1901 John Eliot South Natick Massachusetts Bay Colony , Native American Indians

Description: Proceedings at the Reunion of the Descendants of John Eliot : " The Apostle to the Indians " at Guilford, Connecticut , September 15th, 1875. Second Meeting at South Natick , Massachusetts., July 3d, 1901; and The Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of South Natick By John Eliot and His Praying Indians, July 4th, 1901 Publisher/Printer unstated. Dated 1901. Original paper wraps. About 6" x 9" 114 pages. Over 120 years old. The first 40 pages include orations on John Eliot, by his descendants, at the 1901 reunion. ( see biographical information below ) The remainder of the book is on the 250th anniversary of the founding of South Natick , Massachusetts , by John Eliot and his " Praying Indians ." Natick was settled in 1651 by John Eliot, Puritan missionary. ( see historical information below ) --------- Good Condition. Light binding wear. The covers remain well attached and the spine cover is mostly intact. ( see the photos ) The hinges are tight. Formerly owned by a Historical Society; so stamped, and also with another former owner's name. Otherwise in good condition. Carefully packed for shipment to the buyer. ---------- Biographical / Historical Information : John Eliot ( circa 1604 - May21, 1690 ) was a Puritan missionary to the Native Americans of Massachusetts Bay Colony whose translation of the Bible in the Algonquian language ( Native American Indian ) was the first Bible printed in North America. Born and educated in England, Eliot graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1622. He emigrated to Boston in 1631. From 1632 to his death he was pastor of the church at nearby Roxbury. With the support of his congregation and fellow ministers, he began a mission to the Native Americans, preaching at Nonantun ( Newton ) and at other towns. Groups of " praying Indians " soon arose. By 1674 there were 14 villages, with 4,000 converts, of so-called " Praying Indians", the best documented being at Natick, Massachusetts. The following year, however, the communities suffered serious setbacks from persecutions that occurred during King Philip’s War , and the villages never fully recovered. Eliot’s work was financed chiefly from England, where his activities inspired the creation of the Company for Propagating the Gospel in New England and Parts Adjacent in North America (1649). This was the first genuine missionary society. Eliot’s methods set the pattern of subsequent " Indian missions " for almost two centuries. Civilization, he believed, was closely bound up with evangelization. His converts were gathered into Christian towns, governed by a biblical code of laws, and gradually introduced to the English manner of life. Each village had a school where the Indians were taught English and the handicrafts by which they could support themselves. After severe testing, believers were organized by covenant into a Puritan " church-state ," and native teachers and evangelists were trained. Eliot himself, called the " Apostle to the Indians ," produced the needed literature in the Massachusets Algonquian language, beginning with his primer or catechism of 1654. His translation of the New Testament appeared in 1661, the Old Testament in 1663. Among his other works are The Christian Commonwealth (1659) and The Harmony of the Gospels (1678). ------- Natick, Massachusetts is 10 miles west of Boston. The name Natick comes from the language of the Massachusett Native American tribe and is commonly thought to mean " Place of Hills ." A more accurate translation may be "place of [our] searching," after John Eliot's successful search for a location for his Praying Indian settlement. Natick was first settled in 1651 by John Eliot, a Puritan missionary born in Widford, England, who received a commission and funds from England's Long Parliament to settle the Massachusett Indians called Praying Indians on both sides of the Charles River, on land deeded from the settlement at Dedham. Natick was the first of Eliot's network of praying towns and served as their center for a long time. While the towns were largely self-governing under Indian leaders, such as Waban and Cutshamekin , the praying Indians were subject to rules governing conformity to Puritan culture ( in practice Natick, like the other praying towns, combined both indigenous and Puritan culture and practices ). Eliot and Praying Indian translators printed America's first Algonquian language Bible. Eventually, the church in Natick was led for several decades by an indigenous pastor, Rev. Daniel Takawambait. The colonial government placed such settlements in a ring of villages around Boston as a defensive strategy. Natick was the first and best documented settlement. The land was granted by the General Court as part of the Dedham Grant. A period of expansion followed, with but little focus on evangelism. Chastened in the wake of the Mystic Massacre which occurred during the Pequot War , sincere efforts at evangelizing began. A school was set up, a government established, and the Indians were encouraged to convert to Christianity. In November 1675, during King Philip's War , the Natick Indians were sent to Deer Island. Many died of disease and cold, and those who survived found their homes destroyed. The Indian village did not fully recover, and the land held in common by the Indian community was slowly sold to white settlers to cover debts. In 1775, both European and Indian citizens of Natick participated in the battles of Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill, as well as serving in the Continental Army. The names of Natick's Praying Indian soldiers are memorialized on a stone marker, along with all of Natick's Revolutionary War veterans, on a stone marker on Pond Street, near downtown Natick. The town of Natick was incorporated in 1781, now part of the newly formed United States of America. The last Natick Indian died in 1875.

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Location: Coventry, Rhode Island

End Time: 2024-08-04T19:26:58.000Z

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