Samson Occom, letter, to John Thornton, 1777 January 1
1 January 1777[1777-01-01]
ms number777101
[note (type: abstract): Occom writes to thank Thornton for his generosity. He also bemoans the hardships brought on by the war, discusses the importance of keeping the Indians neutral, and asks for Thornton's assistance in getting money from the Society in Scotland for Progating Christian Knowledge.][note (type: handwriting): Occom's hand is small and somewhat crowded, yet formal, clear and legible. There are some crossed l's and uncrossed t's that have been corrected by the transcriber.][note (type: paper): Large sheet folded in half to make four pages is in fair condition, with moderate-to-heavy staining, creasing and wear.][note (type: ink): Brown ink is somewhat faded.][note (type: noteworthy): On two verso, an editor, likely 19th-century, has added notes that read: “(By Occom Jan. 1. 1777.),” and “S. Occom to Thornton Jan. 1. 1777.”]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
Mohegan[place0143.ocp]
[Janr | January]JanrJanuary 1 1777[1777-01-01]
Most Kind Sir /
Your most unexpected and most acceptable, [Refreſhing | refreshing]Refreſhingrefreshing Animating, and most Encouraging Favour of 8 may
last[1776-05-08], Came Safely to Hand a few Days ago, Surely the great Lord of Heaven
and Earth, has deeply Engraven in Your Tender and Benevolent Heart, [Pety | pity]Petypity and [Compaſsiona^[above] te^te | compassionate]Compaſsiona^[above] te^tecompassionate to poor me, and to my [Neceſsitous | necessitous]Neceſsitousnecessitous Family; How [diſtret | distressed]diſtretdistressed have I been lately, not knowing how to get out of my Involvements, and
to Supply the Pinching [Neceſsities | necessities]Neceſsitiesnecessities of my large Family, [beſides | besides]beſidesbesides my numerous [Visiters | visitors]Visitersvisitors; But [Bleſsed | blessed]Bleſsedblessed be god, I find now, he has heard my
[grownings | groanings]growningsgroanings and Saw my [Diſtreſs | distress]Diſtreſsdistress, and he has moved your Kind Heart once more, to Stretch out your
Bmost Bountiful Hand over the great Atlantic in Time of great [Diſtreſs | distress]Diſtreſsdistress to help me out of Troubles. — The Lord be [Praiſed | praised]Praiſedpraised, and I return you unutterable and most [Humbe | humble]Humbehumble Thanks. The Lord Your god Reward^[above] [& | and]&and^[& | and]&and yours Bountifully —
I have Drawn a Bill of Exchange upon you for the whole of your most
kind and generous Donation. [Neceſsity | Necessity]NeceſsityNecessity urges me, and I am very Confident, it will not be [diſagreable | disagreeable]diſagreabledisagreeable to your Mind; I have [alſo | also]alſoalso
[Drown | drawn]Drowndrawn on you as a [Truſtee | Trustee]TruſteeTrustee two Bills, for two half years
[paſt | past]paſtpast, according to your kind Direction and [permiſsion | permission]permiſsionpermission heretofore for I have heard nothing Contrary from You [till | 'til]till'til now, and [Docr | Dr.]DocrDr. Wheelock[pers0036.ocp] has never told me, that the money was [Exhuſted | exhausted]Exhuſtedexhausted, [tho’ | though]tho’though I did hear Such a thing [Some how | somehow]Some howsomehow; but I Saw a gentleman about a Year ago, who came directly from London[place0128.ocp], and he told me, he had [Intervew | interview]Intervewinterview with Some of the [Honl | Honourable]HonlHonourable
[Truſt | Trust]TruſtTrust[org0103.ocp] and he
[underſtood | understood]underſtoodunderstood them, the money was not Expended, but they [wou’d | would]wou’dwould not let [Docr | Dr.]DocrDr. Wheelock[pers0036.ocp] have anymore, You may ^[above] have^have Seen
the [gentn | gentleman]gentngentleman that [inform’d | informed]inform’dinformed me, it was [illegible]The [Revd | Rev.]RevdRev.
