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Title
A name given to the resource
The Conversion and Education of the Indigenous People Groups of the Americas
Description
An account of the resource
Mission was the driving imperative behind the founding of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), as its name makes clear. However, this priority raised complex questions of identity and power both for a parochial Anglican state church hoping to embark on new missionary ventures, and for the diverse range of groups they encountered across the broad geographical region that England’s incipient imperial and expanding commercial activities opened up. The Anglican church was internally conflicted over whether it should be engaged in ministry beyond the territorial boundaries of the nation-state and trying to determine – if it did initiate an external missionary focus – who its primary target audience should be. <br /><br />The indigenous people groups of the Americas whom early missionaries encountered in South Carolina, for example, posed different questions of power, identity and exchange to enslaved Africans forcibly transferred across the Atlantic. There were reciprocal relationships of trade, exchange, and care-giving essential to the survival of the fledgling English communities and their parishes. Finance and war were often entangled: mutual dependency ensured survival, but colonial traders also instigated disruption in order to engender opportunities for enslavement that then put the colonial outposts at risk. It also created a tense and difficult space for mission which played out in international diplomacy, the establishment of schools, and inequities of power that destroyed trust; negotiation rather than subjugation continued to be an essential strategy for survival in the early part of the eighteenth century. <br /><br />This collection foregrounds the importance of who gets to tell stories and how. Literacy and books – as artefacts and objects of translation – remain key to communication and exchange. There is also an intimate intersection between matters of pastoral care and the development of natural philosophy which situates SPG’s missionaries firmly within the European and transatlantic republic of letters.<br /><p><strong>Bibliography</strong></p>
<p>Marisa J. Fuentes, <em>Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archives</em> (Philadelphia, 2016).</p>
<p>Ulinka Rublack, ed., <em>Protestant Empires: Globalizing the Reformations</em> (Cambridge, 2020).</p>
<p>Brent Sirota, <em>The Christian Monitors: The Church of England and the Age of Benevolence, 1680-1730</em> (Yale, 2014).</p>
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AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
Text
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At the Kings Fort by the Mohawks Castle <br />
October the 4th 1717.<p></p>
These are to Certifie the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Forreign Parts, that we did hear two Sachims and severall Others of the Principal Indians say by William Printup another Interpreter that they did well like the way that Mr Andrews had taken to Instruct them, and likewise his Life and Conversation among them.<p></p>
Witness our Hands<p></p>
John Scott Officer <br />
John Oliver Schoolmaster<p></p>
Wolf Bear The Turtle<p></p>
[x] [x] [x]<p></p>
The Indians Marks and distinction of their Families<p></p>
Witness our hands<p></p>
John Scott Off[ice]r<br />
John Oliver Schoolmaster<br />
The Turtle [x]<p></p>
The Bear [x]<p></p>
The Wolf [x]<p></p>
<br />The Indians Marks and Distinction of their Families.<p></p>
Witness our hands.<p></p>
John Scott off[ic]er <br />
John Oliver Schoolmaster<p></p>
<br />
Att The King\s/ Fort by the Mohawks Castle the 4th Oct[obe]r 1717<p></p>
These are to Certify the Venerable Society for the propagation of the Gospell in Foreign parts, that wee whose names are underwritten, did hear two Sachims Say, w[i]t[h] Severall others of the Principall Indians by William Printup another Interpreter, that Lawrence Clarkson Interpreter here did understand ther Languadge verry well and they did allway\s/ understand the Scripturs, Sermons and the Church Services Read by him as allsoe they Understand verry well the Books that was translated by him into the Indian Languadge <p></p>
Witness our hands<p></p>
John Scott officer<br />
John Oliver Schoolmaster<p></p>
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Testimonials from King's Fort, Mohawk Castle from Indian Sachems
Description
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Letter 19 - Catalogue ref says '19 - 4 Oct 1717 - Testimonials from King's Fort, Mohawk Castle from Indian Sachems, (Original Signatures).'
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Bodleian SPG C AM 1
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4 Oct 1717
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AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Conversion and Education of the Indigenous People Groups of the Americas
Description
An account of the resource
Mission was the driving imperative behind the founding of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), as its name makes clear. However, this priority raised complex questions of identity and power both for a parochial Anglican state church hoping to embark on new missionary ventures, and for the diverse range of groups they encountered across the broad geographical region that England’s incipient imperial and expanding commercial activities opened up. The Anglican church was internally conflicted over whether it should be engaged in ministry beyond the territorial boundaries of the nation-state and trying to determine – if it did initiate an external missionary focus – who its primary target audience should be. <br /><br />The indigenous people groups of the Americas whom early missionaries encountered in South Carolina, for example, posed different questions of power, identity and exchange to enslaved Africans forcibly transferred across the Atlantic. There were reciprocal relationships of trade, exchange, and care-giving essential to the survival of the fledgling English communities and their parishes. Finance and war were often entangled: mutual dependency ensured survival, but colonial traders also instigated disruption in order to engender opportunities for enslavement that then put the colonial outposts at risk. It also created a tense and difficult space for mission which played out in international diplomacy, the establishment of schools, and inequities of power that destroyed trust; negotiation rather than subjugation continued to be an essential strategy for survival in the early part of the eighteenth century. <br /><br />This collection foregrounds the importance of who gets to tell stories and how. Literacy and books – as artefacts and objects of translation – remain key to communication and exchange. There is also an intimate intersection between matters of pastoral care and the development of natural philosophy which situates SPG’s missionaries firmly within the European and transatlantic republic of letters.<br /><p><strong>Bibliography</strong></p>
<p>Marisa J. Fuentes, <em>Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archives</em> (Philadelphia, 2016).</p>
<p>Ulinka Rublack, ed., <em>Protestant Empires: Globalizing the Reformations</em> (Cambridge, 2020).</p>
<p>Brent Sirota, <em>The Christian Monitors: The Church of England and the Age of Benevolence, 1680-1730</em> (Yale, 2014).</p>
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AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
Letter
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A
Memorial relating to the state of the
Church of England in the Province
of South Carolina
Offered humbly to the consideration of the
Hon\ble/ society for propagating the Gospel
in foreign parts
by their humble & thankfull
Missionary Sam\l/ Thomas
The first & chief Parish in South Carolina is Charles-Town
which is a large Parish, & hath a very hon\ble/ maintenance
for the Minister. but it being at p\resnt/ under the pastoral
care of M\r/ Marston who have been there for five years. I for-
= beare to say anything of its Inhabitants or their sentiments as
to Religion
The next parish to Charles-Town is Goos-Creek one of
the most populous of our Country Parishes, containing
(as neare as I can Guess) ab\t/ 120 families in w\ch/
Parish live many persons of considerable note for
figure & estate in the Province, many of w\ch/ are con-
cerned in the Governm\t/ as members of the Councills
and assembly: most of those Inhabitants are of the
profession of the Church of England, excepting ab\t/
five families of French Protestants who are
Calvinists, and three families of Presbiterians
and two Anabaptists
here is a small church for some years erected by some
few of the cheife Inhabitants, in w\ch/ they had Divine
Service & Sermons and Sacraments as often as they could
procure a minister to Officiate
I officiate there constantly once a quarter at w\ch/ times
I allways administerd the B. Sacrament of the Lords Supper
the number of communicants were ab\t/ 30 of which
one was a Christian negro man
This Church at Goose-Creek was very well frequented as
often as any of our minister officiated there
The number of heathen slaves in this parish I suppose
to be ab\t/ 200 twenty of w\ch/ I observe to come constantly
to church and these, & several others of them well under
stand the English Tongue & can read:
The next Parish to Goose-Creek is that upon the Western
branch of Cooper River: in this Parish then are two-
general Settlemts one called by the name of Wat boe, and
the other called Wampee, this parish contains ab\t/ 70
families there was no Church in this parish during my
stay in Carolina, but then \is/ a Church now building in
this and in every other parish by order of y\e/ Governmen\t/ who
have by an act of assembly appropriated several sums
for this End: in this parish I officiated one Lords Day in
the month and one weak day in the month in some of
the Planters Houses, or in the Sumer under some green
Tree in an airy place made conveninent for Minister
and People
There are in this parish a\bt/ forty families of the
profession of the Church of England, and 30 ffamilies
who Dissent from the church: these are more generally
Anabaptists, and they have a preacher of that sort
