeHouse[place0198.ocp] to give me out [Priviſion | provision]Priviſionprovision as long as I [ſhould | should]ſhouldshould want.
I am exceeding [ſorry | sorry]ſorrysorry as well as my poor Friends that
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Chamberlain[pers0009.ocp] does not return ^[above] to^to us this
Winter.— The In- di[illegible]ans
cannot conceive what [care | can]carecan be the [Reaſon | reason]Reaſonreason why he don't return. But I told them three [Reaſon | reason]Reaſonreason, why he dont, return: and af-ter they heard them they were [eaſy | easy]eaſyeasy.
I never [ſaw | saw]ſawsaw
[ſuch | such]ſuchsuch general [Dispoſition | disposition]Dispoſitiondisposition of hearing the Word of God [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst these poor People as I do now: [moſt | most]moſtmost every one of the Adults of this Place, have openly [renouc'd | renounced]renouc'drenounced their Liquor, and [ſaid | said]ſaidsaid that they will devote [themſelves | themselves]themſelvesthemselves in hearing the Word of God. Now is the Time for [Miniſters | ministers]Miniſtersministers to come up [whilſt | whilst]whilſtwhilst they are in [ſuch | such]ſuchsuch
[Diſpoſition | disposition]Diſpoſitiondisposition.— O for a [Mini ſter | minister]Mini ſterminister
[whoſe | whose]whoſewhose Heart is full of Love to God and [Compaſſion | compassion]Compaſſioncompassion to poor Sinners, one who is [meak | meek]meakmeek and lowly and crafty in [wining | winning]winingwinning
Souls to [Chriſt | Christ]ChriſtChrist. who has a real [Sence | sense]Sencesense and worth of Immortal Souls would greatly weaken the [ſtrong | strong]ſtrongstrong Holds of Satan in this Place. — Dear Sir, do all that is in your
Power to get up a [Miniſter | minister]Miniſterminister early in the Spring. for the poor Creatures are [rearly | [guess (h-dawnd): rarely]rarely]rearly[guess (h-dawnd): rarely]rarely
[deſirous | desirous]deſirousdesirous to hear the Word of God, we have no [Mini ſter | minister]Mini ſterminister and yet we have a full [Aſſembly | assembly]Aſſemblyassembly every Sabbath. I have nothing New to acquaint you; I [enjoyy | enjoy]enjoyyenjoy a good [ſtate | state]ſtatestate of Health and am contented.
I cant come down [till | 'til]till'til
[ſome | some]ſomesome of [ye | the]yethe Scholars come up and take my School. If Jacob[pers0018.ocp] is to come up; do let him take a School near me [ſo | so]ſoso
[illegible] that I may take care of him. — I want all my
[Cloaths | clothes]Cloathsclothes in [readineſs | readiness]readineſsreadiness, for I [ſhall | shall]ſhallshall be in a very ^[above] great^great
[Haſt | haste]Haſthaste when I do come. I determine to [ſee | see]ſeesee my poor Parents before I re turn; for I [ſerv'd | served]ſerv'dserved them [baſely | basely]baſelybasely
[laſt | last]laſtlast Fall. If they [ſuffer | suffer]ſuffersuffer I cant tell how I can come up. Joseph [dertermines | determines]derterminesdetermines to come down and pay you [Viſit | visit]Viſitvisit
[alſo | also]alſoalso
Thomas[pers0643.ocp] who has done me more Service than all
the Town[place0114.ocp]. He tells me; that he
[deſigns | designs]deſignsdesigns to go down with me and [ſet | set]ſetset
my Rib[pers0742.ocp] on his [Horſe | horse]Horſehorse and he will come up with own ^[above] his^his
[Horſes | horses]Horſeshorses or Legs, that, is if I [ſhall | shall]ſhallshall find one. I [rejoi[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): c]c | rejoice]rejoi[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): c]crejoice greatly because I could
^[left] not^not
^[above] no^no get one [laſt | last]laſtlast Year. [eſpicially | especially]eſpiciallyespecially for [Wooley | Woolley]WooleyWoolley[pers0041.ocp]. I hear he has no [Houſe | house]Houſehouse.
I [Juſt | just]Juſtjust now heard of [Mr | Mr.]MrMr.
