Heroines of the Frontier, Part 6 - Women Who Were Pioneers of the Gospel / Jerusha Kirkland

In the annals of American history, of the women who proved themselves brave beyond the pale, the efforts of the women whom God chose to come alongside their husbands to both live out and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ were among the most courageous. One first thinks almost naturally of the famous missionaries to Oregon, Dr. Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, and with them Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding. HHH blogger tells Narcissa's story of bravery, fortitude, and heroism in spreading God’s Word in a post here: An Extraordinary Woman. These early western missionaries traversed wide prairies, unimaginable mountain peaks, and raging waters, to bring comfort, medical aid, and the Good News to the indigenous peoples in the forest regions along America's northwestern coast. Others followed them. Stalwart men and brave women who shed their comfortable lives for the sake of aiding their husbands to reach the lost.

But before them were the resolute Moravians, whose missionaries' wives united with their husbands in arduous labors in the wilderness, and their kind offices and gentle ways did much to render the missionary work entirely effectual. They learned native languages, tended the sick, comforted the mothers, and themselves suffered from want. (HHH blogger Denise Weimer has written stories about their efforts in some of her books.)

And apart from them, when the colonies were shortly to embark on a great separation from old England, God called his servant Samuel Kirkland to the deep forests of upper New York where he was quickly adopted into a tribe of Seneca, one of the Iroquois nations. There he worked and taught the Gospel, while also learning several of the Indian languages. His story is a fascinating one, and you can read about it in J.M. Hochstetler's post right here.

Reverend Kirkland had been involved with ministry among the Oneida Indians for some time, when he returned to Connecticut and married Jerusha Bingham in 1769. She was a devout young woman, being a niece of Eleazer Wheelock, D. D., himself a successful laborer in the Indian missionary work. Jerusha (sometimes called Jemima) entered enthusiastically into the plans of her husband Samuel. Shortly after her marriage, she accompanied him to his post of duty in the wilderness near Fort Stanwix— now Rome.

This was literally on the frontier, in the midst of a dense forest which extended for hundreds of miles in every direction, and was the abode of numerous Indian tribes, some of which were hostile to the white settlers. Their forest-home was near the "Council House" of the Oneidas— in the heart of the forest. There, the devoted couple, alone and unaided, commenced their joint missionary labors. The gentle manners and the indomitable courage and energy of Mr. Kirkland, were nobly supplemented by the admirable qualities of his wife. It was said of her:

“With the sweetness, gentleness, simplicity, and delicacy so becoming to woman under all circumstances, were blended in her character, energy that was unconquerable, courage that danger could not blench, and firmness that human power could not bend.” *

History also notes that she also faithfully discharged her duties as a mother. One of her sons rose to eminence and became President of Harvard College.

While prior to his marriage, Mr. Kirkland made his home and pursued his missionary labors at the Council House, in 1772, he purchased a home in Stockbridge Massachusetts for Mrs. Kirkland and their children. He still continued to preach and teach at the Council House, addressing the Indians in their own language, which both he and his wife had learned fluently. 

Among Kirkland's many Oneida converts to Christianity was the Oneida chief Skenandoah,
who lived at Oneida Castle.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Kirkland visited the wigwams in the woods around her home and instructed the Indian mothers and children, who in turn flocked to her house where she ministered to their bodily and spiritual wants. These were her chosen pupils. Seated in circles on the grassy ground beneath the spreading arches of giant oaks and maples, they listened to her teachings, and learned from her lips the wondrous story of Christ, who gave up his life on the cross that all tribes and peoples of mankind might live through Him. She prayed for and sang with them in the musical tongue of the Oneidas, with the psalms and hymns which she had taught.

The effect Mr. and Mrs. Kirkland wrought among the Oneida was nothing less than a well-ordered community in the wilderness, and many souls were gathered into the fold of Christ. During the years of her residence and labors among the Oneidas, Jerusha won many hearts by her kind deeds as a nurse and medical benefactor to the native men and their wives and children.

She thus demonstrated the exemplary doctrines which she taught. Both she and her husband gained a wide influence among the Indians of the region. They had the distinction of being recommended by the Continental Congress, as having adapted to labor among the Native Americans, and as alone able to preserve the neutrality of the Oneidas toward the Revolutionary War, many of whom, when it became necessary, they were able to win over to the patriot cause.

Jerusha Kirkland rests in Hamilton College Cemetery, Clinton New York.
She died January 23, 1788 at the age of 44.

*William Worthington Fowler. Woman on the American Frontier / A Valuable and Authentic History of the Heroism, Adventures, Privations, Captivities, Trials, and Noble Lives and Deaths of the "Pioneer Mothers of the Republic" (Kindle Locations 4492-4498). Kindle Edition.

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NEW BOOK RELEASE!

In the spirit of those who have spread the Gospel to regions beyond, it's time to announce the release only three days from now (November 1, 2024) of Courting the Country Preacher, 4 Stories of Faith, Hope, and Falling in Love. That gives a couple days to get the pre-order price guarantee and hurry it along to your mailbox.

Courting the Country Preacher introduces readers to unseasoned ministers of the Gospel and the women anxious to come alongside them, both in ministry . . . and in love.