Sybil Bingham | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

September 29, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

When Hiram Met Sybil

For a while, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) prohibited unmarried persons from entering the mission field. The Board believed that married missionaries could cope better with hardships and resist sexual temptations.

Thus, they required young men to be engaged at least two months before entering the mission field. To help the would-be missionaries find wives, the ABCFM had an ongoing list of “missionary-minded” women who were considered “young, pious, educated, fit and reasonably good-looking.” (Christian History Institute)

“Missionaries are ambassadors of Jesus Christ, beseeching people to be reconciled to God. Their business is not with believers, but unbelievers; they are not pastors or rulers, but evangelists.”

“Their first duty is to gather a local congregation. They will be spiritual leaders to it, but will leave it to a native minister and move on to preach the gospel in some other place. The sole exception is when a church is organized and there is no suitable native pastor available.”

“The missionary should raise up ministers and give them responsibility. Too many missionaries in any area will retard the development of the churches. Missionaries should be married, and their home will be a model of Christian family life.” (Legacy of Rufus Anderson; Beaver)

“How to improve the social life of a nation so demoralized and degraded, was a problem not easy of solution. Uncouth manners were to be corrected, and modes of dress and living to be improved. Only married missionaries could do this. Living models of domestic Christian life were indispensable.” (Anderson, 1872)

Augustine George Hibbard, in his history of the town of Goshen (where the ordination took place), notes the description of the time that Hiram met Sybil (his future wife), at the ordination (September 29, 1819) of then-single missionary Hiram Bingham (as told by Reverend AC Thompson).

“Nor was there wanting a touch of romance. Next to the singing of Melton Mowbray, the incident which lingered most vividly in the recollections of the people is one which they rightly regarded as a marked interposition of God’s good providence.”

“Oral traditions in regard to it have so many slight variations of detail, that I give what will be accepted as authentic and final, an extract from a letter written, at my request, by Mr. Bingham, many years since:”

“On leaving Andover, at the close of my course there, I took a rough journey to Goshen, and as the friends were gathering thickly there, in the afternoon previously to my ordination, Mr. Thurston and myself submitted to the requisite examination which was somewhat extended to meet the rising interest in the cause of our contemplated mission.”

“I was quartered at the Rev. Mr. Harvey’s. He and others attended, in the evening, a Bible Society meeting; but fatigued with closing all up at Andover, my journey and examination, I chose to stay quietly at the house of Mr. Harvey.”

“In the course of the evening, a gentleman, Rev. Mr. Brown, called and asked for lodgings for himself and a young lady, whom he had brought with him from the valley of the Connecticut. I stepped over to the meeting, and privately asked Mr. Harvey what should be done with them.”

“He replied laconically, and with little interruption to the routine of Bible meeting business, ‘Take them to Deacon Thompson’s.’ I offered, therefore, to accompany them thither.”

“Mr. Brown went to the public house, and brought out the young lady, introduced her to me, and took us into his vehicle, and, at my direction, drove to Deacon Thompson’s.”

“I had taken cold by a night’s ride over the mountains, and I wrapped a handkerchief about my neck, chin, and mouth, that cold evening, and this awakened ready sympathy in the sensitive heart of the young lady, who had for years been warmly interested in the missionary cause.”

“Mr. Brown had introduced her as Miss (Sybil) Moseley, the name of a lady teacher at Canandaigua, NY, whom Rev. Levi Parsons had mentioned to me as a most amiable, and thoroughly qualified companion for a missionary.”

“During the whole interview, the ride, and the call at your father’s, my mind was intently querying whether this could be the very same.”

“When introduced by your kind parents into the parlor, and seated by a hospitable fire, we sat and conversed for a few minutes. I measured the lines of her face and the expression of her features with more than an artist’s carefulness, and soon took leave of her, and Mr. Brown, and the family, receiving some very generous cautions from her respecting my cold.”

“The next day I learned that she was the young lady of whom Brother Parsons had spoken so highly. I saw her in the course of the next day most intensely interested in the missionary cause, and learned a good deal about her from Mr. Harvey, Brother S. Bartlett and wife, and Brother Ruggles and wife, about to embark for the Sandwich Islands.”

