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The Philander Chase letters were written in the 18th and 19th century and therefore may contain language that we understand today as harmful or offensive. You may encounter paternalist descriptions of Native Americans, racial slurs, or sexism. For more information, see our policy page.
Description
Copies of two letters written by Chase to William Walker and George Lyman, asking Lyman to come with four or five Indian students to Worthington and for Walker to encourage this project however he can.
Date
10-11-1825
Keywords
Seneca Reservation, Mohawk Indians, Oneida Indians, Sandusky River, Mr. Montgomery, William Sparrow, Edward Sparrow, Steubenville, Huron County
Recommended Citation
Chase, Philander, "Letters to William Walker and George Lyman" (1825). Philander Chase Letters. 542.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/chase_letters/542
Rights Statement
Transcript
Copy of a letter from Bishop Chase to William Walker Dated Oct. 11th 1825
Worthington Oct. 11th 1825
Dear William Walker,
You may have heard of my being at George Lyman’s on the Seneca Reservation. My object in going there was to seek out & minister to the Church of Indians, who by a faithful use of the prayerbook translated into the Mohawk language in the year 1787 have preserved the Christian faith and worship of Almighty God among their people. I had the great happiness of finding them & preaching to them the word of life in the lone woods. When joining them in prayer according to our primitive Liturgy & in singing Psalms & Hymns they in Mohawk & I in English my heart was greatly affected. Their solemn manner, the sweetness of their voices and the great regularity with which they conducted themselves, joined with many nameless evidences of true piety gave me very favorable impressions. I blessed God for the opportunity he had given me of encouraging them in the ways of well doing; & took courage to pursue my original plan. This was to get some of these interesting people to come down & attend our School; and if after due and long trial they found worthy under God to make them the instruments of teaching others.
To comply with this arrangement I found several of them reasonably willing, George Lyman & four or five of his relations & friends, all young Lads of very promising appearance have promised with the consent of their Chiefs to come. We are to find them in every convenience as well as teach them without any charges. It is expected of them however that they cook their own food, wash their own clothes and cultivate their own garden; & to enable them to do this George’s wife is to come along with them. They will all live in a separate house by themselves.
Now Dear William does not this thing strike your mind favourably. Your relationship to the Red Men must make them doubly dear to you. Do therefore aid us in this work of love.
If you ask me how I am to bear the expense of this plan, I answer, God will enable me to do it. Yea he hath already done it in the overflowing bounty of our English religious friends: so that thanks are due to God & them, not me.
The [Messrs.] Sparrows will talk you further on the subject. Perhaps you will find it convenient to go with them to the Oneidas & inspire them by your kind advice with confidence in your old teacher and ever faithful friend,
P. Chase
To: William Walker
An Indian Man at Upper Sandusky
Copy of a letter from Bishop Chase to George Lyman Dated Oct. 11th 1825
Worthington Oct. 11th 1825
Dear George,
When at Steubenville on the Ohio River I wrote you a letter directed to the care of Mr. Montgomery. In that letter I told you that I remembered my promise to you and the Boys: & if you would come to Worthington you would make us glad and happy in the opportunity of doing good to your people. I told you and I now tell you that as the Instrument of God I will give you good and comfortable clothing food and a house to live in, & will teach you in all good learning without any expense to you or to the five other boys whom you bring with you. I expect your Wife will come along with you to take care of your clothing, to keep your shirts and blankets clean & to cook your food. If you have an axe I hope you will bring it with you to cut and prepare your firewood. That good people who translated your prayerbook & the Gospel of St. Mark into your language have sent me blankets to keep you warm & have given me money to pay for your teaching: so you must thank them, not me, for this instance of kindness to you. Or rather you must thank God thro’ Jesus Christ that he hath put it into the hearts of these our religious friends in England to enable me to do you good.
Dear George, give my best love to all the Chiefs and Christian people whom I met & with whom I worshipped the Almighty God thro’ Jesus Christ at your sister’s dwelling. Tell them that I pray for them & beg them to pray for me. Tell them to fear God and keep His commandments—to keep holy the sabbath day—to read the Gospel & say their prayers on that day in the presence of all your Tribe. Tell them to live soberly—to drink no strong drink & keep from all acts of revenge and malice. Tell them to forgive all who have injured them as they hope to be forgiven.
I am your friend and father in Christ,
P. Chase.
P.S.
The bearers of this letter are Mr. William Sparrow one of the teachers of our School & his brother Edward, both good & kind men. They are going on to see their father in Huron County—you can all come with them when they return to Worthington.
P. Chase
To Geo. Lyman
on the Seneca Reservation