Jeremiah F. Evarts

Jeremiah Evarts

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Evarts Family Papers at Yale University

Jeremiah Evarts, son of James and Sarah Todd Evarts, was born February 3, 1781, in Sunderland, Vermont. The family moved to Georgia, Vermont, six years later. In January, 1798, Jeremiah Evarts went to East Guilford, Connecticut, where he studied with the Rev. John Elliot. In September of the same year, he entered Yale College.

Evarts attended Yale during the presidency of Rev. Timothy Dwight at a period when religious revival was beginning at the college. In his senior year, Evarts experienced a religious conversion which led him to join the Church in the spring of 1802.

After graduation, Evarts returned to his home in Vermont for a period of time before accepting the position of principal of the Caledonia County Grammar School in Peacham, Vermont, in April, 1803. One year later, Evarts, having decided to study law, entered the New Haven law office of Judge Charles Chauncey. Jeremiah Evarts was admitted to the Connecticut Bar Association in July, 1806, and practiced law in New Haven until 1810.

In 1804 Jeremiah Evarts married Mehetabel Sherman Barnes, daughter of Roger Sherman and widow of Daniel Barnes, who had one son, Daniel, by her previous marriage. Jeremiah and Mehetabel Evarts had five children: Mary, Martha, John Jay, Sarah, and William Maxwell.

While living in New Haven, Jeremiah Evarts contributed articles to the Panoplist, first published in 1805 in Massachusetts. Edited and written by Jedidiah Morse, Leonard Woods, and others, the magazine represented the views of orthodox Congregationalism. During the years 1805 to 1809, the Panoplist actively encouraged the union of Congregational churches in a General Association and the founding of Andover Theological Seminary.

In January, 1810, Jeremiah Evarts abandoned the practice of law to become the editor of the Panoplist. He left New Haven and settled with his family in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Six years later, he moved to Boston, where he resided until his death in 1831.

Jeremiah Evarts edited the Panoplist from 1810 until 1820, when he was forced to discontinue its publication because of other commitments. As editor, he wrote on issues of social reform, such as slavery and the temperance movement, reviewed works on religious subjects, and defended the doctrines of Calvinism. He viewed with alarm the growing Unitarian movement within the Congregational Church., since he believed it to be incompatible with orthodox Congregationalism. This issue was heatedly contested by both sides, and the controversy was mirrored in the pages of the Panoplist.

The early years of the nineteenth century in New England saw the formation of charitable and educational organizations, the founding of societies for the dissemination of Bibles and religious tracts, as well as increasingly widespread domestic and foreign missionary endeavors. An important function of the Panoplist was to keep the Christian public informed of the existence and progress of such ventures.

While editor of the Panoplist, Jeremiah Evarts was active in the organization of the Massachusetts Bible Society and served as manager of the American Bible Society. He was also a vice-president of the American Education Society and an active member of the Park Street Congregational Church in Boston.

Jeremiah Evarts had been a strong advocate and an early member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, founded in 1810. Evarts was elected treasurer of the Board in 1811 and a member of the Prudential Committee in 1812. As treasurer, he worked closely with Samuel Worcester, who was corresponding secretary during the same period. When Worcester's health forced him to leave Boston for a warmer climate in January, 1821 (he died in June of that year), Evarts assumed the duties of corresponding secretary as well. He continued to hold both offices until 1822. At the annual meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in September of that year, Henry Hill was elected treasurer and Jeremiah Evarts was elected corresponding secretary, a position which he held until his death in 1831. Evarts' duites also included the editorship of the Missionary Herald, published by the A. B. C. F. M. to record its proceedings and activities.

As treasurer, corresponding secretary, and a member of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Evarts was influential in shaping the policies and direction of American missionary enterprises at home and abroad. As a special agent of the A. B. C. F. M., he personally visited, on several occasions between 1818 and 1830, missions to the Cherokee and Choctaw nations in the South. (A chronology of the journeys undertaken by Evarts on behalf of the A. B. C. F. M. follows this biographical sketch.)