“I mentioned the case to Dr. Worcester, Mr. Evarts, and my brother, and asked their counsel. A prayer-meeting was arranged at Mr. Harvey’s while I authorized Dr. Worcester to ascertain from her whether a private and special interview with me would be allowed.”

“He saw her while prayers were offered for Divine guidance. He stated my case, held up the great work at the Islands with which her soul was already filled, and left her with the words, ‘Rebecca said, I will go.’”

“Returning to Mr. Harvey’s, he told me I could see her. I gave her some account of myself, put into her hands a copy of my statement to the Prudential Committee, in offering myself to the work, asked her to unite with me in it, and left her to consider till the next day whether she could give me encouragement, or not.”

“The next day she said she would go with me to her friends, and, if they did not object, she thought she should not. It was arranged for us to ride in a chaise to Hartford. The result you know (they married less than 2-weeks later).” (Hiram Bingham)

On October 23, 1819, Hiram and Sybil, and the rest of the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries, set sail on the Thaddeus for Hawai‘i. By the middle of the trip, four of the wives were pregnant.

Sybil was pregnant when they arrived at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820. That first child of Hiram and Sybil, Sophia Mosely Bingham, is my Great-Great Grandmother.

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December 11, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Tea Party

“(T)o this interesting group we should have been happy to have introduced you, or any of our Christian friends ; and I doubt not you would have been highly gratified with the interview. … twenty-one chiefs of the Sandwich islands mingling in friendly, courteous and Christian conversation with seven of the mission family …”

“Listen, and you will not only hear the expressions of gratitude to us and to God for the privileges they now enjoy, but you will hear these old warriors lamenting that their former kings, their fathers, and their companions in arms, had been slain in battle, or carried off by the hand of time, before the blessed gospel of Christ had been proclaimed on these benighted shores.”

“Your heart would have glowed with devout gratitude to God for the evidence that, while our simple food was passing round the social circle for their present gratification, the minds of some of these children of pagans enjoyed a feast of better things; and your thoughts, no doubt, like ours, would have glanced at a happier meeting of the friends of God in the world of glory.”

“When our thanks were returned at the close of our humble repast, though you might not have been familiar with the language, you would have lifted up your heart in thankfulness for what had already appeared as the fruits of your efforts here, and for the prospect of still greater things than these.” (Bingham, December 15, 1827)

Let’s look back …

“On Tuesday of last week (December 11, 1827,) Mrs. Bingham & Mrs. Richards, undertook to make a ‘tea party’ to bring all the chiefs in the place & the members of the mission family together to join in a friendly & social cup of tea, to shew Christian kindness & civility to our Sandwich Island neighbors and to promote kind feelings among the chiefs themselves now assembled from the different Islands.”

“The two sisters with their native domestics spent most of today in preparing biscuit, cakes &c. & making such arrangements as seemed to them desirable.”

“We sent out our billets in due form in the morning to the king & Kaahumanu, and all the chiefs of the first & second rank and to some others connected with them by marriage. As soon as Kaahumanu received her invitation she sent over a supply of good white sugar for the occasion.”

“You would have seen the regent, once the haughty Kaahumanu, now condescending, and kind, and grateful to the Christian teachers; with her two royal sisters, Kalākua and Piʻia, all members of the church, bearing the Christian names of Elizabeth, Maria and Lydia …”

“… and all endeavoring, as we believe, to copy the virtues of those Scripture characters, exerting a great influence over the people in favor of reformation, and rejoicing in the mercy of God in giving them the gospel.”

“You would have seen the pleasing youths, the king (Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III) and his sister (Nahiʻenaʻena,) rising rapidly to maturity, both possessing vivacity, and exhibiting kindness towards us …”

“… the latter a member of our church, and a great comfort to the serious party, and the former as far advanced in the rudiments of learning as most of our native teachers, and, we believe, disposed to aid decidedly the cause of the mission.”

