Cropped from Portrait of Rev. John Eliot

Portrait of Rev. John Eliot (1604-1690) - “Apostle to the Indians” in the early Massachusetts Bay Colony

Eliot was the first to actively teach Christianity to the Indians of New England. A young Indian convert helped Eliot learn various Indian dialects. Based on that knowledge, Eliot translated the Bible into the Massachuset language and published it in 1663. His grammar of Massachuset, titled The Indian Grammar Begun, was published in 1666, the first book of its kind.

Rev. John Eliot preaching to the Indians of the Massachusetts Colony.