[Kirtland | Kirkland]KirtlandKirkland[pers0315.ocp] he is poor [forgſaken | forsaken]forgſakenforsaken Man. The Indians[org0088.ocp] have drove him out
[off | of]offof their [Houſes | houses]Houſeshouses and now he lives in a poor House [illegible] in
the Woods my Friends cant conceive what he keeps them for: the Indians[org0088.ocp] dont want him there; for they all
[hat | hate]hathate him. It [ſeems | seems]ſeemsseems to me by what [Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Gray[pers0230.ocp] has w[illegible]rote to him
that he is [uneaſy | uneasy]uneaſyuneasy. fo
Capt [Buller | Butler]BullerButler[pers0277.ocp]
cre-
[ceivd | ceived]ceivdceived
^[above] a Letter^a Letter from him [whilſt | whilst]whilſtwhilst I was at his [Houſe | house]Houſehouse. and [immediatly | immediately]immediatlyimmediately
[ask'd | asked]ask'dasked me how many Letters I [illegible] brought for
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr.
[Kirtland | Kirkland]KirtlandKirkland[pers0315.ocp] I tol[illegible]d him one. [&c | etc.]&cetc. Tell [y.r | your]y.ryour
[oldeſt | oldest]oldeſtoldest Boy who went ^[above] down^down the [laſt | last]laſtlast that ^[above] went down^went down both his Parents left
off [geting | getting]getinggetting driunk.
I forgot to tell you what [ſort | sort]ſortsort of Cloth I would have for my [Cloaths | clothes]Cloathsclothes. ^[above] I want blue Broad Cloth [illegible] and that which is good.^I want blue Broad Cloth [illegible] and that which is good. Give my kind Regards to Madam[pers0577.ocp],
[alſo | also]alſoalso to Sir Wheelock[pers0578.ocp], and [Maſter | Master]MaſterMaster. and Love to the [reſt | rest]reſtrest of the Family [alſo | also]alſoalso to all the Scholars. — That the Lord would prolong your worthy [Live | life]Livelife, and make you a rich [Bleſsing | blessing]Bleſsingblessing in the World, [alſo | also]alſoalso an [Inſtrument | instrument]Inſtrumentinstrument of [ſpreading | spreading]ſpreadingspreading the Gospel
[amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst the poor Heathen in this Continent and after we[gap: hole][guess (h-dawnd): ll]ll
[ſpent | spent]ſpentspent Livfe here receive [your | you]youryou in the [Manſions | mansions]Manſionsmansions Joy and there to [ſhine | shine]ſhineshine as the Stars in the Firmament forever and ever is the [Deſire | desire]Deſiredesire and Prayer.
[Closer]
[Revd | Rev.]RevdRev. Sir, Of your [affecionte | affectionate]affecionteaffectionate and obedient Servant
David
Fowler[pers0155.ocp]
[Postscript]
[Trailer]
[Lettr | Letter]LettrLetter from [D. | David]D.David Fowler[pers0155.ocp]
[Jan.y | January]Jan.yJanuary 1766[1766-01]. —
[Receeved | Received]ReceevedReceived
March 26. 1766[1766-03-26].
To — The [Rev.d | Rev.]Rev.dRev.
[M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Eleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp] in
Connecticut[place0048.ocp]
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0292.ocp | Sir William | mentioned | Johnson, William |
pers0009.ocp | M r Mr. Chamberlain | mentioned | Chamberlain, Theophilus |
pers0018.ocp | Jacob | mentioned | Fowler, Jacob |
pers0643.ocp | Thomas | mentioned | Thomas |
pers0742.ocp | my Rib | mentioned | Fowler, Hannah (née Garrett) |
pers0041.ocp | Wooley Woolley | mentioned | Woolley, Joseph |
pers0315.ocp | M r Mr. Kirtland Kirkland | mentioned | Kirkland, Samuel |
pers0230.ocp | M r Mr. Gray | mentioned | Gray, Samuel |
pers0277.ocp | Capt Buller Butler | mentioned | Butler, John |
pers0315.ocp | M r Mr. Kirtland Kirkland | mentioned | Kirkland, Samuel |
pers0577.ocp | Madam | mentioned | Wheelock, Mary (née Brinsmead) |
pers0578.ocp | Sir Wheelock | mentioned | Wheelock, Rodulphus |
pers0155.ocp | David Fowler | writer | Fowler, David |
pers0155.ocp | D. David Fowler | writer | Fowler, David |
pers0036.ocp | M. r Mr. Eleazar Wheelock | recipient | Wheelock, Eleazar |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0114.ocp | Canawarohare Kanawalohale | Kanawalohale |
place0198.ocp | Royal Block Houſe House | Royal Block House |
place0114.ocp | Town | Kanawalohale |
place0048.ocp | Connecticut | Connecticut |
Organizations identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
org0088.ocp | Indians | Seneca Nation |
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1766-01-21 | JanryJanuary 21 1766 |
