Eleazar Wheelock, letter, to John Thornton, 1770 January 8

Author Wheelock, Eleazar[pers0036.ocp]

8 January 1770[1770-01-08]

Call Number770108.1

[note (type: abstract): Wheelock writes to deny reports of his having neglected Kirtland. He mentions Thornton's kindness to Occom and the fact that John Wheatley has been drawn upon for 40 pounds towards Occom's support.][note (type: handwriting): Informal handwriting is small, crowded and occasionally difficult to decipher. Letter case is occasionally difficult to discern, particularly with regard to the letters W and S.][note (type: paper): Single sheet is in good-to-fair condition, with light-to-moderate staining and creasing. Wear at the edges results in a minor loss of text.][note (type: ink): Black-brown.][note (type: noteworthy): This document is likely a draft.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]

My dear [& | and]&and [Hon.d | Honoured]Hon.dHonoured [ſir | Sir]ſirSir.
I thankfully acknowledge your kind [Fav.r | favour]Fav.rfavour of
[Aug.t | August]Aug.tAugust 26. 1769.[1769-08-26] And I [bleſs | bless]bleſsbless God on Your Behalf, who has given
you ability and [largneſs | largeness]largneſslargeness of Heart to [releive | relieve]releiverelieve the Needy, and [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially
that he has made you Studious to [diſpose | dispose]diſposedispose your Charity So
that the Kingdom of the Redeemer May be advanced thereby
The [Expreſsions | expressions]Expreſsionsexpressions of Your [Kindneſs | kindness]Kindneſskindness towards Mr. Occom[pers0030.ocp], were [pe‐
‐cutiarly | pe‐
culiarly]
pe‐
‐cutiarly
pe‐
culiarly
[wellcome | welcome]wellcomewelcome [& | and]&and [refreſhing | refreshing]refreſhingrefreshing to him, as they were at a Time When
his [Circumſtances | circumstances]Circumſtancescircumstances [calld | called]calldcalled for help. He preaches Steadily to his own
and to Neighbouring Tribes, but they are all under the care and
Patronage of the [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston [Com̅iſsrs | Commissioners]Com̅iſsrsCommissioners[org0095.ocp], Who Suppose they have [otherwiſe | otherwise]otherwiſeotherwise
provided for them, and therefore [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Occom[pers0030.ocp] has no [penſion | pension]penſionpension, nor
[any thing | anything]any thinganything [publickly | publicly]publicklypublicly allowed him for his Labour among them, nor
can I do [any thing | anything]any thinganything [publickly | publicly]publicklypublicly for his Support in his [preſent | present]preſentpresent Service with
out giving offence, and exposing [Myſelf | myself]Myſelfmyself to thbe [cenſured | censured]cenſuredcensured as a Meddler
in that which belongs to others.
I have wrote [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Wheatly[pers0572.ocp] of [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston[place0013.ocp], (who, [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Occom[pers0030.ocp] informs me,
deals with you, and by whom he Supposed he might [moſt | most]moſtmost naturally
receive your Beneficence) [deſiring | desiring]deſiringdesiring him to pay [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Occom[pers0030.ocp] £40.
Sterling [& | and]&and draw for it on you. I Suppose [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Occom[pers0030.ocp] has wrote [yo | you]yoyou
fully of the Affair.
As to [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Kirtland[pers0315.ocp]'s Supply in [every thing | everything]every thingeverything within my Power, he
has never been neglected one Day, when his [Neceſsities | necessities]Neceſsitiesnecessities have been
known to me, [& | and]&and I have generally exceeded what he has [deſired | desired]deſireddesired, [& | and]&and have
[above] never gave below.never gave below. And Since the Collections in England[place0068.ocp] I have always told him there
was enough, and it was only for him to let me know what he
wanted and it was at his Service. nor am I [conſcious | conscious]conſciousconscious that I have
ever wanted the Heart or Hand of a Father [towds | towards]towdstowards him in one [Inſtance | instance]Inſtanceinstance
[ſince | since]ſincesince I [firſt | first]firſtfirst took him under my Patronage, and [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially since his [firſt | first]firſtfirst going
into the [wilderneſs | wilderness]wilderneſswilderness. However I have had a Scene of Trials of late of [ſuch | such]ſuchsuch
a Nature [& | and]&and So [greivous | grievous]greivousgrievous as I never expected from that Quarter, [& | and]&and which
I hope I Shall never have [occaſion | occasion]occaſionoccasion fully to [diſcloſe | disclose]diſcloſedisclose to you. I [ſuppoſe | suppose]ſuppoſesuppose
they have originated in part from, [& | and]&and been greatly [incouraged | encouraged]incouragedencouraged by a Sect of
people in these parts Who are commonly known by the Name of [Separets | Separates]SeparetsSeparates[org0136.ocp]
and [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially by [ Saveral | several] Saveralseveral in Connection with them, who, it is [ſaid | said]ſaidsaid, are [deſirous | desirous]deſirousdesirous
of being Preachers, and of being Introduced as [Miſsionaries | missionaries]Miſsionariesmissionaries Among the Indians
It