among them one Lords Day in three, my congregation
have consisted of ab\t/ 80 p\sons/ or some times near
one Hunderd, the Dissenters ferquently making
a very considerable part thereof. They coming to
our Churches when their \own/ ministers did not preach –
The number of Communicants with the Church of
England were 20: the number of heathen
slaves in this parish are ab\t/ 180 three only of
w\ch/ are Christians
The next Parish to this is scituated upon the Eastern
branch of Cooper River, w\ch/ parish I by order of
the Hon\ble/ Governour had the care of, and did constantly
officiate in 3 Lords Dayes in 4 throughout the yeare
and 2 week days in a month the number of
Inhabitants in this parish are ab\t/ 100 ffamilies, 80
of w\ch/ are of the profession of the Church of
England & ab\t/ 20 Dissenters from the church, 17 of
Presbyterians and 2 Anabaptists and one Quaker
The number of those who attended constantly upon the
Lords Dayes service were generally 100 and upon those
day’s upon w\ch/ the Lords Supper was administered 140
the number of Comunicants in this parish were
forty five, the number of heaven Slaves
200 of w\ch/ 20 have by my Encouragm\t/ learned to
read and I hope by Gods Grace will with many
others be fitted for Baptism & the Lords Supper
upon my return, here is one church already
Erected (since my arrival) by the peculiar
direction & Religious case of s\r/ Nath. Johnson
and at the charge of the parish
The next parish to this is scituated upon a
River called Wandoe and contain a\bt/ 100 families
sixty of w\ch/ are of the profession of the
church of England, & ab\t/ 40 Dissenters from
the Church w\ch/ are Presbyterians, here has been
a small church for some time Erected. but the
people has never had a constant minister: the
congregation when there is a minister to officiate
consist of ab\t/ 70: The Lords Supper has never
been administered here the number of slaves
may be about 100, not one of them Christian
or preparing for it
The next parish to this is scituated upon
Ashby River and contains ab\t/ 190 ffamilies
in this parish there never have been a minister
settled so y\t/ at present but few of the peo-
ples are in the Intrest of the church of
England here are in this parish many presby
=terrans and Anabaptists, and but ab\t/ 30
ffamillies of the profession of the Church
of England here has been no church, nor
has the Lords supper ever been administered
here, the number of slaves may be ab\t/ 150
but one of them a Christian, w\ch/ I instructed &
Baptized
The last parrish in Carolina is scituated upon
a River called Slone it is very large and
Extensive, being the only parish in y\t/ County:
w\ch/ we call Colleton county, in the Southern
parts of this parish are settled ab\t/ 60 families
of Dissenters Presbyterians and Anabaptists
but in the Northern p\t/ thereof neare Charles
=town are ab\t/ 40 families who profess them
selves of the Church of England, here is
no church, nor minister the Lords Supper hath
never been administered here in this parish
are ab\t/ 150 slaves not any of them Christian
I crave leave further to acquaint this Hon\rbl/
society that the Province of South Carolina
is but very lately divided into parishes by act
of assembly procured by the Religious care
of our present excellent Governour S\r/ N Johnson
and y\t/ it is Intirely owing to him & y\e/ present
members of the Councill and assembly that
there [is]? any sallarys settled upon ministers of
the Church of England, for there being so many
dissenters in the province (many of w\ch/ have
allways been in y\e/ Governm\t/) it was a work of no
small difficulty to get an act \to/ pass in favour
of the Church of England Clergy, especially
for their having a Publick Sallary w\ch/ those who
dissent from us violently oppose in those parts of
the World.
The p\s/ent Governm\t/ of South Carolina hath
given us a very high Instance of their zeal
and affection for the Church of England
as by Law established, in w\t/ they have at
present done for the encouragm\t/ of the
publick Worship of God according to our most
Excellent Church, for the present war having obligd
us to be at very g\t/ charges in fortifying our
Town and in providing stores of Ammunition to
prevent our being surprized by the enemie
these with some other occasional charged has so
emptied the Treasury that it was indeed a work
of almost Insuperable difficulty to get a ffund
appropriated to the service of the Church
South Carolina is but an Infant Collony and
their treasury at best but small out of w\ch/
they have psent appropriated 2000 pounds to
the service of the Church for the Building six
churches & as many Parsonage Houses \& buying Glebe Lands/ so y\t/ for
every particular parish the publick disburse
three hundred thirty three pounds, and 50\l/ annually
for all the six parishes and considering their
psent circumstances in very extraordinary, and
perhaps such instances of zeal can hardly be
paralleled in those parts of the World
I now beg leave to offer some breife remarks upon
this acc\t/ of the state of the church in South Caro-
to the consideration of this Hon\ble/ Society
I first by this acc\t/ it is sadly evident how destitute our
Brethren of the Church of England in South Carolina
are of spiritual guides and publick ordinances and
in how much danger they are of famishing in Grace
for want of y\e/ word of sacrament\s/, or to be led aside to
Error while destitute of the publick ministry to
conform them in the truth, for as circumstances
are at psent in this our province, not one pson on
20 xxxxx \among/ those who profess themselves of the
church of England can have ordinarily y\e/ benefit
of y\e/ Word of Sacram\t/ from a Church of England minister
the Dissenters have at psent 4 ministers among them
besides one Anabaptist preacher lately gon into Carolina
from Biddeford in y\e/ West of England, and I am
informed that 3 or 4 Dissenting ministers are
going for Carolina in the spring, all which
I humbly conceive , makes it highly needfull that
our Church of England members and be provided with
pious & painfull Divines such as will Live Exem
plarlily & preach practically & constantly, and
Catechise frequently that so their people may not
be tempted to put themselves under the conduct
of those who differ from us as we have greate
reason to believe they will if they see themselves
neglected
2 I further remarke to this Hon\ble/ society that altho
the province of Carolina hath done very much
for the encouragm\t/ of Church of England ministers
considering their psent circumstances, yet is y\e/
the provision w\ch/ they have made but mean
in it self and such as will scarse support
a minister & his family if there much less will
it be any Motive to Clergymen to leave England
and to submit to the fatigues of a long and
hazardous voyage while they are in any toller
able circumstance here in England for the
salary w\ch/ the County allows is but 50\l/ per annum
in Carolina mony w\ch/ makes but ab\t/ 33 pounds
Sterling, and the parishes being not being populous
their perquisites will not amount to any thing consider
=able It is therefor humbly begged that this Venerable
Society would out of their most Christian Charity &
noble bounty think of making some augmentation
to these sallaryes, or of continuing an annual assistance
to these ministers w\ch/ they in their great wisdom and
goodness shall think most fit, and I can’t but In-
form this Hon\r/ble board that the Government of
Carolina hath assured me y\t/ as soon as it possible
to be done & their circumstances will admit they
will themselves by an aditional act make such further
provision as shall capacitate their clergy to Live
comfortable without any assistance from England
I have before observed that the Govern\mt/ of Caroline
has been at great pains & cost in building Houses
for their ministers and in setting out Glebes in every
parish, I therefore humbly propose to this Hon\bl/ society
That if they would think fit to advance any sums to
stock ye same Glebes with negros (w\ch/ might be a stock
unalienable) it would save the society much mony in allowing
persons to their missionaries & would be very considerable in
augmentation to the virtue of their Livings, it is certain the psent
maintenance (tho very Liberal considering the circumstances of
the provinces is not sufficient to encourage any pson to settle
there with a ffamily
3 I further remark to this Hon\r/ble society who I will know
delight in doing \good/ & will rejoice to hear y\t/ y\e/ church & kingdom
of x\t/ are enlarged, y\t/ from y\e/ acc\t/ that hath been Given
there seems to be a prospect of bringing many of the
Indian & negro slaves to the Knowledg & practice of
Christianity, I have here psumed to give an acc\t/ of one
Thousand slaves belonging to our English in Carolina
many of w\ch/ are well affected to Christianity so far as
they know of it, and are desirous of Christian knowledg
and seem to be willing \to/ prepare themselves for it in
learning to read for w\ch/ they redeem time from their
Labour, many of them can read in y\e/ Bible, distinctly
and g\t/ numbers of them were learning when I left y\e/
province, and that w\ch/ I have often reflected uppon
with pleasur is:
That among many of our ignorant slaves there is a g\t/
freedom from immorality, so y\t/ in som plantations of
fifty or sixty slaves we find not a Drunkard nor a
profane swearer among them, w\t/ aversion to vice
I hope may be some preparation for Christian vertues, when
they shall know their duty obligations thereunto and y\e/
means of attaining them, now if every one of these parishes
be so happy as to have a prudent pious & zealous minister
settled in it, they might very easily redeem time from their
studys they neglect for ye instruction of these poor
slaves and I verily believe & hope by Gods Blessing many of
these might be brought into y\e/ ffolds of Christ were we
so happy as to have men of true piety zeal & prudence sent
upon this Evangelical Design
There is but one remark more w\ch/ I shall ho\n/ble this Venerable Body
with, and y\t/ is y\e/ different tempers w\ch/ a minister in y\e/
province of Carolina will find in the people belonging to
his charge, for here in every parish are many professing
Christianity & many Heathens, among our English Inhabitants
are many of considerable Learning good judgm\t/ and acute
parts, & many very ignorant & mean in their attainments,
againe there are some truly Religious & Conscientious, and other’s
