Wm. Jenkins

Person Information

'
(the Missionary)
charge against
Friends

The Board of Directors of the Northern Missionary Society

in
Albany, having received information of some very improper conduct
on the part of certain persons of the Society of Friends towards their
missionary William Jenkins, requested from him a statement
of the circumstances, with a view not only to their own satisfaction,
but from a wish to lay the Affair before the meeting of Friends,
presuming that such conduct would be discountenanced by them
and the evil complained of redressed. The following is the statement
which the Board of Directors have received.

Sometime in June 1809 I was invited to preach at the South
settlement by a number of Indians living in that place. The third
or fourth sabbath in which I attended, I found it my duty to baptize
the children of two Indians belonging to that settlement and in
order to avoid giving offense if I could any wise prevent it, I previously
called on two persons called Quakers, who, I understood, had been living
for a few months in that place. They entertained me very kindly in their
house, where we talked with freedom about the objects of our missions, and
harmoniously agreed that we should, as far as we could, assist each other
in promoting the good of the Indians: that we should not cavil or
dispute with each other in the presence of Indians about our different
opinions, but conscientiously do our duty with all the harmony possible

I then mentioned the request of the Indians to me, and the duties
I should likely have to perform among them; such as preaching, bap-
tising, visiting &c all which they seemed to agree with and particular-
ly expressed their approbation of my preaching in that settlement,
and it being sabbath morning, and the time in which I had appointed
to preach there, the two Friends went along with me, and, as I thought,
in order to assist me, blew the horn (as usual) in order to collect the
Indians--but as soon as they were collected the Quaker woman began
before them to find fault with my principles, and to justify her own.
Hereby, I saw that she had already forgotton our agreement, but I
thought it my duty to let her see that I still remembered it, and
therefore immediately walked with a number of Indians into the
house where we were to hold meeting. The Indians immediate-
ly of their own accord began to sing a Psalm, and I believe with