Jacob Johnson, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1769 May 14
14 May 1769[1769-05-14]
ms number769313
[note (type: abstract): Johnson writes that, if Huntington should go to Oneida Country, it is important that he learn the Indian language. Johnson strongly urges Wheelock to employ a professor of Indian language, and counsels him not to send Ralph Wheelock on a mission before meeting with Mr. Kirtland.][note (type: handwriting): Informal handwriting is occasionally difficult to decipher. At times, the writer does not pick up his pen or leave space between words. Letter case is occasionally difficult to discern, especially with regard to the letter S.][note (type: paper): Large sheet folded into four pages is in good-to-fair condition, with light-to-moderate staining, creasing and wear.][note (type: ink): Black.][note (type: signature): The signature is abbreviated.][note (type: noteworthy): It is uncertain as to whether, when he refers to "your School," Johnson means Moor's Indian Charity School, or the newly chartered Dartmouth College, and so this reference has been left untagged.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
Groton[place0092.ocp]
May. 13. 1769[1769-05-13]
Rev [& | and]&and Hon.
Sir
I Suppose you have [receiv'd | received]receiv'dreceived some Letters — with the [Reaſons | Reasons]ReaſonsReasons of my not coming to Lebanon[place0122.ocp], as I had
intend‐ed —my Family [moſt | most]moſtmost
[of'em | of them]of'emof them are unwell — [& | and]&and my [2d | 2nd]2d2nd Daughter in a critical State of Life — [& | and]&and other things so with me, that my Time is wholly took up— [& | and]&and
[ſeveral | several]ſeveralseveral things yet to do of [imper‐tance | impor‐tance]imper‐tanceimpor‐tance that I can't yet attend to — I saw Mr-Hunt‐ington[pers0271.ocp] (whom you [mentiond | mentioned]mentiondmentioned to Me when at Lebanon[place0122.ocp]) who
informs me that He with 2 [schoolmaſters | schoolmasters]schoolmaſtersschoolmasters are to go soon for Oneida[place0179.ocp], [& | and]&and the [Indn | Indian]IndnIndian Country — Per‐haps as things are cir
[Circumſtanced | Circumstanced]CircumſtancedCircumstanced — it [me'nt | [guess (): may not]may not]me'nt[guess (): may not]may not
it
ment be [beſt | best]beſtbest
to at [preſent | present]preſentpresent ([till | 'til]till'til you [ſir | sir]ſirsir
[ſee | see]ſeesee fur‐ther) to employ more than One [Miſsionary | Missionary]MiſsionaryMissionary ([beſides | besides]beſidesbesides
Mr [K–d | Kirtland]K–dKirtland[pers0315.ocp]) [& | and]&and 2 [Schoolmaſters | Schoolmasters]SchoolmaſtersSchoolmasters — [& | and]&and perhaps
Mr Huntington[pers0271.ocp] (as things now are) may do [beſt | best]beſtbest to go — He is indeed young, [& | and]&and
[haſ | has]haſhas not had much time, or advantage to get acquaintance in [theſe | these]theſethese affairs — but (being, I hope, [honeſtly | honestly]honeſtlyhonestly
[& | and]&and heartily [inclind | inclined]inclindinclined to [ſerve | serve]ſerveserve the Redeemer, in this [moſt | most]moſtmost important ^[above] [Cauſe | Cause]CauſeCause)^[Cauſe | Cause]CauſeCause) He may be [ſuc‐ceeded | suc‐ceeded]ſuc‐ceededsuc‐ceeded, [& | and]&and
[bleſt | blessed]bleſtblessed in the undertaking -— There are many difficulties, [& | and]&and dangers, attending [ofit | of it]ofitof it, [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially to one unacquainted with The [Indn | Indian]IndnIndian Language, manner ^[below] [&c | etc.]&cetc.^[&c | etc.]&cetc. But God is able to do all things, [& | and]&and even out of
[weakneſs | weakness]weakneſsweakness to ordain Strength -— I [belive | believe]belivebelieve
[ſir | sir]ſirsir it would be [beſt | best]beſtbest (if [poſsible | possible]poſsiblepossible) for one [ofthe | of the]oftheof the
[Schoolmaſter | Schoolmaster]SchoolmaſterSchoolmaster to go as an Interpreter to Mr [Huntn | Huntington]HuntnHuntington[pers0271.ocp] For He will be put to difficulty [otherwiſe | otherwise]otherwiſeotherwise to get an [Interpretr | interpreter]Interpretrinterpreter — and moreover if Mr [Htn | Huntington]HtnHuntington[pers0271.ocp]
