David Avery, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1767 May 26

Author Avery, David[pers0064.ocp]

26 May 1767[1767-05-26]

Call Number767326.2

[note (type: abstract): Avery writes to express his desire, and list his reasons, for going to college rather than early into missionary work.][note (type: handwriting): Handwriting is formal, clear, and legible.][note (type: paper): Large sheet folded in half to make four pages is in good condition, with light-to-moderate staining, creasing and wear.][note (type: ink): Dark brown.][note (type: layout): Pages one and two of the letter are on one recto and verso; however, the third page of the letter is on two verso, not two recto. The address is on two recto.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]

[Revd | Rev.]RevdRev. and [Honrd. | honoured]Honrd.honoured Sir,
As the [Reaſons | reasons]Reaſonsreasons you offered for our not
going to College, are some of them new to me; and [eſpe‐
cially | espe
cially]
eſpe‐
cially
espe
cially
my [Shortſghtedneſs | shortsightedness]Shortſghtedneſsshortsightedness is such, [& | and]&and Judgment of Af‐
fairs so [inmature | immature]inmatureimmature , I am quite unfit for an [Anſwer | answer]Anſweranswer.
It will be a great [Diſappointment | disappointment]Diſappointmentdisappointment of my expectations
according to the Plan and Agreement I came upon, not
to spend any more time at College. If I rightly re‐
member, the Agreement was, that I should be fit
ted for College — and spend the major part of the
term of four years there, and then to receive the
Honors of College, if accounted worthy of them. This
would be [neceſsary | necessary]neceſsarynecessary for a common Recommendation,
at [leaſt | least]leaſtleast among People and Gentlemen in North-Ame‐
rica[place0170.ocp]
, where I might be known; [&c. | etc.]&c.etc. if it should ever
happen I might not be engaged in a [Miſsion | mission]Miſsionmission, or if I
should — And it would be an Advantage in [gitting | getting]gittinggetting
into [Buſineſs | business]Buſineſsbusiness in [thoſe | those]thoſethose parts, if upon some sufficient
[reaſon | reason]reaſonreason I should not [purſue | pursue]purſuepursue the [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign. The [Diſlike | dislike]Diſlikedislike,
and evil [Suſpiceon | suspicion]Suſpiceonsuspicion of many who [profeſs | profess]profeſsprofess [Friendſhip | friendship]Friendſhipfriendship
to me, and are not Friends to the [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign, will be [raiſ‐
ed | rais
ed]
raiſ‐
ed
rais
ed
[againſt | against]againſtagainst the Plan, and will be apt to think hard of
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Wheelock[pers0036.ocp], ([tho' | though]tho'though the [Reaſons | reasons]Reaſonsreasons should be given) and
so the School[org0098.ocp] and [Cauſe | cause]Cauſecause might be reproached. The
cruel tongues of many would then be set on fire, (as o‐
thers like [diſpoſed | disposed]diſpoſeddisposed have been,) and "say, [Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]
would not treat one of his own Sons so, who should be [de‐
ſigned | de
signed]
de‐
ſigned
de
signed
for the same Work: But were there not some lu‐
crative Views somewhere at the Bottom, things would
not be so." [Tho' | Though]Tho'Though the [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign has gained ground, and

