The Journal of San Diego History - San Diego History Center

The Journal of San Diego History
with honors, and then studied at the Theological Institute of Connecticut. Following
his 1862 graduation, 3 he was ordained at New Marlborough, Massachusetts
on September 23, 1863. He married Martha Gibson on June 2, 1868, and shortly
thereafter moved to Grand Haven, Michigan where he served as acting pastor for
a year before moving on to Naugatuck, Connecticut. In 1873 he was called by a
congregation at Stafford Springs, Connecticut. For as yet an unknown reason, late
in 1878 Painter changed professions from preacher to teacher, becoming a Professor
of Theology at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. One of his tasks was to
raise money for the theological department. 4
At the suggestion of Samuel Chapman Armstrong, founder of Virginia’s Hampton
Institute, which like Fisk educated African-American students, Painter also
served as the Washington, D.C. agent for the American Missionary Association
(AMA), an appointment which eventually “led to an active interest in the other
great problem of Indian Rights.” 5 The 1880 census listed his occupation as editor; in
March of that year he had been appointed editor and manager of the American Missionary,
the association’s monthly magazine. In addition, he occasionally wrote for
the magazine. 6 He also served as corresponding secretary of the National Education
Committee. 7
In 1880, Painter, his wife, and their eleven year old son, Charles, 8 were living in
Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Until Painter’s death, this would remain their
permanent residence. Three years later, again at Armstrong’s suggestion, Painter
was hired by the Boston branch of the Indian Rights Association (IRA). But since
that branch, the first one, was undergoing organizational difficulties and unable
to raise his salary as promised, he
transferred in April 1884 to the central
office in Philadelphia, beginning his
decade long service as the association’s
Washington, D.C. agent or lobbyist,
but he was not “the smooth, ingratiating
figure usually associated with the
term ‘lobbyist.’” Herbert Welsh, the
association’s founder, informed Armstrong
that “[H]alf, or more than half,
the value of our organization would be
gone if Professor Painter left it.” His reports
“featured colorful and sometimes
caustic descriptions of government
personnel which made his pamphlets
widely read on the reservations.” In
addition to Painter’s investigative
and writing skills, he was thoroughly
acquainted with the Washington scene,
obtaining information from the clerks
and personnel of the Indian Office,
Helen Hunt Jackson, ca. 1880. Photo courtesy
University of San Diego Special Collections.
adeptly tracing bills through Congress, and deciding where and when to exert
pressure. He often conferred with President Grover Cleveland, interior secretaries
and Indian commissioners. 9
Founded in 1882, the IRA joined the Women’s National Indian Association
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