Visits to mission stations increased Evarts' fears for the physical survival, as well as the moral and spiritual well-being, of the Southern tribes. In 1827 and 1828, the Georgia state legislature asserted the claim that it could take possession, at will, of Cherokee lands within the chartered limits of the state. Alabama and Mississippi adopted similar laws respecting Indians within their boundaries. Removal of the Indians to territory west of the Mississippi, Evarts believed, would decimate their numbers and offer no assurance that the same action would not be taken against them in the future.

Sympathetic to the Cherokees' efforts to seek justice through the courts and the Congress, and convinced that the United States government was morally bound to honor its treaty obligations, Jeremiah Evarts actively espoused the Indian cause. In an attempt to place the merits of the Indians' case before the American people, Evarts wrote a series of essays defending the legal rights of the Cherokees to their land. Published in the National Intelligencer, from August to December, 1829, under the pseudonym, "William Penn," the essays were reproduced in the newspapers and circulated in a pamphlet edition.

Since a bill on the removal of the Indians was to be introduced in the first session of the 21st Congress (December 7, 1829 - May 31, 1830), Evarts encouraged public meetings of concerned citizens, drafted petitions to the Congress which were endorsed by leading citizens in New York and Boston, and wrote a memorial to Congress on behalf of the Cherokees from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

When a bill authorizing the President to remove the Indians was passed by Congress in the spring of 1830, Evarts was discouraged by the outcome. Nevertheless, he continued his efforts, editing a pamphlet of speeches on the Indian bill, and writing articles for the Missionary Herald, the New York Observer, and the North American Review. In November, 1830, he contributed two additional essays by "William Penn" to the National Intelligencer, and in January, 1831, drafted a second memorial to Congress from the A. B. C. F. M. on the state of the Indians.

Evarts had to abandon plans to go to Washington on behalf of the Cherokees in the early part of 1831. As his health progressively worsened, he was advised in February of that year to leave Boston for a milder climate. He arrived at Havana, Cuba, early in March. After a six-week stay, Evarts mistakenly believed his condition had greatly improved and sailed to Savannah. After a brief visit, he proceeded to the home of friends in Charleston, where he died on May 10, 1831.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Evarts

Jeremiah F. Evarts (February 3, 1781 – May 10, 1831) was a Christian missionary, reformer, and activist for the rights of American Indians in the United States, and a leading opponent of the Indian removal policy of the United States government.

Early years

Evarts was born in Sunderland, Vermont, son of James Evarts, and graduated from Yale College in 1802. He was admitted to the bar in 1806. Evarts married Mehitabel Sherman, a daughter of United States Declaration of Independence signer Roger Sherman, and a member of the extended Baldwin, Hoar & Sherman family that had a great influence on U.S. public affairs. Jeremiah and Mehitabel Sherman Evarts were the parents of William M. Evarts, who later became a United States Secretary of State, US Attorney General and a US Senator from New York.

Battle against Indian removal

Evarts was influenced by the effects of the Second Great Awakening and served the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions as its treasurer from 1812-1820 and Secretary from 1821 until his death in 1831.

Evarts was the editor of The Panoplist, a religious monthly magazine from 1805 until 1820, where he published over 200 essays. He wrote twenty-four essays on the rights of Indians under the pen name "William Penn". He was one of the leading opponents of Indian removal in general and the removal of the Cherokees from the Southeast in particular. He engaged in several lobbying efforts including convincing Congress and President John Quincy Adams to retain funding for civilizing efforts. He was a leader of the unsuccessful fight against President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act of 1830. This law led to the forcible removal of the Cherokees in 1838, known as the Trail of Tears.

