Theophilus Chamberlain, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1765 December 23
23 December 1765[1765-12-23]
ms number765673
[note (type: abstract): Chamberlain writes from his mission about the bad state of affairs among the Canajoharie Mohawks, and about how the Indian teachers sent out by Wheelock refuse to obey him.][note (type: handwriting): Even, clear, yet letter case — particularly on "s" and "d" — is often difficult to discern.][note (type: paper): Light wear and creasing; watermark and remnants of seal visible.][note (type: noteworthy): Mentions “the Gravil” as a disorder -- possibly a reference to an older name for kidney stones or “urinary gravel;” a note is added in Wheelock’s hand; meaning of “crop” as in “crop the woods” unclear.][note (type: signature): Abbreviated]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
After a long and tedious Journey on Account of the repeated Snows and
Rains which have fell Since I left your [Houſe | house]Houſehouse, I [arived | arrived]arivedarrived here [laſt | last]laſtlast friday not in a good state of health; yet [thrō | through]thrōthrough divine [goodneſs | goodness]goodneſsgoodness am now comforta ble. I find [almoſt | almost]almoſtalmost every [Circumſtance | circumstance]Circumſtancecircumstance this way [diſcouraging | discouraging]diſcouragingdiscouraging
The Indians at fort Hunter[place0078.ocp] have
got strongly [diſaffected | disaffected]diſaffecteddisaffected towards [Engliſh | English]EngliſhEnglish
[Inſtructors | instructors]Inſtructorsinstructors
[suppoſing | supposing]suppoſingsupposing the [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign of the
[Engliſh | English]EngliſhEnglish is to [Inſtruct | instruct]Inſtructinstruct them and take away their Lands as a Recompence. They have [uſd | used]uſdused
Calvin[pers0008.ocp] with such Language, or rather he has
heard such Language [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst them [againſt | against]againſtagainst the [Engliſh | English]EngliſhEnglish that he cant be willing to stay [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst them this winter. In this [Caſtle | Castle]CaſtleCastle[place0026.ocp] I am [chargd | charged]chargdcharged with not keeping my word to return within eight Weeks. My Blankets
have are taken by [ye | the]yethe
Chief Sachem[pers0126.ocp] and sold for Liquor; and all the
Recompence I can have is "you did not come back within eight weeks the Time you [talkd | talked]talkdtalked of. The Boys here are so much [offof | off of]offofoff of[illegible] the Notion of being Subject to your
Orders that I can do nothing with them. Abraham
major[pers0043.ocp], indeed I have not seen he is gone to [Schoharry | Schoharie]SchoharrySchoharie[place0315.ocp]; little Abraham[pers0044.ocp] cant
come down before Spring on account of the Cold; [Moſes | Moses]MoſesMoses[pers0677.ocp] cant come till then [becauſe | because]becauſebecause he intends to bring down his
[Coſen | cousin]Coſencousin who cant come before Spring; [John | Johannes]JohnJohannes[pers0282.ocp] has got two [horſses | horses]horſseshorses to feed. [& | and]&and both[illegible] his Brothers being [lateley | lately]lateleylately gone to War, he [muſt | must]muſtmust do it [himſelf | himself]himſelfhimself and therefore cant go with me to [Onoida | Oneida]OnoidaOneida[place0179.ocp]. This however unexpected is in fact the [Caſe | case]Caſecase. It [suprized | surprised]suprizedsurprised me to find them so [re solvd | resolved]re solvdresolved. I ^[above] had^had tried the force of every [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): thing]thing Motive I
could think of to alter their Minds but as yet can prevail Nothing. I have
mentioned your Expectations and their obligations in gratitude to [anſwer | answer]anſweranswer them. I have [urgd | urged]urgdurged your [Deſigns | designs]Deſignsdesigns of making them men in the World [& | and]&and their
[neceſaty | necessity]neceſatynecessity of your [Aſsiſtance | assistance]Aſsiſtanceassistance to live like men; I have told them the Consequences of their Staying here,
their growing [raged | ragged]ragedragged, living like Indians, danger of being undone
[&c. | etc.]&c.etc. I have tried my own Influence which once was
[conſiderable | considerable]conſiderableconsiderable, but nothing prevails they will not stir.