haters of Religion & practical Godliness, yet further there are
some who are heartily in y\e/ interests of y\e/ church of England and
xxxxxxx understand & approve its constitutions, and there
are others who are not positively determined as to their choice
who have not actually put themselves under y\e/ conduct either of
our ministers or of those who differ from us, and there are
lastly more than after y\t/ do dissent from us & joyn in Com-
-munion with y\e/ Presbyterians Independants & Anabaptists, of
all w\ch/ there are considerable numbers in the County: and the
I humbly remark to this venerable society y\t/ hereby they may be
the more sensible of the necessity then is of there missionaryes
being duly qualified to make with all possible advantage
with person’s of this differing temper & profession: I humbly
say y\t/ I found by experience that by a diligent application in y\e/
duty’s of my ffunction and with the Blessing of God upon my
Endeavours the Labours of my ministry have been effectual upon
those under my charges, I count It no small happiness that I have
been engaged in this Christian employment under y\e/ encouragm\ts/ of
this venerable society, and I now return to offer not only my own
thanks for their generous allowance, but also the thanks of the
whole province who are very sensible of the obligations they owe
to this Hon\bl/ society, and indeed during the whole time of my
mission I have had such frequent & Blessed opportunityes of doing good
and such real love & respect from my people y\t/ I purpose with
all speed to return thither with my wife & children, and tho the mainten
nance already settled be but small for y\e/ provision of a ffamily, & y\t/
transporting my ffamily will be a very great charge & burden, yet
I doubt not but Gods providence will support me comfortably, and
I humble recommend my psent circumstances to y\e/ consideration of this
truly honourable & charitable society, not presuming to make any particular
reuest after they have so liberally encouraged my past services
but with hearty prayers for \all/ possible success to their most noble & xtian paine
I subscribe my self with profound respect & gratitude their faithfull and
humble missionary, Samuel Thomas
A
Postscript
There is one thing more w\ch/ I think it my
duty to observe to this Honr\ble/ Society, and
it is a relation I received from a master
of a ship belonging to new England, who
acquainted me y\t/ the last year then went
out Batchelours of Arts near twenty young
men from their Colledg, all or more of whom
he assured me would gladly have accepted
Episcopal ordination if we had been so
happy as to have had a bishop in America from
whom they might have received it, but
being discouraged at the troble & charge of
coming for England they accepted of
Authorityss from the Dissenting Ministers
and are all disperced in that way
Sender
Sender of a letter
Samuel Thomas
Recipient
Recipient of a letter
John Chamberlayne (Secretary)
Origin
Origin of a letter
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Destination
Destination of a letter
Petty France, London, UK
EMLO Catalogue
Link to EMLO Catalogue
<a href="http://emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/w/1004417">Letter Record</a>
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Diplomatic transcription of letter from manuscript.
A Memorial relating to the state of the Church of England in the Province of South Carolina<p></p>
Offered humbly to the consideration of the Hon[ou]r[a]bl[e] society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign parts<p></p>
by their humble & Faithfull Missionary Sam[ue]l Thomas.<p></p>
The first & chief Parish in South Carolina is Charles-Town which is a large Parish, & hath a very hon[oura]ble maintenance for the Minister. but it being at p[re]sent under the Pastoral care of Mr Marston who hath been there for five years. I forbeare to say anything of its Inhabitants or their sentiments as to Religion<p></p>
The next Parish to Charles-Town is Goose-Creek. one of the most populous of our Country Parishes, containing (as neare as I can Guess) ab[ou]t 120 Families. in w[hi]ch Parish live many persons of considerable note for figure & estate in the Province, many of w[hi]ch are concerned in the Governm[en]t as members of the Councill and Assembly: most of those Inhabitants are of the profession of the Church of England, excepting ab[ou]t five Famil[i]es of French Protestants who are <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">Calvini</span> Calvinists, and three Families of Presbiterians and two Anabaptists<p></p>
here is a small Church for some years erected by some few of the cheife Inhabitants, in w[hi]ch they had Divine service & sermons and Sacraments as often as they could procure a Minister to Officiate<p></p>
I officiated there constantly once a quarter at w[hi]ch times I allwayes administerd the B[lessed] Sacrament of the Lords Supper. the number of communicants were ab[ou]t 30 of which one was a Christian negro man.<p></p>
This Church at Goose-Creek was very well frequented as often as any of our ministers officiated there<p></p>
The number of heathen slaves in this Parish I suppose to be ab[ou]t 200 twenty of w[hi]ch I observe to come constantly to church and these, & several others of them well understand the English Tongue & can read:<p></p>
<br />
The next Parish to Goose-Creek is that upon the Western-branch of Cooper River: in this Parish there are two general Settlem[en]ts one called by the Name of Wat boe, and the other called Wampee, this parish contains ab[ou]t 70 Families, there was no Church in this Parish during my stay in Carolina, but there \is/ a Church now building in this and in every other Parish by order of the Governm[en]t who have by an act of Assembly appropriated several Sum[m]s for this End: in this Parish I officiated one Lords Day in the Month and one week day in the moonth, in some of the Planters Houses, or in the Sumer under some green Tree in an airy<span style="text-decoration:line-through;">xx</span> place made convenient for Minister and People<p></p>
There are in this Parish a[ou]bt forty Families of the profession of the Church of England, and 30 Famil[i]es who Dissent from the Church: these are more generally Anabaptists, and they have a Preacher of that sort among them one Lords Day in three, my congregation have consisted of ab[ou]t 80 p[er]sons or some times neare one Hundered, the Dissenters ferquently making a very considerable part thereof. they coming to our Churches when their \own/ Ministers did not Preach<br />
The number of Communicants with the Church of England were 20: the number of heathen Slaves in this Parish are ab[ou]t 180 three only of w[hi]ch are Christians <p></p>
<br />
The next Parish to this is scituated upon the Eastern branch of Cooper River, w[hi]ch Parish I by Order of the Hon[oura]\ble/ Governour had the care of, and did constantly officiate in 3 Lords Dayes in 4 throughout the Yeare and 2 week days in a Mo<span style="text-decoration:line-through;">a</span>nth the number of Inhabitants in this parish are ab[ou]t 100 Families, 80 of w[hi]ch are of the profession of the Church of England & ab[ou]t 20 Dissenters from the Church, 17 of Presbyterians and 2 Anabaptists and one Quaker,<p></p>
The number of those who attended constantly upon the Lords Dayes service were generaly 100 and upon those \day’s/ upon w[hi]ch the Lords Supper was administered 140 the number of Com[m]unicants in this Parish were forty five, the number of heathen Slaves 200 of \w[hi]ch/ 20 have by my Encouragm[en]t learned to read. and I hope by Gods Grace will with many others be fitted for Baptism & the Lords Supper upon my return, here is one Church already Erected (since my arrival) by the peculiar direction & Religious care of Sr Nath[aniel] Johnson and at the charge of the Parish<p></p>
<br />
The next Parish to this is scituated upon a River called Wandoe, and contain a[ou]bt 100 Famil[i]es sixty of w[hi]ch are of the profession of the Church of England, & ab[ou]t 40 Dissenters from the Church w[hi]ch are Presbyterians, here ha’s been a smal church for some time erected. but the people ha’s never had a constant Minister: the congregation when there is a Minister to officiate consist of ab[ou]t 70: The Lords Supper has never been administ<span style="text-decoration:line-through;">e</span>red here: the number of slaves<p></p>
may be about 100, not one of them Christian or preparing for it<p></p>
<br />
The next Parish to this is scituated upon Ashby River and contains ab[ou]t 190 Families<br />
in this Parish there never hath been a Minister settled so th[a]t at p[re]sent but few of the people are in the Intrest of the Church of England: here are in this Parish many Presbyterians and Anabaptists, and but ab[ou]t 30 Famillies of the Profession of the Church of England: here has been no church, nor has the Lords supper ever been administered here: the number of slaves may be ab[ou]t 150: but one of them a Christian, w[hi]ch I instructed & Baptizd:<p></p><br />
The last Parish in Carolina is scituated upon a River called Stone, it is very large and extensive, being the only Parish in th[a]t County: w[hi]ch we call Colleton county, in the Southern parts of this Parish are settled ab[ou]t 60 Famili[es]<p></p>
of Dissenters Presbyterians and Anabaptists but in the Northern p[ar]ts thereof neare Charlestown are ab[ou]t 40 Families who profess themselves of the Church of England, here is no Church, nor Minister: the Lords Supper hath never been administered here: in this Parish are ab[ou]t 150 Slaves not any of them Christian<p></p>
I crave leave further to acquaint this Hon[ou]r[a]bl[e] society that the Province of South Carolina is but very lately divided into <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">X</span> parishes by Act of Assembly procured by the Religious care of our present excellent Governour Sr N[athaniel] Johnson and th[a]t it is Intirely owing to him & the present members of the Councill and Assembly that there are any sallarys settled upon Ministers of the Church of England, for there being so many dissenters in the Province (many of w[hi]ch have allwayes been in the Governm[en]t) it was a work of no small difficulty to get an act \to/ pass in favour of the Church of England Clergy, especially<span style="text-decoration:line-through;">ally</span> for their having a Publick Sallary w[hi]ch those who dissent from us violently oppose in those parts of the World:<p></p>