Historian John Andrew III explains how Evarts hoped to defeat the Indian Removal Act: "Evarts' tactics were clear. He planned to organize a phalanx of friendly congressmen to present the case against removal on the floor of the House and Senate, hoping to convince enough Jacksonians that the immorality of removal required them to vote against the Indian Removal Bill. At the same time, he would continue to barrage the public with letters, pamphlets, and articles on the Indian question, along with whatever other information might create a groundswell of public opinion against removal."

In 1830, Georgia passed a law which prohibited whites from living on Indian territory after March 31, 1831 without a license from the state. This law was written to enable removing the white missionaries that Jeremiah had organized through the ABCFM. These missionaries were trying to help the Indians resist removal through efforts to integrate them into the white society through conversion and education. In the wake of the passage of the Indian Removal Act, Jeremiah encouraged the Cherokees to take their case against this and other laws that they felt were intended to annihilate them to the Supreme Court of the United States, which they did in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia.

Death and legacy

He died of tuberculosis on May 10, 1831 in Charleston, South Carolina having overworked himself in the campaign against the Indian Removal Act. He was buried in the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, CT. According to historian Francis Paul Prucha, "the Christian crusade against the removal of the Indians died with Evarts."

The effect that Evarts's activism for the rights of indigenous peoples had on U.S. foreign policy through his son, William M. Evarts who was Secretary of State during the Hayes administration (1877-1881), is a question for historians. The moral and religious arguments that Evarts used against the Indian Removal Act had later resonance in the abolitionism movement.

Publications by or referring to Evarts

Andrew, John A., III. From Revivals to Removal: Jeremiah Evarts, the Cherokee Nation, and the Search for the Soul of America. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1992.

Norgren, Jill, Cherokee Cases: Two Landmark Federal Decisions in the Fight for Sovereignty, University of Oklahoma Press (2004).
Oliphant, J. Orin, ed. Through the South and West with Jeremiah Evarts in 1826. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press, 1956.
Prucha, Francis Paul, ed. Cherokee Removal: The "William Penn" Essays & Other Writings by Jeremiah Evarts. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1981; containing essays originally published as Essays On The Present Crisis..American Indians in 1829.
Tracy, E.C. Memoir of the Life of Jeremiah Evarts, Esq. Boston: Crocker and Brewster, 1845.
In 1804 Jeremiah Evarts married Mehetabel Sherman Barnes, daughter of Roger Sherman and widow of Daniel Barnes, who had one son, Daniel, by her previous marriage. Jeremiah and Mehetabel Evarts had five children: Mary, Martha, John Jay, Sarah, and William Maxwell.

http://drs.library.yale.edu:8083/saxon/SaxonServlet?style=http://dr...

Jeremiah F. Evarts (February 3, 1781 – May 10, 1831), also known by the pen name William Penn, was a Christian missionary, reformer, and activist for the rights of American Indians in the United States, and a leading opponent of the Indian removal policy of the United States government.

Evarts was born in Sunderland, Vermont, son of James Evarts, and graduated from Yale College in 1802. He was admitted to the bar in 1806.

Battle against Indian removal Evarts was influenced by the effects of the Second Great Awakening and served the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions as its treasurer from 1812-1820 and Secretary from 1821 until his death in 1831.

Evarts was the editor of The Panoplist, a religious monthly magazine from 1805 until 1820, where he published over 200 essays. He wrote twenty-four essays on the rights of Indians under the pen name "William Penn". He was one of the leading opponents of Indian removal in general and the removal of the Cherokees from the Southeast in particular. He engaged in several lobbying efforts including convincing Congress and President John Quincy Adams to retain funding for civilizing efforts. He was a leader of the unsuccessful fight against President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act of 1830. This law led to the forcible removal of the Cherokees in 1838, known as the Trail of Tears. See also Major Ridge (1771-1839), Cherokee chieftain during this time.

