Seneca mission facts for kids
The Seneca mission was a special effort to share Christian beliefs with the Seneca people. It was also called the Buffalo Creek mission. This mission was located near the Buffalo Creek Reservation in western New York. Many different leaders and groups helped run this mission from the early to mid-1800s. Some Seneca people welcomed the mission. Others, like the famous leader Red Jacket, strongly disagreed with it. Missionaries, including Asher Wright, even helped write down the Seneca language using the English alphabet. They also printed Christian books in Seneca.
Contents
What Was the Seneca Mission?
Christian missions, mainly from the Presbyterian church, were active in western New York from the 1820s to the 1850s. These missions were in areas like the Buffalo Creek Reservation, Allegany Indian Reservation, and Cattaraugus Reservation. Sometimes, the people working at the Tuscarora mission and Cattaraugus mission also helped with the Seneca mission. The Buffalo Creek Reservation, where the Seneca mission was centered, started to be settled around 1780.
Around 1820, historians describe the Seneca people as being divided into two main groups. One group, known as the Christian camp, supported the missions. Their leader was a man called Captain Pollard. The other group was led by Red Jacket. He spoke out against the missions. He even asked DeWitt Clinton, who was New York's governor, for help against them.
Early Efforts to Start Missions (1764–1811)
In 1764, a man named Samuel Kirkland visited the Senecas. He hoped to teach them about Christianity. He left after two years. Soon after, he started a mission with the Oneida people. Around 1765, the Quakers also began missions in New York among the Seneca. George Washington supported their work. Over 20 years, the Quakers spent more than $40,000. They used this money to support schools and other projects. A Quaker mission started near Allegany in 1798. It later grew to include the Cattaraugus Reservation area.
In 1800, the New York Missionary Society sent Elkanah Holmes to be a missionary. He worked with both the Tuscarora people and the Seneca people. By 1802, he had set up his main base in Niagara. In 1801, Holmes suggested building two schoolhouses. One would be at Buffalo Creek. The other would be in a Tuscarora village near Lewiston.
The Senecas had previously turned away a missionary from Boston. This was probably Jacob Cram. He was connected to a group that spread Christian knowledge. Holmes received about $190 to help build a school at Buffalo Creek. When he returned, they tried to start a mission school there. Handsome Lake was against the school at first, but he later agreed. Holmes became a permanent missionary in 1803.
Holmes lived in the Tuscarora village for a while. But he disagreed with the Society about starting a church there. He resigned in 1807 or 1808. After that, he worked for the Baptists.
In 1809, Andrew Gray took over from Holmes as missionary to the Tuscaroras. J. C. Crane became a teacher in that village. Crane later became the head of the mission. He stayed there until he died in 1826. In 1811, the Society sent John Alexander to the Senecas at Buffalo Creek. But the chiefs were still worried that someone wanted their land. They refused to let him stay.
Alexander and Hyde's Work (1811–1821)
The mission at the Seneca village, about four miles east of Buffalo, started in 1811. The New-York Missionary Society began it. Later, in 1821, it was given to the United Foreign Missionary Society. In 1811, John Alexander and Jabez Backus Hyde were sent to the Seneca people. They hoped to start a lasting mission. Alexander was not allowed to stay at first. But Hyde was invited to stay and open a school. He did this in 1811.
Hyde worked at the mission as a teacher until 1819. Then he became a catechist, which means he taught Christian lessons. James Young took his place as teacher. Thompson S. Harris replaced Hyde in 1821.
Hyde wrote about his experiences at the mission in 1820. He said he waited seven months before opening his school. In 1812, the Society reported that he had built a schoolhouse. He also mentioned that the War of 1812 caused problems in the area.
Harris's Time at the Mission (1821–1831)
In January 1821, the Seneca mission officially moved to the United Foreign Missionary Society. On September 19, 1821, Thompson S. Harris became the missionary for the Buffalo Creek Reservation. He had just finished college and seminary. His wife, Marianne La Tournette, came with him.
