David Avery, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1771 June 6

Author Avery, David[pers0064.ocp]

6 June 1771[1771-06-06]

Call Number771356

[note (type: abstract): Avery writes about his upcoming ordination and possible mission. He relates news of Occom and David Fowler, with brief excerpts of a letter from Fowler.][note (type: handwriting): Handwriting is formal, clear and legible.][note (type: paper): Four large sheets of paper have each been folded in half to make four pages. The address is on a separate, single sheet. The paper is in good condition, with mostly light creasing, staining and wear.][note (type: ink): Dark-brown.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]

[Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [& | and]&and [hon,d | honoured]hon,dhonoured Sir,
About three weeks past I received
Doctor Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]'s letter, dated 22 of april[1771-04-22]; for
which I return a [above] [gratful | grateful]gratfulgrateful[gratful | grateful]gratfulgrateful tribute of Thanks. —
This was very timely, and gave me to
understand a little, [tho' | though]tho'though not fully, the [Doctr[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [inline] ee][inline] ee'rs | Doctor's]Doctr[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [inline] ee][inline] ee'rsDoctor's[pers0036.ocp]'s
mind [& | and]&and pleasure respecting my Des‐
tiny. His other Letter, [refered | referred]referedreferred to in this
which I have, is yet on the way. —
It gave me the most sensible sorrow
to hear that all of my letters to [Dartm.o | Dartmouth]Dartm.oDartmouth[org0037.ocp]
have fell short. — What is the mean‐
‐ing
‐ing of Providence in this I can't tell. — Have
wrote again and again, representing the State
of affairs in these parts, giving an account
of God's [above] workwork in a particular Parish, and [expreſsing | expressing]expreſsingexpressing
the earnest desire of that poor, needy, desti‐
‐tute People that I tarry longer with them a
little while longer, that I may know what
my [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. Patron would advise and direct to. —
I have been, and am still, exceeding loath to
do any the least thing contrary to his Pleasure
to whom am under the most inviolable
obligations, next to Almighty God. —
The [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [M,r | Mr.]M,rMr. Buell[pers0006.ocp] being in New England[place0158.ocp]
I could not consult him ['till | 'til]'till'til this week. Now
I have laid before him my affairs and
taken his Advice in this case, which is,
That I tarry about two months on the
Island[place0129.ocp] and then return to [N..w | New]N..wNew Hampshire[place0160.ocp].
This advice I have concluded to follow.
[M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Buell[pers0006.ocp] informs me he saw [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [M,r | Mr.]M,rMr.
Patten[pers0408.ocp] and [M,r | Mr.]M,rMr. Woodward[pers0610.ocp], whom he
[discourſed | discoursed]discourſeddiscoursed on the point, and they were
of opinion that it would not, likely, be
displeasing to the [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. Doctor[pers0036.ocp] if I
should tarry for such reasons as he
gave them — (viz) My not being [above] inin a con‐
firmed state of health sufficient to go
upon an Indian [Miſsion | mission]Miſsionmission in the
heat of summer. — And the late happy
revival of Religion in Ketehebonack[place0294.ocp], which
appears to be a particular Call to labor
with them a little longer. —
([Bleſsed | Blessed]BleſsedBlessed be God the Work still goes on
and there is a prospect of ingathering of souls.)
If I should go [above] toto Dartmouth[org0037.ocp] now, by what I can
learn, my ordination could not conveni‐
‐ently be attended before Commencement,
and without that I should not be prevailed
upon to take a [miſsion | mission]miſsionmission.— Perhaps it may
be thought best this ordinance should be so‐
lemnized at that time when the Corporati
‐on[org0161.ocp]
shall be together; which I most earnestly
request
1
1
request may be done; for I am much ex‐
‐ercised about preaching barely by virtue
of a Licence.
With respect to my going under
Boston Board[org0095.ocp], I know not what to say—
I should, by all means, [chuse | choose]chusechoose to con‐
‐sult the Corporation[org0161.ocp] on the head.—
As it is a very delicate point, so I shall
[indeavour | endeavour]indeavourendeavour to manage it.— That Letter
not having come to hand in which
the Proposal was made, [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Buell[pers0006.ocp]
did not know what advice to give.
