Samson Occom

OCCOM, Samson. b. Mohegan Nation, near New London, Connecticut, 1723; d. Brothertown, New York, 14 July 1792. Occom was converted to Christianity in 1741 by the preaching and singing of James Davenport (1716-1757), a Connecticut ‘New light’ preacher. He attended Eleazar Wheelock’s (1711-1779) school for four years and learned English, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Occom was ordained by the Suffolk Presbytery on Long Island, New York, in 1759, and served as a teacher and minister and in a variety of capacities for the Mohegan tribe as well as several other Native American tribes. He was instrumental in the creation of Brothertown, New York as a pan-tribal community in 1775. Occom is the first...