a compendium of facts about Ohio history
by Dan Chabek
First Christmas Services
They were given by Christopher Gist, who as an agent for the Virginia Land Company had been commissioned to travel through Ohio and report on the country, then a wilderness.
At Christmastime he and his party of scouts were at Muskingum, which numbered about 200 Indian families plus numerous white traders.
Gist surprised the villagers when he announced he would conduct a yuletide ceremony in accordance with the ritual of the Church of England and invited all to attend.
With the help of village blacksmith Thomas Burney and an interpreter named Montour, the Indians came and there was a good attendance.
Later, in describing the event, Gist reported : "The congregation was strangely assorted, consisting of men civilized and men savage, trappers and traders clad in the costume of the period, and red chiefs and warriors wrapped in their blankets or decked in the fantastic finery of barbarism."
© 1998 Dan Chabek
Christopher
Gist - Ohio History Central