[left] To [Jn.o | John]Jn.oJohn Thornton [Esq.r | Esq.]Esq.rEsq.[pers0541.ocp]
 [Jany | January]JanyJanuary 8. 1770.[1770-01-08]
To [Jn.o | John]Jn.oJohn Thornton [Esq.r | Esq.]Esq.rEsq.[pers0541.ocp]
 [Jany | January]JanyJanuary 8. 1770.[1770-01-08]

It has been reported far round [ y.t | that] y.tthat [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Kirtland[pers0315.ocp] has been treated with
Neglect [&c | etc.]&cetc.—that he [deſigns | designs]deſignsdesigns to leave me [& | and]&and break off his Connection with
my School and put [himſelf | himself]himſelfhimself under the [Boſton | Boston]BoſtonBoston [Com̅iſsrs | Commissioners]Com̅iſsrsCommissioners[org0095.ocp] —that my
School[org0098.ocp] is coming down—and these Reports though they have no
credit near home have [gaind | gained]gaindgained credit with many Gentlemen of
worth at a [Diſtance | distance]Diſtancedistance—but it has [perſpired | perspired]perſpiredperspired from [ſome | some]ſomesome of that party
that [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. [K–ds | Kirtland]K–dsKirtland [pers0315.ocp]'s Character [& | and]&and influence is So great with the [Hon.le | honourable]Hon.lehonourable [Truſt | Trust]TruſtTrust in
England[org0103.ocp]
that he has power to undermine me, and turn the Channe[gap: worn_edge][guess (h-dawnd): l]l
of those Collections in their Hands as he [pleaſes | pleases]pleaſespleases [&c | etc.]&cetc. how far [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. [K–d | Kirtland]K–dKirtland [pers0315.ocp]
has been [knowg | knowing]knowgknowing to these Reports, or [w.t | what]w.twhat he has done to [diſcount | discount]diſcountdiscount[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [ em | them] emthem][ em | them] emthem [above] [& | and]&and[& | and]&and [diſcrede[above] tt | discredit]diſcrede[above] ttdiscredit
them I cant Say. before he wrote begging Letters without any Knowle[gap: worn_edge][guess (h-dawnd): dge]dge
which were read in Several of the [moſt | most]moſtmost [reſpectible | respectable]reſpectiblerespectable Congregations [above] in New [Hamſhire | Hampshire]HamſhireHampshire[place0160.ocp]in New [Hamſhire | Hampshire]HamſhireHampshire[place0160.ocp]
at above a hundred miles [Diſtance | distance]Diſtancedistance from me, and [above] wherewhere collections wer[gap: worn_edge][guess (h-dawnd): e]e
publicly made for the Supply of his [neceſsities | necessities]neceſsitiesnecessities. When he had the
[fulleſt | fullest]fulleſtfullest [aſsurance | assurance]aſsuranceassurance that I could give him that there was money
enough for him if he would only let it be known that he [ſtood | stood]ſtoodstood in
need, and also [y.t | that]y.tthat my Heart and the Hearts of the [Honle | honourable]Honlehonourable [Truſt | Trust]TruſtTrust[org0103.ocp] were
always open to Supply him. I have reproved this Conduct as carrying
in it an [unreaſonable | unreasonable]unreaſonableunreasonable reflection [above] on me &. [y.e | the]y.ethe Trust[org0103.ocp]on me &. [y.e | the]y.ethe Trust[org0103.ocp], as well as exposing [himſelf | himself]himſelfhimself and
the [cauſe | cause]cauſecause to the Reproaches of the Enemy [above] it being about [y.e | the]y.ethe Time in [w.c | which]w.cwhich large [diſburſemts | disbursements]diſburſemtsdisbursements had been publicly made for his [uſe | use]uſeuseit being about [y.e | the]y.ethe Time in [w.c | which]w.cwhich large [diſburſemts | disbursements]diſburſemtsdisbursements had been publicly made for his [uſe | use]uſeuse [&c | etc.]&cetc. but whether this was
more than an [Inadvertency | inadvertence]Inadvertencyinadvertence, and whether there has been a clanning