“You would have seen Kuakini, the governor of Hawai‘i, dignified, sociable and friendly, who has built a church at Kailua, which probably cost as many days’ work as any church in America, and who has for some time been diligently assisting in translating the Gospels, and in teaching a class in the rudiments of arithmetic. He has recently advised Kaahumanu to have laws established, written and published.”

“Naihe you would have met, a decided friend, of similar rank, and his wife, Kapiʻolani, who, perhaps, is second to none in improved manners and Christian character.”

“You would have seen the solid Hoapiri, of the same rank, the governor of Maui, recently propounded to the church, the most fearless of all in resisting foreign encroachments, and foremost of all to suppress the vices which derive so much support from abroad.”

“Another of the old phalanx of Tamehameha would have attracted your notice—Kaikioeva, now governor of Tauai, who seems desirous to be instructed and to promote our cause; and his wife, Keaweamahi, also, who, as you know, is a respected member of our church, admitted at Tauai.”

“You would have seen, also, the late queen of Tauai, Deborah Kapule, and her husband. Simeon Kaiu, whom we regard as promising Christians. They recently presented their infant son to the Lord in baptism, whom they called Josiah Taumuarii, out of respect to the characters of those two men.”

“You would have seen Kekāuluohi, Kīnaʻu and Kekauōnohi, the three surviving women who were, on our arrival, wives of Rihoriho. The former has, for five years, lived regularly with another husband, gives evidence of piety, and was, last sabbath, propounded for admission to our church.”

“Kīnaʻu, who has recently married Kekūanāoʻa, who accompanied the king to England, now appears friendly, but not pious; her husband, whom you would also have seen, is like her in those respects, and is commander of a small standing force, of two or three hundred men, at this place.”

“Kekauōnohi has, for about four years, lived single, appears to be a cordial and decided friend of the mission, and is now talked of as a suitable wife for the young king. There is little disparity in their age and rank.”

“Three interesting young chiefs, Laʻanui, Keli‘iahonui and Kanaʻina, of pleasing manners and hopeful piety, would also have engaged your attention among the happy guests. Laʻanui, the husband of Piʻia, or Lydia Namahana, by his correct behavior for more than five years, has given us much satisfaction.”

“He is, you know, a member of our church. He is a good assistant in the work of translation. We consult him, and others of his standing, with more advantage than any of the youths who have been instructed in foreign schools.”

“Keli‘iahonui, the son of Taumuarii, you doubtless know, is also a member of the church, and exerts, we hope, a good influence. He travelled round Hawaii, a year ago, exhorting the people to obey the word of God and the voice of the chiefs. He has had an oversight of several schools, and been employed considerably, and with success, in teaching. He lives single, keeps a regular diary, and is foremost of his countrymen in the art of singing in our mode.”

“Kanaʻina, the husband of Kekāuluohi, often assists in conducting conference meetings, and is very desirous to be admitted to the church. Though we hope to admit him before a great while, yet we think some longer trial advisable.”

“Joseph Leleiōhoku, the sprightly little son of Karaimoku, the late regent, and Kamanele, the young daughter of governor Kuakini, were also present.”

“We might have invited nearly as large a number of others of the third and fourth grade of chiefs, who exhibit similar marks of improvement, and who appear to be truly friendly to the cause of the gospel, and whose presence would have added to your pleasure, had we room and means and strength to accommodate so many at one time.”

“But look, for a few moments, at the present group: twenty-one chiefs of the Sandwich islands mingling in friendly, courteous and Christian conversation with seven of the mission family, whom you have employed among them.”

“Contemplate their former and their present habits, their former and their present hopes. They have laid aside their vices and excesses, and their love of noise and war.” (This entire post is portions of a December 15, 1827 letter written by Hiram Bingham.)

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April 11, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sybil’s Rocking Chair

Some mission children seemed to have a sharper understanding of economics than either their missionary parents or the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM.)

Seventeen-year old James Chamberlain (1835-1911,) who worked in the mission depository for Samuel Castle and Amos Cooke, ridiculed the Board for sending out “a great many rocking chairs sent out all set up, while if they had been packed in boxes ten times the amount of freight would have been saved.” (Schulz)

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the ‘Missionary Period,’) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM in the Hawaiian Islands.