The p[re]sent Governm[en]t of South Carolina hath given us a very high Instance of their zeal and affection for the Church of England as by Law established, in w[ha]t they have at present done for the encouragm[en]t of the Publick Worship of God according to our most excellent Church, for the p[re]sent War having oblig’d us to be at very g[rea]t charges in fortifying our Town and in providing Stores of Amunition to prevent our being surprized by the enemie these with some other occasional charges had so emtied the Treasury that it was a indeed a work of allmost Insuperable difficulty to get a Fund appropriated to the service of the Church<p></p>
South Carolina is but an Infant Collony and their treasury at best but small out of w[hi]ch they have at p[re]sent appropriated 2000 pounds to the service of the Church for the Building six churches & as many Parsonage Houses \& buying Glebe Lands/ so th[a]t for every particular Parish the Publick disburse three hundred thirty three pounds, and 50£ annually for all the six Parishes and considering their p[re]sent circumstances is very extraordinary, and perhaps such instances of zeal can hardly be paralleled in those parts of the World<p></p>
<br />I now begg leave to offer some breife remarkes upon this acc[oun]t of the state of the Church in South Caro[lina] to the consideration of this Hon[ou]r[a]ble society:<p></p>
1 First by this acc[oun]t it is sadly evident how destitute our Brethern of the Church of England in South Carolin[a] are of spiritual Guides and Publick ordinances, and in how much danger they are of famishing in Grace for want of the word & sacram[en]ts, or to be ledd <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">t</span> aside to Error while destitute of the Publick Ministry to confirm them in the truth, for as circumstances are at p[re]sent in this our Province, not one p[er]son in 20 <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">among</span> \among/ those who profess themselves of the Church of England can have (ordinarily the benefit of the Word & Sacram[en]ts from a Church of England Minister) the Dissenters have at p[re]sent 4 Ministers among<span style="text-decoration:line-through;">x</span> them besides one Anabaptist Preacher lately gon into Carolin[a] from Biddeford in the West of England, and I am informed that 3 or 4 Dissenting Ministers are going for Carolina in the Spring, all which (I humbly conceive) makes it highly needfull that our Church of England members be provided with Pious & painfull Divines, such as will Live exemplarily & Preach practically & constantly, and Catechise frequently, that so their people may not be tempted to put themselves under the conduct of those who differ from us, as we have greate reason to believe they will if they see themselves Neglected<p></p>
2 I further remark to this Hon[oura]ble society that altho the Province of Carolina hath done very much for the encouragm[en]t of Church of England Ministers<p></p>
considering their p[re]sent circumstances, yet is the the provision w[hi]ch they have made but mean in it self and such as will scarse support a Minister & his Family if there. much less will it be any Motive to Clergymen to leave England and to submit to the <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">Fateagues</span> \fatigues/ of a long and hazardous <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">a</span> voyage while they are in any tollerable circumstance here in England. for the Sallary w[hi]ch the County allows is but 50£ per annum in Carolina mony w[hi]ch makes but ab[ou]t 33 pounds Sterling, and the Parishes <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">being</span> not being populous their perquisites will not amount to any thing considerable: it is therefore humbly begged that this Venerable Society would out of their most Christian Charity & noble bounty think of making some augmentation to these Sallaryes, or of continuing an annual assistance to these ministers w[hi]ch they in their great wisdom and goodness shall think most fit, and I can’t but Inform this Hon[ou]r[a]ble board that the Governm[en]t of Carolina hath assured me th[a]t as soon as it possible to be done & their circumstances will admit they will themselves by an Aditional Act make such further provision as shall capacitate their Clergy to Live comfortably without any assistance from England I have before observed that the Governm[en]t of Carolina has been at great pains & cost in building Houses for their Ministers and in setting out Glebes in every Parish, I therefore humbly propose to this Hon[oura]bl[e] society<p></p>
That if they would think fit to advance any sums to stock the same Glebes with negros, (w[hi]ch might be a stock unalienable) it would save the society much mony in allowing pensions to their Missionaries & would be a very considerable augmentation to the value of their Livings, it is certain the p[re]sent Maintenance (tho very liberal considering the circumstances of the Province) is not sufficient to encourage any p[er]son to settle there with a Family<p></p>
3 I further remark to this Hon[ou]r[a]ble society who I well know delight in doing \good/ & will rejoyce to hear th[a]t the Church & Kingdom of Xt are enlarged th[a]t from the acc[oun]t that hath been Given there seem’s to be a prospect of bringing many of the Indian & Negro slaves to the Knowledg & practice of Christianity, I have here p[re]sumed to give an acc[oun]t of one Thousand slaves belonging to our English in Carolina many of w[hi]ch are well affected to Christianity so far as they know of it, and are desirous of Christian Knowledg and seem to be willing \to/ prepare<span style="text-decoration:line-through;">ing</span> themselves for it in learning to read for w[hi]ch they redeem time from their labour, many of them can read in the Bible distinctly and g[rea]t numbers of them were learning when I left the Province, and that w[hi]ch I have often reflected uppon with pleasur is:<p></p>
That <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">m</span>among many of our ignorant slaves there is a g[rea]t freedom from Immorallity, so th[a]t in som Plantations of fifty or sixty slaves we find not a Drunkard nor a profane swearer among them, w[hi]ch aversion to vice I hope may be some preparation for Christian vertues, when they shall know their duty & obligations thereunto and the means of attaining them, now if every one of these Parishes be so happy as to have a prudent pious & zealous Minister settled in it, they might very easily redeem time from their studys <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">they might ver</span> for the Instruction of these poor slaves and I verily believe & hope by Gods Blessing many of these might be brought into <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">f</span> the Folds of Christ were we so happy as to have men of true Piety zeal & prudence sent upon this Evangelical Design<p></p>
There is but one remark more w[hi]ch I shall tro\u/ble this Venerable Body with, and th[a]t is the different tempers w[hi]ch a Minister in the Province of Carolina will find in the people belonging to his charge, for here in every Parish are many professing Christianity & many Heathens, among our English Inhabitants are many of considerable Learning: good Judgm[en]t and acute parts, & many very ignorant & mean in their attainments, againe there are som truly Religious & Conscientious, and other’s haters of Religion & practical Godliness: yet further there are some who are heartily in the Intrests of the church of England and <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">there are other</span> understand & approve its constitutions, and there are others who are not positively determined as to their choice who have not actually put themselves under the conduct either of our Ministers nor of those who differ from us, and there are lastly more than a few th[a]t do dissent from us & joyn in Communion with the Presbyterians Independants & Anabaptists, of all w[hi]ch there are considerable Numbers in the Country: and the<p></p>
I humbly remark to this venerable society th[a]t hereby<span style="text-decoration:line-through;">xx</span> they may be the more sensible of the Necessity there is of theire Missionaryes being duly qualified to treate with all possible advantage with person’s of this differing temper & profession: I humbly say th[a]t I found by experience that by a diligent application in the duty’s of my Function and with the Blessing of God upon my Endeavours the Labours of my ministry have been effectual upon those under my charge, I count It no smal happiness that I have been engaged in this Christian employment under the encouragm[en]t of this venerable society, and I now return to offer not only my own thanks for their generous allowance, but also the thankes of the whole Province who are very sensible of the obligations they owe to this Hon[ou]r[a]bl[e] society, and indeed during the whole time of my Mission I have had such frequent & Blessed opportunityes of doing good and such real love & respect from my people th[a]t I purpose with all speed to return thither with my Wife & children, and tho the Maintenance already settled be but small for the provision of a Family, & the transporting my Family will be a very great charge & burthen, yet I doubt not but Gods Providence will support me comfortably, and I humbly recom[m]end my p[re]sent circumstances to the consideration of this truly honourable & charitable society, not presuming to make any particular request after they have so liberally encouraged my past services, but with hearty prayer’s for \all/ possible success to their most noble & Xtian paine I subscribe my self with profound respect & gratitude their Faithfull and humble Missionary, Samuel Thomas<p></p>
<span style="text-decoration:line-through;">The chief & first Parish in South Carolina w[hi]ch is a large is Charles-Town (which is a large Parish,</span><p></p>
A Postscript<p></p>