1766-11 | November |
1766-01 | Jan.yJanuary 1766 |
1766-03-26 | March 26. 1766 |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
variation | Canawarohare | Kanawalohale |
modernization | Rev.d | Rev. |
variation | Warry | worry |
modernization | Houſe | house |
modernization | alſo | also |
modernization | ſteadily | steadily |
modernization | ſometime | sometime |
modernization | impoſſible | impossible |
modernization | Engliſh | English |
modernization | ſaw | saw |
modernization | ſeen | seen |
variation | tuging | tugging |
variation | offerd | offered |
modernization | leaſt | least |
variation | finiſhd | finished |
modernization | ſay | say |
variation | allways | always |
variation | off | of |
modernization | uſe | use |
variation | planly | plenty |
modernization | Fiſh | fish |
modernization | Proviſion | provision |
variation | Commading | commanding |
modernization | Houſe | House |
variation | Priviſion | provision |
modernization | ſhould | should |
modernization | ſorry | sorry |
modernization | Mr | Mr. |
modernization | Reaſon | reason |
modernization | eaſy | easy |
modernization | ſuch | such |
modernization | Dispoſition | disposition |
modernization | amongſt | amongst |
modernization | moſt | most |
modernization | ſaid | said |
modernization | themſelves | themselves |
modernization | Miniſters | ministers |
modernization | whilſt | whilst |
modernization | Diſpoſition | disposition |
modernization | Mini ſter | minister |
modernization | whoſe | whose |
modernization | Compaſſion | compassion |
variation | meak | meek |
variation | wining | winning |
modernization | Chriſt | Christ |
variation | Sence | sense |
modernization | ſtrong | strong |
modernization | Miniſter | minister |
variation | rearly | [guess (h-dawnd): rarely]rarely |
modernization | deſirous | desirous |
modernization | Aſſembly | assembly |
variation | enjoyy | enjoy |
modernization | ſtate | state |
variation | till | 'til |
modernization | ſome | some |
modernization | ye | the |
modernization | ſo | so |
variation | Cloaths | clothes |
modernization | readineſs | readiness |
modernization | ſhall | shall |
variation | Haſt | haste |
modernization | ſee | see |
modernization | baſely | basely |
modernization | laſt | last |
modernization | ſuffer | suffer |
variation | dertermines | determines |
modernization | Viſit | visit |
modernization | deſigns | designs |
modernization | ſet | set |
modernization | Horſe | horse |
modernization | Horſes | horses |
variation | rejoi[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): c]c | rejoice |
variation | eſpicially | especially |
variation | Wooley | Woolley |
modernization | Juſt | just |
variation | Kirtland | Kirkland |
modernization | forgſaken | forsaken |
modernization | Houſes | houses |
variation | hat | hate |
modernization | ſeems | seems |
modernization | uneaſy | uneasy |
variation | Buller | Butler |
variation | ceivd | ceived |
variation | immediatly | immediately |
modernization | &c | etc. |
modernization | oldeſt | oldest |
variation | geting | getting |
modernization | ſort | sort |
modernization | Maſter | Master |
modernization | reſt | rest |
modernization | Bleſsing | blessing |
modernization | Inſtrument | instrument |
modernization | ſpreading | spreading |
modernization | ſpent | spent |
modernization | Manſions | mansions |
modernization | ſhine | shine |
modernization | Deſire | desire |
modernization | Revd | Rev. |
variation | affecionte | affectionate |
variation | bigeſt | biggest |
modernization | Darkneſs | darkness |
variation | Receeved | Received |
modernization | M.r | Mr. |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
Janry | January |
Hon.d | Honoured |
oblig'd | obliged |
renouc'd | renounced |
ſerv'd | served |
ask'd | asked |
y.r | your |
Lettr | Letter |
D. | David |
Jan.y | January |
This document's header does not contain any mixed case attribute values.
Summary of errors found in this document:
Number of dates with invalid 'when' attributes: | 0 |
Number of nested "hi" tags: (consider merging the @rend attributes, or using other tags) | 0 |
Number of tags with invalid 'rend' attributes: | 0 (out of 21) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 21) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 12) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 129) |