Solomon Williams, letter, to Secretary Willard, 1751 July 24
24 July 1751[1751-07-24]
ms number751424
[note (type: abstract): Williams writes to relate the circumstances regarding Occom's school at Montauk, and the uncertainty of his future there.][note (type: handwriting): Handwriting is is loose, informal and frequently difficult to decipher. There are several abbreviations, deletions, and additions.][note (type: paper): Single sheet in good-to-fair condition with moderate creasing, staining and wear.][note (type: ink): Ink is mostly brown-black, although a note is added to the bottom of one verso in darker ink.][note (type: noteworthy): The text added to the bottom of one verso appears to be meant as addition to the text of the letter; however, the difficulty of deciphering Williams's hand renders it uncertain as to where the text belongs.][note (type: signature): Initials only.]EventsOccom leaves his studies
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
[Honourd | Honoured]HonourdHonoured Sir
When I was At [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston[place0013.ocp]
^[above] [ye | the]yethe
[laſt | last]laſtlast Fall^[ye | the]yethe
[laſt | last]laſtlast Fall I informed [ Mr | Mr.] MrMr. Oliver[pers0031.ocp]
[& | and]&and the [Revd | Rev.]RevdRev.
[Dr | Dr.]DrDr. Sewal[pers0472.ocp] of [ye | the]yethe
[Circumſtances | circumstances]Circumſtancescircumstances of [Samſon | Samson]SamſonSamson Occom[pers0030.ocp] an Indian youth Educated principally at the Charge
of the [Honbl | Honourable]HonblHonourable
[Commiſsioners | Commissioners]CommiſsionersCommissioners[org0095.ocp] whom they had been [pleaſed | pleased]pleaſedpleased to [Deſire | desire]Deſiredesire me to direct [ſince | since]ſincesince his Incapacity to [purſue | pursue]purſuepursue his [ſtudies | studies]ſtudiesstudies any farther By [Reaſon | reason]Reaſonreason of the [weakneſs | weakness]weakneſsweakness of his [Eies | eyes]Eieseyes. ^[above] [illegible] Accordingly I [illegible] directed to keep an [Indn | Indian]IndnIndian Scholol at Montauk[place0144.ocp]^[illegible] Accordingly I [illegible] directed to keep an [Indn | Indian]IndnIndian Scholol at Montauk[place0144.ocp]. [Dr | Dr.]DrDr.
Sewal[pers0472.ocp] told me he [Spuppoſed | supposed]Spuppoſedsupposed
the [Commiſsioners | Commissioners]CommiſsionersCommissioners[org0095.ocp]
[wd | would]wdwould allow him a Proper [Sallery | salary]Sallerysalary
for teaching School He was with Me Early in the Spring, [& | and]&and
[Informd | informed]Informdinformed
Me that he had not [Recd | received]Recdreceived anything, [& | and]&and that
[ Mr | Mr.] MrMr. Maltbie[pers0352.ocp] by direction from the ^[above] [Revd | Rev.]RevdRev.
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Burr[pers0108.ocp]^[Revd | Rev.]RevdRev.
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Burr[pers0108.ocp] had wrote to him to Come to New York[place0166.ocp]
^[above] in order [illegible][guess (ivys): to
his]to
his going^in order [illegible][guess (ivys): to
his]to
his going to [Aſsiſt | assist]Aſsiſtassist in teaching. [M r | Mr.]M rMr.
[Brinerd | Brainerd]BrinerdBrainerd[pers0004.ocp]s Indians[org0038.ocp], [& | and]&and that [Mr | Mr.]MrMr.
Burr[pers0108.ocp] had ^[above] directed him [ſo | so]ſoso
[illegible] by^directed him [ſo | so]ſoso
[illegible] by Encouragement from the [Commiſsioners | Commissioners]CommiſsionersCommissioners[org0095.ocp] that He [ſhould | should]ſhouldshould be [orderd | ordered]orderdordered there. Upon which I wrote an [act | account]actaccount of the Matter [& | and]&and the State of the
Indians[org0061.ocp] at Montauk[place0144.ocp], [& | and]&and
[ye | the]yethe
[Circumſtances | circumstances]Circumſtancescircumstances of [Samſon | Samson]SamſonSamson[pers0030.ocp] but have [Recd | received]Recdreceived No [Anſwer | answer]Anſweranswer, [& | and]&and before I went down to Commencement I [head | heard]headheard
[Samſon | Samson]SamſonSamson[pers0030.ocp] was gone to [Mr | Mr.]MrMr.
