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January 18, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Honolulu in 1846

“The so-called city of Honolulu of to-day is in every particular a very different place from the village of that name, when I arrived here on the 8th of March, 1846, after a voyage of 116 days around Cape Horn from Boston, in the clipper-schooner Kamehameha III., Captain Fisher A. Newell.”

“There were over one hundred whale ships in the harbor, closely packed, three and four side by side, coopering oil, discharging into homeward bound whalers or merchant vessels, and preparing for the summer’s cruise in the northern seas.”

“The whaling business was much more generally successful in those days than it ever has been since. Seventeen hundred barrels was an ordinary season’s catch, while frequently twenty-five hundred and as high as three thousand barrels was reported.”

“The port, as may be supposed, presented a busy scene. Each of these 100 and more ships had on an average thirty persons attached to it as seamen and officers, amounting in the aggregate to some 3,000 persons …”

“… about one half of whom were always on shore “on liberty,” and they gave the town quite a lively appearance. The grog-shops were particularly lively, and the police-court presented an animated spectacle every morning.”

“The streets of the town – or village, as the foreign residents appropriately termed it – were dusty or muddy thoroughfares, according to the weather, with no pretense to sidewalks. Indeed, there were no necessity for the latter, for there were no horse teams and hardly a carriage to be seen.”

“When ladies – and sometimes gentlemen – went out to an evening party or to church on Sunday, they were conveyed in a sort of handcart with four wheels, drawn by one kanaka and pushed from behind by another.”

“To a new-comer, the sight was grotesque and a forcible reminder of the partially civilized state of the country, to see a well-dressed white lady thus pulled and propelled along the street by two bareheaded and barefooted natives, whose only clothing consisted of a malo and a very short denim frock.”

“Goods were transported from the wharves to stores on heavy trucks, drawn by a dozen natives, sweating and tugging through the yielding soil and sand of the streets. Horses were plentiful and cheap, and most foreign residents kept one or more for riding.”

“Then most of the houses were of thatch, even down to the business part of the village, with here and there a stone, or more frequently an adobe structure, but generally with a thatched roof, for shingles brought around Cape Horn were costly, and Oregon lumber was as yet unknown.”

“It cannot be denied that the thatched house, when sufficiently high between joints, was a much more comfortable lodging in this climate than our modern clapboard and shingled houses.”

“The largest foreign-built structure at this date, – with the exception of the King’s palace – was the Bethel church, where the Rev. Dr. Damon officiated, having succeeded the Rev. Mr. Deill in 1843.”

“With the large number of seamen visiting the port at that time we may be assured that “Father Damon” – as he was generally but quite respectfully entitled – had no idle time on his hands, but was often to be seen visiting from ship to ship. The Sailor’s Home was not built until some years after this.”

“What is now Nu‘uanu Avenue, was then little else than a bridle-path through the taro patches up the valley and leading to the Pali.”

“There were no pretty cottages such as now line both sides of that fine thoroughfare, but only here and there a hut of thatch, squatting on the edge of a patch of taro or sweet potatoes.”

“Ornamental trees had not been introduced, and the only ones to be seen in the village and suburbs were an occasional kukui or the unsightly hau.”

“There were no water-works, the supplies for domestic use and for shipping being obtained from wells, of which there was one in almost every house-lot.”

“In some of these wells – particularly those near the harbor – the water rose and fell with the ocean tides. It was more or less brackish, and what housewives denominate as peculiarly ‘hard.’”

“Gentlemen’s linen was not so immaculately white in those days as now. There was no Fire Department, and fortunately no fires of any consequence, until when a Department was organized some years after.”

“Among the prominent natives of that time, I remember, beside the noble King Kamehameha III, and his Queen Kalama, A. Paki and Konia his wife, Keliiahonui, John Young, M. Kekuanaoa, Kanaina, Leleiohoku, Kapeau, Kaiminaauao, Kaliokalani, J. Piikoi, B. Namakaeha, Hooliliamanu, L. Haalelea, Kekauonohi, and many others, all now dead.”

“The Commerce of Honolulu, as gathered from official sources, was in those days rather insignificant when compared with the record of to-day.”

“The gross value of imports at the Custom House, for the year ending Dec. 31, 1846, was $598,382.24; the exports of domestic produce for the same period, (more than half of which represented supplies to whalers) amounted to $763,950.74. The custom receipts for that year were $36,506.64.”

“Sugar figures in the exports to the amount of 300,000 lbs., and molasses, 16,000 gallons. Among the imports the whalers brought goods free of duty to the value of $11,142.68, and the American Mission to the value of $5,896.15, also duty free.”

