Eleazar Wheelock, letter, to Dennys DeBerdt, 1761 November 16

Author Wheelock, Eleazar[pers0036.ocp]

16 November 1761[1761-11-16]

Call Number761616

[note (type: abstract): Wheelock reports on the progress of the school and various missions.][note (type: handwriting): Informal handwriting is small, crowded and occasionally difficult to decipher.][note (type: paper): Large sheet folded in half to make four pages is in good-to-fair condition, with light-to-moderate staining, creasing and wear. The central crease has been reinforced.][note (type: ink): Black.][note (type: noteworthy): As noted on two verso, this document is a copy. The contents are similar to those of manuscript 761625.1.]

EventsOccom’s First Mission to the Oneidas

Persistent Identifier
[Opener]

My dear Sir.
By a Letter from [Miſs. | Miss]Miſs.Miss Smith[pers0498.ocp] of [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston[place0013.ocp]
[laſt | last]laſtlast week I'm [Inform'd | informed]Inform'dinformed that [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Whitefield[pers0038.ocp] has de­
­posited in your Hands £25 Sterling the generous
[Bequſt | bequest]Bequſtbequest of [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Hardy[pers0246.ocp] to this Indian School[org0098.ocp] (the
Lord return a [Thouſand | thousand]Thouſandthousand fold in better Good into
that generous [Booſom | bosom]Booſombosom) [pleaſe | please]pleaſeplease to pay the Money
to [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. John Smith[pers0497.ocp] of [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston[place0013.ocp] or his order, perhaps
he is yet in London. I have received part and [ſhall | shall]ſhallshall
as [ſoon | soon]ſoonsoon as She has opportunity to [tranſmit | transmit]tranſmittransmit, [y.e | the]y.ethe whole
from his Lady[pers1142.ocp] in [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston[place0013.ocp].
one of the [Mohawke | Mohawk]MohawkeMohawk Lads, of whom I [imformd | informed]imformdinformed
you in my [laſt | last]laſtlast, when I [returnd | returned]returndreturned from [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston[place0013.ocp], about
Six weeks ago, was in a declining State of Health,
and [Doctr | Dr.]DoctrDr. Huntington[pers1363.ocp] an able Physician [adviſed | advised]adviſedadvised
me that his Blood was So Spoiled [&c | etc.]&cetc. that it was
not Likely he would continue long in the world,
and that it was [beſt | best]beſtbest to Send him [ſoon | soon]ſoonsoon while
he was able to ride accordingly I [ſent | sent]ſentsent him away [Octr | October]OctrOctober
[13.th | 13th]13.th13th[1761-10-13]
accompanied by Negyes[pers0389.ocp] another [Mohawke | Mohawk]MohawkeMohawk Lad, and
[School Mate | schoolmate]School Mateschoolmate, to the [Mohawke | Mohawk]MohawkeMohawk Country[place0142.ocp]. And on [y.e | the]y.ethe [3.d | 3rd]3.d3rd [illegible]
[Inſt.t | Instant]Inſt.tInstant I Sent young Kirtland[pers0315.ocp] with the Other [Mohawke | Mohawk]MohawkeMohawk
youth., in order, when these two have made their [viſit | visit]viſitvisit
to their Friend to accompany them. and 4 or 5 more
of the Six Nations[org0090.ocp], if general [Johnſon | Johnson]JohnſonJohnson[pers0292.ocp], [agreable | agreeable]agreableagreeable to
his Expectations has found Such as are likely and will­
­ing to come; I have heard nothing from them [ſince | since]ſincesince they
went away. I expect [above] they willthey will return, [Some time | sometime]Some timesometime next month.
[M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Brainerd[pers0004.ocp] Sent me two Girls but one of them
before [ſhe | she]ſheshe had got on Board the [veſsel | vessel]veſselvessel was taken ill
and [returnd | returned]returndreturned Home, I [ſhall | shall]ſhallshall expect her when [ſhe ſhall | she shall]ſhe ſhallshe shall
be able to come, as [ſhe | she]ſheshe [& | and]&and her Parents are [deſirous | desirous]deſirousdesirous
of it. The other [arived | arrived]arivedarrived here the beginning of [laſt | last]laſtlast month
[ſhe | she]ſheshe is about 13. years old, and is an amiable little,
black Savage [Chriſtian | Christian]ChriſtianChristian, and I think loves [chriſt | Christ]chriſtChrist much
The Fruit of dear [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Brainerd[pers0004.ocp]s Labour [& | and]&and Pains among
them.
If I had it by me I would [ſend | send]ſendsend you a Speciman of
The writing of the Indian Girl who came to me [laſt | last]laſtlast [ſpring | spring]ſpringspring
and then byut [juſt | just]juſtjust knew her [Litters | letters]Littersletters. I intend to [ſend | send]ſendsend you
[ſoon | soon]ſoonsoon.
By a Letter from [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. [Eiſha | Elisha]EiſhaElisha Gunn[pers0020.ocp] who lives with
the Indians at [Onohoquagke | Onaquaga]OnohoquagkeOnaquaga[place0182.ocp]. I am lately [informd | informed]informdinformed
that there is a general Reformation among the
Indians as to their Drinking, that there is a general
religious concern among them in those parts, and
that a Number appear hearty in Religion. but what