for a Revolution, I am not fully able to Say. however there have
been Several things that have been [unintilligible | unintelligible]unintilligibleunintelligible if there be no
[deſign | design]deſigndesign forming which is yet [illegible][induſtriouſly | industriously]induſtriouſlyindustriously [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): be]be [conceald | concealed]concealdconcealed.
I Should not have hinted these things to you (which are not yet known
by a Soul in my [Pariſh | parish]Pariſhparish further than they have the Reports from abroad)
had not your repeating thes Important Caution to take Care for
his Support, [raiſed | raised]raiſedraised a Strong [Suſpicion | suspicion]Suſpicionsuspicion in my mind that Something of
the kind has been [tranſmitted | transmitted]tranſmittedtransmitted.— [above] [yo | you]yoyou may [expoſe | expose]expoſeexpose [w.t | what]w.twhat I here write if you think [beſt | best]beſtbest to my [Hon.d | honoured]Hon.dhonoured [yo | you]yoyou may [expoſe | expose]expoſeexpose [w.t | what]w.twhat I here write if you think [beſt | best]beſtbest to my [Hon.d | honoured]Hon.dhonoured Patrons, but I have confidence in [y.o | you]y.oyou [& | and]&and in [y.m | them]y.mthem [y.t | that]y.tthat [y.re | there]y.rethere will be [below] no ill [improvemt | improvement]improvemt improvement made of it—no ill [improvemt | improvement]improvemt improvement made of it—
 I am [ſenſible | sensible]ſenſiblesensible the powers of [Darkneſs | darkness]Darkneſsdarkness are [combind | combined]combindcombined [againſt | against]againſtagainst the
[progreſs | progress]progreſsprogress of the great [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign before us, but I have found it is not in
vain to hope [& | and]&and [truſt | trust]truſttrust in the Lord. I have [obtaind | obtained]obtaindobtained an ample [incorporatn | incorporation]incorporatnincorporation
for my School[org0098.ocp] [& | and]&and am now waiting for the Return of [Col.o | Col.]Col.oCol. Phelps[pers0424.ocp] my Agent
to take the Deeds [& | and]&and Secure the Donations made in from New [hamſhire | Hampshire]hamſhireHampshire[place0160.ocp] whom
I have [imployed | employed]imployedemployed to take the Deeds [& | and]&and Secure the Donations made [illegible]to the
School in that Province, and than I Shall endeavour to write my
[Hond | honoured]Hondhonoured Patrons fully of the gracious dealings of Heaven, [& | and]&and I [truſt | trust]truſttrust they [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): will]will
I Shall offer that which will excite them to [joyn | join]joynjoin in [praiſes | praises]praiſespraises to God who has
not [forſaken | forsaken]forſakenforsaken this [Cauſe | cause]Cauſecause, but is more and more abundant in his [mercys | mercies]mercysmercies
towards it. I am my [Hond | honoured]Hondhonoured Friend with high [Eſteem | Esteem]EſteemEsteem [& | and]&and [Reſpect | Respect]ReſpectRespect.
[Closer]
Your [Obed.t | Obedient]Obed.tObedient [& | and]&and very Humble [Serv.t | Servant]Serv.tServant
Eleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]
Document Summary

People identified in this document:

id Text in document Role in header Authorized Name
pers0030.ocp Mr. Occom mentioned Occom, Samson
pers0030.ocp Occom mentioned Occom, Samson
pers0572.ocp M. r Mr. Wheatly mentioned Wheatley, John
pers0315.ocp M. r Mr. Kirtland mentioned Kirkland, Samuel
pers0541.ocp Jn. o John Thornton Esq. r Esq. recipient Thornton, John
pers0315.ocp K–ds Kirtland mentioned Kirkland, Samuel
pers0315.ocp K–d Kirtland mentioned Kirkland, Samuel
pers0424.ocp Phelps mentioned Phelps
pers0036.ocp Eleazar Wheelock writer Wheelock, Eleazar