[Braynerd | Brainerd]BraynerdBrainerd[pers0004.ocp], [& | and]&and therefore Concluding the [Commiſsioners | Commissioners]CommiſsionersCommissioners[org0095.ocp] had [diſchargd | discharged]diſchargddischarged Me from any further Concern
[abt | about]abtabout him I Said nothing to any of the [Genn | gentlemen]Genngentlemen
when I was at [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston[place0013.ocp]. but He is now Come o‐ver again [& | and]&and is as much at [aloſs | a loss]aloſsa loss as Ever he
was
[& | and]&and
[deſires | desires]deſiresdesires Me to [Endr | endeavor]Endrendeavor to [illegible]be [Informd | informed]Informdinformed of ^[above] [wt | what]wtwhat
^[wt | what]wtwhat
the
[Commiſsioners | Commissioners]CommiſsionersCommissioners[org0095.ocp]
[wt | what]wtwhat they
[wd | would]wdwould have him do —
^[above] [underſtang | understanding]underſtangunderstanding
[Honrd | Honoured]HonrdHonoured
[ſir | Sir]ſirSir that you are one of Them^[underſtang | understanding]underſtangunderstanding
[Honrd | Honoured]HonrdHonoured
[ſir | Sir]ſirSir that you are one of Them I take leave therefore to inform you
Sir that there are 31 Families of Indians at
Montauk[place0144.ocp]
on Long [Iſland | Island]IſlandIsland[place0129.ocp] where [ſamſon | Samson]ſamſonSamson[pers0030.ocp] has been keeping School a year [& | and]&and half [& | and]&and has Never [Recd | received]Recdreceived
[Any thing | anything]Any thinganything
[illegible] but [Abt | about ]Abtabout 40 [ſhil | shillings]ſhilshillings
in york
[Mony | money]Monymoney
[beſide | beside]beſidebeside
[wt | what]wtwhat the Indians [Themſelves | themselves]Themſelvesthemselves have given him who have been [& | and]&and are [ſo | so]ſoso
[deſirous | desirous]deſirousdesirous of his teaching School among them they they have to their Power
[illegible] beyond their Power [illegible][illegible][guess (ivys): ]Contri‐^[above] buted
towards^buted
towardsfor his Support He has had about 30 [Schollers | scholars]Schollersscholars
[& | and]&and More [wd | would]wdwould have come but their Parents were
[ſo | so]ſoso poor as not to be able to do [any thing | anything]any thinganything for the
Support of [Schoolmaſters | schoolmasters]Schoolmaſtersschoolmasters. the Indians He tells Me they are [ſtill | still]ſtillstill Exceeding
^[above] very^very
[deſirous | desirous]deſirousdesirous of his [Continiance | continuance]Continiancecontinuance
there but Complain they are [ſo | so]ſoso Poor they dont know how to pay him, [& | and]&and think the
[Commiſsioners | Commissioners]CommiſsionersCommissioners[org0095.ocp] are not So Kind to them as to other Indians. The young Man is
willing to Stay there Still if he [cd | could]cdcould have a Support He has been very Serviceable among them ^[above] in [illegible][guess (ivys): [promotg | promoting]promotgpromoting
[Learng | learning]Learnglearning
][promotg | promoting]promotgpromoting
[Learng | learning]Learnglearning
[& | and]&and Religion as^in [illegible][guess (ivys): [promotg | promoting]promotgpromoting
[Learng | learning]Learnglearning
][promotg | promoting]promotgpromoting
[Learng | learning]Learnglearning
[& | and]&and Religion as I am [In‐formd | in‐formed]In‐formdin‐formed by others as well as from the [Act | account]Actaccount he gives of [illegible]
^[above] of his [Schollers | scholars]Schollersscholars
[& | and]&and
[ye | the]yethe
[illegible] of [ye | the]yethe Indians^of his [Schollers | scholars]Schollersscholars
[& | and]&and
[ye | the]yethe
[illegible] of [ye | the]yethe Indians Particularly by a [ Lr | letter] Lrletter from the [Rvd | Rev.]RvdRev.