[propoſes | proposes]propoſesproposes to [ſpend | spend]ſpendspend his Life among the [Indns | Indians]IndnsIndians, to be [ſure | sure]ſuresure to give his Mind
to Learn their Language; The advantage [ofit | of it]ofitof it is inconceivably great to a [Miſs.ry | missionary]Miſs.rymissionary — nex^[above] t^t to the Grace of God [& | and]&and
[miniſterial | ministerial]miniſterialministerial Gifts it is the better [halfe | half]halfehalf of a [Miſsionys | missionary's]Miſsionysmissionary's qualifications to do [ſervice | service]ſerviceservice in the
[Cauſe | Cause]CauſeCause — I [coud | could]coudcould
[wiſh | wish]wiſhwish that all [& | and]&and
[evry | every]evryevery one that think of doing Service as [Miſsionies | missionaries]Miſsioniesmissionaries among the
[Indns | Indians]IndnsIndians woud give [them selves | themselves]them selvesthemselves to the Learning of their Language, as one [moſt | most]moſtmost
[neceſsary | necessary]neceſsarynecessary ante‐cedent qualification for their going among them
And for this [moſt | most]moſtmost important [purpoſe | purpose]purpoſepurpose that you [woud | would]woudwould
[ſir | sir]ſirsir get as [ſoon | soon]ſoonsoon as [poſsible | possible]poſsiblepossible a [pro‐feſsor | pro‐fessor]pro‐feſsorpro‐fessor of Indian in your School and that the
[Indn | Indian]IndnIndian Language may be taught as equally if not even more [neceſsary | necessary]neceſsarynecessary than Latin Greek or Hebrew as I am indeed certain it is in this
[Caſe | Case]CaſeCase by my own [moſt | most]moſtmost certain experience
[There | Their]ThereTheir Language may be reduced to the rules of [Grammer | grammar]Grammergrammar
[& | and]&and taught as any other Language and be learned as soon or sooner than any
other [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially by [thoſe | those]thoſethose who have any [taſt | taste]taſttaste or [geneous | genius]geneousgenius for the Oriental Languages —as I
[coud | could]coudcould
[eaſily | easily]eaſilyeasily
[shew | show]shewshow by what I learned [ofit | of it]ofitof it — —was it the will of God I [ſhoud | should]ſhoudshould spend as much Time away there again as I did the [laſt | last]laſtlast winter I think I [coud | could]coudcould be [maſter | master]maſtermaster of their Language [& | and]&and be able to reduce it to the Rules of [Grammer | grammar]Grammergrammar which I think [woud | would]woudwould be a [ſervice | service]ſerviceservice
of [unſpeakable | unspeakable]unſpeakableunspeakable
^[above] advantage^advantage whoever does it to effect —And if your [ſon | son]ſonson[pers0578.ocp] or any other [propoſes | proposes]propoſesproposes to go into the [ſervice | service]ſerviceservice I hope they will in the [mean time | meantime]mean timemeantime give [themſelves | themselves]themſelvesthemselves to the [ſtudy | study]ſtudystudy of the Indian Tongue —you [ſee | see]ſeesee
[ſir | sir]ſirsir the affair is [ſo | so]ſoso much on my Mind that I know not how to [diſmiſs | dismiss]diſmiſsdismiss it or give over urging it upon your mind [ſir | sir]ſirsir
[till | 'til]till'til you do [ſome thing | something]ſome thingsomething to effect about it the which when I hear of my Mind will be [eaſy | easy]eaſyeasy in that respect [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): m]m— but I [muſt | must]muſtmust not enlarge May the Father of Lights direct you [ſir | sir]ſirsir in all things [& | and]&and make his will in these [& | and]&and all respects plain [& | and]&and perfect for the furtherance [& | and]&and upbuilding the Redeemers Kingdom among the benighted Heathen
[Closer]
I am [Hond | Honoured]HondHonoured
[ſir | sir]ſirsir with all [ſincerity | sincerity]ſinceritysincerity respect Yours in [Chiſt | Christ]ChiſtChrist
[Jeſus | Jesus]JeſusJesus our Lord —
[J | Jacob]JJacob Johnson[pers0287.ocp]—
[Postscript]
P.[ſ | s]ſs. I [belive | believe]belivebelieve upon the whole it may be [beſt | best]beſtbest for your
[ſon | son]ſonson
^[above] [Mr | Mr.]MrMr.^[Mr | Mr.]MrMr.
