Eliot, John

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Eliot, John

August 5, 1604

Widford, Hertfordshire, England

May 20, 1690

Roxbury, Massachusetts

Puritan missionary

It is "absolutely necessary to carry on civility with religion [for] praying Indians."

John Eliot.

John Eliot was a Puritan (one who practices strict moral and spiritual codes) missionary known as "the Indian evangelist," or "the Indian Apostle," who devoted his life to converting Native Americans to Christianity. Eliot emigrated from England to the New World (a European term for North America and South America) in 1631. The following year he became a teacher and pastor at the Puritan church in Roxbury, Massachusetts. After learning the Algonquian language, he first preached to Native Americans in 1646. Eliot published many books for his converted or "praying Indians," including a Bible translated into Algonquian in 1663. After Metacom's War (1675–76; also known as King Philip's War), the number of Christian natives dwindled. Eliot's books and achievements still stand, however, as important contributions to colonial American society.

Emigrates to Massachusetts

John Eliot was born in 1604, in Widford, Hertfordshire, England. He was the third of seven children of Bennett and Lettice or Letteye (Aggar) Eliot. His father was a wealthy landowner with property in Eastwick, Hundson, Ware, and Widford. Eliot began attending Jesus College at Cambridge University in 1619. An excellent scholar of the classics (Greek and Roman literature), he received a bachelor's degree in 1622. Eliot then began teaching at a grammar school in Little Baddam, Essex. The school was run by Thomas Hooker, a Puritan minister who eventually became pastor of First Church at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hooker's Puritanism was a major influence on Eliot, who decided to become a preacher.

Native American conversion

During the American colonial period, English settlers made a widespread effort to convert and "civilize" Native Americans in New England and Virginia. Most of the conversions in New England took place in Massachusetts. Missionary John Eliot established fourteen settlements for Christian natives, and published a Bible in the Algonquian language in 1663. One of Eliot's contemporaries, Thomas Mayhew Jr., had converted 283 Native Americans by 1632. Both Eliot and Mayhew were funded by A Corporation for the Promoting and Propagating the Gospel among the Indians of New England, a religious missionary organization established in London, England, in 1649. Native American conversion thrived in Massachusetts until it was stifled by King Philip's War (1675–76). There were almost no missions in Connecticut until 1726, when Cotton Mather (see entry) founded a school on the Mohegan reserve.

In Virginia, the English mission to convert Native Americans began promisingly enough when Reverend Alexander Whitaker converted the Powhatan "princess" Pocahontas (see entry) to Christianity. Her subsequent visit to England led to the establishment of an Indian college at Henrico, a project that collapsed after the massacre of settlers around Jamestown in 1622. The College of William and Mary was established in 1693, with one instructor to teach Native Americans. Although few Native Americans attended the college, it remained open with money from a fund established by scientist Robert Boyle. A statement by Massachusetts governor Robert Dinwiddie reflects the attitude of the settlers toward the education of Native Americans. In 1756 Dinwiddie wrote that they had "no inclination to learning" and "could not be reconciled to their books."

Although Eliot dutifully abided by the laws of the Church of England (or Anglican Church; the official religion in England), his newfound Puritanism came into conflict with the religious beliefs he had been taught as a child. Consequently he decided to leave for the New World, where he was free to become a Puritan. Eliot sailed on board the Lyon, arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, on November 4, 1631. He was accompanied by members of the family of colonist John Winthrop (see entry). Three of Eliot's brothers and three of his sisters came along as well. Before leaving England, Eliot had become engaged to Ann (or Hannah) Mumford, who joined him in Massachusetts a year later. They were married on September 4, 1632, and later had six children.

In Boston, Eliot worked as a substitute teacher for John Wilson, who was visiting England. Eliot was asked to continue teaching after Wilson's return. However, when more of Eliot's former countrymen emigrated to Roxbury, Massachusetts, they invited him to come and join them there. According to Winthrop's History (a history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), Eliot was popular in Boston: "though Boston laboured all they could, both with the congregation of Roxbury and with Mr. Eliot himself . . . he could not be diverted from accepting the call of Roxbury." After declining the offer to teach in Boston, Eliot joined the new English emigrants in Roxbury. They made him a teacher and pastor of their church in 1632, and he remained there until the end of his life.

Converts Native Americans

At Roxbury, Eliot began his campaign to convert local Native Americans to Christianity. Adept at learning languages, he spent two years studying Native American dialects with an interpreter. Eliot first preached to Native Americans on October 28, 1646, at a settlement called Nonantum. He delivered the sermon in the local dialect, but prayed in English. Eliot had such success in converting Native Americans that in 1649 A Corporation for the Promoting and Propagating the Gospel among the Indians of New England was established in England to fund his endeavors. The first order for the advancement of Native American learning was passed on March 17,1647.

As part of the education process, Eliot believed that the converted Native Americans should be independent from the American settlers. With money from London, he built settlements where Christianized Native Americans lived in houses, wore European-style clothes, and owned land. Most important, Eliot envisioned that the settlements would be self-governing. Native Americans would be free to manage their own affairs under the jurisdiction of the general laws of Massachusetts. In 1651 the first town of "praying Indians" was established at Natick. The first Native American church was also founded at Natick in 1660 and was active until 1716.

Publishes Bible

After founding Natick, Eliot frequently traveled back and forth between the new settlement and Roxbury. In addition to fulfilling his responsibilities as pastor of the Roxbury church, Eliot prepared religious materials for the converted Native Americans. He translated works from English into the local dialect so they could be easily read by the converts. His earliest translation was a catechism (a summary or religious doctrine often in the form of questions and answers) published in Native American dialect in 1653. He also provided a book of psalms (sacred songs or poems used in worship) in translation five years later. Eliot's largest project was a translation of the Bible into Algonquian. Funded by the London organization, printing began in 1658. A translation of the New Testament was published in 1661. When a translation of the Old Testament arrived in 1663, Eliot's Algonquian Bible was complete. This was the first Bible to be printed in North America.

Efforts hindered by war

Eliot continued to believe that the Christian natives should lead separate and independent lives. He even trained several Native Americans as preachers, thinking they would be better missionaries for their people. Eliot made progress with this endeavor, and there were twenty-four Native American preachers by the time he died. However, not everyone agreed with Eliot's efforts. For instance, during his travels throughout New England he encountered opposition from Native Americans. Metacom's War further stifled Eliot's progress. This devastating conflict between the colonists and the Wampanoags broke out when a Christian Native American was murdered, possibly on orders from the Wampanoag chief Metacom (see entry). Although many Christian Native Americans fought for the English, they found themselves in a difficult position. Mistrusted by the Puritans, they were also under suspicion from other Native Americans. Eliot himself was held under suspicion for his efforts at segregation (separation of Native Americans from colonists). As a result, the number of Christian natives began to decline. In 1674, before the war, there had been about thiry-six hundred converts, and fourteen settlements. Following the war, the number of settlements dropped to four and the number of Christianized Native Americans significantly decreased.

Gives land for natives and slaves

Although Eliot's conversion work came to a virtual halt, his books seem to have had a lasting impact. In 1659 he published The Christian Commonwealth, which was condemned by the English government because it promoted republicanism (self-government). Ten years later Eliot released The Indian Primer, a grammar book for the Native American dialect. In addition to his effort to create a society of Christian natives, Eliot served as a witness during the trial of religious enthusiast Anne Hutchinson (see entry) in 1637. Eliot is remembered for one of his last deeds, which was to provide land for Native Americans and African Americans in Roxbury. Eliot died in Roxbury on May 20,1690.