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Horton[pers0262.ocp] their [Miniſter | minister]Miniſterminister which I left with
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Oliver[pers0031.ocp] the [laſt | last]laſtlast
[illegible][guess (ivys): year]yearFall. [Samſon | Samson]SamſonSamson[pers0030.ocp] Informs me He is very much [Sollicited | solicited]Sollicitedsolicited by the [illegible][Naraganſet | Narragansett]NaraganſetNarragansett Indians[org0066.ocp] to keep School There [& | and]&and that there is great need of a School [& | and]&and is willing to be [Entir‐ly | entire‐ly]Entir‐lyentire‐ly directed by the [Commiſsioners | Commissioners]CommiſsionersCommissioners[org0095.ocp]. As he comes to Me from time to time for direction [& | and]&and I have no order to give him any, I thought it My duty to let you know
this ^[above] [illegible][guess (ivys): [ſhort | short]ſhortshort][ſhort | short]ſhortshort^[illegible][guess (ivys): [ſhort | short]ſhortshort][ſhort | short]ſhortshort State of the Affair, [& | and]&and
[doubtleſs | doubtless]doubtleſsdoubtless
the [Honbl | Honourable]HonblHonourable
[Comiſsioners | Commissioners]ComiſsionersCommissioners[org0095.ocp] may find [ſome | some]ſomesome more [ſuitable | suitable]ſuitablesuitable
[Perſon | person]Perſonperson to have the Care of directing him. [illegible]I [ſhall | shall]ſhallshall
^[above] be glad to be^be glad to be
[Eaſed | eased]Eaſedeased
Me of The [Fruitleſs | fruitless]Fruitleſsfruitless trouble of hearing [ſo | so]ſoso often of his [Circumſtances | circumstances]Circumſtancescircumstances
[& | and]&and being neither able to direct him nor do [any thing | anything]any thinganything for him. [wiſhg | wishing]wiſhgwishing
[ye | the]yethe
[Div.n | Divine]Div.nDivine
[Bleſsing | blessing]Bleſsingblessing upon [ye | the]yethe Pious [& | and]&and Noble
[Deſign | design]Deſigndesign of [Promotg | promoting]Promotgpromoting
[Xtn | Christian]XtnChristian Knowledge [& | and]&and
[Relign | Religion]RelignReligion among [ye | the]yethe
[Indns | Indians]IndnsIndians I am [Sr | Sir]SrSir with great [Reſpect | respect]Reſpectrespect your [Moſt | most]Moſtmost
[obt | obedient]obtobedient
[Humbe | humble]Humbehumble
[Servt | Servant]ServtServant
[S W | Solomon Williams]S WSolomon Williams[pers0039.ocp]
[Leb | Lebanon]LebLebanon
[place0122.ocp]: July 24. 1751[1751-07-24].
[bottom] [aſkd | asked]aſkdasked by the Counsel in order [illegible] a [Reſult | result]Reſultresult Agreeable to him. but [wch | which]wchwhich have a Tendency to Render [Eccleſiastical | ecclesiastical]Eccleſiasticalecclesiastical Councils Ridiculous [& | and]&and the
[Reſult | result]Reſultresult, [Contimptible | contemptible]Contimptiblecontemptible
[& | and]&and Mankind will be apt to
[illegible]
[yt | that]ytthat if a [illegible]
[Sallery | salary]Sallerysalary Stands in [ye | the]yethe way or
[c.d | could]c.dcould be found [& | and]&and his [illegible]
[illegible] In Nomeni Domini is
— [Muſt | must]Muſtmust be done.
[aſkd | asked]aſkdasked by the Counsel in order [illegible] a [Reſult | result]Reſultresult Agreeable to him. but [wch | which]wchwhich have a Tendency to Render [Eccleſiastical | ecclesiastical]Eccleſiasticalecclesiastical Councils Ridiculous [& | and]&and the
[Reſult | result]Reſultresult, [Contimptible | contemptible]Contimptiblecontemptible
[& | and]&and Mankind will be apt to
[illegible]
[yt | that]ytthat if a [illegible]
[Sallery | salary]Sallerysalary Stands in [ye | the]yethe way or
[c.d | could]c.dcould be found [& | and]&and his [illegible]
[illegible] In Nomeni Domini is
— [Muſt | must]Muſtmust be done.