David Fowler[pers0155.ocp] has been down from [Onoida | Oneida]OnoidaOneida[place0179.ocp] about a
[fortnite | fortnight]fortnitefortnight ago and run in Debt above five Pounds [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): york]york Money which I have paid for
him. from [Onoida | Oneida]OnoidaOneida[place0179.ocp] I hear that they [almoſt | almost]almoſtalmost
[deſpair | despair]deſpairdespair of my coming there this winter.
There is no such thing as [gitting | getting]gittinggetting to [Onoida | Oneida]OnoidaOneida[place0179.ocp] with a [horſe | horse]horſehorse at [preſent | present]preſentpresent; I intend to settle things in the [beſt | best]beſtbest Manner I can here as [faſt | fast]faſtfast as [poſsible | possible]poſsiblepossible and crop [ye | the]yethe Woods on foot to [Onoida | Oneida]OnoidaOneida[place0179.ocp]. [Cpt | Capt.]CptCapt. Butler[pers0277.ocp] to whom I am greatly obliged for repeated favours, has
taken care ([tho | though]thothough he did not go as he [proposd | proposed]proposdproposed to [Onoida | Oneida]OnoidaOneida[place0179.ocp]) to send me up several sorts of
[Proviſion | provision]Proviſionprovision to fort [Stanwicks | Stanwix]StanwicksStanwix[place0081.ocp]; which I [here | hear]herehear has got wet and am much afraid it will be [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): all]all be [Spoild | spoiled]Spoildspoiled.
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Smith[pers0499.ocp] was taken sick at [Southhadley | South Hadley]SouthhadleySouth Hadley[place0216.ocp], has the [Gravil | gravel]Gravilgravel, I have but little hope of his ever
[viſiting | visiting]viſitingvisiting
[theſe | these]theſethese Parts again as his [Diſorder | disorder]Diſorderdisorder wont admit of much [Rideing | riding]Rideingriding. I [carleſsly | carelessly]carleſslycarelessly came from your [houſe | house]houſehouse without general Gage[pers0211.ocp]s [Commiſion | commission]Commiſioncommission, Should [Cpt | Capt.]CptCapt.
[Buttler | Butler]ButtlerButler[pers0277.ocp]
[viſit | visit]viſitvisit you this Winter as he intends if the Winter favours with Sleighing pray
send it by him, he thinks twill be of great Service to us. The Money I brought
will not be Sufficient to carry us [thro | through]throthrough the Winter. if you think proper we Should have more pray send it by
[Cpt | Capt.]CptCapt.
[Buttler | Butler]ButtlerButler[pers0277.ocp]. [Tommorrow | tomorrow]Tommorrowtomorrow I intend for fort hunter[place0078.ocp] to give
them some further Acquaintance with your school[org0098.ocp]
and [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign, to set their minds a little at Liberty from their Prejudices if [poſsible | possible]poſsiblepossible.— Sir if I [underſtood | understood]underſtoodunderstood you I had Liberty to send down some of [thoſe | those]thoſethose
Mohawk[org0062.ocp] Lads which were so fond of coming [laſt | last]laſtlast fall; but none of y[illegible] them [Deſire | desire]Deſiredesire to come before Spring, [adviſe | advise]adviſeadvise me what you [Deſire | desire]Deſiredesire about them, before then if [poſsible | possible]poſsiblepossible; [nomore | no more]nomoreno more at [preſent | present]preſentpresent.
[Closer]
I remain yours to [ſerve | serve]ſerveserve
[Theoph | Theophilus]TheophTheophilus Chamberlain[pers0009.ocp] To [Rvd | Rev.]RvdRev.
[E. | Eleazar]E.Eleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]
To
[Rvd | Rev.]RvdRev.
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr.
