David Brown | |
|---|---|
| A-wish | |
| Born | c.1806 Wills Valley, Alabama |
| Died | September 14, 1829 Creek Path, Mississippi |
| Occupations |
|
David Brown (Cherokee: A-wish) (c.1806 – September 14, 1829) was a Cherokee clergyman and translator.
Biography
Brown was born in Wills Valley, Alabama about 1806.[1] Brown's father was of mixed race, part white and part Cherokee.[1] Brown, or A-wish, was, along with his sister Catharine Brown, educated at the school of Cyrus Kingsbury. The school, which had been established by Moravian missionaries, was in Tennessee, 100 miles (160 km) from their home in Alabama. Brown later worked with Catharine in educating and Christianizing their native tribe.
Brown was a preacher and interpreter, and also acted as secretary of the Cherokee national government. In November 1819, he assisted John Arch in the preparation and printing of a Cherokee spelling book. He established a mission at Creek Path, Mississippi in 1820.
In the spring of 1820, Brown went to Cornwall, Connecticut, to attend school.[1] After two years there, he spent a year at Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, preparing for ministry work. Returning to his birthplace, Brown began his missionary work converting the Cherokee people to Christianity. According to a letter written by him in 1825, the Christian religion was generally adopted by the tribe. Brown died September 14, 1829, in Creek Path; he died before the Cherokee people were dispossessed of most of their eastern lands by the United States government in defiance of treaty obligations.
Notes
- 1 2 3 Ricky, Donald B. (2000). Encyclopedia of Mississippi Indians: Tribes, Natives, Treaties of the Southeastern Woodlands Area. North American Book Dist LLC. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-0-403-09778-4. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
- . Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. This source seems to echo the Appletons' presentation.
External links
- Brown, David (1823). Address in Favor of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of America. JSTOR 25079429.
- Holmes, A. (1829). The annals of America: from the discovery by Columbus in the year 1492, to the year 1826. Hilliard and Brown. p. 531. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- Morse, J. (1822). A Report to the Secretary of War of the United States, on Indian Affairs: Comprising a Narrative of a Tour Performed in the Summer of 1820 ... S. Converse. Retrieved 2018-02-02.