become more Honourable than our Colleges; yet, Men
of [thoſe | those]thoſethose parts, will not be so [senſible | sensible]senſiblesensible of it, ['till | 'til]'till'til by and by;
and not only so, but, Sir, will not the School[org0098.ocp] and we, who
have gone so far, be looked upon in a diminitive Light
by the College? I [imagin | imagine]imaginimagine it will be a great Advantage
to [git | get]gitget an Acquaintance with Scholars, that when they
shall leave College and enter into [Buſineſs | business]Buſineſsbusiness abroad,
one might be of service to another. And, may I [expreſs | express]expreſsexpress
the [Paſsion | passion]Paſsionpassion — How comforting and supporting will
[Friendſhip | friendship]Friendſhipfriendship be to one in the [lonly | lonely]lonlylonely [Deſert | desert]Deſertdesert! It is but a short
[Seaſon | season]Seaſonseason I can have to [git | get]gitget an acquaintance with [any Body | anybody]any Bodyanybody
special within two years and half here — and to be sure
I [muſt | must]muſtmust be under poor [Circumſtances | circumstances]Circumſtancescircumstances among the Pagans.
And will not an acquaintance with Men of Learning
be of great Advantage to one, who [muſt | must]muſtmust be so much [ex‐
poſed | ex
posed]
ex‐
poſed
ex
posed
in a crafty World as a [Miſsionary | missionary]Miſsionarymissionary? There are
several [Exerciſes | exercises]Exerciſesexercises of Improvement at College, we have not
here; [tho' | though]tho'though they are not [abſolutely | absolutely]abſolutelyabsolutely [neceſsary | necessary]neceſsarynecessary for one who
expects to spend all his Days among Heathen; yet would
they not be [servicable | serviceable]servicableserviceable and [inlarging | enlarging]inlargingenlarging to the Mind? What
you said, Sir, as to the [Mathematicks | mathematics]Mathematicksmathematics, it give me [Satiſ‐
faction | Satis
faction]
Satiſ‐
faction
Satis
faction
— To have a tolerable acquaintance with them
I [suppoſe | suppose]suppoſesuppose is sufficient — Other Studies would be more [agre‐
able | agre
eable]
agre‐
able
agre
eable
, as well as profitable — I can [eaſily | easily]eaſilyeasily, (and indeed,
it would be too black Ingratitude not to) believe your
Plans and Schemes to be the [moſt | most]moſtmost for my Profit, and
to fix me for [Uſefulneſs | usefulness]Uſefulneſsusefulness. And was the School [fixt | fixed]fixtfixed
and set up, it would not give me the [leaſt | least]leaſtleast [Uneaſi‐
neſs | Uneasi
ness]
Uneaſi‐
neſs
Uneasi
ness
, If I did not go to College at all: But [untill | until]untilluntil
that is done, would it not be [beſt | best]beſtbest, all things [conſidered | considered]conſideredconsidered,
that we should spend a little time at College, as was [pro
poſed | pro
posed]
pro
poſed
pro
posed
, and agreed to, when we entered the School[org0098.ocp]? [Mr | Mr.]MrMr.
Kirtland[pers0315.ocp]
often (with tears) laments his short Acquain
tance with [Claſsical | Classical]ClaſsicalClassical, [Scholaſtice | scholastic]Scholaſticescholastic Studies; and thinks
it to be [neceſary | necessary]neceſarynecessary for a [Miſsionary | missionary]Miſsionarymissionary, as well as any
other Calling in Life.
But, I am but a Child, and know not what is [beſt | best]beſtbest in the
Affair — I can with the [greateſt | greatest]greateſtgreatest [Submiſsion | submission]Submiſsionsubmission and [Reſig‐
nation | Resig
nation]
Reſig‐
nation
Resig
nation
to [Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Wheelock[pers0036.ocp] [reſign | resign]reſignresign the whole Matter to your
parental [Goodneſs | goodness]Goodneſsgoodness, and Judgment. I rejoice I have yet
a Patron who knows better what is [beſt | best]beſtbest for me, than [myſelf | myself]myſelfmyself:
Thus, Sir, I have [indeavoured | endeavoured]indeavouredendeavoured a few [Reaſons | reasons]Reaſonsreasons, why I should
[deſire | desire]deſiredesire to go to College, as hath heretofore been [propoſed | proposed]propoſedproposed: And,
if there be any Weight in them,/ with the [profoundeſt | profoundest]profoundeſtprofoundest Reverence
I [begg | beg]beggbeg they may be [conſidered | considered]conſideredconsidered
I [imbrace | embrace]imbraceembrace this, as the [firſt | first]firſtfirst and [beſt | best]beſtbest opportunity I have
had to return you, my [moſt | most]moſtmost sincere and hearty Thanks for
your [Expreſsions | expressions]Expreſsionsexpressions of tender Care and Concern for my Health.
I can only add, that I am, with all [fillial | filial]fillialfilial Duty and
Humility,

[Closer]
Reverend and [Honour'd | honoured]Honour'dhonoured Sir,
Your [moſt | most]moſtmost obedi‐
ent, [moſt | most]moſtmost dutiful,
and very humble
Servant

David Avery[pers0064.ocp].
[Trailer]
To the Rev. [Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Wheelock[pers0036.ocp].