[Eleazer | Eleazar]EleazerEleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp] In Lebanon[place0122.ocp]
[Trailer]
From [Rev.d | Rev.]Rev.dRev. Chamberlain[pers0009.ocp]
[Dec.r | December]Dec.rDecember 23. 1765[1765-12-23]
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0008.ocp | Calvin | mentioned | Calvin, Hezekiah |
pers0126.ocp | Chief Sachem | mentioned | Sachem |
pers0043.ocp | Abraham major | mentioned | Abraham |
pers0044.ocp | little Abraham | mentioned | Abraham |
pers0677.ocp | Moſes Moses | mentioned | Moses |
pers0282.ocp | John Johannes | mentioned | Johannes |
pers0155.ocp | David Fowler | mentioned | Fowler, David |
pers0277.ocp | C pt Capt. Butler | mentioned | Butler, John |
pers0499.ocp | M r Mr. Smith | mentioned | Smith |
pers0211.ocp | general Gage | mentioned | Gage, Thomas |
pers0277.ocp | C pt Capt. Buttler Butler | mentioned | Butler, John |
pers0009.ocp | Theo ph Theophilus Chamberlain | writer | Chamberlain, Theophilus |
pers0036.ocp | E. Eleazar Wheelock | recipient | Wheelock, Eleazar |
pers0036.ocp | Eleazer Eleazar Wheelock | recipient | Wheelock, Eleazar |
pers0009.ocp | Rev. d Rev. Chamberlain | writer | Chamberlain, Theophilus |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0026.ocp | Kanajoharry Canajoharie | Canajoharie |
place0078.ocp | fort Hunter | Fort Hunter |
place0026.ocp | this Caſtle Castle | Canajoharie |
place0315.ocp | Schoharry Schoharie | Schoharie |
place0179.ocp | Onoida Oneida | Oneida |
place0081.ocp | fort Stanwicks Stanwix | Fort Stanwix |
place0216.ocp | Southhadley South Hadley | South Hadley |
place0078.ocp | fort hunter | Fort Hunter |
place0122.ocp | Lebanon | Lebanon |
Organizations identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
org0098.ocp | your school | Moor’s Indian Charity School |
org0062.ocp | Mohawk | Mohawk Nation |
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1765-12-23 | DecembDecember 23d23rd 1765 |
1765-12-23 | Dec.rDecember 23. 1765 |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
variation | Kanajoharry | Canajoharie |
modernization | 23d | 23rd |
modernization | Rvd | Rev. |
modernization | Houſe | house |
variation | arived | arrived |
modernization | laſt | last |
variation | thrō | through |
modernization | goodneſs | goodness |
modernization | almoſt | almost |
modernization | Circumſtance | circumstance |
modernization | diſcouraging | discouraging |
modernization | diſaffected | disaffected |
modernization | Engliſh | English |
modernization | Inſtructors | instructors |
modernization | suppoſing | supposing |
modernization | Deſign | design |
modernization | Inſtruct | instruct |
variation | uſd | used |
modernization | amongſt | amongst |
modernization | againſt | against |
modernization | Caſtle | Castle |
variation | chargd | charged |
modernization | ye | the |
variation | talkd | talked |
variation | Schoharry | Schoharie |
modernization | Moſes | Moses |
modernization | becauſe | because |
variation | Coſen | cousin |
variation | John | Johannes |
modernization | horſses | horses |
variation | lateley | lately |
modernization | muſt | must |
modernization | himſelf | himself |
variation | Onoida | Oneida |
modernization | Caſe | case |
variation | suprized | surprised |
variation | re solvd | resolved |
modernization | anſwer | answer |
modernization | Deſigns | designs |
variation | neceſaty | necessity |
modernization | Aſsiſtance | assistance |
variation | raged | ragged |
modernization | &c. | etc. |
modernization | conſiderable | considerable |
variation | fortnite | fortnight |
modernization | deſpair | despair |
variation | gitting | getting |
modernization | horſe | horse |
modernization | preſent | present |
modernization | beſt | best |
modernization | faſt | fast |
modernization | poſsible | possible |
modernization | Cpt | Capt. |
variation | tho | though |
variation | proposd | proposed |
modernization | Proviſion | provision |
variation | Stanwicks | Stanwix |
variation | Spoild | spoiled |
modernization | Mr | Mr. |
variation | Southhadley | South Hadley |
variation | Gravil | gravel |
modernization | viſiting | visiting |
modernization | theſe | these |
modernization | Diſorder | disorder |
variation | Rideing | riding |
variation | carleſsly | carelessly |
modernization | houſe | house |
modernization | Commiſion | commission |
variation | Buttler | Butler |
modernization | viſit | visit |
variation | thro | through |
variation | Tommorrow | tomorrow |
modernization | underſtood | understood |
modernization | thoſe | those |
modernization | Deſire | desire |
modernization | adviſe | advise |
modernization | ſerve | serve |
variation | Eleazer | Eleazar |
modernization | Rev.d | Rev. |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
Decemb | December |
honourd | honoured |
& | and |
urgd | urged |
Theoph | Theophilus |
E. | Eleazar |
Dec.r | December |
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 32) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 1) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 131) |