Samson Occom, letter, to a Minister of Albany, 1791 December 26
26 December 1791[1791-12-26]
ms number791676
[note (type: abstract): Occom writes that he cannot attend an ordination due to ill health, that he has moved to Munhegunnack (or New Stockbridge), and that many Indians are coming to New Stockbridge to hear preaching.][note (type: handwriting): Handwriting is small, but mostly clear and legible. The letter “a” is frequently unclosed at the top, which causes it to look like the letter “u.”][note (type: paper): Single large sheet is in poor condition, with heavy creasing, staining and wear that results in some loss of text. Repairs have been made on particularly heavy creases.][note (type: ink): Brown ink is faded.][note (type: noteworthy): The identity of the minister to whom Occom writes is unknown.]
Persistent Identifier
[Opener]
New Stockbridge[place0165.ocp]
[Decr | December]DecrDecember 26: 1791[1791-12-26]
[Revd | Rev.]RevdRev. and much [eſteemed | esteemed]eſteemedesteemed Sir,
I dont think I Can be at the ordination, in [BallsTown | Ballston]BallsTownBallston[place0363.ocp], it is a long way, and I am old, and Lame, and I [muſt | must]muſtmust be at the [Preſbytery | Presbytery]PreſbyteryPresbytery[org0083.ocp]
next March[1792-03] at Albany[place0001.ocp] if live, and Shall be well; I want to be at the ord[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): e]ernation; and one or two of
our men with me but it Cant be so now — I am now moving my Family to
Munhegunnack or New-Stockbridge[place0165.ocp], I told you it
was [Calld | called]Calldcalled
[Tuſ | Tus]TuſTusc[illegible][guess (h-dawnd): a]arora, but that is not the Proper name of it,
— [Capt
| Capt.]Capt
Capt.
[Hindrick | Hendrick]HindrickHendrick[pers0257.ocp] who will deliver this to You, is one of our Church; he is [juſt | just]juſtjust Come from the [weſtward | westward]weſtwardwestward, [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst the Indians, and he has a large Tract of [gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): land]land
[offerd | offered]offerdoffered him if he and his people would move there — I think it [woud | would]woudwould be [gap: tear][guess (h-dawnd): a fine
open]a fine
opening for the [Goſpel | Gospel]GoſpelGospel, — Our Church have willingly and Cheerfully adopted the [Confeſsion | confession]Confeſsionconfession of Faith of the
[Preſbyterian | Presbyterian]PreſbyterianPresbyterian Church[org0133.ocp] of the United States in
America[place0362.ocp]. They Joyfully put [themſelves | themselves]themſelvesthemselves under the Care and [inſpection | inspection]inſpectioninspection of Albany
[Preſbytery | Presbytery]PreſbyteryPresbytery[org0083.ocp] — And thankfully receive the [Goſpel | Gospel]GoſpelGospel
[Fellowſhip | fellowship]Fellowſhipfellowship
[open'd | opened]open'dopened for them — And from This Time, we Shall look upon ourSelves one of the [leaſt | least]leaſtleast Branches of the Religious Family of the
[Preſbyterians | Presbyterians]PreſbyteriansPresbyterians[org0133.ocp] in America[place0362.ocp] —
— We are try^[above] ing^ing to [inſtruct | instruct]inſtructinstruct our Children in Letters, but we are very weak, we want a little help
— one [Jo– | Joseph]Jo–Joseph Quinney[pers1757.ocp] keeps the School, without any [Proſpect | prospect]Proſpectprospect of Reward, and he [gap: hole][guess (h-dawnd): is]is our Singing [Maſter | master]Maſtermaster too, and he is [Inſtructing | instructing]Inſtructinginstructing the People in Sin[gap: hole][guess (h-dawnd): ging]ging
[Conſta | consta]Conſtaconsta[gap: hole][guess (h-dawnd): ntl]ntly,
two or three Evenings every week and he demands no pay — and he and his Family,
are very [deſtitute | destitute]deſtitutedestitute of [Cloathing | clothing]Cloathingclothing, — Our [Profiſsers | professors]Profiſsersprofessors keep on S^[above] t^teady in Religion, and our Church and
Society rather [increaſes | increases]increaſesincreases, — our Singers are in want of Psalm Books — what harm [woud | would]woudwould it be, if You [wou'd | would]wou'dwould try to beg a few, [amongſt | amongst]amongſtamongst Your Friends and Neighbours in
Albany[place0001.ocp], we [uſe | use]uſeuse
[Dr | Dr.]DrDr. Watts[pers0683.ocp]'s Psalms altogether — I have no more to Say at
this Time, — Pray for us — This with much Esteem is from your most
unworthy fellow Labourer in the [Goſpel | Gospel]GoſpelGospel of [Jeſus | Jesus]JeſusJesus —
Samson Occom[pers0030.ocp]
PS.
