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MEMOIR OF THE RET. JOHN STUART, D. D.

prevented their being imployed usefully, and reputably in various capacities till this day, but their want of fortitude to resist

the power of those fashionable vices which were rampant among all their tribes.Of all the number before mentioned,

I dont hear of more than half who have preserved their characters unstain’d, either by a course of intemperance oruncleanness, or both; and some who on account of their parts, and learning, hid the fairest for usefulness, are sunk downinto as low, savage, and brutish a manner of living as they were in before any endeavours were used with them to raisethem up: and there are some of whom I did, and do still entertain hope that they were really the subjects of God ’s grace,who have not wholly kept their garments unspotted amongst the pots. And six of those who did preserve a good character,are now dead.”i

The necessity of having missionaries of the church of England resident among the Mohawks wasagain brought before the Society for the propagation of the Gospel a few years before the Revolution,both by Sir W m Johnson and the Rev. M r Inglis of New-York, the last of whom also laid thesubject before the government in England in the form of a Memorial. In the year 1770, the Society again consented to ordain a Missionary for the exclusive service of the Mohawks .

John Stuart, who was selected for this purpose, was born at Harrisburg in Pennsylvania in 1740.The family mansion in which he first saw the light was yet standing in 1836. His father, AndrewStuart, came to America from the town of Omagh in Ireland , about the year 1730 ; besides thesubject of this memoir he had three sons, James, Andrew & Charles. The first died young ; theothers—Andrew and Charles—died some years ago, both-at an advanced age, in tire Western partof Pennsylvania , having been in the worst of times, staunch supporters of the cause of Americanliberty. They were ail men of great physical strength 2 . At an early age John Stuart evinced adisposition for serious studies, and when he graduated at the College of Philadelphia he had made uphis mind to join the communion of the Church of England . This determination exposed him tomuch difficulty, for his father was a rigid Presbyterian, and expected iris children to conform to hisreligious opinions*. M r Stuart’s patience at last overcame his father’s prejudices, and lie was allowedto proceed to England, being recommended by the Clergy of Pennsylvania for ordination 4 . Hereceived holy orders in the year 1770, and was appointed Missionary to tire Mohawks at FortHunter. He arrived at tire scene of his future labors and preached his first sermon at Canajoharie,on Christmas day of the same year. His routine now was, to preach every Sunday; first to theIndians, after service had been performed in their own language. Divine service was, next, readin English to a congregation of 200 persons and upwards. In the afternoon, lie officiated in theMohawk Chapel, to tire white people, most of whom were Dutch , and who had no stated place ofworship 5 . In 1774, he was able to read the Liturgy and the several offices of baptism, marriage &cto his flock, and converse tolerably well with them, on common subjects in their own language, buthe found great difficulty to convey to them any distinct ideas on divine subjects, for want of aconstant interpreter, from which cause, also, he could but seldom preach to them. To supply theseand other deficiencies, he undertook a translation of a part of the New Testament , and, with theassistance it is said of Brant, prepared a Mohawk translation of St. Mark’s gospel, a large and plainExposition of the Church Catechism, and a Compendious History of the Bible 6 . In addition to hisregular duties, lie officiated once a fortnight at Johnstown without any remuneration. Service wasread to the Mohawks at Canajoharie by Paulus Sahonwadi, the Indian Schoolmaster. Some ideaof the difficulties attendant on conveying elementary instruction to the Indians in those days may beformed from the circumstance that the teacher had no elementary books. Panins & the otherMohawk teachers taught the Alphabet &c by means only of little manuscript scraps of paper. It wasnot until several rears after, that Col. Claus composed a short primer for them. 7

1 Wheeloek’s Nan-, for 1771, p. 19. 2 Geo. Okill Stuart’s letter. .1 Ijondon Colonial Church Chronicle, No. ii.

4 Soc’ty’s Abstract, 1771. 5 Abstract, 1772. fi Abstract, 1775.

7 Abstract for 1782. p, 48.