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.)

There were seven American couples sent by the ABCFM to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity in this first company. Among them were Hiram and Sybil Bingham (he was the leader of the mission.)

The early missionaries had not brought much furniture (if any) with them, so boxes in which goods had been packed served as tables and chairs. There were no furniture stores and no lumber yards in Honolulu then.

Bingham, like most Yankees at that time, was handy with tools and with a piece of driftwood from the northwest, a stick of sandalwood given him, some Koa and seal skin for the seat, he managed to make a rocking chair. (Restarick; Forward in Sybil Bingham’s Diary)

“On our arrival at the Sandwich Islands … most of the missionaries, & Mrs B & myself in particular were destitute of chairs, as the Islands were so universally.”

“There were none in the market. Though tools and timber were scarce, & I had never made a chair, & enough else demanded my time & labor I undertook and constructed for Mrs B a rocking chair”. (Bingham letter to H Hill, March 12, 1850)

“To-day I have been presented with what I may call an elegant chair, the labor of the same kind hands. A rocking-chair too. You smile. But with all my fondness for one, how do you think I have done without, with all my hard work?”

“A box or trunk has been our only seat. My husband, I believe, was never a chair-maker before, but happy for me and the Mission family, that he is every thing.”

“I think no workman would have made a seat more firm and comfortable, while the sandal-wood and young seal skin, with neat workmanship, render it elegant.”

“Our friend, Mr Green, is now looking at it – rates it at twelve dollars, comparing it with one for which he gave ten. I suspect you would not be purchasers if I should put my price upon it.” (Sybil Bingham, June 22, 1820)

On Sundays the rocker was taken to the old grass Kawaiahaʻo church as a seat for the pastor’s wife. (Restarick; Forward in Sybil Bingham’s Diary)

The rocking chair had its admirers, including Queen Kaʻahumanu.

“On seeing and trying Mrs B’s chair, the first, probably, ever made at those islands, Ka‘ahumanu, then in her haughty heathen state, wished me to make her one in every respect like it, for she said it exactly fit her.”

“Feeling no ambition to become chair maker to her Majesty, & having little or no time to devote to such purposes except as matters of necessity, I gave her little or no encouragement.”

“For a period of nine or ten years, she occasionally named the subject to me, but my time was demanded by what I thought more important work for the nation though I felt desirous to oblige her.” (Bingham letter to H Hill, March 12, 1850)

Later, “I thought I might as healthful exercise & recreation, perform a good service for our cause by making the queen a rocking chair, in accordance with her continued wishes. But the difficulty which I felt originally, the want of tools & timber &c, I felt here in the wilderness.” (The Binghams were stationed in Waimea on the Island of Hawa‘ii at the time.)

“I easily constructed a rude lathe, the iron work of which consisted of a broken auger which I employed a native to cut in two with a small file, & with the parts inserted in head blocks, made the center points, on which I turned the parts of the chair which required turning, & that without a wheel.”

“They were made to revolve by a thong some yards in length from the hide of a wild bullock (taken in that region,) presented me by the friendly Mauae”.

“The dimensions, fashion and balance of the chair were made to correspond well with the one made for Mrs B in 1820. The hind posts are Koaia a Cloth Mallet wood which was hard to work. The ivory ferrules on the front posts are from the wild herds of those mountains.”

“The cloth was furnished by the queen; the brass nails and varnish were sent me by Mr Goodrich from Hilo about 100 miles distant. The side pieces arms and front posts are Koa a valuable wood, commonly selected for canoes, formerly, now used for various other purposes, as well as canoes.”

“When I closed my missionary sojourn at Waimea at the end of the year 1830, I traversed the wilderness with my family about 60 miles, having the chair carried with us, to the head of Kealakekua Bay, where I presented it to our Christian Queen near the spot where Cook fell 50 years before.”