[Radolp | Rodolphus]RadolpRodolphus[pers0578.ocp] not to go for the Oneida[place0179.ocp]
[untill | until]untilluntil you
[ſir | sir]ſirsir
[& | and]&and
[yr | your]yryour
[ſon | son]ſonson[pers0578.ocp] have had a [perſonal | personal]perſonalpersonal Interview with
Mr [k–d | Kirtland]k–dKirtland[pers0315.ocp] at Your own [Houſe | House]HouſeHouse
[& | and]&and
[thoſe | those]thoſethose affairs —
[ſubſiſting | subsisting]ſubſiſtingsubsisting be [conſiderd | considered]conſiderdconsidered
[& | and]&and amicably settled to mutual
[satiſfaction | satisfaction]satiſfactionsatisfaction which I hope [thro | through]throthrough the mercy [& | and]&and Grace of God may be done [& | and]&and well done [ſo | so]ſoso that the
[path way | pathway]path waypathway of Duty may be open [& | and]&and plain That there may be nothing in that [reſpect | respect]reſpectrespect within or without to hurt or offend in all Gods Holy Moun‐tain — It was my [Laber | labour]Laberlabour there with [K–d | Kirtland]K–dKirtland[pers0315.ocp]
[& | and]&and prayer to God then [& | and]&and
[ſince | since]ſincesince tha[gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): t]t
[gap: tear] might be done —
[Trailer]
From [Rev.d | Rev.]Rev.dRev.
[J. | Jacob]J.Jacob
[Johnſon | Johnson]JohnſonJohnson[pers0287.ocp]
May [13.th | 13th]13.th13th 1769[1769-05-13].
To the Rev [& | and]&and Hon. —
[Dr | Dr.]DrDr.
[Elezr | Eleazar]ElezrEleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]
Lebanon[place0122.ocp]
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0271.ocp | Mr-Hunt‐ ington | mentioned | Huntington, Thomas |
pers0315.ocp | Mr K–d Kirtland | mentioned | Kirkland, Samuel |
pers0271.ocp | Mr Huntington | mentioned | Huntington, Thomas |
pers0271.ocp | Mr Hunt n Huntington | mentioned | Huntington, Thomas |
pers0271.ocp | Mr H t n Huntington | mentioned | Huntington, Thomas |
pers0578.ocp | your ſon son | mentioned | Wheelock, Rodulphus |
pers0287.ocp | J Jacob Johnson | writer | Johnson, Jacob W. |
pers0578.ocp | M r Mr. Rad olp Rodolphus | mentioned | Wheelock, Rodulphus |
pers0578.ocp | y r your ſon son | mentioned | Wheelock, Rodulphus |
pers0315.ocp | Mr k–d Kirtland | mentioned | Kirkland, Samuel |
pers0315.ocp | K–d Kirtland | mentioned | Kirkland, Samuel |
pers0287.ocp | Rev. d Rev. J. Jacob Johnſon Johnson | writer | Johnson, Jacob W. |
pers0036.ocp | D r Dr. Elez r Eleazar Wheelock | recipient | Wheelock, Eleazar |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0092.ocp | Groton | Groton |
place0122.ocp | Lebanon | Lebanon |
place0179.ocp | Oneida | Oneida |
This document does not contain any tagged organizations.