If by going under that Board[org0095.ocp] I must in the
least break [connexions | connections]connexionsconnections with him, whom
it is my honor to call my [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [& | and]&and Worthy Patron
I could not [indure | endure]indureendure the thought of it— but if
it shall be thought best, on the whole, to an‐
swer the general Design in view — it is likely
I shall be willing to comply with the [propo‐
‐ſal | propo‐
sal]
propo‐
‐ſal
propo‐
sal
.— It has given me much of the [Heart‐
‐ach | heart‐
ache]
Heart‐
‐ach
heart‐
ache
that [somethings | some things]somethingssome things are as they are,— but
God's Government is over all, according to In
‐finite Wisdom — the [iſsue | issue]iſsueissue therefore must,
and can't but, be for his Glory; yea, for a
greater Display of Divine Glory than other
‐wise there would be if it were not for some
dark Scenes.. This consideration bears my
Spirits up, or it seems, I could not, at times, sub‐
‐sist — Let [above] ZionZion and her Sons, rejoice in their
King/ — The [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. Doctor[pers0036.ocp] mentioned a pro‐
‐posal
‐posal lately made to him of my taking
a tour to [S.t | Saint]S.tSaint John's River[place0298.ocp] this summer,—
and asked me what I think of it? —
If I knew what prospects there are [inline] oofor
doing good there were, — the situation
of the Indians — the air — [accomoda‐
‐tions | accommoda‐
tions]
accomoda‐
‐tions
accommoda‐
tions
, [&c | etc.]&cetc. I should be better able to form
a judgment.— But as my health is
but tlow, being attended with a constant
Fever, much exposed to take Cold,
and unable to undergo much hard ser‐
‐vice by reason of a weakening Disorder
which has long [afficted | affected]affictedaffected me— And
also as I have no companion to go as
a preacher with me, as I know of, or
could likely be obtained this season, it does
not appear Duty for me to undertake the
journey at present.— My heart says 'Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do'?— Wherever
Providence gives the Lead, I am willing to
follow — but, alas! I know so little, or no‐
thing, how to read divine Providences or get
an answer to prayer that am afraid, many
times, I am not in the way of Duty —
It appears to me I should be the happiest
of [above] manymany mortals if I only knew what God's Plea‐
‐sure is respecting my situation [& | and]&and Destiny
in the world.— At present He is laying out
a great variety of work for me, the least of all
his servants, is it not Duty to perform it?
2
2
[Thro' | Through]Thro'Through Divine Favor, my health is in some
measure recovered — am able to preach
every sabbath and several Lectures.—
The awakenings in Ketehebonack[place0294.ocp]
still continue in several instances,
[tho' | though]tho'though perhaps not so great as some time
past.... As I presume the Doctor[pers0036.ocp] has
before this time received my Letters
I need give no farther account of God's
Work in these parts, save that there
is, of late, a very great revival in
Southold‐Town[place0217.ocp], under [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Storrs[pers1335.ocp]'
ministry.— I expect to go there next
week, God willing— I find it a very great
advantage to me to live here in this Day of
the Outpouring of God's [bleſsed | blessed]bleſsedblessed Spirit. —
When People's Ears are open it is easy
Preaching to them. — It has rejoiced
the hearts of many that God has revived
his work in the College[org0037.ocp] last Winter— O,
what an happy omen for good! —
After I received the Doctor[pers0036.ocp]'s Letter, I
sent a line to David Fowler[pers0155.ocp] with a Desire that
he would give me an honest, faithful [acco.t | account]acco.taccount
of the late State [& | and]&and Character of [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Occom[pers0030.ocp]
and he wrote me the following —
—"I can't tell you any bad thing of him. —
He is, as it were, crying out to Sinners in a
private manner — he don't preach
as yet, but I hope he will. He seems
to [injoy | enjoy]injoyenjoy a [newneſs | newness]newneſsnewness of life again.—
He goes from [above] oneone Place to another ex‐
‐horting the People, that is, among
the Indians. — He has entirely aban‐
‐doned spirituous liquors — he [uſes | uses]uſesuses
none, nor keeps any in the house.=
I shall likely give you a better Nar‐
‐rative of his Character at my return
from the main shore."
I know nothing, Sir, but what
this account is entirely just — But
nothing has been done to wash
away his Stain in these parts, or in any other
that we have [hear'd | heard]hear'dheard of.— [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [M,r | Mr.]M,rMr. Buell[pers0006.ocp]
