Theophilus Chamberlain, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1766 October 3
3 October 1766[1766-10-03]
ms number766553
[note (type: abstract): Chamberlain relates the progress, or lack thereof, of his mission among the Mohawks.][note (type: handwriting): Handwriting is small and somewhat crowded, yet mostly formal and clear. Letter case, especially with regard to the letters S and D, is frequently difficult to discern.][note (type: paper): Large sheet folded in half to make four pages is in good condition, with light staining and wear, and light-to-moderate creasing. The central vertical crease has been reinforced.][note (type: ink): Black-brown.][note (type: noteworthy): There is a red-pencil mark on two recto.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
Onowad^[above] a^agegh[place0573.ocp]
3d October 1766[1766-10-03]
[Rvd | Rev.]RvdRev. and worthy Sir
It cant be more [diſagreable | disagreeable]diſagreabledisagreeable to you to read than it is to me to see, that the [preſent | present]preſentpresent state of our affairs among this Tribe of Indians is what it truly is. [Chriſtanity | Christianity]ChriſtanityChristianity, the grand
[Cauſe | cause]Cauſecause which we all hope to be found advancing, is, as far as I can Judge [Disſpiſd | despised]Disſpiſddespised and [Contemnd | condemned]Contemndcondemned by [theſe | these ]theſe these
Mohawks[org0062.ocp]. meetings upon the sabbath are so
neglected, as that we can frequently get [togeather | together]togeathertogether at this [Caſtle | Castle]CaſtleCastle not above two or three men and half a [dozzen | dozen]dozzendozen Women, and [thoſe | those]thoſethose not
[till | 'til]till'til one or two o clock in the [after Noon | afternoon]after Noonafternoon, and at fort Hunter [place0078.ocp]
[tis | it is]tisit is but little better. and the Schools are so [litely | lightly]litelylightly
[eſteemd | esteemed,]eſteemdesteemed, as that not a Dozen Children in the whole ever attend school at this [Caſtle | Castle]CaſtleCastle, and at fort Hunter [place0078.ocp]
[tis | it is]tisit is much [worſe | worse]worſeworse. I have
[uſd | used]uſdused my [utmoſt | utmost ]utmoſt utmost
[Indeavour | endeavour]Indeavourendeavour to [remidy | remedy ]remidy remedy
[theſe | these]theſethese Defects; but all with the united [indeavours | endeavours]indeavoursendeavours of the [School-Maſters | schoolmasters]School-Maſtersschoolmasters, both
[Engliſh | English]EngliſhEnglish and Indians ([illegible]all of which; all of which,
I [realy | really]realyreally think exert their whole skill and Prudence), proves quite
[inaffectual | ineffectual]inaffectualineffectual. I have on several [occaſions | occasions ]occaſions occasions
[latley | lately]latleylately, when speaking of the [neceſaty | necessity]neceſatynecessity and importance of being [Chriſtains | Christians]ChriſtainsChristians said the [moſt | most]moſtmost moving things I was capable of saying. have [indeavourd | endeavoured]indeavourdendeavoured to excite in them a [Senſe | sense]Senſesense of the Wrath of God, from the Terrors of the Law, and of his [goodneſs | goodness]goodneſsgoodness from the [goſple | gospel]goſplegospel of the Glorious [Emanuel | Emmanuel]EmanuelEmmanuel; but God is not [pleaſd | pleased]pleaſdpleased
[effectualy | effectually]effectualyeffectually to touch their hearts. The Sabbath before [laſt | last]laſtlast,
[preachd | preached]preachdpreached at fort Hunter[place0078.ocp], to [belween | between]belweenbetween thirty and forty [Perſons | persons]Perſonspersons in the [moſt | most]moſtmost plain and [pethatic | pathetic]pethaticpathetic manner I could [indeavour | endeavour]indeavourendeavour ing to let their danger before them in some faint
[Reſemblance | resemblance]Reſemblanceresemblance of its Terror; and their [Remidy | remedy]Remidyremedy in some of
its saving glory.