[Capt
| Capt.]Capt
Capt.
[Hindrick | Hendrick]HindrickHendrick[pers0257.ocp] is our Elder, and [Joſeph | Joseph]JoſephJoseph
[Qunney | Quinney]QunneyQuinney[pers1757.ocp] is our Deacon; We have but very little [Buſineſs | business]Buſineſsbusiness
[gap: worn_edge]Elder and Deacon, and think, one of each is enough for the
[gap: worn_edge]
[Janr | January]JanrJanuary 8[1792-01-08] Sir
The [fore going | foregoing]fore goingforegoing was Sent by [Capt | Capt.]CaptCapt.
[Hindreck | Hendrick]HindreckHendrick[pers0257.ocp], but was
[oblidged | obliged]oblidgedobliged, to return back, and forgot to give it, to Samuel Littleman[pers0810.ocp], who, I Conclude [Call'd | called]Call'dcalled upon You, in his way to
New-[Jerſey | Jersey]JerſeyJersey[place0163.ocp] — There Seems to be a Strange inclination among the
Indians, to hear the word of God [preach'd | preached]preach'dpreached, [the | they]thethey Come to our meets from [Tuſcarora | Tuscarora]TuſcaroraTuscarora[place0288.ocp], most all of them, which they nev[gap: worn_edge][guess (h-dawnd): er]er did before, and [Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Kirkland[pers0315.ocp]s People come very thick too and they [deſire | desire]deſiredesire, that I might Spend Some Sabbaths, — great many Come to our meet^[above] ing^ing
[to Day | today]to Daytoday, [tho | though]thothough
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Kirkland[pers0315.ocp] went there this morning, and they know of his Coming,
— [Mr | Mr.]MrMr. Kirkland[pers0315.ocp] is going away again, and I Shall go to his People
next Sabbath — Several of them, have [gap: hole][guess (h-dawnd): a]a great [Deſire | desire]Deſiredesire to Join us in full — and ^[above] Some of^Some of
[Mr | Mr.]MrMr.