heard little if anything about him when
on the main. — Perhaps [M:r | Mr.]M:rMr. Woodward[pers0610.ocp] is
able to give a more particular account of
[M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Occom[pers0030.ocp] than I can, and better able to
judge whether it will be for the Good and
honor of the Cause to improve him as a
[miſsionary | missionary]miſsionarymissionary — it seems to be a very great
frown of heaven that his [usefulneſs | usefulness]usefulneſsusefulness has
been prevented.—
David Fowler[pers0155.ocp] appears much as [uſual | usual]uſualusual
with respect to his being deeply humbled [&c | etc.]&cetc. I
am not able to say — he manifests a very
great regard for the Indian Cause — and has
some bitter [reflexions | reflections ]reflexionsreflections on his rash conduct
in
3
3
in the [Wilderneſs | wilderness]Wilderneſswilderness.— I have not said much
to him about his conduct, because am
very ignorant of what the Foundation
or pretentded foundation of it was. If
he was to see and converse the [Re[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): vr]vr'end | Rev.]Re[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): vr]vr'endRev.
Doctor[pers0036.ocp], am quite inclined to think he
would make gospel satisfaction.—
His natural Temper is well known to be
violent and sometimes his [Paſsion | passion]Paſsionpassion
blinds his reason. — respecting [him‐
self | him‐
self]
him‐
self
him‐
self
he writes me,
"If I can pay off my Creditors this
year I [deſign | design]deſigndesign to go off this Island[place0129.ocp] next
year, either to Mohegan[place0143.ocp] or the [Wil‐
‐derneſs | wil‐
derness]
Wil‐
‐derneſs
wil‐
derness
: I don't think of going any
where this year."
East-Hampton[place0062.ocp] judge he is very un‐
steady and fickle, roving and wandering
But by converse with David[pers0155.ocp], am of opinion his
[unsteadyneſs | unsteadiness]unsteadyneſsunsteadiness was much owing to his too small
salary and the Indians living a good deal upon
him. — He does not keep the School at Montauk[place0144.ocp];
he thinks,"if he did, it would be to none effect —
The Indians seem to be [curſt | cursed]curſtcursed — they don't ad‐
‐mire [any thing | anything]any thinganything that would be beneficial
to them, either temporal or temporal[above] spiritualspiritual."—
Imagine [above] ifif he should visit the Doctor[pers0036.ocp] it might
answer some valuable Purpose — accordingly
shall recommend it to him.— I can't
but think he means to act honestly — He is
now somewhat involved in Debt; but he
follows Fishery [& | and]&and hopes to raise something
on the land to defray his charges this sea‐
‐son.— Thus, Sir, I have given the best account
respecting him am able to do.—
If it shall be judged best to ordain me at
Commencement, would not the Doctor[pers0036.ocp]
think proper to appoint some of the
[Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. Corporation[org0161.ocp] the ordination ser‐
‐mon? — Would it please him to
pitch upon the [Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [M,r | Mr.]M,rMr. [Pomroy | Pomeroy]PomroyPomeroy[pers0432.ocp]?
But I mean not to dictate — shall be
perfectly well suited with Doctor Whee‐
lock[pers0036.ocp]
's appointments.— If this Plan
should be [agreable | agreeable]agreableagreeable to him, it would
lay me under farther obligations of
Gratitude, if by any means, I might
have intelligence of it — but am
afraid these Letters will suffer the same
misfortune as the other.—
It gives me unspeakable Joy to hear [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. Ripley[pers0444.ocp]
is hopefully religious! If this is the case,
What extensive service may [above] thethe Man of his
rare abilities do for God, if God goes with him!
We hear the work of God is powerful in several
Places upon the Continent...
People are liberal and very kind to me in [theſe | these]theſethese
parts — O, how good is the Lord to the evil and
unthankful! — Oh! for an humble heart!
a meek and lowly spirit!— the Benevolence,
[inline] [ye | the]yethe[ye | the]yethe Love, [inline] [ye | the]yethe[ye | the]yethe Pity and [Compaſsion | compassion]Compaſsioncompassion of Jesus Christ to‐
‐wards dying men! — my Soul burns with
ardor to do something for my Maker and
Redeemer.—
The Reverend [M,r | Mr.]M,rMr. Brown[pers0102.ocp] gives very kind
and affectionate Salutations to the Reverend
Doctor Wheelock[pers0036.ocp] — He is a Father to me —
Please, Sir, present Duty to Honored Madam[pers0577.ocp],
and continue daily to pray for,
[Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [& | and]&and [hon,d | honoured]hon,dhonoured Sir,
[Closer]