“She highly prized it, and had it conveyed to her residence on O‘ahu, where she often used it with pleasure in her subsequent life.” (Bingham letter to H Hill, March 12, 1850)

The Ka‘ahumanu rocking chair, modeled after Sybil’s, is one of the earliest known pieces of koa furniture in Hawai‘i. At Kaahumanu’s death, the heirs returned it to Bingham and he gave it to the mission. (A reproduction of Ka‘ahumanu’s rocking chair is on display at the Hawaiian Mission Houses.)

Sybil’s rocking chair, “which a thousand times rested her weary frame & gave her much comfort … proved to be remarkably easy as to its form & balance, light, strong and durable having now been in use about 30 years”. (Bingham letter to H Hill, March 12, 1850)

In 1840, the Binghams left Honolulu for the United States, Sybil’s rocking chair was taken with them, and when they reached Boston Sybil refused to part with it for a fine piece of upholstered furniture.

Sybil’s wish was that when the last summons came she might be found in that chair … and her wish was granted when she died in her rocking chair on February 27, 1848 in New Haven Connecticut. (Restarick; Forward in Sybil Bingham’s Diary)

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Sybil Bingham (L) Kaahumanu (R) Rocking_Chairs

Sybil_Bingham_Rocking_Chair

Hiram_(I)_and_Sybil_Moseley_Bingham,_1819,_by_Samuel_F.B._Morse

Kaahumanu Rocking Chair

Kaahumanu-_retouched_image_by_J._J._Williams_after_Louis_Choris

Sybil Bingham (L) Kaahumanu (R) Rocking_Chairs-1821_House_in_background

November 19, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sewing Circles

Long before Western explorers and missionaries arrived in the Polynesian islands, many traditional crafts existed in Hawai‘i that set the stage for the development of its unique style of quilting.

Among other things, Hawaiians were skilled in the creation of kapa (tapa,) clothing or bedding made from the bark of the wauke (paper mulberry) plant.

It is thought that kapa technique – involving the pounding together of strips of bark to form sheets of different textures, which are then colorfully decorated by pen with various dyes – provided the foundation upon which Hawaiian quilting was eventually built.

The use of stitchery in Hawai‘i is documented as early as 1809. After contact, Western and Chinese cloth and silk became available as trade with the islands opened up. Cotton was grown on Maui and O‘ahu in the 19th century, but cotton gins for processing were quite rare.

When missionaries from New England arrived in 1820, the missionary women brought with them their quilts (mostly as keepsakes.) Missionary women helped Hawaiian women to learn to sew in the European style.

“One of the former queens had before requested that our wihenes would make her a gown like their own, was told that it was the Lord’s day, and that they would make it tomorrow.” (April 2, 1820, Thaddeus Journal)

The next day, the first Hawaiian sewing circle was held on the decks of the Thaddeus, “Kalakua brought a web of white cambric to have a dress made for herself in the fashion of our ladies, and was very particular in her wish to have it finished while sailing along the western side of the island, before reaching the king.”

“Monday morning April 3d (1820,) the first sewing circle was formed that the sun ever looked down upon in the Hawaiian realm. Kalakua was directress. She requested all the seven white ladies to take seats with them on mats, on the deck of the Thaddeus.”

“Mrs Holman and Mrs Ruggles were executive officers to ply the scissors and prepare the work … The four native women of distinction were furnished with calico patchwork to sew – a new employment for them.”

“The dress was made in the fashion of 1819. The length of the skirt accorded with Brigham Young’s rule to his Mormon damsels, – have it come down to the tops of the shoes. But in the queen’s case, where the shoes were wanting, the bare feet cropped out very prominently.” (Lucy Thurston, part of the Pioneer Company)

“These were made in the style then prevailing, a very deep yoke, with a short bodice, belted at the waist, and a full skirt. The chiefess was a huge woman, and a belt was found to be impracticable, so the ladles instead gathered the loose skirt on to the yoke.”

“The native women were so delighted with the now garb, so much more convenient than their own, that they at once gave It the name holoku, expressive of the fact that in it they had perfect freedom of motion.”