There is one thing more w[hi]ch I think it my duty to observe to this Hon[ou]r[a]ble Society, and it is a relation I received from a Master of a ship belonging to new England, who acquainted me th[a]t the last year there went out Batchelours of Arts near twenty young men from their Colledg, all or most of whom he assured me would gladly have accepted Episcopal Ordination if we had been so happy as to have had a Bishop in America from whom they might have received it, but being discouraged at the troble & charge of coming for England they accepted of Authoritys from the Dissenting Ministers and are all dissperced in that way<p></p>
Mr Thomas Memorial
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Undated Memorial of Samuel Thomas
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Undated memorial of Samuel Thomas relating to Church in South Carolina and containing proposals for instruction of Indians and enslaved Africans
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SPG 17 80-7
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Undated
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AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
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Title
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The Conversion and Education of the Indigenous People Groups of the Americas
Description
An account of the resource
Mission was the driving imperative behind the founding of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), as its name makes clear. However, this priority raised complex questions of identity and power both for a parochial Anglican state church hoping to embark on new missionary ventures, and for the diverse range of groups they encountered across the broad geographical region that England’s incipient imperial and expanding commercial activities opened up. The Anglican church was internally conflicted over whether it should be engaged in ministry beyond the territorial boundaries of the nation-state and trying to determine – if it did initiate an external missionary focus – who its primary target audience should be. <br /><br />The indigenous people groups of the Americas whom early missionaries encountered in South Carolina, for example, posed different questions of power, identity and exchange to enslaved Africans forcibly transferred across the Atlantic. There were reciprocal relationships of trade, exchange, and care-giving essential to the survival of the fledgling English communities and their parishes. Finance and war were often entangled: mutual dependency ensured survival, but colonial traders also instigated disruption in order to engender opportunities for enslavement that then put the colonial outposts at risk. It also created a tense and difficult space for mission which played out in international diplomacy, the establishment of schools, and inequities of power that destroyed trust; negotiation rather than subjugation continued to be an essential strategy for survival in the early part of the eighteenth century. <br /><br />This collection foregrounds the importance of who gets to tell stories and how. Literacy and books – as artefacts and objects of translation – remain key to communication and exchange. There is also an intimate intersection between matters of pastoral care and the development of natural philosophy which situates SPG’s missionaries firmly within the European and transatlantic republic of letters.<br /><p><strong>Bibliography</strong></p>
<p>Marisa J. Fuentes, <em>Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archives</em> (Philadelphia, 2016).</p>
<p>Ulinka Rublack, ed., <em>Protestant Empires: Globalizing the Reformations</em> (Cambridge, 2020).</p>
<p>Brent Sirota, <em>The Christian Monitors: The Church of England and the Age of Benevolence, 1680-1730</em> (Yale, 2014).</p>
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AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
Letter
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Sender
Sender of a letter
Francis Le Jau
Recipient
Recipient of a letter
John Chamberlayne (Secretary)
Origin
Origin of a letter
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Destination
Destination of a letter
Petty France, London, UK
Letter Type
MS Manifestation
MS Letter
Diplomatic Transcription
Diplomatic transcription of letter from manuscript.
To<br />
John Chamberlayne Esq[uire]<br />
att his house in Petty France<br />
Westminster<p></p>
Dr le Jau. Goos-Creek<br />
S. Carol[ina] 15 Sept. 1708
South Carolina, Parish of St James<br />near Goose Creek Sept[em]b[e]r the 15th 1708<p></p>
Sir,<p></p>
I am concern’d above Expression for having received no further Directions from the Hon[oura]ble Society since the coming of Mr Maule which was 12 months ago. I have endeavoured with the Blessing of God to follow those I had by me and those you did me the honour to send to me, I have given a large account of the state of my Parish both spiritual and temporal by a letter dated in Sept[em]b[er] 1707 carryd by Cap[tain] Flavel. I had the happiness to write to you since in March last past by the way of Barbadoes and in April by a ship from this place. I have transmitted papers worth seeing by capt[ain] flavel directed to a friend who has answered my Letter of Advice and promisd he would deliver them to Mr Hodges for you as I desired him, as soon as he had received them. I have also sent to you a Copy of the Lords Prayer in the Savanah Language, I have nothing to Add to the Article of the Indians for the present but that I am Inform’d more and more that that Language is understood as far as Canada, and the Language of our Southern Indians is understood in all the southern parts of the half of this continent att the least. I perceive dayly more & more that our manner of giving Liberty to some very Idle and dissolute men to go and trade in the Indian settlement 600 or 800 miles from us where they commit many Enormityes and Injustices is a great obstruction to our best designs. I have tryed to get some free Indians to live with me and would cloathe them but they will not consent to it, nor part with their children tho they lead miserable poor lives. It is reported of some of our Inhabitants lately gone a Indian trading that they Excite them to make warr among themselves to get slaves which they give for our European goods. I fear it is but too true and that the slaves<p></p>
We have for necessary service, for our white servants in a months time prove good for nothing at all, are the price of great many [sins] I pray that they be not Imputed to us. another scruple which I must not conceal from the Hon[oura]ble Society is whether or no we are not to Answer for grievous sins dayly committed by all our slaves here and elsewhere, and tolerated or at least connived at by us under a pretence of Impossibility to Remedy Them: tho I am sure we could prevent all those Evils if we would take pains about it, but Masters are Content if their slaves labour much and cost them little trouble \and charge/[.] The Evil I complain of is the constant & promiscuous cohabiting of slaves of different sex and nations together when a man or a woman’s fancy dos alter about his party they throw up one another and take others which they also change when they please. this is a general sin for exceptions are so few! they are hardly worth mentioning. My Labours have been very much Interrupted by sicknesses almost continual. I enjoyd my health pretty well at first but I may say that for these sixteen months past I have not been well at all, I took heart As much as I could but besides the last winter’s visitation I have been forced this last summer to submit to another more grievous which kept me three months at home. It was Gods pleasure that my family which consists of nine persons should be taken \ill/ all att the same time. some are not well recovered yet. I bless God I am tolerably strong and able to do some duty and hope after Christmas to give a more satisfactory account of the Effects of my Mission being resolved with the help of the holy Spirit to employ my self intirely about catechising the poor Ignorant.<p></p>
My Parishioners have Comforted and assisted me very much during my sickness. I must say some of them are desirous to do well. I am onely sorry the number is so small. there is no great addition to the spiritual state of this Parish since my last Letters. As to our Temporal Condition, I live in the Parsonage newly built, but far from being finishd. I have been at great charges seeing no care was taken to Perform what is appointed in the Act; & whatever was Promised to me (whereupon I sent for my family and resigned my Minor Canonship at Pauls) never was kept yet. I should be at greater charges to afford to my settlement many necessary thi[ngs] but I am not able to Lay out any more. I got nothing of subscrip[tions] these many months. and Judgeing of things to come by what is Past, our present sallery and subscriptions, if payd, will not come to 25£ Sterling considering how dear things are Sold and the discount of our money bills, for no species are seen this good while. I have implored the hon[oura]ble the Societyes goodness and favour that I be not forsaken, and humbly beg the Continuance of their bounty without which my family & I cannot subsist. I have seen none of the Ministers Lately arrived but the Comm[issa]ry sent by My Lord of London. it is reported some of our Brothers design to return to Europe. I have advised some of them not to be hasty but tarry till they receive the Societyes Commands. My Resolution with the Grace of God is to bear hardships, which are in my particular Circumstances, as patiently as I can; to Labour & do the good which God enables me to do & wait for the hon[oura]ble Societyes Commands. I
humbly crave Mylord Presidents & Mylords Blessing & I assure his Grace and their Lordships of my duty & obedience & pay my humble Respects to the hono[ra]ble members of the Society, ever praying for their prosperity, and yours in Particular I remain Sir<p></p>
your most humble and obedient servant<p></p>
Francis Le Jau<p></p>
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<a href="http://emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/w/1004358">Letter Record</a>
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Francis Le Jau to John Chamberlayne (Secretary) reporting on his work
Description
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Francis Le Jau to John Chamberlayne (Secretary) reporting on his work. Concern about delays in receiving / missing letters; Lord's Prayer in Savannah language; Discussion of the lives of Indigenous Americans; Slavery; Sickness.
