{"id":308,"date":"2016-10-14T19:32:14","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T19:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/confrontingcolonialism\/?page_id=308"},"modified":"2016-10-24T00:12:02","modified_gmt":"2016-10-24T00:12:02","slug":"edward-f-wilson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.huronresearch.ca\/confrontingcolonialism\/working-with-primary-sources\/edward-f-wilson\/","title":{"rendered":"Edward F. Wilson"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
\n

\"IMG_9202\"<\/p>\n

Fig. 1<\/strong>\u00a0Wilson, Edward F. \u201cTo the Committee of the Church Society\u201d. Letter. Sarnia, 1869. Diocese of Huron Archives.: 1<\/p>\n

\"IMG_9203\"<\/p>\n

Fig. 2<\/strong>\u00a0Wilson, Edward F. \u201cTo the Committee of the Church Society\u201d. Letter. Sarnia, 1869. Diocese of Huron Archives.: 2<\/p>\n

\"IMG_9204\"<\/p>\n

Fig. 3\u00a0<\/strong>Wilson, Edward F. \u201cTo the Committee of the Church Society\u201d. Letter. Sarnia, 1869. Diocese of Huron Archives.: 3<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Transcription<\/strong><\/p>\n

St. Clair Parsonage<\/p>\n

Sarnia Indian Reserve<\/p>\n

June 3rd\u00a01869<\/p>\n

To the Committee of<\/p>\n

The Church Society<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My Lord + Gentlemen,<\/p>\n

As a clergyman of this Diocese and a<\/p>\n

Missionary to the Indians of this country \u2013 I wish to<\/p>\n

ask your assistance and influence in gaining for me<\/p>\n

a more sure footing in the spot to which God has directed<\/p>\n

my steps than I at present hold.<\/p>\n

Under the directions of the Committee of the Church<\/p>\n

Missionary Society I came out to this Country last summer, and<\/p>\n

with their permission chose for myself a position<\/p>\n

which I deemed most fitted for the headquarters of my<\/p>\n

mission \u2013 with the intention of hereafter adding to it<\/p>\n

various outstations which I might visit from time to<\/p>\n

time. Thus I have now for to me months been settled<\/p>\n

on the Sarnia Indian Reserve, +, under God\u2019s blessing<\/p>\n

my mission has hitherto I feel been a successful one.<\/p>\n

When I first came to the place we had only a log<\/p>\n

cottage in which to hold services and a congregation of<\/p>\n

from 15 to 20, \u2013 now we have a neat little church with<\/p>\n

a regular attendance from 50 to 60 and a comfortable<\/p>\n

parsonage; \u2013 the cost of these two buildings, which<\/p>\n

amounted to upwards of $1500, is now through the zeal<\/p>\n

and kindness of friends together with a grant of \u20a4100<\/p>\n

from my society, entirely paid off.\u00a0 Since Commencing<\/p>\n

work I have been enabled already to open one<\/p>\n

outsatation at about 30 miles distant, \u2013 at which I have<\/p>\n

placed an efficient Native Catechist \u2013 who conducts<\/p>\n

service on Sunday and teaches school during the week<\/p>\n

I have also two young me education for Catechists;<\/p>\n

\u2013 the society allows them $50 each per annum for their<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[new page]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Support and pays for their education in Sarnia; for<\/p>\n

instruction in the Scriptures they come to me twice a<\/p>\n

week.<\/p>\n

Having briefly recounted these matters, I would now<\/p>\n

as shortly as possible lay before you my difficulty and<\/p>\n

ask for your help and influence in the matter. Our<\/p>\n

house + Church are built on an acre of land<\/p>\n

belonging to one of our Church Members, Antoine Rodd<\/p>\n

by name, who in the presence of the Indian Agent<\/p>\n

Mr\u00a0Mckenzie, has signed a paper granting us the free use<\/p>\n

of the land during his own lifetime. An Indian<\/p>\n

has no power to deed over his land without the permission<\/p>\n

for the Indian Council, + applied for a Church site<\/p>\n

by the Methodist party being largely in Majority we<\/p>\n

could not obtain a vote in our favour. Our choice<\/p>\n

then lay between going on with our work independently<\/p>\n

of council and the Methodists, or giving up altogether<\/p>\n

\u2013 I naturally chose the former course, and we proceeded<\/p>\n

to establish our mission by building the Church parsonage.<\/p>\n

I had some correspondence on the matter with Mr Spragge<\/p>\n

Dep. Superintendent of Indian affairs at Ottawa, and<\/p>\n

he, although unable as he said \u201cto give assurance<\/p>\n

independently of Political Head of the Department\u201d<\/p>\n

still gave me encouragement to continue my work<\/p>\n

on the ground that \u201cin no Community ought the majority<\/p>\n

to dictate as to what religious system provided it<\/p>\n

be not other than Christian, the minority should adopt\u201d I<\/p>\n

received also information from the Society of State<\/p>\n

(not personally, but through Mr\u00a0Mckenzie) that a petition<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[new page]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

must be sent in to Government by Church members<\/p>\n

if they were anscious for a mission to be established<\/p>\n

among them. \u2013 this was accordingly done, a petition<\/p>\n

signed by 33 adult Indians was sent on the 22ne<\/p>\n

day of September last, \u2013 but no notice has at present<\/p>\n

been taken of it.<\/p>\n

My request to you My Lord and gentlemen, is<\/p>\n

that you will use your influence with Government<\/p>\n

to procure a title to the acre of Land on which<\/p>\n

the buildings connected with this mission have<\/p>\n

been erected.<\/p>\n

Remain<\/p>\n

Yr\u00a0abed + Servant<\/p>\n

Edward F. Wilson<\/u><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fig. 1\u00a0Wilson, Edward F. \u201cTo the Committee of the Church Society\u201d. Letter. Sarnia, 1869. Diocese of Huron Archives.: 1 Fig. 2\u00a0Wilson, Edward F. \u201cTo the Committee of the Church Society\u201d. Letter. Sarnia, 1869. Diocese of Huron Archives.: 2 Fig. 3\u00a0Wilson, Edward F. \u201cTo the Committee of the Church Society\u201d. Letter. Sarnia, 1869. Diocese of Huron […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":14,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mc_calendar":[],"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-308","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t