will the poor Creatures do, they have no Bible nor
any Spiritual Guide Among them. I hope a Stop will
now be put to our traders carrying [Rhum | rum]Rhumrum among them.
[Sam.l | Samuel]Sam.lSamuel [Aſhpo | Ashpo]AſhpoAshpo[pers0002.ocp] An Indian which I baptized [ſome | some]ſomesome years
ago, and received him into this [Ch-h | Church]Ch-hChurch. of whom I think
Errors [above] whichwhich he had run into; And Talks like an [underſtanding | understanding]underſtandingunderstanding
experienced [& | and]&and judicious [chriſtian | Christian]chriſtianChristian, and by whose Endeavors
in his late Rambles in those parts The [Retigious | religious]Retigiousreligious concern a­
­mong the Indians was much [increaſed | increased]increaſedincreased. informs me that they
were as wild as ever they were at Corinth, or Galatia, and
need a faithful [& | and]&and [ſkillful | skillful]ſkillfulskillful Guide as much.
perhaps the [Hon.le Com̅iſsrs | Honourable Commissioners]Hon.le Com̅iſsrsHonourable Commissioners at Boston[org0095.ocp] will think it expedient
to [ſend | send]ſendsend him at [preſent | present]preſentpresent among them
You cant dear Sir conceive the Difficulty [y.t | that]y.tthat attends
this affair. Their Temper and Manner of living is Savage
[almoſt | almost]almoſtalmost as [ye | the]yethe [illegible]al Creatures. they are Jealous forever
[ag.t | against]ag.tagainst [ye Engliſh | the English]ye Engliſhthe English have a [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign [againſt | against]againſtagainst them [& | and]&and will take
the Opportunity to requite the wrongs they have received
— and the Dutch [above] DutchDutch Traders [above] especiallyespecially dont a little [increaſe | increase]increaſeincrease their
ill opinion of us. There are No Interpreters who
are they have as many Languages as illegible [above] theythey have Tribes
and there are few or none capable [& | and]&and faithful enough
to be [truſted | trusted]truſtedtrusted as Interpreters. and it cant be [accompl­
­ſhed | accompl
ished]
accompl­
­ſhed
accompl
ished
without great [Expence | expense]Expenceexpense. [&c | etc.]&cetc. I long to have my
Boys fit to go forth [amonth | amongst]amonthamongst them.
David[pers0155.ocp] my Indian [Schollar | scholar]Schollarscholar who accompanied [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Occom[pers0030.ocp]
in his [Miſsion | mission]Miſsionmission to the Oneida Indians[org0075.ocp] [laſt | last ]laſt last [ſummer | summer]ſummersummer [re­
turnd | re
turned]
re­
turnd
re
turned
[y.e | the]y.ethe Latter End of [ſeptemb.r | September]ſeptemb.rSeptember he [ſays | says]ſayssays [theyr liveg | their living]theyr livegtheir living [above] isis exceeding
poor have [ſcarſe | scarce]ſcarſescarce any thing but what they got by Hunting
[y.t | that]y.tthat [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Occom[pers0030.ocp] was [rec.d | received]rec.dreceived and treated with great [Reſpect | respect]Reſpectrespect
by [Gen.l | Gen.]Gen.lGen. [Johnſon | Johnson]JohnſonJohnson[pers0292.ocp]. and [yt | that]ytthat the Indians were as kind to
him as they could be, and [Seemd | seemed]Seemdseemed to be affected with
his preaching. and have [ſent | sent]ſentsent [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): one]one down to [N. York | New York]N. YorkNew York[place0308.ocp]
[deſiring | desiring]deſiringdesiring [y.t | that]y.tthat he may be [ſent | sent]ſentsent to them next [ſpring | spring]ſpringspring. where
D.V. he [deſigns | designs]deſignsdesigns to return [& | and]&and Spend [ye | the]yethe next Summer
with them.
Our [Measſures | measures]Measſuresmeasures for an Incorporation are yet [Embarraſsd | embarrassed]Embarraſsdembarrassed
and yet my School[org0098.ocp] [flouriſhes | flourishes]flouriſhesflourishes and gains credit, [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially
among the more Judicious [& | and]&and [underſtanding | understanding]underſtandingunderstanding part of mankind.
and who knows what methods God intends to take to [accompliſh | accomplish]accompliſhaccomplish
the [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign. I have lately Nominated a Number of worthy
Gentlemen of Civil [& | and]&and Sacred Characters and Expect the
[Scottiſh | Scottish]ScottiſhScottish [Com̅iſsrs | Commissioners]Com̅iſsrsCommissioners in Boston[org0011.ocp]
will recommend them to
[ye | the]yethe [Hon le | Honourable]Hon leHonourable Society for Such [Comm̅iſs.n | Commission]Comm̅iſs.nCommission[org0096.ocp] as they can give to
help us in this Affair.
We had a [Diſtreſsing | distressing]Diſtreſsingdistressing Drought [Laſt | last]Laſtlast Summer but a
very growing Autumn. [Proviſions | provisions]Proviſionsprovisions are very [Deer | dear]Deerdear
yet among us.
[Closer]
[pleaſe | Please]pleaſePlease to accept [moſt | most]moſtmost [ſincere | sincere]ſinceresincere [Reſpect | respect]Reſpectrespect
[above] ([& | and]&and I do love you heartily)([& | and]&and I do love you heartily) from my illegible [above] [Hond | Honoured]HondHonoured[Hond | Honoured]HondHonoured and very dear ſir
 Yours [moſt | most]moſtmost heartily Sincerely

