Gideon H. Pond

Gideon Hollister Pond (June 30, 1810 – January 20, 1878) was an American Presbyterian missionary, clergyman, and territorial legislator.

Early life and education

A son of Elnathan Judson Pond and Sarah Hollister Pond, Gideon and his brother Samuel (April 10, 1808 – December 12, 1891) grew up in Washington, Connecticut. Gideon received religious instruction "at his mother's knee," but did not take religion seriously until he and his brother experienced a revival in August 1831.

Career as missionary

Looking for an evangelistic opportunity, the Pond brothers determined that the Dakota people, living in what is now southern Minnesota, would make an appropriate mission. They arrived at St. Peters (now St. Paul, Minnesota), on May 1, 1834, with no formal training or credentials and no financial sponsorship other than their personal savings. Marpiya Wicasta (Cloud Man), chief of a village living at Bde Maka Ska (Lake Calhoun) in present-day Minneapolis, had requested assistance with farming, and Gideon took this role, intending to learn the Dakota language.

The brothers believed that the ability to speak the language accurately was essential if their message was to be received. As they learned, they devised an alphabet suitable for recording the sounds of Dakota, and they taught this to their neighbors, thus bringing them the ability to read and write in their own language. They also began to compile a Dakota dictionary, to which later missionaries also contributed. The Pond alphabet and the Dakota–English dictionary are still in use. The Ponds also taught the Dakotas subsistence agriculture.