This article first appeared in In Writing
Samson Occom 1723-1792 Mohegan Pastor
His fund raising trip to the British Isles 1765-1767 in the company of Nathaniel Whitaker that led to the founding of Dartmouth College. Part One.
Between February, 1766 and the end of 1767, a native American Presbyterian preacher called Samson Occom (1723-1792) travelled extensively in England, Scotland and Ireland, preaching between 300 and 400 sermons and drawing large crowds almost everywhere he went. He raised over £12,000 (over £1.5 million today) for a project back in New England from where he and his companion, the Congregational minister Nathaniel Whitaker (1730-1795) had travelled.
Occom was a member of the Mohegan (not Mohican or Mohawk) tribe and was said to be descended from a leading chief called Uncas. Occom was converted in the revival now known as the first Great Awakening. He heard the gospel when he was 16 or 17 and began studying theology shortly after at a school led by Congregationalist minister and educator, Eleazar Wheelock (1711-1799).
Occom was there for four years and by the end of that time had learned to speak good English and familiarise himself with Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
From 1747-1749, he worked under and studied with Congregationalist minister, Solomon Williams (1700-1776) in New London, Connecticut. Occom went on to become a teacher, a preacher and an arbitrator among the Montauket Native Americans of Montauk, Long Island. He married a Montauket woman called Mary Fowler (1726-1792), who had been a school pupil under him. They had many children.
He was officially ordained on August 30, 1759, by the presbytery of Suffolk. He was never paid the same salary as white preachers, although this had been promised. He was given a supplementary stipend by The Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge but he and his family lived in poverty for much of his life.
In 1761 and 1763, Occom travelled to preach to the Six Nations of the Iroquois in upstate New York and saw converts. He then returned to teach at Mohegan, Connecticut, near New London. He mediated in conflicts between colonists and Native Americans, as he was very familiar with colonist culture and was recognised by Native Americans as a leader.
Meanwhile, Wheelock established an Indian charity school in Lebanon, Connecticut in 1754 with a legacy from Joshua Moor and others. In 1763-1765 the great evangelist George Whitefield (1714-1770) made his sixth and penultimate visit to America. He visited New London, Norwich, Lebanon and Moor's school and met Occom. Whitefield was one of the instigators of the trip across the Atlantic. It had long been felt that a trip to Old England could raise a good deal of cash to support education among native peoples and on Occom's return to Mohegan, Wheelock persuaded his former pupil to be the man, with Whitaker, to do the fundraising that was felt to be necessary.
Boston to Brixham Dec 23, 1765-Feb 6, 1766
Occom kept a diary that covers much of the early part of the trip. There we learn that he said a warm farewell to his family on Thursday, November, 21, 1765, and headed to Boston, Massachusetts, where he arrived on the afternoon of November 23. He stayed with a watchmaker called Moses Peck (1717-1801). Whitaker arrived in Boston on November 27, but it was not until Monday, December 23 at around 9.30 am that the two left New England. They sailed on the 70 ton sloop, The Boston Packett captained by John Marshall (d 1768). They paid 15 guineas, a reduced rate thanks to the generosity of one of the owners, wealthy Boston merchant, John Hancock (1736-1793). Their fellow travellers were the Boston merchants, Thomas Bromfield (1733-1816) and John Williams (d 1791).
The passengers got on well during their six week trip, daily worship taking place throughout with sermons every Lord's Day. Occom was thankful to God for the generally favourable winds experienced, with only three short spells when strong gales prevailed and a short period, 500 nautical miles off Lands End, when moderate easterly winds delayed them. Though it was winter, they had quite warm weather most of the voyage.
They first caught sight of England about 10 am, Lord's Day, February 2, 1766. The next day, just after sunset, they disembarked at Brixham, Devon, being ferried to the shore in a fishing boat. They spent a night at the home of an unnamed widow, then made an early start for Exeter on horseback, going on to Salisbury, Wiltshire, by coach. Despite the cold weather, they reached London by the evening of February 6, having covered some 200 miles in just three days.
London, February 7-10, 1766
In London, they stayed first with London merchant and dissenter Dennys DeBerdt (1694-1770). Of Dutch descent, in 1765 he had been elected London agent of the Massachusetts Assembly, having already served as agent for the Connecticut and Delaware Assemblies. DeBerdt was a strong supporter of Whitlock but Whitaker would later grow distrustful of him. The next day their old friend and supporter John Smith (d 1768), an affluent Boston merchant, visited. He made regular trips to London and had arrived there in July 1765. He would die before returning to Boston. Smith had been a supporter of Whitefield since the 1740s and it is he who took Occom and Whitaker to him at this time. Whitefield took them in his chaise to the house of a sympathetic but unnamed friend.
They spent a quiet weekend at Whitefield's, then on the Monday, he introduced them to the man who would later give his name to the college begun with funds raised by Occom and Whitaker, philanthropist William Legge, better known as Lord Dartmouth (1731-1801). Whitefield also took them to see another aristocrat, the elderly and pious Lady Hotham (1696-1771) widow of Charles Hotham (1693-1738).
Sightseeing and leisure
The church going of some, the evident profanity of others, the beggars and the sheer noisy busyness of the place all grabbed Occom's attention.
Although most of the time went on networking, there was time for sightseeing. On February 12 they spent a day riding and the next day went with Whitefield to see Parliament. Later they crossed Westminster Bridge and visited Greenwich Hospital, then a rest home for retired naval personnel.
February 17 was a rest day and the next day, they were at the palace where they saw King George III (1738-1820) in his robes of state and royal crown, escorted by his horsemen and musicians headed to Parliament. Occom was clearly very impressed but eager to remind himself that there is much greater glory in heaven where the King of kings reigns. Later in the day they again visited Dartmouth and dined with him. That same day they made visits to Westminster Abbey and Bedlam, the lunatic asylum, long considered an appropriate place for tourists. Occom says nothing about what he saw there.
Thursday, February 20 appears to have been the official birthday of Queen Consort Charlotte (1744-1818). Occom and others went to St James's Palace but were a little late so did not see as many royals and nobles as had been hoped. Occom's reflections this time run on the lines of the great contrast between rich and poor and the way so much will be reversed in the world to come. The next day it was time to see the Tower with its menagerie of lions, tigers, leopards and wolves and other impressive sights such as the armoury.
On Monday, June 30, Occom went up river with John Smith to Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. They went by river to Gravesend then by coach to Chatham before arriving in Sheerness by water. The next day they bathed in the sea. Occom was pleased with the scenery but sobered by the sight of criminals swinging on yardarms all along the river. On the Wednesday, they did the return journey in rain and thunder, reaching London about six.
On Tuesday, July 17, they dined with the Baptist minister and numismatist Andrew Gifford (1700-1784). They went on to a meeting with American loyalist Sir James Jay (1732-1815) and to see the curiosities of a certain Mr Person.
To be continued