[left] My [Lr | letter]Lrletter to Secretary [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): Willard]Willard[pers0793.ocp] Relating to
[Samſon | Samson]SamſonSamson Occom[pers0030.ocp]
My [Lr | letter]Lrletter to Secretary [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): Willard]Willard[pers0793.ocp] Relating to
[Samſon | Samson]SamſonSamson Occom[pers0030.ocp]
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0031.ocp | M r Mr. Oliver | mentioned | Oliver, Andrew |
pers0472.ocp | Rev d Rev. D r Dr. Sewal | mentioned | Sewal |
pers0030.ocp | Samſon Samson Occom | mentioned | Occom, Samson |
pers0472.ocp | Sewal | mentioned | Sewal |
pers0352.ocp | M r Mr. Maltbie | mentioned | Maltby |
pers0108.ocp | Rev d Rev. M r Mr. Burr | mentioned | Burr, Aaron Sr. |
pers0004.ocp | M r Mr. Brinerd Brainerd | mentioned | Brainerd, John |
pers0108.ocp | Mr Mr. Burr | mentioned | Burr, Aaron Sr. |
pers0030.ocp | Samſon Samson | mentioned | Occom, Samson |
pers0004.ocp | M r Mr. Braynerd Brainerd | mentioned | Brainerd, John |
pers0030.ocp | ſamſon Samson | mentioned | Occom, Samson |
pers0262.ocp | Rv d Rev. M r Mr. Horton | mentioned | Horton, Azariah |
pers0031.ocp | M r Mr. Oliver | mentioned | Oliver, Andrew |
pers0039.ocp | S W Solomon Williams | writer | Williams, Solomon |
pers0793.ocp | Secretary Willard | recipient | Willard |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0013.ocp | Boſton Boston | Boston |
place0144.ocp | Montauk | Montauk |
place0166.ocp | New York | New York |
place0129.ocp | Long Iſland Island | Long Island |
place0122.ocp | Leb Lebanon | Lebanon |
Organizations identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
org0095.ocp | HonblHonourable CommiſsionersCommissioners | The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America |
org0095.ocp | the CommiſsionersCommissioners | The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America |
org0038.ocp | Indians | Delaware Tribe |
org0095.ocp | CommiſsionersCommissioners | The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America |
org0095.ocp | the CommiſsionersCommissioners | The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America |
org0066.ocp | NaraganſetNarragansett Indians | Narragansett Tribe |
org0095.ocp | the HonblHonourable ComiſsionersCommissioners | The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America |
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1751-07-24 | July 24. 1751 |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
modernization | Boſton | Boston |
modernization | ye | the |
modernization | laſt | last |
modernization | Mr | Mr. |
modernization | Revd | Rev. |
modernization | Dr | Dr. |
modernization | Circumſtances | circumstances |
modernization | Samſon | Samson |
modernization | Commiſsioners | Commissioners |
modernization | pleaſed | pleased |
modernization | Deſire | desire |
modernization | ſince | since |
modernization | purſue | pursue |
modernization | ſtudies | studies |
modernization | Reaſon | reason |
modernization | weakneſs | weakness |
variation | Eies | eyes |
modernization | Spuppoſed | supposed |
variation | Sallery | salary |
variation | Informd | informed |
modernization | Mr | Mr. |
modernization | Aſsiſt | assist |
modernization | M r | Mr. |
variation | Brinerd | Brainerd |
modernization | ſo | so |
modernization | ſhould | should |
variation | orderd | ordered |
modernization | Anſwer | answer |
variation | Braynerd | Brainerd |
variation | diſchargd | discharged |
variation | aloſs | a loss |
modernization | deſires | desires |
modernization | ſir | Sir |
modernization | Iſland | Island |
modernization | ſamſon | Samson |
variation | Any thing | anything |
variation | Mony | money |
modernization | beſide | beside |
modernization | Themſelves | themselves |
modernization | deſirous | desirous |
variation | Schollers | scholars |
variation | any thing | anything |
modernization | Schoolmaſters | schoolmasters |
modernization | ſtill | still |
variation | Continiance | continuance |
variation | In‐formd | in‐formed |
modernization | Rvd | Rev. |
modernization | Miniſter | minister |
variation | Sollicited | solicited |
variation | Naraganſet | Narragansett |
variation | Entir‐ly | entire‐ly |
modernization | ſhort | short |
modernization | doubtleſs | doubtless |
variation | Comiſsioners | Commissioners |
modernization | ſome | some |
modernization | ſuitable | suitable |
modernization | Perſon | person |
modernization | ſhall | shall |
modernization | Eaſed | eased |
modernization | Fruitleſs | fruitless |
modernization | Bleſsing | blessing |
modernization | Deſign | design |
modernization | Reſpect | respect |
modernization | Moſt | most |
variation | aſkd | asked |
modernization | Reſult | result |
modernization | Eccleſiastical | ecclesiastical |
variation | Contimptible | contemptible |
modernization | yt | that |
modernization | Muſt | must |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
Honourd | Honoured |
& | and |
Honbl | Honourable |
Indn | Indian |
wd | would |
Recd | received |
act | account |
abt | about |
Genn | gentlemen |
Endr | endeavor |
wt | what |
underſtang | understanding |
Honrd | Honoured |
Abt | about |
ſhil | shillings |
cd | could |
promotg | promoting |
Learng | learning |
Act | account |
Lr | letter |
wiſhg | wishing |
Div.n | Divine |
Promotg | promoting |
Xtn | Christian |
Relign | Religion |
Indns | Indians |
Sr | Sir |
obt | obedient |
Humbe | humble |
Servt | Servant |
S W | Solomon Williams |
Leb | Lebanon |
wch | which |
c.d | could |
Lr | letter |
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 60) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 37) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 15) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 133) |