Apess was one of several Native Americans who became prominent as ministers, and he is remembered for his prolific literary talent.
Apess was born on January 31, 1798, in Colrain, Massachusetts. His father, William, a half-blooded descendant of King Philip, was a shoemaker by trade. His mother, Candace, was a Pequot who may have had part African ancestry. Nineteenth-century records show that the spelling of the surname was "Apes" with one "s" until son William inexplicably added the letter for his later publications. Apess' parents went to Colrain from Colchester, Connecticut, and Apess biographer Barry O'Connell speculates one reason for this was to elude Candace Apes' slave master, who did not manumit her until 1805. Eventually, the family returned to its former home where, upon the parents' separation, young William lived with his maternal grandparents.
Life with his grandparents was marked by abuse resulting in a severely broken arm, indenture to neighboring households, occasional friendships with local ruffians, and little formal schooling. Around 1809, at the height of the Second Great Awakening, an extremely sensitive religious disposition began to emerge. Apess sought to attend revivalist meetings and was impressionably receptive to the rhetorical conventions espoused by Calvinists.
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