“Lahaina, which was a favorite port of call and roadstead anchorage for whalers, returned in 1846 for harbor dues, duties, etc., the sum of $4,874.62.”

“The American Missionaries, then and for many years subsequently under the direction and supported by the ABCFM. of Boston, held their general meeting in Honolulu in June, 1846.”

“As I had read a great deal in boyhood about the Sandwich Islands Mission, I naturally was curious to see these men who had devoted their lives to the work of Christianizing the heathen people.”

“And so I was gratified by a sight and in some instances with a personal acquaintance with those I herewith name, some of whom have gone to rest, while some yet remain”. (Sheldon, 1881)

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January 17, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kauai Auwai

“Kiki-a-‘ola (Menehune Ditch) represents a prehistoric irrigation feature used to transport water to the taro fields on the western side of Waimea River in lower Waimea Valley.” (NPS)

On March 9, 1792, Captain Vancouver landed on Kauai … “By the time we had anchored, several of the natives visited us in the same submissive and orderly manner as at Woahoo, and appeared better provided.”

“Towards noon, the Chatham arrived; but the wind shifting about prevented her coming to anchor until sunset, when he moored a little to the westward of the station we had taken. Our boats, guard, &c. being in readiness, about one o’clock we proceeded to the shore.”

“Mr. Menzies accompanied me in the yawl, and Mr. Puget followed with the cutter and launch. The surf was not so high as to prevent our landing with ease and safety; and we were received by the few natives present, with nearly the same sort of distant civility which we experienced at Woahoo.”

“A man, named Rehooa, immediately undertook to preserve good order, and understanding we purposed to remain some days, caused two excellent houses to be tabooed for our service; one for the officers, the other for the working people, and for the guard, consisting of a serjeant and six marines.”

“Stakes were driven into the ground from the river to the houses, and thence across the beach, giving us an allotment of as much space as we could possibly have occasion for; within which few encroachments were attempted.”

“This business was executed by two men, whose authority the people present seemed to acknowledge and respect, although they did not appear to us to be chiefs of any particular consequence.”

“I made them some very acceptable presents; and a trade for provisions and fuel was soon established. Certain of the natives, who had permission to come within our lines, were employed in filling and rolling our water-casks to and from the boats; for which service they seemed highly gratified by the reward of a few beads or small nails.”

“Having no reason to be apprehensive of any interruption to the harmony and good understanding that seemed to exist, and the afternoon being invitingly pleasant …”

“… with Mr. Menzies, our new ship-mate Jack, and Rekooa, I proceeded along the river-side, and found the low country which stretches from the foot of the mountains towards the sea, occupied principally with the taro plant, cultivated much in the same manner as at Woahoo; interspersed with a few sugar canes of luxuriant growth, and some sweet potatoes.”

“The latter are planted on dry ground, the former on the borders and partitions of the taro grounds, which here, as well as at Woahoo, would be infinitely more commodious were they a little broader, being at present scarcely of sufficient width to walk upon. This inconvenience may possibly arise from a principle of economy, and the scarcity of naturally good land.”

“The sides of the hills extending from these plantations to the commencement of the forest, a space comprehending at least one half of the inland, appeared to produce nothing but a coarse spiry grass from an argillaceous foil …”

“… which had the appearance of having undergone the action of fire, and much resembled that called the red dirt in Jamaica, and there considered little better than a caput mortuum.”

“Most of the cultivated lands being considerably above the level of the river, made it very difficult to account for their being so uniformly well watered. The sides of the hills afforded no running streams …”

“… and admitting there had been a collection of water on their tops, they were all so extremely perforated, that there was little chance of water finding any passage to the taro plantations.”

“These perforations, which were numerous, were visible at the termination of the mountains, in perpendicular cliffs abruptly descending to the cultivated land; and had the appearance of being the effect of volcanic eruptions, though I should suppose of very ancient date.”

“As we proceeded, our attention w and at once put an end to all conjecture on the means to which the natives resorted for the watering of their plantations.”

“A lofty perpendicular cliff now presented itself, which, by rising immediately from the river, would have effectually stopped our further progress into the country …”

“… had it not been for an exceedingly well constructed wall of stones and clay about twenty-four feet high, raised from the bottom by the side of the cliff, which not only served as a pass into the country …”

“… but also as an aqueduct, to convey the water brought thither by great labour from a considerable distance; the place where the river descends from the mountains affording the planters an abundant stream, for the purpose to which it is so advantageously applied.”

