Samson Occom, letter, to John Thornton, 1776
1776[1776]
Call 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] toto your kind Direction, and [permiſſion | permission]permiſſionpermission,
I continue to Draw Bills of Exchange upon your Honor, and Shall
Continue [above] soso to [above] dodoDraw, [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 | before
hand]before
Handbefore
hand, — and I hope [& | and]&and Pray You will Still Continue Your Benevo
lence 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] SorrySorry 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] poorpoor 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 wildin 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
I continue to Draw Bills of Exchange upon your Honor, and Shall
Continue [above] soso to [above] dodo
natural wars [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst You, will not [above] [intirely | entirely]intirelyentirely[intirely | entirely]intirelyentirely Stagnate the [Str
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 | before
hand]before
Handbefore
hand, — and I hope [& | and]&and Pray You will Still Continue Your Benevo
lence 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] SorrySorry to see the white People on both Sides, to
[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] poorpoor 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 you
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 |
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 |
before hand |
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) |