[Docr | Dr.]DocrDr. Ewing[pers0774.ocp] of Philadelphia[place0186.ocp] he had been traveling [thro | through]throthrough
great Britain[place0090.ocp] Soliciting the Charities of
the People for a certain College. — The Times are [Extreamly | extremely]Extreamlyextremely
[Diſtreſing | distressing]Diſtreſingdistressing in this part of the World, [theſe | these]theſethese unnatural Wars have effected and [Diſtreſt | distressed]Diſtreſtdistressed
[every one | everyone]every oneeveryone, [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially the Poor, I never have had Such a Burden; I have had much [Sickneſs | sickness]Sickneſssickness in my
[Famil | family]Familfamily lately, and [every thing | everything]every thingeverything
[extreamly | extremely]extreamlyextremely Dear, [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially
[Cloathing | clothing]Cloathingclothing, O that I had [illegible] old [Cloaths | clothes]Cloathsclothes from London[place0128.ocp], if London[place0128.ocp] was not more than half So far as it is, I [woud | would]woudwould Come over to beg old
[Cloaths | clothes]Cloathsclothes — Three pounds will not [purchace | purchase]purchacepurchase So much of the [Neceſsaries | necessaries]Neceſsariesnecessaries of Life now, as [tweenty | twenty]tweentytwenty Shillings [wou’d | would]wou’dwould before [theſe | these]theſethese ungodly Wars took place. — And the [worſt | worst]worſtworst of all is, [theſe | these]theſethese Wars have Eat out the vitals of Religion, [eſpecially | especially]eſpeciallyespecially among the white People, Some white People Say [themſelves | themselves]themſelvesthemselves, that the poor Indians have more Religion than they have, the poor Indians
indeed that make a [Profeſsion | profession]Profeſsionprofession of Religion, maintain thei^[above] r^r
[Religin | religion]Religinreligion in
Some [meaſure | measure]meaſuremeasure, I preach [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst them as often I as I [uſed | used]uſedused to do and they are much [engagd | engaged]engagdengaged in attending upon the word of god, — And there is one Good [Circumſtance | circumstance]Circumſtancecircumstance among the Indians in [genral | general]genralgeneral
[every where | everywhere]every whereeverywhere, they dont [Chuſe | choose]Chuſechoose to Join in either Side in this Contention, but [Chuſe | choose]Chuſechoose Strict N^[above] e^eutra[illegible]lity, and the white Americans dont want to have them Join in either, The [Congreſs | Congress]CongreſsCongress[org0126.ocp] have Sent out [Commiſsioners | Commissioners]CommiſsionersCommissioners among the Indians, Several Times and different ways to [adviſe | advise]adviſeadvise them to be [Eaſy | easy]Eaſyeasy and Quiet, not to [entermeddle | intermeddle]entermeddleintermeddle in the [Engliſh | English]EngliſhEnglish Family [Quarril | quarrel]Quarrilquarrel — [illegible]/ My Wife’s Brother[pers0018.ocp] went about 600 miles [weſtward | westward]weſtwardwestward from this Place last [Septr | September]SeptrSeptember with a number upon this [Buſineſs | business]Buſineſsbusiness and is [juſt | just]juſtjust
[returnd | returned]returndreturned, he tells me, he Saw Six Sachems altogether of differen^[above] t^t Tribes, and that was the advice to them from the [Commiſsioners | Commissioners]CommiſsionersCommissioners and the Sachems [promiſed | promised]promiſedpromised Strictly to [obſerve | observe]obſerveobserve the advice, and Indians [themſelves | themselves]themſelvesthemselves are agreeing among [themſelves | themselves]themſelvesthemselves in [there | their]theretheir different Tribes not
^[above] to^to[illegible]
[entermeddle | intermeddle]entermeddleintermeddle with the [Engliſh | English]EngliſhEnglish Contentions, — When the white People began to [Inliſt | enlist]Inliſtenlist Soldiers about here, Some of our Lazy Indians were very ready to [Inliſt | enlist]Inliſtenlist, but the white People [woud | would]woudwould not accept of them(; Be it Spoken to the [praiſe | praise]praiſepraise of the white People,) but Some few [woud | would]woudwould and did [liſt | list]liſtlist after all their rejection, — [Laſt | last]Laſtlast Summer there were Some white people wanted to hire others to go in their
Room, and two Indians [offerd | offered]offerdoffered
[themſelves | themselves]themſelvesthemselves; but when the [Colol | Col.]CololCol., who had care of [‘em | them]‘emthem, Saw them, he [turn’d | turned]turn’dturned them back again. — But the Kings
[offircers | officers]offircersofficers, Some of them, I hear, have been [uſing | using]uſingusing their Influence to engage the poor Indians on their Side; — I [wiſh | wish]wiſhwish the King[pers0305.ocp] of
great Britain[place0090.ocp], [woud | would]woudwould Command all his officers in North America[place0170.ocp] to let the poor [miſerable | miserable]miſerablemiserable Indians alone; What have we to do with your Contentions? — As for
[mr | Mr.]mrMr. Kirkland[pers0315.ocp]; I heard he was among the Indians Some part of last
Summer, but where he is now, I can not Say. — [Theſe | These]TheſeThese Sad Contentions have brock up all [Miſſionaries | missionaries]Miſſionariesmissionaries and [School masters | schoolmasters]School mastersschoolmasters among the poor Indians, — I heard there was Money [illegible]Enough in the Hands of the [Honl | Honourable]HonlHonourable Scotch Society[org0096.ocp] and they did ^[above] not^not know
how to lay it out, I [wiſh | wish]wiſhwish they [woud | would]woudwould
[Conſider | consider]Conſiderconsider my
[Caſe | case]Caſecase; Pray most [Compaſsionate | Compassionate]CompaſsionateCompassionate Sir, [Interceed | intercede]Interceedintercede with them for me — I wrote them last winter, but I have had no [Anſwere | answer]Anſwereanswer, if I [Shoud | should]Shoudshould write again perhaps my Letters will never reach them in [theſe | these]theſethese Times.
