Early Life
Born to Joshua Tomacham and his wife Sarah, Occom is believed to be a direct descendant of Uncas, the notable Mohegan chief. In 1743 at the age of 20, Occom heard the teachings of Christian evangelical preachers in the Great Awakening. He began to study theology at the "Lattin School" of Eleazar Wheelock in 1743 and stayed for four years until leaving to begin his own career. He learned to speak and read Hebrew. As a young man, the only book he owned was the Bible. From 1747 until 1749, he was the private pupil of Reverend Solomon Williams at New London, Connecticut.
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Famous quotes related to early life:
“Many a woman shudders ... at the terrible eclipse of those intellectual powers which in early life seemed prophetic of usefulness and happiness, hence the army of martyrs among our married and unmarried women who, not having cultivated a taste for science, art or literature, form a corps of nervous patients who make fortunes for agreeable physicians ...”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)