The[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): re]re
truly [appeard | appeared]appeardappeared more [seriouſneſs | seriousness]seriouſneſsseriousness in attending to preaching than [uſual | usual]uſualusual. After [worſhip | worship]worſhipworship concluded Spoke to the men [Reſpecting | respecting]Reſpectingrespecting the Schools as I understood theirs was sunk low. told them the conditions
upon which the Schoolmasters was left, the ingratitude of their ne‐glecting under their circumstances to fulfill their Conditions; and
that the Schoolmasters was [forfited | forfeited]forfitedforfeited by that neglect, and must be despised, and left to themselves [unleſs | unless]unleſsunless they speedily reformed. I then desired them to get all together their
whole Castle [& | and ]& and
[discourſe | discourse]discourſediscourse on [theſe | these]theſethese things, open their minds to one another, and conclude with [themselfs | themselves ]themselfs themselves
[wether | whether]wetherwhether they would finally reject, [Christanity | Christianity]ChristanityChristianity, or would receive instruc‐tions [themselfs | themselves]themselfsthemselves
[& | and]&and have their children [Learnt | learned]Learntlearned. with this request they [promiſed | promised]promiſedpromised to comply, [& | and]&and to inform me of the re‐sult the next time they held an [oppertunity | opportunity]oppertunityopportunity. after we left the meeting [Houſe | house]Houſehouse, several of the men came to me. told me they never heard such preaching as
they had that day. it gave them [pleaſure | pleasure ]pleaſure pleasure
^[above] they said^they said to hear the gospel preached so plain, and they
thought all but Fools must take [pleaſure | pleasure]pleaſurepleasure in hear‐ing Gods news. In all this they appeared Serious
and [seem’d | seemed]seem’dseemed to speak the Sentiments of their hearts. It at once revived my
drooping ^[above] heart^heart. [& | and]&and
at once I began to feed on thoughts that the long wished for Day was
approaching when we might see the Glorious [Gosple | Gospel]GospleGospel of the son of God propagated by Divine Energy among the Indians in [thoſe | those]thoſethose parts. I had before this determined to return to new england[place0158.ocp] this fall; and ^[above] as^as I thought my health would not allow of my going on a [miſion | mission]miſionmission to some remote Tribes, I had deter‐mined to have asked a [Dismision | dismission]Dismisiondismission. but I now came to
a [concluſion | conclusion]concluſionconclusion to stay at all adventures [thro | through]throthrough the Winter, if ^[above] [thoſe | those ]thoſe those ^[thoſe | those ]thoſe those
[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [theſe | these]theſethese][theſe | these]theſethese favourable [simptoms | symptoms]simptomssymptoms should continue to give hopes of [Succeſs | success]Succeſssuccess. I [thot | though]thotthough I well know that my constitution was
[week | weak]weekweak enough to endure the fatigue of riding backwards
[& | and]&and forwards between 30 [& | and]&and 40 Miles to Preach [& | and]&and take care of Schools, yet the thoughts of what I should be obliged to
suffer by this [reſolution | resolution ]reſolution resolution
[vanised | vanished]vanisedvanished into nothing, when I thought of succeeding in my [miſion | mission]miſionmission to the [happineſs | happiness]happineſshappiness of [theſe | these]theſethese benighted heathen, [& | and]&and the satisfaction of Christian
[Freinds | friends]Freindsfriends. But I cant [expreſs | express]expreſsexpress how mortifying it was to me, when, in [leſs | less]leſsless than a [fortnite | fortnight]fortnitefortnight after this [hopful | hopeful]hopfulhopeful Prospect I heard ^[above] that^that the school was [intirely | entirely]intirelyentirely thrown up and at fort ^[above] Hunter^Hunter[place0078.ocp]
^[left] [& | and]&and, ^[& | and]&and,
Calvin[pers0008.ocp] wholly out of employment. and now the
disagreeable reflection of standing by a [uſeleſs | useless]uſeleſsuseless spectator of that unlimited [wickedneſs | wickedness]wickedneſswickedness, which I am no way Ins‐trumental of restra^[above] in^ining, [& | and]&and of People going unpreven‐ted from before my Eyes to
certain destruction returns full upon me; I am fully convinced it is not my Duty
to tarry long in this Situation. [theſe | these]theſethese People have two Ministers who come once or twice a Year
gives them the sacrament of the Lords supper; [aſsures | assures]aſsuresassures them their sins are pardoned, and leave ^[above] them^them to
practice [wick‐‐edneſs | wick‐edness]wick‐‐edneſswick‐edness in Perfect Security. And so long as this Dia‐bolical
Practice (forgive the [Boldneſs | boldness]Boldneſsboldness) is continued it will [doubtleſs | doubtless]doubtleſsdoubtless be the Judgment that will harden
[theſe | these]theſethese People for Destruction. should [their | there]theirthere be no farthe[gap: worn_edge][guess (h-dawnd): r]r good appearance among the Indians, nor any directi^[above] on^on from you (which I beg of you to send if Possible), I shall set out
on my return the begining of november
I heard by a Letter from [Rd
| Rev.]Rd
Rev.