Historian John Andrew III explains how Evarts hoped to defeat the Indian Removal Act: "Evarts' tactics were clear. He planned to organize a phalanx of friendly congressmen to present the case against removal on the floor of the House and Senate, hoping to convince enough Jacksonians that the immorality of removal required them to vote against the Indian Removal Bill. At the same time, he would continue to barrage the public with letters, pamphlets, and articles on the Indian question, along with whatever other information might create a groundswell of public opinion against removal."

In 1830, Georgia passed a law which prohibited whites from living on Indian territory after March 31, 1831 without a license from the state. This law was written to enable removing the white missionaries that Jeremiah had organized through the ABCFM. These missionaries were trying to help the Indians resist removal through efforts to integrate them into the white society through conversion and education. In the wake of the passage of the Indian Removal Act, Jeremiah encouraged the Cherokees to take their case against this and other laws that they felt were intended to annihilate them to the Supreme Court of the United States, which they did in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia.

Death and legacy He died of tuberculosis on May 10, 1831 in Charleston, South Carolina having overworked himself in the campaign against the Indian Removal Act. He was buried in the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, CT. According to historian Francis Paul Prucha, "the Christian crusade against the removal of the Indians died with Evarts."

The effect that Evarts's activism for the rights of indigenous peoples had on U.S. foreign policy through his son, William M. Evarts who was Secretary of State during the Hayes administration (1877-1881), is a question for historians. The moral and religious arguments that Evarts used against the Indian Removal Act had later resonance in the abolitionism movement.

Marriage & Family Evarts married Mehitabel Sherman (1774-1851), a daughter of United States Declaration of Independence signer Roger Sherman (1721-1793), and a member of the extended Baldwin, Hoar & Sherman family that had a great influence on U.S. public affairs.

Mary Evarts (1806-1850) - md David Greene (1797-1866) who was for twenty years the corresponding secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. In his eighth year the family moved to Westborough, Massachusetts, and two years later to Windsor, Vermont. One of their children was one of the first Christian missionaries to Japan. Martha Sherman Evarts (1809-1889) - md Deacon Ebenezer Tracy who was editor of the "Vermont Chronicle" in Bellows Falls, Vermont from 1826-1828, and in Windsor from 1834 on. He was Deacon of the Old South Church. John Jay Evarts (1812-1833) - died age 20, unmarried. Sarah Evarts (1815-1826) - died age 10, William Maxwell Evarts (1818-1901) - who later became a United States Secretary of State, US Attorney General and a US Senator from New York. He defended US President Andrew Johnson at his impeachment trial.

Children

Offspring of Jeremiah Evarts AKA: William Penn and Mehitabel Sherman (1774-1851) Name Birth Death Joined with Mary Evarts (1806-1850) 2 December 1806 New Haven County, New Haven County, Connecticut 25 October 1850 Westborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts David Greene (1797-1866)

Martha Sherman Evarts (1809-1889) 31 July 1809 New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut 10 April 1889 Plainsfield, Union County, New Jersey Ebenezer Carter Tracy (1796-1862)

John Jay Evarts (1812-1833) 6 December 1812 Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts 1 September 1833 New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut Sarah Evarts (1815-1826) 26 February 1815 Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts 23 April 1825 New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut William Maxwell Evarts (1818-1901) 6 February 1818 Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States 28 February 1901 New York City, New York, United States Helen Minerva Wardner (1820-1903) Siblings

Offspring of James Evarts and Sarah Todd (1752-1810) Name Birth Death Joined with Sarah Evarts (1775-1841) William Evarts (1778-1831) Jeremiah Evarts (1781-1831) 26 August 1781 Sunderland, Bennington County, Vermont 10 May 1831 Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Mehitabel Sherman (1774-1851)

Mary Evarts (1783-1803) Jonathan Todd Evarts (1783-) Herman Allen Evarts (1784-1795) Elizabeth Evarts (1788-) Reuben Evarts (1787-) Jonathan Evarts (1791-1875) References Jeremiah Evarts Roger Sherman (1721-1793)/Immigrant Ancestors