Samson Occom, letter, to John Thornton, 1777 January 1
1 January 1777[1777-01-01]
Call 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 /
Most Kind Sir /
Your most unexpected and most accept
able, [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] tete | compassionate]Compaſsiona[above] tetecompassionate
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 yourBmost 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 —
able, [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 [Compaſsion
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
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
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] havehave 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 [Ne
ceſsaries | ne
cessaries]Ne
ceſsariesne
cessaries 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] rr [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 Con
tention, but [Chuſe | choose]Chuſechoose Strict N[above] eeutra[illegible]lity, and the white Americans dont
want to have them Join in either, The [Congreſs | Congress]CongreſsCongress[org0126.ocp] have Sent out [Com
miſsioners | Com
missioners]Com
miſsionersCom
missioners 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] tt
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 [them
ſelves | them
selves]them
ſelvesthem
selves are agreeing among [themſelves | themselves]themſelvesthemselves in [there | their]theretheir different Tribes not
[above] toto[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 A
merica[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 [Miſ
ſionaries | mis
sionaries]Miſ
ſionariesmis
sionaries 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] notnot 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.
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] havehave Seen the [gentn | gentleman]gentngentleman
that [inform’d | informed]inform’dinformed me, it was
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
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 [Ne
ceſsaries | ne
cessaries]Ne
ceſsariesne
cessaries 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] rr [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 Con
tention, but [Chuſe | choose]Chuſechoose Strict N[above] eeutra
want to have them Join in either, The [Congreſs | Congress]CongreſsCongress[org0126.ocp] have Sent out [Com
miſsioners | Com
missioners]Com
miſsionersCom
missioners 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 —
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] tt
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 [them
ſelves | them
selves]them
ſelvesthem
selves are agreeing among [themſelves | themselves]themſelvesthemselves in [there | their]theretheir different Tribes not
[above] toto
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 A
merica[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 [Miſ
ſionaries | mis
sionaries]Miſ
ſionariesmis
sionaries and [School masters | schoolmasters]School mastersschoolmasters among the poor Indians, — I heard
there was Money
and they did [above] notnot 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
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]
obli
[Samſon | Samson]SamſonSamson Occom[pers0030.ocp]
To
John Thornton [Esqr | Esq.]EsqrEsq.[pers0541.ocp]
at Clapham[place0041.ocp] near
London[place0128.ocp]
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 | Compaſsion |
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 | Ne ceſsaries |
ne cessaries |
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 | Com miſsioners |
Com missioners |
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 | them ſelves |
them selves |
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 | Miſ ſionaries |
mis sionaries |
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) |