Your very dutiful
and most obedient
humble servant

David Avery[pers0064.ocp]
[Postscript]
[Rev,d | Rev.]Rev,dRev. [D,,r | Dr.]D,,rDr. Wheelock[pers0036.ocp]
[Trailer]
From [M.r | Mr.]M.rMr. David Avery[pers0064.ocp]
June 6. 1771[1771-06-06].
To The [Revd | Rev.]RevdRev. [Eleazer | Eleazar]EleazerEleazar Wheelock[pers0036.ocp] D:D.
[Preſident | President]PreſidentPresident of Dartmouth [Colledge | College]ColledgeCollege[org0037.ocp]
In
Hanover[place0095.ocp]
[note (type: editorial): Blank page.]
Document Summary

People identified in this document:

id Text in document Role in header Authorized Name
pers0036.ocp Doctor Wheelock recipient Wheelock, Eleazar
pers0036.ocp Doctr e 'rs Doctor's recipient Wheelock, Eleazar
pers0006.ocp Buell mentioned Buell, Samuel
pers0408.ocp Patten mentioned Patten, William
pers0610.ocp Woodward mentioned Woodward, Bezaleel
pers0036.ocp Rev, d Rev. Doctor recipient Wheelock, Eleazar
pers0036.ocp Doctor recipient Wheelock, Eleazar
pers1335.ocp Storrs mentioned Storrs, John
pers0155.ocp David Fowler mentioned Fowler, David
pers0030.ocp Occom mentioned Occom, Samson
pers0155.ocp David mentioned Fowler, David
pers0432.ocp Pomroy Pomeroy mentioned Pomeroy, Benjamin
pers0036.ocp Whee‐ lock recipient Wheelock, Eleazar
pers0444.ocp Ripley mentioned Ripley, Sylvanus
pers0102.ocp Reverend M, r Mr. Brown mentioned Brown
pers0036.ocp Wheelock recipient Wheelock, Eleazar
pers0577.ocp Madam mentioned Wheelock, Mary (née Brinsmead)
pers0064.ocp David Avery writer Avery, David
pers0036.ocp Eleazer Eleazar Wheelock recipient Wheelock, Eleazar

Places identified in this document:

id Text in document Authorized Name
place0018.ocp Bridge Hampton Bridgehampton Bridgehampton
place0158.ocp New England New England
place0129.ocp Island Long Island
place0160.ocp N.. w New Hampshire New Hampshire
place0294.ocp Ketehebonack Ketehebonack
place0298.ocp S. t Saint John's River Saint John River
place0217.ocp Southold ‐Town Southold
place0143.ocp Mohegan Mohegan
place0062.ocp East-Hampton East Hampton
place0144.ocp Montauk Montauk
place0095.ocp Hanover Hanover

Organizations identified in this document:

id Text in document Authorized Name
org0037.ocp Dartm.oDartmouth Dartmouth College
org0037.ocp Dartmouth Dartmouth College
org0161.ocp Corporati‐on Yale Corporation
org0095.ocp Boston Board The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America
org0161.ocp the Corporation Yale Corporation
org0095.ocp Board The Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America
org0037.ocp College Dartmouth College
org0161.ocp Corporation Yale Corporation
org0037.ocp Dartmouth ColledgeCollege Dartmouth College

Dates identified in this document:

Standard Form Text
1771-06-06 June 6. 1771
1771-04-22 22 of april

Regularized text:

Type Original Regularized
variation Bridge Hampton Bridgehampton
modernization Rev,d Rev.
variation gratful grateful
variation Doctr[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): [inline] ee][inline] ee'rs Doctor's
variation refered referred
modernization expreſsing expressing
modernization M,r Mr.
variation 'till 'til
modernization M.r Mr.
modernization discourſed discoursed
modernization Miſsion mission
modernization Bleſsed Blessed
modernization miſsion mission
variation chuse choose
variation indeavour endeavour
variation connexions connections
variation indure endure
modernization propo‐
‐ſal
propo‐
sal
variation Heart‐
‐ach
heart‐
ache
variation somethings some things
modernization iſsue issue
variation accomoda‐
‐tions
accommoda‐
tions
modernization &c etc.
variation afficted affected
modernization bleſsed blessed
variation injoy enjoy
modernization newneſs newness
modernization uſes uses
variation hear'd heard
modernization M:r Mr.
modernization miſsionary missionary
modernization usefulneſs usefulness
modernization uſual usual
variation reflexions reflections
modernization Wilderneſs wilderness
modernization Re[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): vr]vr'end Rev.
modernization Paſsion passion
variation him‐
self
him‐
self
modernization deſign design
modernization Wil‐
‐derneſs
wil‐
derness
modernization unsteadyneſs unsteadiness
variation curſt cursed
variation any thing anything
variation Pomroy Pomeroy
variation agreable agreeable
modernization theſe these
modernization ye the
modernization Compaſsion compassion
modernization D,,r Dr.
modernization Revd Rev.
variation Eleazer Eleazar
modernization Preſident President
variation Colledge College

Expanded abbreviations:

Abbreviation Expansion
& and
hon,d honoured
tho' though
Dartm.o Dartmouth
N..w New
S.t Saint
Thro' Through
acco.t account

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 64)
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