14 Facts About Cyrus Byington

Cyrus Byington was a Christian missionary from Massachusetts who began working with the Choctaw in Mississippi in 1821.

Cyrus Byington sought to construct a lexicon and develop other linguistic tools for the Choctaw language to translate Christian prayers, hymns, and bible passages.

Cyrus Byington's work is considered one of the most complete lexicons for a Native American language.

Cyrus Byington worked nearly 50 years translating Choctaw as a written language.

Cyrus Byington met Sophia Nye, the daughter of a prosperous family living in Marietta, Ohio in October 1827.

The Cyrus Byington family was very susceptible to local illnesses during the early part of their tenure at Eagletown.

Cyrus Byington' sister joined the mission in 1839, but died of illness a few weeks later.

Cyrus Byington spent much of his adult life at Eagletown.

Cyrus Byington published his Choctaw Definer, made up of English words and Choctaw equivalents, in 1852 but his Grammar and Dictionary were not printed until after his death.

Cyrus Byington expected to continue working at the mission after the end of the Civil War.

Cyrus Byington caught smallpox during the trip and had to be quarantined for a month after arriving in Ohio.

Somehow, Cyrus Byington completed his translation of the first five books of the Bible into Choctaw and personally delivered them to the printer in New York City.

Cyrus Byington returned to Ohio in the spring of 1868, and resumed work on the 7th edition of his Choctaw Grammar.

Cyrus Byington was still working on this when he died on December 31,1868.