Timothy Woodbridge (February 27, 1709 – May 10, 1774)Mitchell, p. 32. was an American missionary, deacon and schoolteacher, later a judge, representative, and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, from Springfield, Massachusetts, who spent most of his adult life in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, teaching the Mahicans and other Native Americans to read and write, English customs and the Christian religion. About him, Jonathan Edwards said, "By his long-proved justice and integrity, he has gained a vast esteem with the Indians".Marsden, pp. 398–399. Reverend John Sergeant described his efforts in this way: "Mr. Woodbridge ... has a very numerous school and a tedious task of it; lives a very lonesome life; is indeed indefatigable in his business; and no body deserves more of the publick than he."Hopkins, p. 51. Gideon Hawley called him "a man of abilities... always poor, and had a powerful party against him; but he rose to be the first man in the county."Marsden, p. 103. Timothy worked very closely with all three men. He was instrumental in the purchase of large tracts of land in western New England from the Native Americans, such as modern-day Lenox and Alford, Massachusetts, by parlaying this reputation and experience.
Early life Timothy Woodbridge was born on February 27, 1709, to Reverend John Woodbridge VIII and Jemima Eliot. His father, the first minister of West Springfield, Massachusetts,Mitchell, p. 20. was the eighth generation of ministers by the name John Woodbridge, including John Woodbridge V and John Woodbridge VI, and his brother was the ninth. His mother was the granddaughter of John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians". His brother Benjamin was also a minister, and the town of Woodbridge, Connecticut, is named in his honor. Timothy's father died young, when a tree fell on him in 1718.Mitchell, p. 20. John left Timothy one fifth of his land in the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, in his will.Manwaring, Charles Williams. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records: Hartford district, 1700-1792, Peck & Company, printers, 1904, p. 454.
Missionary life
Early years John Sergeant had arranged to return to Yale to complete his duties as a tutor, so the ministers associated with the mission sought Timothy out as an ideal candidate, due to his education, family history, and possibly, knowledge of their language.Frazier, p. 23. Sergeant himself called Timothy "a young gentleman very well qualify'd for the business".Hopkins, p. 27. At this time, there were about forty or fifty Mahicans settled at the mission, and little more than twenty children attended the school. Timothy arrived the last week of November, 1734, while Sergeant was away at Albany, meeting with the Mohawks, and the mission was left in his hands when Sergeant returned to New Haven on December 9. As schoolmaster, he taught reading and writing of English, cleanliness, English manners, and Christian morals.Edwards, p. clxxxiv. On January 19, 1735, a council with Mahican leadership was held, and they voiced their desire that Timothy would remain with them, and that John Sergeant would return to live among them.Hopkins, p. 22.
However, not all of the Mahicans agreed that they should submit to the English lifestyle, and rumors circulated that there was resentment about Chief Konkapot and Umpachenee being given military commissions by Governor Jonathan Belcher, as well as the mission in general. Soon after the council, several of the locals, including Lieutenant Umpachenee's family, fell seriously ill, and they were convinced they had been poisoned by their discontented brethren. They asked that Timothy pray for them, and that they be given a Christian burial, if they should die, which two individuals did. A few weeks later, determined to discover the perpetrator, the spiritual leaders held a type of divination ceremony. When Timothy learned of this, he set out to observe the ceremony, arriving just in time. After the ceremony, he voiced his great displeasure of their "sinful" method of worship, and they agreed never to repeat the mistake.Frazier, pp. 29-31.
In February, the Mahicans went into the woods to harvest maple syrup for their annual supply of sugar. Timothy took this opportunity to return to Springfield to visit friends and relatives, returning in early spring.Hopkins, p. 26. Sergeant returned for a short time, and they took turns at the two Mahican settlements. When Sergeant returned to Yale again, he wrote Dr. Colman, one of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs at Boston, and requested that Timothy would be compensated so that he might continue there, being that there was enough work for two missionaries. Sergeant returned to stay in early July, and they resumed trading places on a weekly basis. In August, Timothy fell ill with a form of malaria.Frazier, p. 32. When he felt well enough to travel, he returned to Springfield, only to relapse, delaying his return until November. During the winter of 1736, Sergeant and Woodbridge decided to accompany the Mahicans on their maple syrup harvest, so that their education could continue, uninterrupted.
Indian Town On March 25, the General Court granted a township on the Housatonic River, which would become Stockbridge, to the Mahicans, so that they could all live in one place, facilitating their education. Sergeant and Woodbridge each were to be granted 1/16th of the land, although Timothy lodged with Captain Konkapot that spring.Taylor, p. 64. At this time, the population increased to about ninety individuals.Brown, Raymond H. The Housatonic Indians, Massachusetts Archaeological Society, April 1958, p. 48.