“The holoku is exactly like the ‘Mother Hubbard gown’ that had such a painful popularity in our country some years ago. It is, to-day, the regulation costume of the Hawaiian women.”

“They wear it at church and on shopping expeditions, in the park and on state occasions, and, this delightful climate permitting such scantiness of attire, it is not an uncommon thing to meet upon Fort street an old woman of the poorer class whose holoku is her sole garment.” (San Francisco Call, March 19, 1893)

“All the women wore the native dress, the sack or holoku, many of which were black, blue, green, or bright rose color, some were bright yellow, a few were pure white, and others were a mixture of orange and scarlet.” Isabella Bird 1894

“At first the holoku, which is only a full, yoke nightgown, is not attractive, but I admire it heartily now, and the sagacity of those who devised it.”

“It conceals awkwardness, and befits grace of movement; it is fit for the climate, is equally adapted for walking and riding, and has that general appropriateness which is desirable in costume.” (Isabella Bird, 1894)

Quilting in Hawai‘i back in 1820s was done in the patchwork style. The Hawaiian women tediously cut the material into the patchwork squares and sewed them back together as they were taught by the missionaries.

It is theorized that Hawaiian women gradually began incorporating elements of tapa design into patchwork quilts, and soon discarded the patchwork approach altogether in favor of the appliqué quilt.

A traditional Hawaiian quilt is a bed sized quilt that is completely an appliquéd design. The design is cut out of one square piece of fabric with a repeat of 8.

The appliqué fabric is folded in half, or three times and all 8 layers are cut out at the same time, then opened out, like a “snowflake”. Usually the designs are symbolic of the flowers, trees or places in Hawai‘i.

The designing of a quilt was a very personal thing. Women occasionally shared their designs with a special friend or relative, but copying a quilt without permission was very much frowned upon.

Many believed that the spirit of the person creating and stitching the quilt became an integral part of the finished work, giving it an added dimension – a sense of life.

Each quilt was given a name, often reflecting the inspiration behind the design. These intriguing quilts have survived as they were only used for special occasions and then passed on from generation to generation.

Four methods of constructing and designing a quilt, when combined, make the Hawaiian quilting process unique:

use of whole pieces of fabric for the appliqué and background;
the “snowflake” method of cutting the design all at one time;
the use of usually only two colors of fabric; and
the echo, or outline style of quilting which follows the contour of the applied design throughout the entire quilt

The image shows my mother with quilts she made for her grandchildren; they are made in the patchwork tradition her great-great grandmother (Sybil Bingham) and the other missionary wives used in 1820 when teaching sewing aboard the Thaddeus and later.

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May 9, 2015 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

The First School

God brought Hiram Bingham a woman “he chose himself and bade me take her with a thankful heart, and always remember that God hears prayer. For he had prepared her and her friends to bless the mission with her aid.” (Hiram Bingham to William Jackson, February 1821; Wagner)

“This friend of the heathen was an honor to the town that gave her birth and education. She was a sagacious and successful teacher in Southampton, Mass., Sharon and East Windsor, Conn., Canandaigua, N ., and Honolulu, Sandwich Islands”. (Hiram Bingham to William G. Bates, Westfield, Mass, October 6, 1869; Westfield Jubilee, 1870)

Sybil Moseley Bingham was born September 14, 1792, the daughter of Pliny and Sophia (Pomeroy) Moseley in Westfield, Massachusetts. She was educated at Westfield Academy. By the age of nineteen she had lost both of her parents (1810 and 1811.)

Sybil was a good scholar; and when she arrived at the age of twenty-one, she commenced teaching, in different and distant towns. She was a remarkably mild and gentle person in her manners. (Westfield Jubilee, 1870)

As the eldest of three sisters, she had to work to support herself and her two sisters, who stayed with relatives while she taught school at first at Hartford and later at in Canandaigua, New York.

“The result of her labors there, in conjunction with her fellow-laborers, has been of world-wide importance. Those beautiful islands have been redeemed from heathenism; and, though the population has decreased in its numbers, yet the people have increased in intelligence, and the products of their labor have added to the comforts of the world.”