Date
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15 September 1708
Identifier
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Lambeth SPG 16 224-5
Contributor
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AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
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9a091285ce87b77ecab85d71af4931a7
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073b34962a100bb54035b2953e61b0aa
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Conversion and Education of the Indigenous People Groups of the Americas
Description
An account of the resource
Mission was the driving imperative behind the founding of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), as its name makes clear. However, this priority raised complex questions of identity and power both for a parochial Anglican state church hoping to embark on new missionary ventures, and for the diverse range of groups they encountered across the broad geographical region that England’s incipient imperial and expanding commercial activities opened up. The Anglican church was internally conflicted over whether it should be engaged in ministry beyond the territorial boundaries of the nation-state and trying to determine – if it did initiate an external missionary focus – who its primary target audience should be. <br /><br />The indigenous people groups of the Americas whom early missionaries encountered in South Carolina, for example, posed different questions of power, identity and exchange to enslaved Africans forcibly transferred across the Atlantic. There were reciprocal relationships of trade, exchange, and care-giving essential to the survival of the fledgling English communities and their parishes. Finance and war were often entangled: mutual dependency ensured survival, but colonial traders also instigated disruption in order to engender opportunities for enslavement that then put the colonial outposts at risk. It also created a tense and difficult space for mission which played out in international diplomacy, the establishment of schools, and inequities of power that destroyed trust; negotiation rather than subjugation continued to be an essential strategy for survival in the early part of the eighteenth century. <br /><br />This collection foregrounds the importance of who gets to tell stories and how. Literacy and books – as artefacts and objects of translation – remain key to communication and exchange. There is also an intimate intersection between matters of pastoral care and the development of natural philosophy which situates SPG’s missionaries firmly within the European and transatlantic republic of letters.<br /><p><strong>Bibliography</strong></p>
<p>Marisa J. Fuentes, <em>Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archives</em> (Philadelphia, 2016).</p>
<p>Ulinka Rublack, ed., <em>Protestant Empires: Globalizing the Reformations</em> (Cambridge, 2020).</p>
<p>Brent Sirota, <em>The Christian Monitors: The Church of England and the Age of Benevolence, 1680-1730</em> (Yale, 2014).</p>
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
Letter
Epistolary metadata adapted from EMLO for the USPG exhibition.
Sender
Sender of a letter
John Chamberlayne (Secretary)
Recipient
Recipient of a letter
Francis Le Jau
Origin
Origin of a letter
Petty France, London, UK
Destination
Destination of a letter
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Letter Type
MS Manifestation
MS Letter
Diplomatic Transcription
Diplomatic transcription of letter from manuscript.
Petty France Westm[inst]er<br />
25th July 1709.<p></p>
Reverend Sr<p></p>
‘Tis <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">about</span> six months ago since I writ my last to You which bore date 24th Jan[ua]ry 1708/9. I therein answered all the Letters that I had rece[ive]d from You to that time excepting the last of the 22d April 1708 which I fully intended to have laid before the General Meeting of the Society that was holden in the abovemention’d Month of Jan[ua]ry, and consequently so have given you an acco[un]t of the kind and favourable reception of the last as well as of all Your foregoing Letters that have come to my hands already, but I found myself mistaken; for the Consideration of Yours \date of the 22d april/ was not only postpon’d by business that fell out then, and required immediate dispatch, but neither have I yet found an opportunity <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">for the</span> to lay that Letter nor any of the rest that I have received since vizt of the 15th Septemb[e]r the 11th & 18th D[itt]o 15th Nov[embe[r] \1708/ and two of the 18th Febr[ua]y 1708 (\w[hi]ch/ tho’ they bear the same date, are different Letters) before the Bord even to this day; Wherefore and because I will not lose this happy <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">xxx</span> occasion of writing to You by so sure and good a hand as Your New Gov[erno]rs the Honorable Col[onel] Tynte, I will answer them all as well and as fully as I can in my private Capacity till I receive farther Instructions from the Society to begin therefore with Your said Letter of the 22d aprill, and therein I take notice with a great deal of satisfacion of the happy arrival of Mrs Le Jau and the rest of Your family in Carolina, and hope that the severe Seasoning you have met w[i]th has secured You and them from any farther apprehension of the distempers incident to the New-Comers to that Country; I am also glad to find that you continue to give so good an Acco[un]t of Mr Maule and hope that he will continue to deserve it, but You<p></p>
Dr Le Jau<p></p>
may tell him from me that it is well for him that he has got one friend in America that is so kind to give an Acco[un]t of him, since he is resolved to say nothing for himself either to his own Relations or to our Society. & Acquaint Mr Wood that the Application from the Governor and Council of South Carolina has had that Weight with our Society that they have been pleased to allow a salary of 50£ p[er] ann[um] to the said Gentleman for the space of two Yeares; but concerning this I will write more fully to Mr Wood himself and send him a Copy of the said Order: Mow I’m mentioning Mr Wood, I think it proper to acquaint you that Your late Chief Justice Trott did recommend to the Society one Mr Gerrard as a person fit to be sent among the Yamousee Indians upon the Account of his skill in Languages &c but the society being inform’d that Mr Trott was coming over himself Adjourn’d the Consideration of that matter till his arrival; now for as much as Mr Hasell assures me that Mr Trott is return’d back to Carolina and has deferr’d his voyage hither to a longer time, it might not be amiss if You or he wou’d be pleased to write again to the society and acquaint ‘em more largely how that Gent[leman] may be usefully employed in infusing the Knowledge of our Religion into those poor Heathens, w[hi]ch as I remember Good Mr Thomas (who had formerly some Instructions from the Society in relation to those Indians) told us was impracticable at least during the Wars between us and the Spaniards: \In the mean time/ Cou’d not you perswade this Mr Gerrard to send me copies in any of the Languages of those Indians with whom he has converst and particularly to give me a more full account of that which you call the Savanna Language which you say is spoken in most parts of the Continent of North America, and of which as I have already own’d to You and thank’t you for it, you sent me sometime ago a Specimen, but I am not satisfyed with the name of the Language w[hi]ch/ is plainly imposed on it [by]<p></p>
the Spaniards and signifies no more in their Language than a great plain, whereas <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">th</span> without doubt the Indians had a different name for it. I am very glad to find by your abovemention’d Letter that Your people begin to be kinder to You in relation to <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">Your</span> \their/ subscriptions, which I find by yours to amount to upwards of 60£ p[er] ann[um] and as to what relates to the salary which You receive from the Society, I wou’d not have you be uneasy about that, for 1st their allowance will not be withdrawn from you nor from any other Missionary without a previous Notice, after which you will have a Year’s salary allowed you, & 2dly You may be assured that what the Society allow you or any other of their Missionaries in Carolina will not be taken from you till the Government of your Country make an Addition to what you now receive from them. The Acco[un]t you give of Mr Marston & of his very difficult temper and Conduct seems to me to be honest and impartial and has been confirm’d in the Main by so many other hands, that I can no longer doubt the truth of it. Whilst I was speaking of Your Yamousee Indians I shou’d have taken some notice of those you call the Aapalachi, of whom I shou’d be glad to have a more particular Acco[un]t in Your next, and in the mean time shall only ask your Opinion of sending the abovemention’d Mr Gerrard amongst them, as also whether some Spanish Testaments (of which we have 2 or 300 Copies by us) might not be distributed to advantage amongst them, especially if any of them can learn to read. I observe that you baptised some of the Yamoussee Indians and doubt not but you gave them some previous Instructions before you admitted them to that Holy Ordinance, I shou’d be glad therefore to know how and in what Language You instructed them. I shall move the Society according to your desire on the behalf of the French Protestants that are settled \at/ Poitwin or Orange quarter for some Bibles and Common Prayer Books in their Language, and am glad in the mean time that they are so well taken care of by you; I have seen part of a Letter from one of the Gentlemen of that Quarter named du Pré which is very edifying, there is a Son of his, a very honest industrious Man, who lives in my Neighbourhood, I employ him<p></p>
