Joseph Johnson, letter, to the Indians at Niantic, Mohegan, Groton, Stonington, Narragansett and Montauk, 1773 December 24
24 December 1773[1773-12-24]
ms number773674.1
[note (type: abstract): On behalf of himself and six other Indian signatories, Johnson strongly urges each tribe to send a delegate to confer with the Oneidas and Sir William Johnson on the subject of lands.][note (type: handwriting): Johnson's hand is small and crowded, yet mostly formal and clear. He appears to use periods as commas. The trailer along the left edge of two verso appears to be in Occom's hand.][note (type: paper): Large sheet folded in half to make four pages is in good-to-fair condition, with light-to-moderate staining, creasing and wear.][note (type: ink): Dark-brown ink is faded in spots.][note (type: noteworthy): An editor, likely 19th-century, has added the note "Dec. 1773 from Farmington” after the trailer on two verso. This note has not been included in the transcription.][note (type: signature): The letter is signed by Johnson and six other Indians.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
Farmington[place0074.ocp]. December [24th | 24th]24th24th AD 1773[1773-12-24].
Our dear. [& | and]&and well beloved Brethren.
we wish you all well. your good. as well as our own. lies near at heart and we
wish you and yours the same [Proſperity | prosperity]Proſperityprosperity. as [ourſelves | ourselves]ourſelvesourselves. — But not to be tedious in our Introduction. we will let you
know our [Deſign | design]Deſigndesign. [& | and]&and
[deſire | desire]deſiredesire. in Sending to you this once more. Our dear brethren. seeing that the time
is nigh at hand. that those [choſen | chosen]choſenchosen men. or others in [there | their]theretheir room. should go forth. into the [Weſtern | Western]WeſternWestern Country. according to the appointment of his Honour [Sr | Sir]SrSir William Johnson. Baronet[pers0292.ocp]. and the [deſire | desire]deſiredesire of the [Onoida | Oneida]OnoidaOneida Indians[org0075.ocp]. We [ſay | say]ſaysay that the time is [almoſt | almost]almoſtalmost Come. seeing then it is so nigh. we thought proper. to send to you our
dear Brethren this once more. humbly, and earnestly
[deſiring | desiring]deſiringdesiring that ye would [conſider | consider]conſiderconsider of things. and by all means Let one out of each Town. or Tribe go up to the
Mohawk Coun‐
‐try[place0142.ocp]. what can we say more. we have [uſed | used]uſedused all proper means yea we have been much concerned concerning you our
dear Brethren. and we are Sorry. to See. So much [Cold‐ ‐neſs | cold‐ness]Cold‐ ‐neſscold‐ness. [Luke warmneſs | lukewarmness]Luke warmneſslukewarmness. and [indifferency | indifference]indifferencyindifference. [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst you. as ye have discovered. since last march.
1773[1773-03]. what shall we
[illegible] think of you. if ye do
not send one out of Each Town. or Tribe. Yea. what will General Johnson[pers0292.ocp] think of you. and what will the Indians under his
Special [Inſpection | inspection]Inſpectioninspection think of you, who hath, by the Great Influence of his Honor Sir William[pers0292.ocp] — given us great. and unexpected
Encouragement. We pray you to [conſider | consider]conſiderconsider of things Seriously.
True. it is. that we are under a great disadvantage by such a great
body of Snow. which is upon the face of the Earth. which Will hinder us. from making
a proper [Obſervation | observation]Obſervationobservation on the Land given to us. yet let not the [preſent | present]preſentpresent Snow Stop you by no means. [tho | though]thothough we cant See the Land as we [wiſh | wish]wiſhwish we could. yet we can [converſe | converse]converſeconverse with our [Weſtern | Western]WeſternWestern Brethren the [Onoidas | Oneidas]OnoidasOneidas[org0075.ocp]. about the Land. yea it is highly [neceſsary | necessary]neceſsarynecessary that we go. and talk with our [diſtant | distant]diſtantdistant friends. [illegible] and hear for ourselves.
and See how [thoſe | those]thoſethose Indians are [diſpoſed | disposed]diſpoſeddisposed
[to ward | toward]to wardtoward us. and [recieve | receive]recievereceive further orders or [adviſe | advise]adviſeadvise from our Great friend the Honorable. Sir
William [Johnſon | Johnson]JohnſonJohnson. Baronet[pers0292.ocp]. Yea we think we could do much. by this Winters
Journey. we could do [ſo | so]ſoso much as that we need not go up again. [untill | until]untilluntil we go to Set‐ ‐tle the Land. Yea, we could have the
Land Secured to us. or rather. So much Land made over to us. and ours after us.
as the Indians will think proper. to grant us. be it more or
[Leſs | less]Leſsless. Our friednds. if ye had not Agreed to Send one out of each
Each Tribe last Spring. we would not have
Sent to you So often. but we are hoping that ye will not be angry with us.
