The Occom Circle

Dennys DeBerdt, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1761 August 31

Manuscript Number761481

Date31 August 1761

Author

Recipient

AbstractDeBerdt writes regarding various donations and fundraising efforts.

Samuel Hopkins, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1761 September 30

Manuscript Number761530

Date30 September 1761

Author

Recipient

AbstractHopkins writes Wheelock about reports that Occom lacks tact in his dealings with the Oneidas, and that he is instructing them to leave off their Indian ways. He suggests that Occom may not be right for an Indian mission.

William Gaylord, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock 1765 June 18

Manuscript Number765368.2

Date18 June 1765

Author

Recipient

AbstractGaylord writes to Wheelock asking for news about Occom’s plans, mentioning rumors he has heard, and discussing attitudes for and against the School.

Nathaniel Whitaker, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1766 March 7

Manuscript Number766207.1

Date7 March 1766

Author

Recipient

AbstractWhitaker, in London, writes that he has received letters from Wheelock, and that Wheelock should take care with regard to where he sends letters and what he writes, so that the Society in Scotland does not appropriate the money Whitaker, along with Occom, hopes to raise. Occom is shortly to be inoculated for small pox.

Nathaniel Whitaker, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1767 February 12

Manuscript Number767162.1

Date12 February 1767

Author

Recipient

AbstractWhitaker writes regarding several matters, including the slanders of the New England Company, General Lyman's progress in obtaining land, the necessity of formalizing the Charity School accounts, and the disbursement of a shipment of books. He notes that Whitefield suggests sending Indian baskets to the wives of donors, and that Occom proposes Long Island as a suitable new location for an Indian school.

Alexander Chamberlain, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1767 October 19

Manuscript Number767569

Date19 October 1767

Author

Recipient

AbstractChamberlain copies an excerpt from a London paper about a local appearance by, and the successful fundraising activities of, Whitaker and Occom.

John Thornton, letter, to Eleazar Wheelock, 1772 May 12

Manuscript Number772312.1

Date12 May 1772

Author

Recipient

AbstractThornton sends a copy of a letter from the Trustees in England to Occom (dated May 5, 1772), granting him 50 pounds, then 25 pounds a year to Christianize Indians. Thornton also exhorts Wheelock to be more charitable in his judgment towards Kirkland and Occom, both of whom he admires.