sometimes in my own business and have occasionally recommended him to others w[hi]ch I believe may turn to good account to him, but I still hope to prefer him better, for he is \a/ sober & good man, and an excellent Clerk. The next Le[tt]e[r] I received from You was the 15th Septemb[e]r of the same Year, You mention therein some Papers worth the seeing w[hi]ch you had sent by Capt[ain] Flavel and directed them to a private Friend who was to deliver them to Mr Hodges for me, I assure you I never saw any such and therefore cannot but lament on this occasion the negligence of private Bearers of Letters who often mislay them so that they are never heard of more and almost always Postpone the delivery of them to the dispatch of all their other affairs. I observe with great regret what you write about the promiscuous Cohabitation of slaves, & promise you to use my best endeavours to induce the Society to put a timely stop to that great Evil, and so I will likewise in representing the ill Circumstances of your wife and family to the Society, of whose kindness You need never doubt whilst you continue to serve them so faithfully. Your next is of the 11th and 18th Ditto which I rece[ive]d as you sent it by the hands of Mr Hasell in whose Caracter I think You have been very impartial, and of whose Conduct the Society have been so very well satisfied that at their last General Meeting, they Voted him an appointment of 50£ p[er] ann[um] commencing from Christmas last with the Title of Catechist & schoolmaster of Carolina: I note also what you say about a B[isho]p and am in great hopes that before the next Winter is ended His Gr[ace] the L[or]d ArchB[isho]p and the Society will offer their thoughts upon that head to her Maj[es]ty or to the Parliam[en]t; What you write concerning Mr Dun I very much approve of, and concur with you in the Censure of his behaviour for quitting the service of our Society without their leave or Knowledge, but one can expect no better from those who think the main end of their Mission to hire themselves to the best bidder, w[hi]ch I think is plainly the end of his abrupt departure to Virginia; I need not tell you that besides the loss of the Society’s favour he of Course forfeits his pay w[hi]ch is to be stopt from the time of his deserting the\ir/ service pursuant to our standing Rules and Orders: I am glad you have met<p></p>
with an Old Acquaintance in Mr Commissary Johnston, I take him to be a discreet and good man and congratulate the renewing of your Mutual friendships, for which I hope both the Church and yourselves will be the better; You mention one Mr Maitland as a successor to Mr Dunn, and I shou’d be glad to have a just account of him; he shou’d be a Scotchman by his name as well as Mr Forbes, and I suppose both of ‘em are Episcopalians, if so I wish they may be Masters of that temper which is absolutely necessary in Ministers of the Gospel in all Country’s but especially in Yours. In your next I begg you to be a little more particular in your acco[un]t of the Circumcision of several nations of the Indians about you, of their Manners, Language, Writing &c but be sure of the matters of fact, for what You have said about them, especially as to their Circumcision is very surprising and hardly credible. Your next Letter before me is of the 15th Nov[embe]r of the same year, but I desire you to Observe in general that I answer all you Letters according to their dates & not according to the time I rece[ive]d ‘em; I am glad to Observe by this Letter that the horrid practice of frequent Murders among the Indians is prevented by the care of the \your/ late Worthy Gov[erno]r Col[one]l Moore &c; and I cannot but Commend likewise your care and Caution as to the baptising of Negroes. The two remaining Letters of Yours that I am now to answer both bear date the 18th Febr[uar]y 1708/9 from Your P[ar]ish of St James; The first mentions that within the half Year you had writ to me no less than eight Letters, of which you’l best judge by these that I have own’d, how many are miscarryed: The first thing that I observe in this present Letter before me is a brief and handsome recapitualc[i]on of the spiritual Condition of Your P[ar]ish since Your arrival there, of which I suppose you had writ more fully in some of those Letters that are lost; I wish all our Missionarys wou’d follow the same Method (as I intreat you to recommend it to those in Your Country) it will prevent the great Chasm that often Occurs in the Account of things by the reason of Ships being lost & other accidents<p></p>
that befall such distant Correspondencies; I wish Mr Maule (whom I’m glad to see you still commending) cou’d justly make any of these excuses for our not hearing from him which I doubt is only imputable to his neglect of the Society as much as of his own relations w[hi]ch indeed is a very great fault. In your next Le[tt]er of the same date with the former, you mention a rumour of Your being dead, w[hi]ch I assure you never reached the Society; but I’m very glad insted of that to learn that your own Constitution is mending and that all Your family is like to do well; Next part of your Le[tt]er is only a repetition of what you said in the foregoing w[i]th respect to the Sp[irit]ual condition of Your P[ar]ish, therefore I shall take no farther notice of it; but I can’t forbear telling You that I am mightily pleased at the good disposition of some of the pious and Worthy P[er]sons of your P[ar]ish for setting up a regular Administration of the Lord’s Supper which I hope you will bring to a Monthly one; Why shou’d not you attempt to erect a little Society for reformation of manners. I have sent you a few Books and Papers, from whence you may receive very good Instructions upon that head. I cannot but take notice w[i]th great Concern, how much the allowance you did <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">re</span> \&/ were to receive from your people falls short of your just expectations as well as of yo[u]r Deserts and of the Encouragement w[hi]ch I suppose you rece[ive]d at first from them; I will not fail to move the Society about it and hope that they will direct me to write either to your Vestry to or to the Government about it, and pray you to believe in General that in this and all other matters in which I can be usefull to you none shall be more hearty nor ready than<p></p>
Rev[eren]d Sr<p></p>
Your affect[ionate] friend & humble Serv[an]t<br />
J. C.<p></p>
EMLO Catalogue
Link to EMLO Catalogue
<a href="http://emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/w/1004363">Letter Record</a>
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
John Chamberlayne (Secretary) to Francis Le Jau
Description
An account of the resource
John Chamberlayne (Secretary) to Francis Le Jau, Petty France, Westminster, 25 July 1709 (copy). Letter will be brought by Governor Tynte. Complains of not receiving reports from Maule. Wood has been granted an annual stipend of £50 for two years. Society deferred action of Trott's recommendation of Gerard as missionary to the Yammassees until Trott came to London but learning from Hasell that Trott's visit has been deferred, they ask for more particulars about Gerard. Would some Spanish Testaments be useful among the Yammassees? Hasell has been appointed catechist and schoolmaster in Charleston. Asks particulars about Maitland and Fraser, who are seeking the society's support. EV: Discusses the Savannah language, murders amongst the indigenous American people, the sending of useful books and papers.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
25 July 1709
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Lambeth SPG 16 246-9
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
-
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7f2abc60a6650cccaab2a3d964be0467
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859405e6e32a90d373b3104e24dbe883
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Conversion and Education of the Indigenous People Groups of the Americas
Description
An account of the resource
Mission was the driving imperative behind the founding of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), as its name makes clear. However, this priority raised complex questions of identity and power both for a parochial Anglican state church hoping to embark on new missionary ventures, and for the diverse range of groups they encountered across the broad geographical region that England’s incipient imperial and expanding commercial activities opened up. The Anglican church was internally conflicted over whether it should be engaged in ministry beyond the territorial boundaries of the nation-state and trying to determine – if it did initiate an external missionary focus – who its primary target audience should be. <br /><br />The indigenous people groups of the Americas whom early missionaries encountered in South Carolina, for example, posed different questions of power, identity and exchange to enslaved Africans forcibly transferred across the Atlantic. There were reciprocal relationships of trade, exchange, and care-giving essential to the survival of the fledgling English communities and their parishes. Finance and war were often entangled: mutual dependency ensured survival, but colonial traders also instigated disruption in order to engender opportunities for enslavement that then put the colonial outposts at risk. It also created a tense and difficult space for mission which played out in international diplomacy, the establishment of schools, and inequities of power that destroyed trust; negotiation rather than subjugation continued to be an essential strategy for survival in the early part of the eighteenth century. <br /><br />This collection foregrounds the importance of who gets to tell stories and how. Literacy and books – as artefacts and objects of translation – remain key to communication and exchange. There is also an intimate intersection between matters of pastoral care and the development of natural philosophy which situates SPG’s missionaries firmly within the European and transatlantic republic of letters.<br /><p><strong>Bibliography</strong></p>
<p>Marisa J. Fuentes, <em>Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archives</em> (Philadelphia, 2016).</p>
<p>Ulinka Rublack, ed., <em>Protestant Empires: Globalizing the Reformations</em> (Cambridge, 2020).</p>
<p>Brent Sirota, <em>The Christian Monitors: The Church of England and the Age of Benevolence, 1680-1730</em> (Yale, 2014).</p>
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
Letter
Epistolary metadata adapted from EMLO for the USPG exhibition.
