Myron Eells lived, worked, and died in the area of the Puget Sound, only leaving to fulfill his religious education and to briefly preside over a Christian congregation in Idaho. His dedication as a missionary to the Indians and a congressional clergyman to the settlers of the Sound area, propelled his name into the history books.
Myron Eells was born on October 4, 1843 to the Reverend Cushing and Myra Eells. Both were committed missionaries and models of a future life for Myron. Myron Eells graduated from Pacific University of Oregon in 1866 with a Master of Art degree. Two years later, he traveled to Connecticut to be educated at Hartford Theological Seminary where he graduated and was ordained in 1871. He later graduated with a Doctor of Divinity Degree from Whitman college.
Upon completing his education, Eells again traveled west, stopping briefly to be the pastor of a church in Boise, Idaho from 1872-1874. The year 1874 was an eventful year for Myron Eells. He married Sarah M. Crosby and was assigned by the American Missionary Association to minister to the Indians at Skokomish, Washington. Eells also began to minister to the Caucasian populations as they grew in numbers after 1876. He eventually would become the pastor of several congressional churches, most of which he organized. Later, Eells became a trustee of both Whitman College and Pacific University and in 1893, was chosen as the state’s Superintendent of Ethnological Exhibits at the Colombian Exposition in Chicago. Myron Eells died on January 4, 1907 at his home in Twana, Washington.
Besides being a dedicated missionary and pastor, Eells was also an extremely talented linguist and writer. Myron Eells studied and became involved with many of the Puget Sound area languages and cultures. This helped in both his missionary work and in his writings of the people he studied so closely. Eells eventually equipped the Smithsonian Institution with the vocabularies from the Chemakum, upper and lower Chehalis, Clallam, and Twana tribes, the Skwaksin dialect of the Niskwalli people, and Chinook Jargon.
In addition, Eells was a very productive writer. He wrote essays on the religions, histories, and overall cultures of the people who he tried to convert. Another topic of his writings was the cultural changes that occurred within the various tribes. Among his published writings were Hymns in the Chinook Jargon Languages (1879), Ten Years at Skokomish (1886), Twana, Clallum, and Chemakum Indians of Washington Territory (1886-1887), and over 1250 news paper articles, pamphlets, and letters for the Smithsonian Institution and for popular and mission-orientated magazines. Eells' most extensive and comprehensive unpublished work was The Indians of the Puget Sound which was a compilation of six volumes consisting of sketches, notes, and pieces from his published works. Even more writings were donated to Whitman College upon Eells death.
Myron Eell’s works are still a staple for those studying the tribes of the Puget Sound. His work as both a historian and linguist has been precious resource for many.
References:
1) Compiled by Library-Anthropology Resource Group (LARG); General Editor, Christopher Winters. International Dictionary of Anthropologists. New York & London: Garland Publishing, Christopher Winters, 1991.
2) Hirschfelder, Arlene, and Paulette Molin. The Encyclopedia of Native American Religions: An Introduction. New York & Oxford: Facts on File, 1992.
3) Who Was Who in America; A Companion Volume to Who’s Who in America. Vol. 1. Chicago: The A.N. Marquis Company, 1992.
Written by: Gabrielle Pyan, 2003