Harris arrived at the mission on November 2, 1821. He brought a letter from the United States government. This letter praised the mission and the school. Besides the Harrises, there were other helpers at the mission. These included the Youngs, Miss Van Patten, and Miss Reeve. Later, Phoebe Selden and Asenath Bishop also joined the mission staff. Nancy Henderson, Emily Root, and Rebecca Newhall also worked there. From 1828 to 1831, a Mr. Morton was in charge of the school. His wife was also an assistant.
On December 5, 1821, Harris spoke with Jasper Parrish. He was the U.S. Agent for the Six Nations. Harris said Parrish seemed friendly and wanted the Seneca people to improve.
In 1821, New York State passed a law. It said that local officials must remove white people from reservations. This happened after Red Jacket and others complained about people coming onto their land. Some Christians asked the state to change this law from 1822 to 1824. But they did not succeed at first. Red Jacket and his followers, along with some non-Christian white people, formally complained about the mission staff staying on the reservation. They won their case. In March 1824, the mission was shut down by court order.
However, a year later, the law was changed. Harris returned to the mission in June 1825. The mission started working again by the fall of that year. When Harris came back, he also began to oversee missions at Cattaraugus and the Tuscarora village.
James Young, the schoolteacher, did not return with Harris. Gilman Clark took his place. Clark worked until 1827, when he had to leave due to illness. Hanover Bradley and his wife, Catharine Wheeler, were important helpers. They joined the mission in 1823. Bradley was a steward and farmer. He later became a catechist. Harris left the mission on June 28, 1830. For a short time, Bradley was in charge.
On July 31, 1826, the United States Foreign Missionary Society joined with another group. This new group was called the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The Seneca mission then came under their control.
Wright's Important Work (1831–1846)
Asher Wright started his work at the mission on November 9, 1831. He stayed there until he died on April 13, 1875. Wright was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1803. He had recently finished his studies at Andover Seminary. He brought his wife, Martha Egerton, with him. But she died soon after. He married again on January 21, 1833. His second wife was Laura M. Sheldon.
Wright created a way to write the Seneca language while at the mission. The first book printed in Seneca using his system was a small primer. It was published in Boston in 1836 for the mission school.
In 1841, Wright started the Mission Press. Benjamin C. Van Duzee came to the mission that year. He worked as a printer. The press was set up in a small room attached to the house. Its first publication was a small, eight-page magazine. It was called Ne Jaguhnigoages-gwathah, which means The Mental Elevator in English. The first issue came out on November 30, 1841.
Nineteen issues of The Mental Elevator were printed. They came out at different times. Nine of them were printed at the Buffalo Creek Reservation. The ninth issue was dated April 1, 1845. In 1846, when the Buffalo Creek Reservation was given up, the press moved. It went to the Cattaraugus reservation. Ten more issues were printed there.
In 1842, Wright published A Spelling Book in the Seneca Language with English Definitions. This book brought together all of Wright's work on the Seneca alphabet. He used his own phonetic systems and other language methods.
The Treaties of Buffalo Creek, signed in 1838 and 1842, changed things for many Indigenous people. The first treaty, in 1838, led to many Indigenous people being forced to leave western New York. However, a second treaty in 1842 allowed the Senecas to keep their Allegheny and Cattaraugus lands. But they gave the Buffalo Creek and Tonawanda reservations to the Ogden Land Company. The Tonawanda Senecas eventually bought their land back.
The Wrights stayed at the Seneca station until 1845 or 1846. This was when the Senecas were moved from the Buffalo Creek Reservation to Cattaraugus. The mission at Buffalo Creek ended when the Senecas left. But Wright continued his work as a minister in Cattaraugus.
After Wright's Time
The Seneca mission continued in some way until at least 1885. At that time, missionary Morton F. Trippe wrote about the Seneca mission. He said it included five reservations. Four were in New York and one in Pennsylvania. These areas had a total of 3,849 Indigenous people. They lived on 102 square miles, or 65,338 acres. About 21,890 of these acres were used for farming.
See also
