David Fowler, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1766 January 21

AuthorFowler, David[pers0155.ocp]

21 January 1766[1766-01-21]

Call 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]

[Rev.d | Rev.]Rev.dRev. and [Hon.d | Honoured]Hon.dHonoured Sir

[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 doto do in my [Houſe | house]Houſehouse only [finiſhd | finished]finiſhdfinished covering it
and [illegible] left me. I was [oblig'd | obliged]oblig'dobliged [above] toto 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] toto 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 | mini
ster]
Mini
ſter
mini
ster
[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 | mini
ster]
Mini
ſter
mini
ster
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] greatgreat [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] hishis [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] notnot [above] nono 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 Lettera 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] downdown the [laſt | last]laſtlast
that [above] went downwent 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]
P.S. I hope [above] you willyou will [illegible] you will
overlook all my im[illegible]per
fections in This Letter
for I wrote the [bigeſt | biggest]bigeſtbiggest Part
of it in [Darkneſs | darkness]Darkneſsdarkness.


[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
mini
ster
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

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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)