The Woodbridges had built a house, the first permanent residence in the township, by January 1737, and John Sergeant lodged with them at this time, to live among his congregation. On May 7, the town, then known only as "Indian Town", was confirmed to the Mahicans, and funding was granted for a schoolhouse and meeting house to be constructed in August, with Timothy appointed to the supervising committee.Hopkins, p. 59. In 1737, Timothy and Abigail served as witnesses to a land deal between Colonel John Stoddard and the Native Americans, comprising the modern town of Pittsfield.Learning, p. 282. Timothy would be involved with many more purchases and land swaps in the coming years. During the winter of 1738-39, Sergeant and Woodbridge worked to create a passable road from New Glasgow, greatly increasing the accessibility of their town.Perry, Arthur Latham. Origins in Williamstown, C. Scribner's Sons, 1894, p. 304. Timothy was the senior deacon of the church, and identified as a New Light regarding the contemporary Great Awakening (he would later help recruit Jonathan Edwards, and become his greatest ally in Stockbridge).
Stockbridge formed On June 22, 1739, the town of Stockbridge was incorporated, and the Rev. Arthur Lawrence, a Stockbridge historian, found it very probable that Timothy was responsible for the name, as the Woodbridges had come from a neighboring town of Stockbridge, Hampshire.Learning, p. 575. Due to its new status, town officers had to be elected, and Timothy was chosen for town clerk. One of the conditions of the grant was that four new English families be allowed to settle there, and Timothy's brother Joseph, who became an important citizen, soon joined him.Field, David Dudley. An Historical sketch of the Congregational Church, Stockbridge, Congregational Church (Stockbridge, Mass.), 1888, p. 8. This same year, Timothy was involved in a land swap with the Indians, trading 280 acres of riverfront land in Stockbridge for some 4000 acres in what is now the city of Lenox, his part of which was 480 acres.Frazier, p. 48. In 1743, the Mahicans wrote to Governor Shirley, asking that lands be confirmed to Timothy and Ephraim Williams Jr., and the next year, Timothy sold some of his land granted by the General Court to Ephraim Sr.
1749 was a tumultuous year for Timothy and Stockbridge. The Mahicans had many complaints, including that Timothy had illegally purchased a tract of land without the consent of the entire tribe, so a committee was sent to investigate. Despite the fact that the sale was confirmed to be illegal, it was decided he should keep the land.Frazier, p. 84. John Sergeant's death in July left the town without a resident minister for over two years, and began a feud for control of the town between the Woodbridges and Williamses.
Interim Timothy was again elected as town clerk in 1749, and effectively oversaw the mission during the search for a replacement minister.Taylor, p. 33. At this time his school had an enrollment of 55 students, and his salary was about 87 pounds for six months of teaching.Hopkins, p. iv.Frazier, p. 104. In November and December, Timothy had several real estate dealings, including a bargain with Konkapot and Umpachene, a petition to Spencer Phips that lands be confirmed, in exchange for a loan he had made to the Mahicans in 1740, and a statement regarding lands he had been granted previously.Various. Stockbridge Papers, Cornell University Rare and Manuscripts Collections In April 1750, Timothy and others made a request of Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet, governor of New Hampshire, for a grant of a township.Williams, Ephraim. 1750 April 6, Richard Henry Winslow Dwight Collection, Volume 50, 1744-1911, Williams College. In the winter of 1750-51, a number of Mohawks, including Chief Hendrick and Chief Nicholas, relocated to Stockbridge, increasing their population to about ninety.Edwards, p. clxxi.
Jonathan Edwards years
Despite the maneuvering of the Williams family, Jonathan Edwards became the successor to John Sergeant and became the resident minister on August 9, 1751.Learning, p. 87. Timothy, as clerk, wrote up a land deed for Edwards the following April. A man named John Wauwaumpequunnaunt served as translator for Edwards, and also assisted Timothy in his school, and Edwards lobbied that he be compensated more generously.Marsden, p. 393.
Feud for control Management of the boarding school was an ongoing source of contention in Stockbridge. Martin Kellogg had been leading the school, to which Edwards and Woodbridge objected. They requested that a new teacher be sent, and Gideon Hawley arrived in February 1752 to teach the Mohawks and Oneidas (the resident Mahicans were still taught at Woodbridge's school). However, Kellogg was supported by the Williamses and Joseph Dwight, and so refused to abandon his post, resulting in a battle for control.Frazier, p. 101. In April, Timothy and other supporters of Edwards met to encourage the few remaining students' families that they should remove their children from Kellogg's classes.Marsden, p. 399. In response, Dwight presented a report to the General Court, stating that Kellogg's methods had been working well, until Edwards and Woodbridge interfered, and tried to get Edwards removed as minister. A rare point of agreement between the two camps was that the ginseng craze was drawing many of the Mohawks away. Timothy had been elected to the General Court, and so was able to refute this testimony, as well as to inform Edwards of the proceedings.Marsden, p. 583. This feud continued through Edwards' stay in Stockbridge. In addition to being elected as a representative, Timothy, by then known to the Native Americans as Solohkuwauneh, was made a Justice of the Peace in 1752, at the recommendation of Edwards.Frazier, p. 103. Timothy later made a judge of both probate and of Common Pleas, in 1761. Unfortunately, his historic docket was later destroyed by a fire in 1846.Jones, p. 135.