Samuel Worcester

This article is about the American missionary to the Cherokees. For the U.S. Representative from Ohio, see Samuel T. Worcester. For the controversialist against Unitarianism, see Samuel Worcester (theologian).

Samuel Worcester
Samuel Worcester, "Cherokee Messenger"
Born
Samuel Austin Worcester

(1798-01-19)January 19, 1798
Peacham, Vermont, U.S.
DiedApril 20, 1859(1859-04-20) (aged 61)
Park Hill, Indian Territory
Alma materUniversity of Vermont
Occupation(s)Minister, linguist, printer, cofounder of Cherokee Phoenix newspaper
Spouses
Ann Orr
​
(m. 1825⁠–⁠1839)​
Erminia Nash
​
(m. 1842⁠–⁠1850)​
Children7, including Ann Eliza

Samuel Austin Worcester (January 19, 1798 – April 20, 1859), was an American missionary to the Cherokee, translator of the Bible, printer, and defender of the Cherokee sovereignty. He collaborated with Elias Boudinot (Cherokee) in Georgia to establish the Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native American newspaper, which was printed in both English and the Cherokee syllabary. The Cherokee gave Worcester the honorary name A-tse-nu-sti, which translates to "messenger" in English.[1]

Worcester was arrested in Georgia and convicted for disobeying the state's law restricting white missionaries from living in Cherokee territory without a state license. On appeal, he was the plaintiff in Worcester v. Georgia (1832), a case that went to the United States Supreme Court. The court held that Georgia's law was unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Marshall defined in his dicta that the federal government had an exclusive relationship with the Indian nations and recognized the latter's sovereignty, above state laws. Both President Andrew Jackson and Governor George Gilmer ignored the ruling.

After receiving a pardon from the subsequent governor, Worcester left Georgia on a promise to never return. He moved to Indian Territory in 1836 in the period of Cherokee removal on the Trail of Tears. His wife died there in 1839. Worcester resumed his ministry, and continued translating the Bible into Cherokee. He established the first printing press in that part of the United States, working with the Cherokee to publish their newspaper in Cherokee and English. In 1963, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[2]

Worcester is a character in Unto These Hills, an outdoor drama that has been performed in Cherokee, NC since 1950.

  1. ^ Mize, Richard. "Worcester, Samuel Austin (1778-1859)". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "Hall of Great Westerners". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Retrieved October 16, 2020.