[Eleazr | Eleazar]EleazrEleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]



[Postscript]
P.S. The [Schoolmaſter | schoolmaster]Schoolmaſterschoolmaster Complains of the want of a Bell that [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [Cou'd | Could]Cou'dCould][Cou'd | Could]Cou'dCould
may be well heard about a mile [above] these Boys [thro' | through]thro'through long [uſe | use]uſeuse are [adicted | addicted]adictedaddicted and inclined to ramble [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [abt | about]abtabout][abt | about]abtaboutthese Boys [thro' | through]thro'through long [uſe | use]uſeuse are [adicted | addicted]adictedaddicted and inclined to ramble [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [abt | about]abtabout][abt | about]abtabout [& | and]&and Their Health of the Boys
Requires that they be [above] indulged in it in [play time | playtime]play timeplaytimeindulged in it in [play time | playtime]play timeplaytime Suffered to ramble about more than
[Engliſh | English]EngliſhEnglish Children [above] incline toincline to in [play Time | playtime]play Timeplaytime, and it is often Difficult to
get them together at ye proper Hours without [ſuch | such]ſuchsuch a
[publick | public]publickpublic Signal. [& | and]&and I apprehend [y.e | the]y.ethe advantage of it in one
year would [above] likelylikely be Equal to the [Expence | expense]Expenceexpense of one [above] forfor It would likely
make us more regular in all our [illegible] Exercises [&c | etc.]&cetc.
[Trailer]
Copy of Letter to
[M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. DeBerdt[pers0014.ocp] 1761.[1761-11]
[Nov.r | November]Nov.rNovember Bell.

Document Summary

People identified in this document:

id Text in document Role in header Authorized Name
pers0498.ocp Miſs. Miss Smith mentioned Smith
pers0038.ocp M. r Mr. Whitefield mentioned Whitefield, George
pers0246.ocp M. r Mr. Hardy mentioned Hardy, Charles
pers0497.ocp M. r Mr. John Smith mentioned Smith, John
pers1142.ocp his Lady mentioned Smith, Elizabeth (née Scott)
pers1363.ocp Doct r Dr. Huntington mentioned Huntington, Jonathan Sr.
pers0389.ocp Negyes mentioned Negyes
pers0315.ocp Kirtland mentioned Kirkland, Samuel
pers0292.ocp general Johnſon Johnson mentioned Johnson, William
pers0004.ocp M. r Mr. Brainerd mentioned Brainerd, John
pers0020.ocp M. r Mr. Eiſha Elisha Gunn mentioned Gunn, Elisha
pers0002.ocp Sam. l Samuel Aſhpo Ashpo mentioned Ashpo, Samuel
pers0155.ocp David mentioned Fowler, David
pers0030.ocp M. r Mr. Occom mentioned Occom, Samson
pers0292.ocp Gen. l Gen. Johnſon Johnson mentioned Johnson, William
pers0036.ocp Eleaz r Eleazar Wheelock writer Wheelock, Eleazar
pers0014.ocp M. r Mr. DeBerdt recipient DeBerdt, Dennys

