Jotham Meeker (

Hamilton County, Ohio Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the third-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat and largest city is Cincinnati. The county i ...

, November 8, 1804—January 12, 1855) was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

, who lived and proselytized among various Native American peoples, including the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, and

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

. He was born near

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, and at the age of 21 became a teacher of the Indians, first at Carey Station, headed by

Isaac McCoy Isaac McCoy (June 13, 1784 – June 21, 1846) was a Baptist missionary among the Native Americans in what is now Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Kansas. He was an advocate of Indian removal from the eastern United States, proposing an Indian ...

. near present-day

Niles, Michigan Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana border city of South Bend. In 2010, the population was 11,600 according to the 2010 census. It is the larger, by population, of the two principal cities ...

, November, 1825. Also joining the Station was 17-year-old Eleanor Richardson, who later became Jotham's wife. Meeker and Richardson moved to Thomas Station at the rapids of the Grand River in 1827. The site is now in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. The Ottawas were led by Chief Noonday (who had fought with the British alongside

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Jotham and Eleanor were married in 1830. As white settlers pressed in, the Indians moved north to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at Sault Ste. Marie and the Meekers went with them. But, the mission was temporary as the

Indian Removal Act of 1830 The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...

promulgated by President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

required all Indians to move west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. Some of the Michigan Indians escaped to

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and others were joined by Ottawas of Ohio in

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

, in what became

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. Jotham and Eleanor went with them arriving in northeast Kansas in fall 1833. In 1834 the Meekers installed a printing press at Shawnee Baptist Mission in present

Johnson County, Kansas Johnson County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas, on the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 609,863, making it the most populous county in Kansas. Its county seat is Olathe. Largely suburban, the county conta ...

and in 1837 established a mission near present-day

Ottawa, Kansas Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the c ...

where for 18 years he ministered to the needs of the

Ottawa Indians The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...

who lived there. They endured floods, prairie fires,

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

and

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

to serve the Indians for more than 20 years. Their daughter, Maria, was the first white child born in Kansas. Meeker was an early advocate of printing native languages and developed an orthography enabling use of standard types; Douglas C. McMurtrie and Albert H. Allen, ''Jotham Meeker, Pioneer Printer of'' ''Kansas'', Chicago: Eyncourt Press, 1930 he printed over sixty publications in nearly a dozen languages, including the '' Shawnee Sun'' in the Indian language (Siwinowe Kesibwi) with contributions by Blackfeather and

John Tecumseh Jones John Tecumseh “Tauy” Jones (1800-1873) was a Chippewa leader and businessman who served as an interpreter for the Pottawatomie tribe in Kansas. He was also a leader and Baptist minister for the Ottawa tribe, a friend of abolitionist John Brow ...

of Ottawa. Jotham died January 12, 1855, and was buried in the Ottawa Cemetery as was Eleanor who died a year later. The grave was near those of Indian Chiefs Comchau and Notinno.

References

External links

*
''History of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ''
Translation of the Gospels into the Delaware language. Printed by Jotham Meeker, Shawnee Baptist Mission. {{DEFAULTSORT:Meeker, Jotham People from Hamilton County, Ohio People from Ottawa, Kansas Linguists from the United States Missionary linguists Baptist missionaries from the United States Baptist missionaries in the United States 1804 births 1855 deaths 19th-century Baptists