Sender
Sender of a letter
John Norris
Recipient
Recipient of a letter
John Chamberlayne (Secretary)
Destination
Destination of a letter
Petty France, London, UK
Letter Type
MS Manifestation
MS Letter
Diplomatic Transcription
Diplomatic transcription of letter from manuscript.
Mr Norris. Taunton<br />
12 March 1710/11<p></p>
For Mr John Chamberlaine at his house, Petty France, Wes[t]minster<br />
These w[i]th Care<p></p>
Sr<p></p>
I return my humble thanks for y[ou]r letter of the 6th of Febr[uary] past which came not to my hands till now by reason of my absence from hence in Wales, I will take p[ar]ticular care at my return to Carrolina, to send you the Lords prayer in the Yamesee Language as directed but I suppose I shall not leave England nere this three monnths, I presume to troble you yet farther, to aquaint you (and if you please and think convenient to aquaint the Society) That there lives nere me A Skool-Master, that hath for a year past or more incouriged & undertaken to teach (gratis) reeding and writeing in the English Toungue, such younge Indians as would frequent his Skool, which I thought comendable in him, but he was blam’d by many who usd temporall reasons or arguments to disswade him, he being the first man that I know there that hath been of that Christian generosity, to take the troble to incorige & instruct them in learning, but the distance of his scool from there habitations was such an inconveniencey for them, that there resorted but few to learn, unless he had been capable of giveing them dyett as well as learning, so th[a]t I could heartily wish an incourigement could be given him to remove his scool (though to ye loss of some english scolers) to some convenient place in or nere an Indian Town, which doubtless would be a means to incourige many in learning, for I find they seems generally well pleasd, and addmire, that we make paper speak (as they term it) and are very <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">write</span> sensible & apprehensive of what they are instructed in; I know not but I may have occation to be in London before my return, if so I shall presume to wait on you. If you please yett to take the troble to write to me again, whether you think it proper to aquaint the Society herewith or whether any incorigement might be obtaind to the purpose afores[ai]d from the Society, for the s[ai]d Scoolmaster, by name Ross Reynalls of S[ai]nt Bartholomew Parish in Colleton County, I[f] you please to write direct as before, for Sr y[ou]r very Humble Servant at Com[m]and<p></p>
John Norris<p></p>
March the 20th 1710/11<p></p>
EMLO Catalogue
Link to EMLO Catalogue
<a href="http://emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/w/1004419">Letter Record</a>
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
John Norris to John Chamberlayne (Secretary)
Description
An account of the resource
John Norris to John Chamberlayne (Secretary). An unnamed schoolmaster near him in Carolina has offered to teach Indian children free. His school is some distance from the Indians, and Norris wonders if the society could help him to move it nearer.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
20 March 1710/11
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Lambeth SPG 8 118
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
-
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dfe6fcbcea69df51fe310f2811519007
http://emlo-portal.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/exhibition/uspg/files/original/bb49ee504bb7c7569bacf595b2fdf174.jpeg
346642e5f24c8e93affe35bedc782c28
http://emlo-portal.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/exhibition/uspg/files/original/a4d8691ad225ac93c9502f33e60b5558.jpeg
e72e838fe43185d1cca5f587121e9402
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Conversion and Education of the Indigenous People Groups of the Americas
Description
An account of the resource
Mission was the driving imperative behind the founding of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), as its name makes clear. However, this priority raised complex questions of identity and power both for a parochial Anglican state church hoping to embark on new missionary ventures, and for the diverse range of groups they encountered across the broad geographical region that England’s incipient imperial and expanding commercial activities opened up. The Anglican church was internally conflicted over whether it should be engaged in ministry beyond the territorial boundaries of the nation-state and trying to determine – if it did initiate an external missionary focus – who its primary target audience should be. <br /><br />The indigenous people groups of the Americas whom early missionaries encountered in South Carolina, for example, posed different questions of power, identity and exchange to enslaved Africans forcibly transferred across the Atlantic. There were reciprocal relationships of trade, exchange, and care-giving essential to the survival of the fledgling English communities and their parishes. Finance and war were often entangled: mutual dependency ensured survival, but colonial traders also instigated disruption in order to engender opportunities for enslavement that then put the colonial outposts at risk. It also created a tense and difficult space for mission which played out in international diplomacy, the establishment of schools, and inequities of power that destroyed trust; negotiation rather than subjugation continued to be an essential strategy for survival in the early part of the eighteenth century. <br /><br />This collection foregrounds the importance of who gets to tell stories and how. Literacy and books – as artefacts and objects of translation – remain key to communication and exchange. There is also an intimate intersection between matters of pastoral care and the development of natural philosophy which situates SPG’s missionaries firmly within the European and transatlantic republic of letters.<br /><p><strong>Bibliography</strong></p>
<p>Marisa J. Fuentes, <em>Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archives</em> (Philadelphia, 2016).</p>
<p>Ulinka Rublack, ed., <em>Protestant Empires: Globalizing the Reformations</em> (Cambridge, 2020).</p>
<p>Brent Sirota, <em>The Christian Monitors: The Church of England and the Age of Benevolence, 1680-1730</em> (Yale, 2014).</p>
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>
Letter
Epistolary metadata adapted from EMLO for the USPG exhibition.
Sender
Sender of a letter
John Chamberlayne (Secretary)
Recipient
Recipient of a letter
Governor and clergy of Carolina
Origin
Origin of a letter
Petty France, London, UK
Letter Type
MS Manifestation
MS Letter
Diplomatic Transcription
Diplomatic transcription of letter from manuscript.
6th Aug[u]st 1711.<br />
Copy of my Letter to the Gov[erno]r & Clergy of South Carolina<p></p>
Petty France Westm[inst]er<br />
6th August 1711.<p></p>
Honord Sir, & Rev[eren]d Gentlemen,<p></p>
Application having been made to the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, that they wou’d give some encouragement to one Mr Ross Reynolds a Schoolmaster of St Bartholomews Parish in Colliton County (who it seems has taught several Young Indians to read and write gratis; and it being suggested to us by the same Person that if the said Mr Reynolds were allowed to settle in some place much nearer the <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Yamousee Indians</span>; it might Conduce greatly to the Civilizing and Converting that people to our Holy Religion; and the said Gentleman having also Inform’d us that he intends<p></p>
Gov[erno]r & Clergy of Carolina.<p></p>
to breed up his own Son to Preach the Gospel amongst ‘em: I am directed by the said Society to Consult you touching the Feasibility of the abovemention’d Proposals; in which if you will be pleased to give the Society your opinion and Advice I pray that Your Answer may be return’d to<p></p>
Honord Gentlemen<br />
Your most Obed[ien]t & humble servant<br />
J. C.
EMLO Catalogue
Link to EMLO Catalogue
<a href="http://emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/w/1004420">Letter Record</a>
Destination
Destination of a letter
South Carolina, USA
Content Warning
Content warning for viewers.
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Dublin Core
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Title
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John Chamberlayne (Secretary) to Governor and Clergy of Carolina
Description
An account of the resource
John Chamberlayne (Secretary) to Governor and clergy of Carolina, Petty France, Westminster, 6 Aug. 1711 (copy), asking them to report on feasibility of a proposal to move Ross Reynolds, schoolmaster in St. Bartholomew's Parish, who has taught some young Indians free, nearer to the Yammassees, so that he can work among them.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
6 August 1711
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Lambeth SPG 17 53
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
AH/T003197/1: <a href="https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT003197%2F1">Pastoral Care, Literary Cure and Religious Dissent: Zones of Freedom in the British Atlantic (c. 1630-1720)</a>