Places identified in this document:

id Text in document Authorized Name
place0122.ocp Lebanon Lebanon
place0013.ocp Boſton Boston Boston
place0142.ocp Mohawke Mohawk Country Mohawk Country
place0182.ocp Onohoquagke Onaquaga Onaquaga
place0308.ocp N. York New York New York City

Organizations identified in this document:

id Text in document Authorized Name
org0098.ocp this Indian School Moor’s Indian Charity School
org0090.ocp Six Nations Six Nations
org0095.ocp Hon.le Com̅iſsrsHonourable Commissioners at Boston The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America
org0075.ocp Oneida Indians Oneida Nation
org0098.ocp my School Moor’s Indian Charity School
org0011.ocp the ScottiſhScottish Com̅iſsrsCommissioners in Boston Boston Board of the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge
org0096.ocp Hon leHonourable Society for Such Comm̅iſs.nCommission Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge

Dates identified in this document:

Standard Form Text
1761-11-16 Nov.rNovember 16. 1761.
1761-10-13 OctrOctober 13.th13th
1761-11 1761.

Regularized text:

Type Original Regularized
modernization Miſs. Miss
modernization Boſton Boston
modernization laſt last
modernization M.r Mr.
variation Bequſt bequest
modernization Thouſand thousand
modernization Booſom bosom
modernization pleaſe please
modernization ſhall shall
modernization ſoon soon
modernization tranſmit transmit
modernization y.e the
variation Mohawke Mohawk
variation imformd informed
variation returnd returned
modernization Doctr Dr.
modernization adviſed advised
modernization &c etc.
modernization beſt best
modernization ſent sent
modernization 13.th 13th
variation School Mate schoolmate
modernization viſit visit
modernization Johnſon Johnson
variation agreable agreeable
modernization ſince since
variation Some time sometime
modernization ſhe she
modernization veſsel vessel
modernization ſhe ſhall she shall
modernization deſirous desirous
variation arived arrived
modernization Chriſtian Christian
modernization chriſt Christ
modernization ſend send
modernization ſpring spring
modernization juſt just
variation Litters letters
variation Eiſha Elisha
variation Onohoquagke Onaquaga
variation informd informed
variation Rhum rum
modernization Aſhpo Ashpo
modernization ſome some
modernization underſtanding understanding
modernization chriſtian Christian
modernization increaſed increased
modernization ſkillful skillful
modernization preſent present
modernization y.t that
modernization almoſt almost
modernization ye the
modernization ye Engliſh the English
modernization Deſign design
modernization againſt against
modernization increaſe increase
modernization truſted trusted
variation accompl­
­ſhed
accompl
ished
variation Expence expense
variation amonth amongst
variation Schollar scholar
modernization Miſsion mission
modernization laſt last
modernization ſummer summer
variation re­
turnd
re
turned
modernization ſays says
variation theyr liveg their living
variation ſcarſe scarce
modernization Reſpect respect
modernization Gen.l Gen.
modernization yt that
variation Seemd seemed
modernization deſiring desiring
modernization deſigns designs
variation Measſures measures
variation Embarraſsd embarrassed
modernization flouriſhes flourishes
modernization eſpecially especially
modernization accompliſh accomplish
modernization Scottiſh Scottish
modernization Diſtreſsing distressing
modernization Laſt last
modernization Proviſions provisions
variation Deer dear
modernization pleaſe Please
modernization moſt most
modernization ſincere sincere
modernization Schoolmaſter schoolmaster
modernization uſe use
variation adicted addicted
variation play time playtime
modernization Engliſh English
variation play Time playtime
modernization ſuch such
variation publick public

Expanded abbreviations:

Abbreviation Expansion
Nov.r November
Inform'd informed
Octr October
3.d 3rd
Inſt.t Instant
& and
Sam.l Samuel
Ch-h Church
Hon.le Com̅iſsrs Honourable Commissioners
ag.t against
ſeptemb.r September
rec.d received
N. York New York
Com̅iſsrs Commissioners
Hon le Honourable
Comm̅iſs.n Commission
Hond Honoured
Eleazr Eleazar
Cou'd Could
thro' through
abt about

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Number of nested "hi" tags: (consider merging the @rend attributes, or using other tags) 0
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Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): 0 (out of 152)