I beg the [Continuence | continuance]Continuencecontinuance of your fervent Prayers for me and mine and for all the poor Indians;
— This, with most grateful [Reſpects | respects]Reſpectsrespects, to you and to your Dear Family is from
[Closer]
your most unworthy [& | and]&and most obli[illegible]ged and very [huml | humble]humlhumble
[Servt | servant]Servtservant
[Samſon | Samson]SamſonSamson Occom[pers0030.ocp]
To
John Thornton [Esqr | Esq.]EsqrEsq.[pers0541.ocp] at Clapham[place0041.ocp] near
London[place0128.ocp]
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0036.ocp | Doc r Dr. Wheelock | mentioned | Wheelock, Eleazar |
pers0774.ocp | Rev d Rev. Doc r Dr. Ewing | mentioned | Ewing, John |
pers0018.ocp | My Wife’s Brother | mentioned | Fowler, Jacob |
pers0305.ocp | King | mentioned | Frederick, George William |
pers0315.ocp | m r Mr. Kirkland | mentioned | Kirkland, Samuel |
pers0030.ocp | Samſon Samson Occom | writer | Occom, Samson |
pers0541.ocp | John Thornton Esq r Esq. | recipient | Thornton, John |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0143.ocp | Mohegan | Mohegan |
place0128.ocp | London | London |
place0186.ocp | Philadelphia | Philadelphia |
place0090.ocp | great Britain | Great Britain |
place0170.ocp | North A merica | North America |
place0041.ocp | Clapham | Clapham |
Organizations identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
org0103.ocp | HonlHonourable TruſtTrust | Trust in England |
org0126.ocp | The CongreſsCongress | Second Continental Congress |
org0096.ocp | the HonlHonourable Scotch Society | Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge |
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1777-01-01 | JanrJanuary 1 1777 |
1776-05-08 | 8 may last |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
modernization | Refreſhing | refreshing |
variation | Pety | pity |
variation | Compaſsiona^[above] te^te | compassionate |
modernization | Neceſsitous | necessitous |
variation | diſtret | distressed |
modernization | Neceſsities | necessities |
modernization | beſides | besides |
variation | Visiters | visitors |
modernization | Bleſsed | blessed |
variation | grownings | groanings |
modernization | Diſtreſs | distress |
modernization | Praiſed | praised |
variation | Humbe | humble |
modernization | Neceſsity | Necessity |
variation | diſagreable | disagreeable |
modernization | alſo | also |
variation | Drown | drawn |
modernization | Truſtee | Trustee |
modernization | paſt | past |
modernization | permiſsion | permission |
variation | till | 'til |
modernization | Docr | Dr. |
variation | Exhuſted | exhausted |
variation | Some how | somehow |
variation | Intervew | interview |
modernization | Truſt | Trust |
modernization | underſtood | understood |
modernization | Revd | Rev. |
variation | thro | through |
variation | Extreamly | extremely |
variation | Diſtreſing | distressing |
modernization | theſe | these |
variation | Diſtreſt | distressed |
variation | every one | everyone |
modernization | eſpecially | especially |
modernization | Sickneſs | sickness |
variation | every thing | everything |
variation | Cloathing | clothing |
variation | Cloaths | clothes |
variation | woud | would |
variation | purchace | purchase |
modernization | Neceſsaries | necessaries |
variation | tweenty | twenty |
modernization | worſt | worst |
modernization | themſelves | themselves |
modernization | Profeſsion | profession |
variation | Religin | religion |
modernization | meaſure | measure |
modernization | amongſt | amongst |
modernization | uſed | used |
variation | engagd | engaged |
modernization | Circumſtance | circumstance |
variation | genral | general |
variation | every where | everywhere |
variation | Chuſe | choose |
modernization | Congreſs | Congress |
modernization | Commiſsioners | Commissioners |
modernization | adviſe | advise |
modernization | Eaſy | easy |
variation | entermeddle | intermeddle |
modernization | Engliſh | English |
variation | Quarril | quarrel |
modernization | weſtward | westward |
modernization | Buſineſs | business |
modernization | juſt | just |
variation | returnd | returned |
modernization | promiſed | promised |
modernization | obſerve | observe |
modernization | themſelves | themselves |
variation | there | their |
variation | Inliſt | enlist |
modernization | praiſe | praise |
modernization | liſt | list |
modernization | Laſt | last |
variation | offerd | offered |
modernization | Colol | Col. |
variation | offircers | officers |
modernization | uſing | using |
modernization | wiſh | wish |
modernization | miſerable | miserable |
modernization | mr | Mr. |
modernization | Theſe | These |
modernization | Miſſionaries | missionaries |
variation | School masters | schoolmasters |
modernization | Conſider | consider |
modernization | Caſe | case |
modernization | Compaſsionate | Compassionate |
variation | Interceed | intercede |
variation | Anſwere | answer |
variation | Shoud | should |
variation | Continuence | continuance |
modernization | Reſpects | respects |
modernization | Samſon | Samson |
modernization | Esqr | Esq. |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
Janr | January |
& | and |
tho’ | though |
Honl | Honourable |
wou’d | would |
gentn | gentleman |
inform’d | informed |
Septr | September |
‘em | them |
turn’d | turned |
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 18) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 21) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 8) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 122) |