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1769-05-13 | May. 13. 1769 |
1769-05-13 | May 13.th13th 1769 |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
modernization | Reaſons | Reasons |
modernization | moſt | most |
modernization | 2d | 2nd |
modernization | ſeveral | several |
variation | imper‐tance | impor‐tance |
variation | mentiond | mentioned |
modernization | schoolmaſters | schoolmasters |
modernization | Circumſtanced | Circumstanced |
modernization | beſt | best |
modernization | preſent | present |
variation | till | 'til |
modernization | ſir | sir |
modernization | ſee | see |
modernization | Miſsionary | Missionary |
modernization | beſides | besides |
modernization | Schoolmaſters | Schoolmasters |
modernization | haſ | has |
modernization | theſe | these |
modernization | honeſtly | honestly |
variation | inclind | inclined |
modernization | ſerve | serve |
modernization | Cauſe | Cause |
modernization | ſuc‐ceeded | suc‐ceeded |
variation | bleſt | blessed |
variation | ofit | of it |
modernization | eſpecially | especially |
modernization | &c | etc. |
modernization | weakneſs | weakness |
variation | belive | believe |
modernization | poſsible | possible |
variation | ofthe | of the |
modernization | Schoolmaſter | Schoolmaster |
modernization | otherwiſe | otherwise |
modernization | propoſes | proposes |
modernization | ſpend | spend |
modernization | ſure | sure |
modernization | miniſterial | ministerial |
variation | halfe | half |
modernization | ſervice | service |
variation | coud | could |
modernization | wiſh | wish |
variation | evry | every |
variation | them selves | themselves |
modernization | neceſsary | necessary |
modernization | purpoſe | purpose |
variation | woud | would |
modernization | ſoon | soon |
modernization | pro‐feſsor | pro‐fessor |
modernization | Caſe | Case |
variation | There | Their |
variation | Grammer | grammar |
modernization | thoſe | those |
variation | taſt | taste |
variation | geneous | genius |
modernization | eaſily | easily |
variation | shew | show |
variation | ſhoud | should |
modernization | laſt | last |
modernization | maſter | master |
modernization | unſpeakable | unspeakable |
modernization | ſon | son |
variation | mean time | meantime |
modernization | themſelves | themselves |
modernization | ſtudy | study |
modernization | ſo | so |
modernization | diſmiſs | dismiss |
modernization | ſome thing | something |
modernization | eaſy | easy |
modernization | muſt | must |
modernization | ſincerity | sincerity |
variation | Chiſt | Christ |
modernization | Jeſus | Jesus |
modernization | ſ | s |
modernization | Mr | Mr. |
variation | untill | until |
modernization | perſonal | personal |
modernization | Houſe | House |
modernization | ſubſiſting | subsisting |
variation | conſiderd | considered |
modernization | satiſfaction | satisfaction |
variation | thro | through |
variation | path way | pathway |
modernization | reſpect | respect |
variation | Laber | labour |
modernization | ſince | since |
modernization | Rev.d | Rev. |
modernization | Johnſon | Johnson |
modernization | 13.th | 13th |
modernization | Dr | Dr. |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
& | and |
receiv'd | received |
of'em | of them |
Indn | Indian |
me'nt | [guess (): may not]may not |
K–d | Kirtland |
Huntn | Huntington |
Interpretr | interpreter |
Htn | Huntington |
Indns | Indians |
Miſs.ry | missionary |
Miſsionys | missionary's |
Miſsionies | missionaries |
Hond | Honoured |
J | Jacob |
Radolp | Rodolphus |
yr | your |
k–d | Kirtland |
J. | Jacob |
Elezr | Eleazar |
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 26) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 19) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 5) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 96) |