Seeing that we have acquainted General [Johnſon | Johnson]JohnſonJohnson[pers0292.ocp], Several times. what we agreed last Spring. at Mohegan[place0143.ocp]. and Sir
William[pers0292.ocp] doth certainly expect you. or one out of Each Tribe by all means
at this time. he told us when we were at his [houſe | house]houſehouse[place0112.ocp]. the Indians would think Strange if only two or three come up
to the [Congreſs | Congress]CongreſsCongress. when Six, or Seven were expected. General [Johnſon | Johnson]JohnſonJohnson[pers0292.ocp] told us. that he
had Sent a word to them Indians telling them. that one out of Each Tribe
was Coming to [Converſe | converse]Converſeconverse with them. and they Expect us. all. by the [10.th. | 10th]10.th.10th Day of January next[1774-01-10]. So how can ye help [yourſelves | yourselves]yourſelvesyourselves. Can ye deny that ye [promiſed | promised]promiſedpromised to Send one out of Each Tribe. must we let the World know that we are
Indians by Nature. [& | and]&and by Practice. but we must End. [beging. | begging]beging.begging. [intreating | entreating]intreatingentreating. and humbly [beſeeching | beseeching]beſeechingbeseeching you all Our dear Brethren to do [thoſe | those]thoſethose things which are right. which are [praiſe Worthy | praiseworthy]praiſe Worthypraiseworthy. Do [thoſe | those]thoſethose things which become men. do [thoſe | those]thoſethose things which become [Chriſtians | Christians]ChriſtiansChristians.
So fare you well. we [wiſh | wish]wiſhwish you well. and We expect [illegible][guess (h-dawnd): Ind]Ind
Indians at least Some young men from Each town. by
the first day of January next[1774-01-01]. Which will be on
Saturday. So on the first Monday. of January[1774-01-03] we [purpoſe | propose]purpoſepropose to Set off. but with what face. can we go alone again. O friends we
hardly dare ^[above] to^to go alone again. [Conſider | Consider]ConſiderConsider us. [Conſider | Consider]ConſiderConsider your[ſelves | selves]ſelvesselves
[conſider | consider]conſiderconsider of General [Johnſon | Johnson]JohnſonJohnson[pers0292.ocp]. [Conſider | Consider]ConſiderConsider of the Mohawks[org0062.ocp]. [&c | etc.]&cetc.:
[Closer]
thus much at [preſent | present]preſentpresent from us your Brethren at
at Farmington[place0074.ocp].
[Joſeph | Joseph]JoſephJoseph Johnson[pers0288.ocp].
Solomon [Maſsuck | Massuck]MaſsuckMassuck[pers0715.ocp]}
Elijah [Wimpy | Wympy]WimpyWympy[pers0721.ocp]}
Daniel [Maſsuck | Massuck]MaſsuckMassuck[pers0714.ocp]}
Andrew Co[illegible]Comp[pers0709.ocp]}
Solomon Adams[pers0706.ocp]}
David Robin[pers0718.ocp].}
[Postscript]
[right] To all Indians at [Nihan ‐tuck | Nian‐tic]Nihan ‐tuckNian‐tic[place0168.ocp]. Mohegan[place0143.ocp].
[Grotton | Groton]GrottonGroton[place0092.ocp].
Stonington[place0226.ocp]. [Narraganſet | Narragansett]NarraganſetNarragansett[place0150.ocp]. and Long [Iſland | Island]IſlandIsland[place0129.ocp]. or at
Montauk[place0144.ocp].— — —
To all Indians at [Nihan ‐tuck | Nian‐tic]Nihan ‐tuckNian‐tic[place0168.ocp]. Mohegan[place0143.ocp].
[Grotton | Groton]GrottonGroton[place0092.ocp].
Stonington[place0226.ocp]. [Narraganſet | Narragansett]NarraganſetNarragansett[place0150.ocp]. and Long [Iſland | Island]IſlandIsland[place0129.ocp]. or at
Montauk[place0144.ocp].— — —
[note (type: editorial): Blank page.]
[Trailer]
To the. Indians Concerning Oneida[place0179.ocp] Lands —
To— All, Who are [truely | truly]truelytruly Engaged in the Mohawk[org0062.ocp] Affair.
