{"id":185,"date":"2015-11-23T17:34:32","date_gmt":"2015-11-23T17:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huronhistory4202f.wordpress.com\/?page_id=185"},"modified":"2016-11-16T01:34:33","modified_gmt":"2016-11-16T01:34:33","slug":"simpson-a-brigham","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/confrontingcolonialism\/working-with-primary-sources\/simpson-a-brigham\/","title":{"rendered":"Simpson A. Brigham"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within the Diocese of Huron Archives we learn of a man named Simpson A. Brigham. Born in 1875, with the birth name of Auhyahkaosa, he was the first Indigenous person from Walpole Island to graduate from Huron College and be ordained an Anglican minister. He would return to Walpole Island in 1899 to minister to the local Anglican Parish. The correspondence that the Huron Archives has about Brigham is written by him and his wife Margaret, and it provides insight on Brigham and the Walpole Island community.1<\/span><\/sup><\/a>From the letters which topics predominantly deal with money issues, the reader can get a glimpse at the challenges faced by Brigham in the terms of funding for his church.<\/p>\n

In a letter from Brigham to the Diocese of Huron he asks for $100 to by a horse, and in another letter to the Lord Bishop he asks for assistance in paying doctors bills and for the authority to start collecting funds to build a parsonage. In Margaret’s letter, which was written after Brigham’s death and after she remarried, we see her discuss Brigham’s will and estate with Rev. W. Doherty in London, Ontario which shows Brigham was broke and had debts. This is not anything unusually as the missionary system would understandably be expansive and Churches and Pastors would need some assistance.<\/p>\n

But in a petition we see signs of corruption by Brigham as the community complained about his borrowing of money from parish members and store-keepers and refusing to reimburse them. From the letters we do not know if Brigham was spending the money that he collected through fundraising exclusively on the church. From the petition however we can start to understand the population demographics in the Walpole area at the time. We can see that all the petitioners have English names, we do not know if these are all European settlers or Indigenous converts to Christianity, but what we can begin to understand is that the Anglican Church and the missionary missions had a strong footing in the area. This would explain why Brigham’s services were well attended, between the morning and evening services he conducted he would have well over 150 attendees from a population of less than 500 on the Island.2<\/span><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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1<\/span><\/a>Jim Miller, \u201cReverend Simpson Brigham,\u201d Walpole Island Community News, n.d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

2<\/span><\/a>Ibid.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

To The Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Huron<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

London, Ont. Dec 23 1899<\/p>\n

Having been appointed Missionary at<\/p>\n

Walpole Island, where the keeping of a<\/p>\n

horse is necessary. Hereby make<\/p>\n

application for an outfit grant of<\/p>\n

$10000<\/span><\/u><\/sup> which is to be used by me<\/p>\n

solely towards purchase of a horse<\/p>\n

& vehicle necessary for my work all [illegible]<\/p>\n

Missionary, & to be given to me on<\/p>\n

the further condition that I [under<\/p>\n

their] years service in the Diocese.<\/p>\n

Simpson A. Brigham<\/p>\n

Approved Maurice S. Huron.<\/p>\n

London<\/p>\n

Dec 23 1899<\/p>\n

[Backside of letter\u00a0Rev Sampson Brigham]<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Walpole Island, Sect.<\/p>\n

Feb 20, 1912<\/p>\n

Rt. Rev David Williams D.D.<\/p>\n

the Lord Bishop of Huron<\/p>\n

London, Ontario, Canada<\/p>\n

My Lord,<\/p>\n

You will pardon me if I write to<\/p>\n

remind you of the appeal I<\/p>\n

have made for special help.<\/p>\n

I have doctor bills to pay at once.<\/p>\n

Of the fund of which you spoke<\/p>\n

be found exhausted then I shall<\/p>\n

know it beyond your power<\/p>\n

to extend aid.<\/p>\n

While I am still unable to<\/p>\n

begin to collect the money to<\/p>\n

build the parsonage on Walpole<\/p>\n

Island, I believe I can do a<\/p>\n

little by writing to some of my<\/p>\n

personal friends for some money,<\/p>\n

So will you please send me<\/p>\n

the written authority to collect<\/p>\n

funds for this object.<\/p>\n

Yours Faithfully<\/p>\n

Simpson Auh. Brigham<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

310 South Butler St.,<\/p>\n

Lanning, Michigan<\/p>\n

December 31, 1930<\/p>\n

Rev. W. Doherty<\/p>\n

London, Ontario<\/p>\n

Dear Mr. Doherty, –<\/p>\n

Am indeed sorry that in<\/p>\n

the Christmas rush, your letter<\/p>\n

was neglected. We have just<\/p>\n

returned from Detroit where we<\/p>\n

spent the holidays with relatives<\/p>\n

bringing my sister in law and<\/p>\n

four children back here for<\/p>\n

more holiday. Jimmie as we<\/p>\n

call him is very happy with<\/p>\n

his cousins as playmates,<\/p>\n

prefer living on the Island. (The<\/p>\n

Agent has there a comfortable house<\/p>\n

with conveniences) for the sake of<\/p>\n

the boys it seems best to try<\/p>\n

Port Lambton. We were married<\/p>\n

here very informally by a friend<\/p>\n

of Mr. Highfields, George Whittemore.<\/p>\n

I am enclosing a copy of<\/p>\n

Simpson’s will. It was entirely by<\/p>\n

accident that we discovered that the<\/p>\n

land which this includes and<\/p>\n

which was held by Indian<\/p>\n

Location Tickets must be<\/p>\n

transferred to similar Tickets in<\/p>\n

my name before it could be<\/p>\n

passed along to Simpson Lewis.<\/p>\n

Also that two lots left to Simpson<\/p>\n

by his farther(who predeceased him<\/p>\n

only a few months, and whose<\/p>\n

will was not approved by the<\/p>\n

Department before Simpson’s death)<\/p>\n

had erroneously been considered<\/p>\n

by the Indian Department to be<\/p>\n

for Simpson’s use during his life.<\/p>\n

The former Indian Agent had<\/p>\n

never told me all this or<\/p>\n

showed me the correspondence \u2013<\/p>\n

in fact advised me to leave the<\/p>\n

Location Tickets as they were \u2013<\/p>\n

although he knew that I had<\/p>\n

accepted the responsibility for<\/p>\n

all the debts against both<\/p>\n

estates, amounting to more than<\/p>\n

six hundred dollars. In addition, I have invested on<\/p>\n

the Island in the little home<\/p>\n

there some eight or nine hundred<\/p>\n

dollars. I have also a<\/p>\n

reforestation project under<\/p>\n

way of evergreens for market<\/p>\n

eventually as Christmas trees<\/p>\n

(about five thousand of them)<\/p>\n

Mr. Highfield was unwilling that<\/p>\n

I should risk Jimmie’s losing<\/p>\n

this \u2013 for as he said, it was<\/p>\n

left for me and no other heirs<\/p>\n

Thank you so much for your<\/p>\n

kind wishes. When we can<\/p>\n

adjust the unfortunate complications<\/p>\n

there is every chance for a long<\/p>\n

and happy life for us both. I do<\/p>\n

not remember whether I told you<\/p>\n

that Mr. Highfield is the Agent<\/p>\n

on the Island for the Department, so you see I<\/p>\n

will still be much interested<\/p>\n

in the work there, from a different<\/p>\n

point of view. He has there sons<\/p>\n

two of whom are away at school,<\/p>\n

the youngest will be with us, so<\/p>\n

Jimmie will have companionship<\/p>\n

while personally we would both<\/p>\n\n\t\t