[Sargeant | Sergeant]SargeantSergeant[pers0470.ocp]'s people are Coming to us [alſo | also]alſoalso, and they will Join us in full, — I have an Evening School for
the young People, and a Number comes, I am [Inſtructing | instructing]Inſtructinginstructing to read [& | and]&and to Speak [Engliſh | English]EngliſhEnglish proper, and Come on well —
[Closer]
I am [&c | etc.]&cetc. —
[Samſon | Samson]SamſonSamson Occom[pers0030.ocp]
Document Summary
People identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Role in header | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|---|
pers0257.ocp | Cap t Capt. Hindrick Hendrick | mentioned | Aupaumut, Hendrick |
pers1757.ocp | Jo– Joseph Quinney | mentioned | Quinney, Joseph |
pers0683.ocp | D r Dr. Watts | mentioned | Watts, John |
pers0030.ocp | Samson Occom | writer | Occom, Samson |
pers0257.ocp | Cap t Capt. Hindrick Hendrick | mentioned | Aupaumut, Hendrick |
pers1757.ocp | Joſeph Joseph Qunney Quinney | mentioned | Quinney, Joseph |
pers0257.ocp | Cap t Capt. Hindreck Hendrick | mentioned | Aupaumut, Hendrick |
pers0810.ocp | Samuel Littleman | mentioned | Littleman, Samuel |
pers0315.ocp | M r Mr. Kirkland | mentioned | Kirkland, Samuel |
pers0470.ocp | M r Mr. Sargeant Sergeant | mentioned | Sergeant, Jr., John |
pers0030.ocp | Samſon Samson Occom | writer | Occom, Samson |
Places identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
place0165.ocp | New Stockbridge | Stockbridge |
place0363.ocp | Balls Town Balls ton | Ballston |
place0001.ocp | Albany | Albany |
place0165.ocp | New-Stockbridge | Stockbridge |
place0362.ocp | United States in America | United States of America |
place0362.ocp | America | United States of America |
place0163.ocp | New- Jerſey Jersey | New Jersey |
place0288.ocp | Tuſcarora Tuscarora | Tuscarora |
Organizations identified in this document:
id | Text in document | Authorized Name |
---|---|---|
org0083.ocp | PreſbyteryPresbytery | Presbytery of Albany |
org0133.ocp | PreſbyterianPresbyterian Church | Presbyterian Church |
org0083.ocp | Albany PreſbyteryPresbytery | Presbytery of Albany |
org0133.ocp | PreſbyteriansPresbyterians | Presbyterian Church |
Dates identified in this document:
Standard Form | Text |
---|---|
1791-12-26 | DecrDecember 26: 1791 |
1792-03 | next March |
1792-01-08 | JanrJanuary 8 |
Regularized text:
Type | Original | Regularized |
---|---|---|
modernization | Revd | Rev. |
modernization | eſteemed | esteemed |
variation | BallsTown | Ballston |
modernization | muſt | must |
modernization | Preſbytery | Presbytery |
variation | Calld | called |
modernization | Tuſ | Tus |
modernization | Capt | Capt. |
variation | Hindrick | Hendrick |
modernization | juſt | just |
modernization | weſtward | westward |
modernization | amongſt | amongst |
variation | offerd | offered |
variation | woud | would |
modernization | Goſpel | Gospel |
modernization | Confeſsion | confession |
modernization | Preſbyterian | Presbyterian |
modernization | themſelves | themselves |
modernization | inſpection | inspection |
modernization | Fellowſhip | fellowship |
modernization | leaſt | least |
modernization | Preſbyterians | Presbyterians |
modernization | inſtruct | instruct |
modernization | Proſpect | prospect |
modernization | Maſter | master |
modernization | Inſtructing | instructing |
modernization | Conſta | consta |
modernization | deſtitute | destitute |
variation | Cloathing | clothing |
variation | Profiſsers | professors |
modernization | increaſes | increases |
modernization | uſe | use |
modernization | Dr | Dr. |
modernization | Jeſus | Jesus |
modernization | Capt | Capt. |
modernization | Joſeph | Joseph |
variation | Qunney | Quinney |
modernization | Buſineſs | business |
variation | fore going | foregoing |
modernization | Capt | Capt. |
variation | Hindreck | Hendrick |
variation | oblidged | obliged |
modernization | Jerſey | Jersey |
modernization | Tuſcarora | Tuscarora |
modernization | Mr | Mr. |
modernization | deſire | desire |
variation | to Day | today |
variation | tho | though |
modernization | Deſire | desire |
variation | Sargeant | Sergeant |
modernization | alſo | also |
modernization | Engliſh | English |
modernization | &c | etc. |
modernization | Samſon | Samson |
Expanded abbreviations:
Abbreviation | Expansion |
---|---|
Decr | December |
open'd | opened |
Jo– | Joseph |
wou'd | would |
Janr | January |
Call'd | called |
preach'd | preached |
& | and |
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 14) |
Number of people/places/organizations with unknown keys: | 0 (out of 26) |
Number of "add" tags with unknown 'place' attributes: | 0 (out of 4) |
Mixed case attribute values in header (potential error): | 0 (out of 112) |