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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 17 2005
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 Posted - October 17 2007 : 08:19:29 AM
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This was posted on another message board.
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So, I'm watching bits and pieces of "Last of the Mohicans" again and I
happen to hear Hawkeye say he went to Reverend Wheelock's school at
age 10. Now, I know a bit about what is usually meant by that phrase--
a.k.a. Dartmouth--and one bit o' trivia is that the good reverend
founded it in 1769. Even at that, the first students I know of started
there in 1771. That would mean that at the very earliest, Hawkeye
first drew breath in 1759, two years AFTER the events at Ft. William
Henry depicted in the film. So, he can't be talking about Dartmouth
but, the only other school that I know of founded by Rev. Wheelock is
Moor's Charity School in Lebanon, CT (Joseph Brant's alma mater, by
the way). Wheelock founded Moor's in 1754 so, if Hawkeye went to
Moor's at 10 years old, he would have been 13 at the time of the Lake
George events. Quite the kid, eh?
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"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
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July 17 2005
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Posted - October 17 2007 : 08:25:04 AM
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More about Rev. Wheelock's school.
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History
The Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, a Congregational minister from Connecticut,
founded Dartmouth College in 1769. He had earlier established Moor's Charity
School in Lebanon, Connecticut, principally for the education of Native
Americans. In seeking to expand his school into a college, Wheelock relocated
his educational enterprise to Hanover, in the Royal Province of New Hampshire.
The move from Connecticut followed a lengthy and sometimes frustrating effort to
find resources and secure a charter. Samson Occom, a Mohegan Indian and one of
Wheelock's first students, was instrumental in raising substantial funds for the
College. The Royal Governor of New Hampshire, John Wentworth, provided the land
upon which Dartmouth would be built and on December 13, 1769, conveyed the
charter from King George III establishing the College. That charter created a
college "for the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this
Land ... and also of English Youth and any others." Named for William Legge, the
Second Earl of Dartmouth - an important supporter of Eleazar Wheelock's efforts
- Dartmouth is the nation's ninth oldest college and the last institution of
higher learning established under Colonial rule.
In 1815, Dartmouth became the stage for a constitutional drama that had
far-reaching effects. Claiming its 1769 charter invalid, the New Hampshire
legislature established a separate governing body for the College and changed
its name to Dartmouth University. The existing Trustees, under the leadership of
President Francis Brown, challenged the action and insisted on the validity of
the charter and Dartmouth's continuance as a private institution free of
interference from the state. The case was argued in the United States Supreme
Court by Daniel Webster, a graduate in the Class of 1801, who would go on to
become a member of Congress and Secretary of State under Presidents William
Henry Harrison and Millard Fillmore. The landmark decision handed down by Chief
Justice John Marshall in February, 1819, affirmed the validity of the original
charter. The Dartmouth College Case, as it has come to be known, is considered
to be one of the most important and formative documents in United States
constitutional history, strengthening the contract clause of the Constitution
and thereby paving the way for all American private institutions to conduct
their affairs in accordance with their charters and without interference from
the state.
In over two centuries of evolution, Dartmouth College has developed from its
roots on the colonial frontier into a college that has a special character and a
unique place in private higher education: an excellent undergraduate program,
small enough to ensure the intimacy of a classic liberal arts college, with
instruction provided by faculty members committed to undergraduate teaching; yet
one large enough to provide faculty depth and curricular breadth of a kind
typically found only at research universities.
An Ivy League institution, Dartmouth College enrolls approximately 4,300
undergraduates in the liberal arts and 1,200 graduate students. Drawing faculty
and students from around the world, Dartmouth is committed to advancing the
principles of liberal education within a diverse community of students, teachers
and scholars. In addition to 16 graduate programs in the arts and sciences, it
is home to the nation's fourth oldest medical school: the Dartmouth Medical
School, founded in 1797; the nation's first professional school of engineering:
the Thayer School of Engineering, founded in 1867; and the first graduate school
of management in the world: the Tuck School of Business, established in 1900.
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Monadnock Guide
Council of Elders
USA
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March 14 2005
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Posted - October 17 2007 : 08:37:39 AM
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| Good catch Fitz, - guess he got off to an early start, to say the least. As I recall, Dartmouth is more in (western) Abanaki territory than Mohegan. He was a tad outnumbered no matter which was he turned. |
you can keep "The Change" |
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Light of the Moon
Mohicanland Statesman
USA
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December 18 2004
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Posted - October 17 2007 : 12:23:00 PM
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Good find, Fitz and how interesting. Boy...for 13 Hawkeye certainly looks pretty worn out! Poor Cora! She doesn't even know! |
I live in my own little world - but that's okay, they know me here! |
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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
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July 17 2005
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Posted - October 17 2007 : 12:48:06 PM
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| Well, Joseph Brant was 15 and he had to cultivate 5 miles of fields. Makes Hawkeye look like a slacker! |
"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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November 27 2002
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Posted - October 17 2007 : 1:05:26 PM
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~ laughing ~ That's good, Fitz!
Well, I tried very hard to find some more info that would put the good Reverend in the Mohawk Valley area early enough to have allowed Hawkeye and Uncas to attend his school. No luck.
I cannot remember where I have seen it, but there is a monument that I have passed in my travels between Binghamton and the Mohawk Valley that talks about Rev. Wheelock's school. He did start one in New York colony, with permission from Sir William Johnson, to convert and educate the Oneida people. But that didn't happen until the early 1770s, apparently, so it doesn't help us with our dates for the movie script.
