Solomon Williams, letter, to Secretary Willard, 1751 July 24

Author Williams, Solomon[pers0039.ocp]

24 July 1751[1751-07-24]

Call 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 goingin 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] bydirected 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 Ne
ver [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 towardsbuted 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] veryvery [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 asin [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‐
formd
in‐
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 Indiansof 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‐
ly
entire‐
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 direct
ing him. [illegible]I [ſhall | shall]ſhallshall [above] be glad to bebe 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

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Summary of errors found in this document:

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Number of nested "hi" tags: (consider merging the @rend attributes, or using other tags) 0
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