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Kirtland[pers0315.ocp] that he was well that all things went on well, [& | and]&and he hoped some [succeſs | success]succeſssuccess. But that
[Johnſon | Johnson]JohnſonJohnson[pers0288.ocp] is not yet settled in his school at Old [Onoida | Oneida]OnoidaOneida[place0179.ocp] where John Mohawk[pers0282.ocp]
Kept last Summer. [Mr
| Mr. ]Mr
Mr.
[Johnſons | Johnson's ]Johnſons Johnson's [pers0879.ocp]
[horſ[gap: worn_edge][guess (h-dawnd): e]e | horse]horſ[gap: worn_edge][guess (h-dawnd): e]ehorse was stole from a Pasture last Saturday evening. he [sat | set]satset out in quest of her on sunday [& | and]&and is not yet returned. I have spent part of 3 Days in a Journey after her but
to no
[Purpoſe | purpose ]Purpoſe purpose
[unleſs | unless]unleſsunless she is found by the [advertizements | advertisements]advertizementsadvertisements I ordered up. You [deſire | desire]deſiredesire sir my account, I can only say it will by the Last of this ^[above] month^month be more than [20£ | £20]20££20. I should not have been so much in Debt, had not I had an interpreter to
hire ^[above] at^at 20/ per week; and Jacob[pers0018.ocp] left unexpectedly on my hands, which, together with my Debts
being somthing greater in the Spring than I expected, was like to run
myself in Debt in spite of all what I could do my Prudence [& | and ]& and
[makinng | making]makinngmaking myself a perfect Begg^[above] er^er most of the summer. and to [ad | add]adadd to my
[miſfortune | misfortune]miſfortunemisfortune I [S[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): w]woped | swapped]S[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): w]wopedswapped my mare [becauſe | because]becauſebecause she [pestured | pestered]pesturedpestered me a little with running off; for a [Horſe | horse]Horſehorse, which soon got so lame, that I cant ride him [& | and]&and shall near [looſe | lose]looſelose him. I cant procure a pacing Jade here which will [anſwer | answer]anſweranswer my turn under [10£. | £10]10£.£10 or [11£. | £11]11£.£11 Lawful Money to pay which, [& | and]&and my Interpreter, [& | and]&and settle my other [accompts | accounts]accomptsaccounts for myself [& | and]&and
Jacob Fowler[pers0018.ocp], [& | and]&and bringing me home I think I shall want about 20 Pounds. Give my Duty to
Madam[pers0577.ocp] and proper
[Reſpects | respects]Reſpectsrespects to all the family and School, and know
[Closer]
[Rvd
| Rev.]Rvd
Rev. Sir I Remain your unworthy yet [obediant | obedient]obediantobedient Servant.
[T. | Theophilus]T.Theophilus Chamberlain[pers0009.ocp]
To [Rvd
| Rev.]Rvd
Rev.