Ah well. What can you expect, eh?
[Edit] Just found more online about the school in the Mohawk Valley area. It appears that Sir William and the Rev. were in correspondence in the late 1760s regarding moving the Moore's Charity School to the Mohawk Valley area, but that fell through. So I am now unclear as to whether the Rev. opened a separate school. I can't recall what that monument says. Wish I could remember where it is and what it represents! |
"It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imaginings could possibly have been." |
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Obediah
Mohicanland Statesman
USA
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August 16 2006
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Posted - October 17 2007 : 1:30:27 PM
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Another case of Hollywood just tossing a historical name into the script, thinking "with all the hotties in the cast, no-one will notice!"  |
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winglo
Deerslayer
USA
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Posted - October 17 2007 : 2:19:50 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Obediah
Another case of Hollywood just tossing a historical name into the script, thinking "with all the hotties in the cast, no-one will notice!"
Are any of us surprised? |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
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Posted - October 17 2007 : 3:03:40 PM
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Well, my aging and fleeting memory finally kicked into gear. I remember that the monument I mentioned is in Hamilton, New York. And the person named upon it is not Rev. Wheelock at all. It is Reverend Samuel Kirkland.
Rev. Kirkland visited the Oneida (one of the Iroquois nations) in 1764, and in 1766 he began living with them and preaching to them. He is given the credit by some historians for keeping the Oneida nation loyal to the American side during the Revolution, hence breaking apart the Iroquois Confederacy.
In 1793, he founded Hamilton Oneida Academy, which later became Hamilton College.
So... mystery solved. However, it still doesn't help the script of our favorite movie to be more accurate!
 |
"It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imaginings could possibly have been." |
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RedFraggle
Mohicanite
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October 13 2006
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Posted - October 17 2007 : 3:14:44 PM
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Well, at least he wasn't referring to Frederic Wheelock, author of Wheelock's Latin. He didn't die until 1987.
Now that would be a gross inaccuracy. |
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susank2
Colonial Settler
USA
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August 25 2007
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Posted - October 19 2007 : 08:58:44 AM
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The thing I always found interesting about when Hawkeye says their father sent both of them to the school when he was ten, is that Hawkeye seems to me at least a good 10 years older then Uncas. I figure Uncas is about 23 or 24 in the movie and Hawkeye can't be younger than 32 or 33. Which means Uncas would have been an infant when he was sent to that school!
I've never read the book so they may be closer in age than I'm assuming. They just don't look or act it. |
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RedFraggle
Mohicanite
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October 13 2006
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Posted - October 19 2007 : 09:38:36 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by susank2
I've never read the book so they may be closer in age than I'm assuming. They just don't look or act it.
In the book, Hawkeye is supposed to be roughly the same age as Chingachgook. At the end of The Deerslayer, prequel to LOTM, the characters return after fifteen years to the scene of novel's action: Uncas is about 14 or 15, and Natty/Hawkeye is in his late 30's. By the time of LOTM Natty is about 40 and Uncas is in his late teens or early 20's.
The screenwriters for the film changed the storyline so that Hawkeye would be Uncas's brother instead of the man who helped Chingachgook raise the young Uncas, as in Cooper's novels.
Oh, and good point about Uncas having to be an infant when Hawkeye was sent to the school! I never thought about that till now!  |
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winglo
Deerslayer
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Posted - October 19 2007 : 1:15:29 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by susank2
The thing I always found interesting about when Hawkeye says their father sent both of them to the school when he was ten, is that Hawkeye seems to me at least a good 10 years older then Uncas. I figure Uncas is about 23 or 24 in the movie and Hawkeye can't be younger than 32 or 33. Which means Uncas would have been an infant when he was sent to that school!
Yes, I calculated that when I first saw the movie and knew it wouldn't work. I hadn't known, however, that the school wasn't even open yet! |
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Obediah
Mohicanland Statesman
USA
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August 16 2006
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Posted - October 19 2007 : 7:26:36 PM
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I know! Rev. Wheelock was helping Joseph Brandt tend his field!  |
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Light of the Moon
Mohicanland Statesman
USA
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December 18 2004
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Posted - October 20 2007 : 1:12:59 PM
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Wow. Now there's a fine kettle of fish!
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I live in my own little world - but that's okay, they know me here! |
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Victoria
Pathfinder
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September 23 2003
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Posted - October 24 2007 : 09:07:16 AM
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| Letters from Samson are very poignant and revealing. They show he chafed under his treatment by Wheelock and his helpers. Their philosophy was very much that the he and other Indians were the most unworthy of the flock and needed to be humbled and to be humble in their interactions and correspondence. He was also sent to minister to the Indians with insufficient money to support his efforts and is often pleads for funds to help those around him. |
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James N.
Colonial Militia
USA
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October 24 2007
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Posted - October 25 2007 : 8:40:06 PM
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There is also a later-day Wheelock Academy near the town of Idabell in McCurtain Co., Okla., established in 1833 by a Rev. Alfred Wright in what was then Choctaw Territory. There is a present surviving structure, in fairly bad condition, dating from 1884; and on one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's "11 Most Endangered" lists. It was apparantly used primarily as a boarding school for Choctaw girls.
The folder from my visit doesn't say why it's named for Wheelock, though; maybe just in honor of the previous institution? |
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Rev. Wheelock's School
