Cephas Washburn was a noted Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 and educator who worked with the Cherokee

Cherokee Nation (19th century)

The Cherokee Nation of the 19th century —an historic entity —was a legal, autonomous, tribal government in North America existing from 1794–1906. Often referred to simply as The Nation by its inhabitants, it should not be confused with what is known today as the "modern" Cherokee Nation...

 of northwest Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 and eastern Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. He is often referred to as "The Apostle to the Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

s" and "Builder of Presbyterianism in Arkansas".

Early life and education

Cephas Washburn was born in 25 July 1793 in Rutland, Vermont

Rutland (town), Vermont

Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,054 at the 2010 census. Rutland completely surrounds the city of Rutland, which is incorporated separately from the town of Rutland.-History:...

. He graduated from the University of Vermont

University of Vermont

The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...

 and the Andover Theological Seminary.

Marriage and family

He married Abigail F. Woodward of Randolph, Vermont

Randolph, Vermont

Randolph is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,853 at the 2000 census, making Randolph the largest town in Orange County. The town is a commercial center for many of the smaller, rural farming communities that surround it....

 on 6 October 1818, the year that he was ordained.

Career

Washburn was ordained in 1818 in Waitsfield, Vermont

Waitsfield, Vermont

Waitsfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,659 at the 2000 census. It was created by Vermont charter on February 25, 1782...

 by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to serve as a missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

to American Indians. He was assigned to the Cherokee.

He served as a missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 to the Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

 Indians

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 at Brainerd Mission

Brainerd Mission

The Brainerd Mission was a Christian mission to the Cherokee in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was established by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1817 and named after David Brainerd. It ended with the Cherokee removal in 1838....

, Tennessee, for a short while. He migrated with them westward, arriving in Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 in 1819. This was a group that removed relatively early from the Southeast, rather than waiting for forced removal after the US Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Most Cherokee were removed to Indian Territory in 1838.

Washburn founded Dwight Presbyterian Mission

Dwight Presbyterian Mission

Dwight Presbyterian Mission was one of the first American missions to the Native Americans established in Arkansas and Indian Territory.The mission was founded in 1821 near Russellville, Arkansas by Cephas Washburn. It was named for Rev...

 near Russellville, Arkansas

Russellville, Arkansas

Russellville is the county seat and largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 27,920, according to the 2010 Census. It is home to Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant...

 in 1821 to serve the newly arrived Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

. Dwight was the first American mission to the Indians west of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. The mission was later moved to what is now Sallisaw, Oklahoma

Sallisaw, Oklahoma

Sallisaw is a city in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,880 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Sequoyah County. It has three highways running through it: U.S. 59, or Kerr Boulevard,...

. It was named for Rev. Timothy Dwight

Timothy Dwight

Timothy Dwight may refer to:*Timothy Dwight College, a residential college at Yale University*Timothy Dwight IV , President of Yale University from 1795–1817*Timothy Dwight V , President of Yale University from 1886–1899...

, president of Yale College

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 and a corporate member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

Washburn was the driving force to establish the Far West Academy in Washington County, Arkansas

Washington County, Arkansas

Washington County is a county located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 203,065. The county seat is Fayetteville. Washington County is Arkansas's 17th county, formed on October 17, 1828, and named for George Washington, the first President of the...

 in 1844. It was a short-lived attempt to establish a college where both white and Indian students could be educated together.

Washburn served as the primary Indian missionary in the region until he resigned in 1850. From 1850 to 1856 he served as minister for the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...

.

Cephas Washburn died at Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

 on 17 March 1860 of pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

. He is buried at the historic Mount Holly Cemetery

Mount Holly Cemetery

Mount Holly Cemetery is the original cemetery in the Quapaw Quarter area of downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, and is the resting place for numerous Arkansans of note...

 in downtown Little Rock.

Washburn's son Edward Payson Washburn

Edward Washburn

Edward Payson Washburn American artist, son of Indian missionary Cephas Washburn. He is best known for painting The Arkansas Traveller which was lithographed by Currier & Ives and became a popular print....

 was the artist who painted the well-known Arkansas Traveller painting. It received wide distribution and recognition when printed as a Currier & Ives lithograph. The painting was inspired by the humorous song "Arkansas Traveller" by Colonel Sanford 'Sandy' Faulkner

Sanford Faulkner

Colonel Sanford C. 'Sandy' Faulkner was an American teller of tall tales, fiddle player, and composer of the popular fiddle tune "The Arkansas Traveler", which was the State song of Arkansas from 1949–1963....

.

External links

• "Cephas Washburn", Encyclopedia of Arkansas