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Wheelock[pers0036.ocp] —
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0008.ocp | Calvin | mentioned | Calvin, Hezekiah |
pers0315.ocp | R d Rev. M r Mr. Kirtland | mentioned | Kirkland, Samuel |
pers0288.ocp | Johnſon Johnson | mentioned | Johnson, Joseph |
pers0282.ocp | John Mohawk | mentioned | Johannes |
pers0879.ocp | M r Mr. Johnſons Johnson's | mentioned | Johnson, Samuel |
pers0018.ocp | Jacob | mentioned | Fowler, Jacob |
pers0018.ocp | Jacob Fowler | mentioned | Fowler, Jacob |
pers0577.ocp | Madam | mentioned | Wheelock, Mary (née Brinsmead) |
pers0009.ocp | T. Theophilus Chamberlain | writer | Chamberlain, Theophilus |
pers0036.ocp | Rv d Rev. M r Mr. Wheelock | recipient | Wheelock, Eleazar |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0573.ocp | Onowad a gegh | Onowatage |
place0078.ocp | fort Hunter | Fort Hunter |
place0078.ocp | fort Hunter | Fort Hunter |
place0158.ocp | new england | New England |
place0179.ocp | Old Onoida Oneida | Oneida |
Organizations identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
org0062.ocp | Mohawks | Mohawk Nation |
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1766-10-03 | 3d October 1766 |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
modernization | Rvd | Rev. |
modernization | diſagreable | disagreeable |
modernization | preſent | present |
modernization | Chriſtanity | Christianity |
modernization | Cauſe | cause |
variation | Contemnd | condemned |
modernization | theſe | these |
variation | togeather | together |
modernization | Caſtle | Castle |
variation | dozzen | dozen |
modernization | thoſe | those |
variation | till | 'til |
variation | after Noon | afternoon |
variation | litely | lightly |
modernization | eſteemd | esteemed, |
modernization | worſe | worse |
modernization | uſd | used |
modernization | utmoſt | utmost |
variation | Indeavour | endeavour |
variation | remidy | remedy |
modernization | theſe | these |
variation | indeavours | endeavours |
modernization | School-Maſters | schoolmasters |
modernization | Engliſh | English |
variation | realy | really |
variation | inaffectual | ineffectual |
modernization | occaſions | occasions |
variation | latley | lately |
modernization | neceſaty | necessity |
modernization | Chriſtains | Christians |
modernization | moſt | most |
variation | indeavourd | endeavoured |
modernization | Senſe | sense |
modernization | goodneſs | goodness |
modernization | goſple | gospel |
variation | Emanuel | Emmanuel |
modernization | pleaſd | pleased |
variation | effectualy | effectually |
modernization | laſt | last |
variation | preachd | preached |
modernization | Perſons | persons |
variation | indeavour | endeavour |
modernization | Reſemblance | resemblance |
variation | Remidy | remedy |
variation | appeard | appeared |
modernization | seriouſneſs | seriousness |
modernization | uſual | usual |
modernization | worſhip | worship |
modernization | Reſpecting | respecting |
variation | forfited | forfeited |
modernization | unleſs | unless |
modernization | discourſe | discourse |
variation | themselfs | themselves |
variation | wether | whether |
variation | Christanity | Christianity |
variation | themselfs | themselves |
variation | Learnt | learned |
modernization | promiſed | promised |
variation | oppertunity | opportunity |
modernization | Houſe | house |
modernization | pleaſure | pleasure |
modernization | pleaſure | pleasure |
variation | Gosple | Gospel |
modernization | miſion | mission |
variation | Dismision | dismission |
modernization | concluſion | conclusion |
variation | thro | through |
modernization | thoſe | those |
variation | simptoms | symptoms |
modernization | Succeſs | success |
variation | thot | though |
variation | week | weak |
modernization | reſolution | resolution |
variation | vanised | vanished |
modernization | happineſs | happiness |
variation | Freinds | friends |
modernization | expreſs | express |
modernization | leſs | less |
variation | fortnite | fortnight |
variation | hopful | hopeful |
variation | intirely | entirely |
modernization | uſeleſs | useless |
modernization | wickedneſs | wickedness |
modernization | aſsures | assures |
modernization | wick‐‐edneſs | wick‐edness |
modernization | Boldneſs | boldness |
modernization | doubtleſs | doubtless |
modernization | Rd | Rev. |
modernization | Mr | Mr. |
modernization | succeſs | success |
modernization | Johnſon | Johnson |
variation | Onoida | Oneida |
modernization | Mr | Mr. |
modernization | Johnſons | Johnson's |
modernization | horſ[gap: worn_edge][guess (h-dawnd): e]e | horse |
variation | sat | set |
modernization | Purpoſe | purpose |
variation | advertizements | advertisements |
modernization | deſire | desire |
variation | 20£ | £20 |
variation | makinng | making |
variation | ad | add |
modernization | miſfortune | misfortune |
variation | S[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): w]woped | swapped |
modernization | becauſe | because |
variation | pestured | pestered |
modernization | Horſe | horse |
modernization | looſe | lose |
modernization | anſwer | answer |
variation | 10£. | £10 |
variation | 11£. | £11 |
variation | accompts | accounts |
modernization | Reſpects | respects |
modernization | Rvd | Rev. |
variation | obediant | obedient |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
Disſpiſd | despised |
tis | it is |
& | and |
& | and |
seem’d | seemed |
T. | Theophilus |
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 12) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 18) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 14) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 114) |