Places identified in this document:

id Text in document Authorized Name
place0122.ocp Lebanon Lebanon
place0013.ocp Boſton Boston Boston
place0068.ocp England England
place0160.ocp New Hamſhire Hampshire New Hampshire
place0160.ocp New hamſhire Hampshire New Hampshire

Organizations identified in this document:

id Text in document Authorized Name
org0095.ocp BoſtonBoston Com̅iſsrsCommissioners The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America
org0136.ocp SeparetsSeparates Radical New Lights/Separatists
org0098.ocp School Moor’s Indian Charity School
org0103.ocp TruſtTrust in England Trust in England
org0103.ocp the Honlehonourable TruſtTrust Trust in England
org0103.ocp y.ethe Trust Trust in England
org0098.ocp my School Moor’s Indian Charity School

Dates identified in this document:

Standard Form Text
1770-01-08 JanyJanuary. 8. 1770
1769-08-26 Aug.tAugust 26. 1769.
1770-01-08 JanyJanuary 8. 1770.

Regularized text:

Type Original Regularized
modernization ſir Sir
modernization bleſs bless
modernization largneſs largeness
variation releive relieve
modernization eſpecially especially
modernization diſpose dispose
modernization Expreſsions expressions
modernization Kindneſs kindness
variation wellcome welcome
modernization refreſhing refreshing
modernization Circumſtances circumstances
variation calld called
modernization Boſton Boston
modernization otherwiſe otherwise
modernization M.r Mr.
modernization penſion pension
variation any thing anything
variation publickly publicly
modernization preſent present
modernization Myſelf myself
modernization cenſured censured
modernization moſt most
modernization deſiring desiring
variation every thing everything
modernization Neceſsities necessities
modernization deſired desired
modernization conſcious conscious
modernization Inſtance instance
modernization ſince since
modernization firſt first
modernization wilderneſs wilderness
modernization ſuch such
variation greivous grievous
modernization occaſion occasion
modernization diſcloſe disclose
modernization ſuppoſe suppose
variation incouraged encouraged
variation Separets Separates
variation Saveral several
modernization ſaid said
modernization deſirous desirous
modernization Miſsionaries missionaries
modernization Esq.r Esq.
modernization y.t that
modernization &c etc.
modernization deſigns designs
modernization himſelf himself
variation gaind gained
modernization Diſtance distance
modernization perſpired perspired
modernization ſome some
modernization Truſt Trust
modernization pleaſes pleases
modernization diſcount discount
variation diſcrede[above] tt discredit
variation reſpectible respectable
variation Hamſhire Hampshire
modernization neceſsities necessities
modernization fulleſt fullest
modernization aſsurance assurance
modernization ſtood stood
modernization y.t that
modernization unreaſonable unreasonable
modernization y.e the
modernization cauſe cause
modernization uſe use
variation Inadvertency inadvertence
variation unintilligible unintelligible
modernization deſign design
modernization induſtriouſly industriously
variation conceald concealed
modernization Pariſh parish
modernization raiſed raised
modernization Suſpicion suspicion
modernization tranſmitted transmitted
modernization expoſe expose
modernization beſt best
modernization y.m them
modernization y.re there
modernization ſenſible sensible
modernization Darkneſs darkness
variation combind combined
modernization againſt against
modernization progreſs progress
modernization Deſign design
modernization truſt trust
variation obtaind obtained
modernization Col.o Col.
variation hamſhire Hampshire
variation imployed employed
variation joyn join
modernization praiſes praises
modernization forſaken forsaken
modernization Cauſe cause
variation mercys mercies
modernization Eſteem Esteem
modernization Reſpect Respect

Expanded abbreviations:

Abbreviation Expansion
Jany January
& and
Hon.d Honoured
Fav.r favour
Aug.t August
Com̅iſsrs Commissioners
yo you
towds towards
Jn.o John
K–ds Kirtland
Hon.le honourable
K–d Kirtland
knowg knowing
w.t what
em them
Honle honourable
w.c which
diſburſemts disbursements
Hon.d honoured
y.o you
improvemt improvement
incorporatn incorporation
Hond honoured
Obed.t Obedient
Serv.t Servant

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 51)
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: 0 (out of 26)
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: 0 (out of 10)
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): 0 (out of 113)