“I doubt not, but that Mrs. Bingham was not surpassed, in her devotion and zeal, and in her earnest and faithful labors, by any other missionary, who ever went forth to a foreign land. Her whole soul was in the work.”

“She was, in a peculiar manner, fitted for it; and there was a pervading enthusiasm in her mind, which gave to her whole life, the highest impulse of Christian duty.” (Westfield Jubilee, 1870)

Hiram Bingham and his classmate, Asa Thurston, were ordained at Goshen, Ct., September 29, 1819; it was the first ordination of foreign missionaries in the State of Connecticut.

On October 11, Bingham was married, at Hartford, Ct., to Miss Sybil Moseley, who, out of sympathy with the new missionary enterprise, had been led to attend the ordination, and to whom he was first introduced on that occasion. (Congressional Quarterly, 1871)

They sailed for the Hawaiian Islands (then called Sandwich Islands) on October 23, 1819; on March 30, 1820, they anchored off shore of Kawaihae, then sailed to Kailua Kona and anchored there (April 4.) On April 11, King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) gave the missionaries permission to stay. Hiram and Sybil sailed for Honolulu the next day (and arrived April 19.)

It is said that she started the first school in Hawaiʻi in May 1820. (“… Sybil Moseley Bingham, opened the first school in this city in May, 1820, surely an historic date.” (Hiram Bingham II)

Sybil’s June 20, 1820 journal entry notes, “After neglect of my journal for more than two months in a most interesting part of our history too … Very soon I gathered up 12 or 15 little native girls to come once a day to the house so that as early as possible the business of instruction might be commenced. That was an interesting day to me to lay the foundation of the first school ever assembled in this dark land.”

June 21st. “The most which has interested me to-day has been my little school. To see the little things so ready to learn, and so busy with their needles, is very pleasant. I long to know more of their language, that I might be pouring into their tender minds more instruction than ab.”

“I think we make progress in that now. It was impossible to do much on the voyage, as, without books, all our knowledge of it must be acquired as it falls from the lips of the natives. There are a few females who understand a little of English.”

July 20th. “What arrangement we shall make of our family concerns when so large a part has gone, we have not determined. I should like to have this little cottage a few weeks with only my kind husband and pleasant native boy, that so I might attend with more delight to my school which is daily encreasing, and such missionary duties as each day brings with it.”

She did not just teach children, her July 22, 1820 entry notes, “a native woman called Sally in whom we have all been interested. She is the wife of an American – speaks English, and with her two little girls comes regularly every day to learn to read. I earnestly desire to be more faithful in instructing her.”

Sybil was not alone in teaching the native Hawaiians. In 1820, missionary wife Lucy Thurston noted in her Journal, Liholiho’s desire to learn, “The king (Liholiho, Kamehameha II) brought two young men to Mr. Thurston, and said: “Teach these, my favorites, (John Papa) Ii and (James) Kahuhu. It will be the same as teaching me. Through them I shall find out what learning is.”

By 1831, in just eleven years from the first arrival of the missionaries, Hawaiians had built over 1,100-schoolhouses. This covered every district throughout the eight major islands and serviced an estimated 53,000-students. (Laimana)

The proliferation of schoolhouses was augmented by the missionaries printing of 140,000-copies of the pi-ʻapa (elementary Hawaiian spelling book) by 1829 and the staffing of the schools with 1,000-plus Hawaiian teachers. (Laimana)

In 1839, King Kamehameha III called for the formation of the Chiefs’ Children’s School (Royal School.) The main goal of this school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking Chiefs’ children and secure their positions for Hawaiʻi’s Kingdom. The King asked missionaries Amos Starr Cooke and Juliette Montague Cooke to teach the 16-royal children and run the school.

Interestingly, as the early missionaries learned the Hawaiian language, they then taught their lessons in the mission schools in Hawaiian, rather than English. In part, the mission did not want to create a separate caste and portion of the community as English-speaking Hawaiians. (Sybil Bingham is my great-great-great grandmother.)

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