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0292.ocp | S r Sir William Johnson. Baronet | mentioned | Johnson, William |
pers0292.ocp | General Johnson | mentioned | Johnson, William |
pers0292.ocp | Sir William | mentioned | Johnson, William |
pers0292.ocp | Sir William Johnſon Johnson . Baronet | mentioned | Johnson, William |
pers0292.ocp | General Johnſon Johnson | mentioned | Johnson, William |
pers0292.ocp | Sir William | mentioned | Johnson, William |
pers0288.ocp | Joſeph Joseph Johnson | writer | Johnson, Joseph |
pers0715.ocp | Solomon Maſsuck Massuck | mentioned | Massuck, Solomon |
pers0721.ocp | Elijah Wimpy Wympy | mentioned | Wympy, Elijah |
pers0714.ocp | Daniel Maſsuck Massuck | mentioned | Massuck, Daniel |
pers0709.ocp | Andrew Co Comp | mentioned | Cocomp, Andrew |
pers0706.ocp | Solomon Adams | mentioned | Adams, Solomon |
pers0718.ocp | David Robin | mentioned | Robin, David |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0074.ocp | Farmington | Farmington |
place0142.ocp | Mohawk Coun‐ ‐try | Mohawk Country |
place0143.ocp | Mohegan | Mohegan |
place0112.ocp | his houſe house | Johnson Hall |
place0168.ocp | Nihan ‐tuck Nian‐ tic | Niantic |
place0092.ocp | Grotton Groton | Groton |
place0226.ocp | Stonington | Stonington |
place0150.ocp | Narraganſet Narragansett | Narragansett |
place0129.ocp | Long Iſland Island | Long Island |
place0144.ocp | Montauk | Montauk |
place0179.ocp | Oneida | Oneida |
Organizations identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
org0075.ocp | OnoidaOneida Indians | Oneida Nation |
org0075.ocp | OnoidasOneidas | Oneida Nation |
org0062.ocp | Mohawks | Mohawk Nation |
org0062.ocp | Mohawk | Mohawk Nation |
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1773-12-24 | December 24th24th AD 1773 |
1773-03 | last march. 1773 |
1774-01-10 | 10.th.10th Day of January next |
1774-01-01 | the first day of January next |
1774-01-03 | first Monday. of January |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
modernization | 24th | 24th |
modernization | Proſperity | prosperity |
modernization | ourſelves | ourselves |
modernization | Deſign | design |
modernization | deſire | desire |
modernization | choſen | chosen |
variation | there | their |
modernization | Weſtern | Western |
variation | Onoida | Oneida |
modernization | ſay | say |
modernization | almoſt | almost |
modernization | deſiring | desiring |
modernization | conſider | consider |
modernization | uſed | used |
modernization | Cold‐ ‐neſs | cold‐ness |
variation | Luke warmneſs | lukewarmness |
variation | indifferency | indifference |
modernization | amongſt | amongst |
modernization | Inſpection | inspection |
modernization | Obſervation | observation |
modernization | preſent | present |
variation | tho | though |
modernization | wiſh | wish |
modernization | converſe | converse |
variation | Onoidas | Oneidas |
modernization | neceſsary | necessary |
modernization | diſtant | distant |
modernization | thoſe | those |
modernization | diſpoſed | disposed |
variation | to ward | toward |
variation | recieve | receive |
modernization | adviſe | advise |
modernization | Johnſon | Johnson |
modernization | ſo | so |
variation | untill | until |
modernization | Leſs | less |
modernization | houſe | house |
modernization | Congreſs | Congress |
modernization | Converſe | converse |
modernization | 10.th. | 10th |
modernization | yourſelves | yourselves |
modernization | promiſed | promised |
variation | beging. | begging |
variation | intreating | entreating |
modernization | beſeeching | beseeching |
modernization | praiſe Worthy | praiseworthy |
modernization | Chriſtians | Christians |
variation | purpoſe | propose |
modernization | Conſider | Consider |
modernization | ſelves | selves |
modernization | &c | etc. |
modernization | Joſeph | Joseph |
modernization | Maſsuck | Massuck |
variation | Wimpy | Wympy |
variation | Nihan ‐tuck | Nian‐tic |
variation | Grotton | Groton |
variation | Narraganſet | Narragansett |
modernization | Iſland | Island |
variation | truely | truly |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
& | and |
Sr | Sir |
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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 11) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 32) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 2) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 141) |