Samson Occom, letter, to John Thornton, 1776
1776[1776]
ms number776900.2
[note (type: abstract): Occom writes that he is preaching constantly, yet still needs to draw money in Thornton's name. He voices shock and disbelief on the part of himself and the Indians over news of recent quarrels (the Revolution), and states that each side needs to refrain from recruiting Indians into the war.][note (type: handwriting): Handwriting is small, yet clear and legible.][note (type: paper): Single sheet is in good-to-fair condition, with light-to-moderate creasing, staining and wear. A small tear near the bottom of one recto leads to a very minor loss of text.][note (type: noteworthy): An editor, likely 19th-century, has added the note “Occom’s [illegible deletion] letter/no date/to Thornton?” to one verso. This note has not been included in the transcription.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
Most kind Sir
Accord ^[above] to^to your kind Direction, and [permiſſion | permission]permiſſionpermission, I continue to Draw Bills of Exchange upon your Honor, and Shall
Continue ^[above] so^so to ^[above] do^do
Draw, [till | 'til]till'til I hear [other wiſe | otherwise]other wiſeotherwise from you; I hope [theſe | these]theſethese un‐natural wars [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst You, will not ^[above] [intirely | entirely]intirelyentirely^[intirely | entirely]intirelyentirely Stagnate the [Str[illegible]eems | streams]Str[illegible]eemsstreams, which have run So long, to [refreſh | refresh]refreſhrefresh the Souls of the poor ^[above] [periſhing | perishing]periſhingperishing^[periſhing | perishing]periſhingperishing Indians, with Divine Knowledge, — I continue preaching as I [uſe | use]uſeuse to do, [Conſtantly | constantly]Conſtantlyconstantly,
[thro | through]throthrough great [Neceſsity | necessity]Neceſsitynecessity I am [obligd | obliged]obligdobliged to Draw again half Year [before Hand | beforehand]before Handbeforehand, — and I hope [& | and]&and Pray You will Still Continue Your Benevolence to me, — the
Indians in general [every where | everywhere]every whereeverywhere are [Peacable | peaceable]Peacablepeaceable and [Chuſe | choose]Chuſechoose, not to [medle | meddle]medlemeddle with your own Contentions and [Quarrils | quarrels]Quarrilsquarrels; but I am [Extreamly | extremely]Extreamlyextremely
^[above] Sorry^Sorry to see the white People on both Sides, to [illegible]
[uſe | use]uſeuse their Influence with the poor Indians to get them on [thier | their]thiertheir Side, I [wiſh | wish]wiſhwish they ^[above] [woud | would]woudwould^[woud | would]woudwould let the ^[above] poor^poor Indians alone, what have they to
do with your Quarrels? and if they Join on either Side, they ought not to be [Blam’d | blamed]Blam’dblamed but [thro | through]throthrough Favour, there is but few, that Join on either Side, — this Con‐tention [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst your Amazes and [Astoniſhes | astonishes]Astoniſhesastonishes the poor Heathen ^[above] in the wild^in the wild they Say, there never
was the like, or Such [inſtance | instance]inſtanceinstance
[amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst all the Indians Tribes, they are ready to Say, what? Brethren and
Christians kill one another; this Quarrel is great, Yea very great Stumbling Block
before the Heathen, — [Thro | through]Throthrough mercy I am, and been [favourd | favoured]favourdfavoured with good [meaſure | measure]meaſuremeasure of Health this Winter past, and the [reſt | rest]reſtrest in my Family are in Health [th[gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): o’]o’ | though]th[gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): o’]o’though we have had some [Sickneſs | sickness]Sickneſssickness this Spring, — I long to hear from you, — this with [greateful | grateful]greatefulgrateful
[Reſpects | respects]Reſpectsrespects to [yourſelf | yourself]yourſelfyourself, and the [reſt | rest]reſtrest of the [Honole | Honourable]HonoleHonourable
[Truſtees | Trustees]TruſteesTrustees[org0103.ocp] is from
[Closer]
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0030.ocp | Samson Occom | writer | Occom, Samson |
This document does not contain any tagged places.
Organizations identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
org0103.ocp | HonoleHonourable TruſteesTrustees | Trust in England |
This document does not contain any tagged dates.
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
modernization | permiſſion | permission |
variation | till | 'til |
variation | other wiſe | otherwise |
modernization | theſe | these |
modernization | amongſt | amongst |
variation | intirely | entirely |
variation | Str[illegible]eems | streams |
modernization | refreſh | refresh |
modernization | periſhing | perishing |
modernization | uſe | use |
modernization | Conſtantly | constantly |
variation | thro | through |
modernization | Neceſsity | necessity |
variation | obligd | obliged |
variation | before Hand | beforehand |
variation | every where | everywhere |
variation | Peacable | peaceable |
variation | Chuſe | choose |
variation | medle | meddle |
variation | Quarrils | quarrels |
variation | Extreamly | extremely |
variation | thier | their |
modernization | wiſh | wish |
variation | woud | would |
modernization | Astoniſhes | astonishes |
modernization | inſtance | instance |
variation | Thro | through |
variation | favourd | favoured |
modernization | meaſure | measure |
modernization | reſt | rest |
modernization | Sickneſs | sickness |
variation | greateful | grateful |
modernization | Reſpects | respects |
modernization | yourſelf | yourself |
modernization | Truſtees | Trustees |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
& | and |
Blam’d | blamed |
th[gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): o’]o’ | though |
Honole | Honourable |
huml | humble |
Servt | 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 4) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 2) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 9) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 85) |