To the Reverend
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Eleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp],
Lebanon[place0122.ocp]
Connecticut[place0048.ocp].

From Avery[pers0064.ocp]

From David Avery[pers0064.ocp]
May [26.th | 26th]26.th26th 1767[1767-05-26]
Document Summary

People identified in this document:

id Text in document Role in header Authorized Name
pers0036.ocp M r Mr. Wheelock recipient Wheelock, Eleazar
pers0315.ocp M r Mr. Kirtland mentioned Kirkland, Samuel
pers0064.ocp David Avery writer Avery, David
pers0036.ocp Eleazar Wheelock recipient Wheelock, Eleazar
pers0064.ocp Avery writer Avery, David
pers0064.ocp David Avery writer Avery, David

Places identified in this document:

id Text in document Authorized Name
place0170.ocp North-Ame‐ rica North America
place0122.ocp Lebanon Lebanon
place0048.ocp Connecticut Connecticut

Organizations identified in this document:

id Text in document Authorized Name
org0098.ocp School Moor’s Indian Charity School

Dates identified in this document:

Standard Form Text
1767-05-26 May 26: 1767
1767-05-26 May 26.th26th 1767

Regularized text:

Type Original Regularized
modernization Revd Rev.
modernization Reaſons reasons
modernization eſpe‐
cially
espe
cially
modernization Shortſghtedneſs shortsightedness
variation inmature immature
modernization Anſwer answer
variation Diſappointment disappointment
modernization neceſsary necessary
modernization leaſt least
modernization &c. etc.
modernization Miſsion mission
variation gitting getting
modernization Buſineſs business
modernization thoſe those
modernization reaſon reason
modernization purſue pursue
modernization Deſign design
modernization Diſlike dislike
variation Suſpiceon suspicion
modernization profeſs profess
modernization Friendſhip friendship
modernization raiſ‐
ed
rais
ed
modernization againſt against
modernization Mr Mr.
modernization Cauſe cause
modernization diſpoſed disposed
modernization de‐
ſigned
de
signed
modernization senſible sensible
variation 'till 'til
variation imagin imagine
variation git get
modernization expreſs express
modernization Paſsion passion
variation lonly lonely
modernization Deſert desert
modernization Seaſon season
variation any Body anybody
modernization muſt must
modernization Circumſtances circumstances
modernization ex‐
poſed
ex
posed
modernization Miſsionary missionary
modernization Exerciſes exercises
modernization abſolutely absolutely
variation servicable serviceable
variation inlarging enlarging
variation Mathematicks mathematics
modernization Satiſ‐
faction
Satis
faction
modernization suppoſe suppose
variation agre‐
able
agre
eable
modernization eaſily easily
modernization moſt most
modernization Uſefulneſs usefulness
variation fixt fixed
modernization Uneaſi‐
neſs
Uneasi
ness
variation untill until
modernization beſt best
modernization conſidered considered
modernization pro
poſed
pro
posed
modernization Claſsical Classical
modernization Scholaſtice scholastic
modernization neceſary necessary
modernization greateſt greatest
modernization Submiſsion submission
modernization Reſig‐
nation
Resig
nation
modernization reſign resign
modernization Goodneſs goodness
modernization myſelf myself
variation indeavoured endeavoured
modernization deſire desire
modernization profoundeſt profoundest
variation begg beg
variation imbrace embrace
modernization firſt first
modernization Expreſsions expressions
variation fillial filial
modernization 26.th 26th

Expanded abbreviations:

Abbreviation Expansion
Honrd. honoured
& and
tho' though
Tho' Though
Honour'd honoured

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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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