“This wall, which did no less credit to the mind of the projector than to the skill of the builder, terminated the extent of our walk; from whence we returned through the plantations, whose highly-improved state impressed us with a very favorable opinion of the industry and ingenuity of the inhabitants.” (Vancouver, March 1792)

“The water (of the Waimea River) was used to irrigate cultivated lands located considerably above the level of the river. Because of this fact, there are several engineering factors that make this irrigation channel significant.”

“First is the problem if carrying the water at a high level above the water level of the river. The base of the causeway was then placed in the river by necessity which meant it was in constant threat of being eroded or washed away during period of flooding.”

“Another engineering factor was that the ditch had to transport water around the corner of a jutting cliff at river’s edge. The construction of the causeway is unique in the use of dressed and jointed stones.”

“Kiki-a-‘ola is the only example of jointed stone work and offers a unique example of this type of causeway construction.”

“Additionally, there are three types of joints represented, including double joint, square joint, and notched joint. The prehistoric appearance of the ditch wall would have been impressive with a 24-foot high faced wall of dress and jointed stones.”

“Today, the scale of the causeway is only suggested in the exposed upper two to three courses of stonework. The construction of the roadway in 1920 probably buried much of the structure and, therefore, the site still has a high research potential for defining the Hawaiian engineering technology and construction details.” (NPS)

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Menehune_ditch-cut_rock (NPS)

Menehune_ditch-cut_rock-(NPS)

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Menehune Ditch Marker

January 16, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Literacy was Sought by the People

“One young man asked (a missionary) for a book yesterday, and (he) inquired of him who his teacher was. He replied, ‘My desire to learn, my ear, to hear, my eye, to see, my hands, to handle, for, from the sole of my foot to the crown of my head I love the palapala.’” (KSBE)

“Not long after the passing of Kamehameha I in 1819, the first Christian missionaries arrived at (Kawaihae), Hawaiʻi on March 30, 1820. (They finally anchored at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.) Their arrival here became the topic of much discussion as Liholiho, known as Kamehameha II, deliberated with his aliʻi council for 13 days on a plan allowing the missionaries to stay.

“Interestingly, the missionaries promised a printing press and to teach palapala, or reading and writing. Because Liholiho had learned the alphabet prior to the missionaries’ arrival, he had a notion of the value of a printing press and literacy for his people.”

“A key point in Liholiho’s plan required the missionaries to first teach the aliʻi to read and write. The missionaries agreed to the King’s terms and instruction began soon after.” (KSBE)

The arrival of the first company of American missionaries in Hawai¬ʻi in 1820 marked the beginning of Hawaiʻi’s phenomenal rise to literacy. The chiefs became proponents for education and edicts were enacted by the King and the council of chiefs to stimulate the people to reading and writing.

“That the sudden introduction of the Hawaiian nation in its unconverted state, to general English or French literature, would have been safe and salutary, is extremely problematical.”

“To us it has been a matter of pleasing wonder that the rulers and the people were so early and generally led to seek instruction through books furnished them by our hands, not one of which was designed to encourage image worship, to countenance iniquity, or to be at variance with the strictest rules of morality. It was of the Lord’s mercy.”

“With the elements of reading and writing we were accustomed, from the beginning, to connect the elements of morals and religion, and have been happy to find them mutual aids”. (Hiram Bingham)

“The initiation of the rulers and others into the arts of reading and writing, under our own guidance, brought to their minds forcibly, and sometimes by surprise, moral lessons as to their duty and destiny which were of immeasurable importance.”

“The English New Testament was almost our first school book, and happy should we have been, could the Hawaiian Bible have been the next.” (Hiram Bingham)

“In connexion with this general mode of instruction, we could, and did teach English to a few, and have continued to do so. We early used both English and Hawaiian together.”

“For a time after our arrival, in our common intercourse, In our schools, and in our preaching, we were obliged to employ interpreters, though none except Hopu and Honolii were found to be very trustworthy, in communicating the uncompromising claims and the spirit-searching truths of revealed religion.” (Hiram Bingham)

As the missionaries learned Hawaiian, they taught their lessons 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. In later years, the instruction, ultimately, was in English.

“By August 30, 1825, only three years after the first printing of the pīʻāpā, 16,000 copies of spelling books, 4,000 copies of a small scripture tract, and 4,000 copies of a catechism had been printed and distributed.”

“On October 8, 1829, it was reported that 120,000 spelling books were printed in Hawaiʻi. These figures suggest that perhaps 90 percent of the Hawaiian population were in possession of a pīʻāpā book!”

“This literacy initiative was continually supported by the aliʻi. Under Liholiho, ships carrying teachers were not charged harbor fees. During a missionary paper shortage, the government stepped in to cover the difference, buying enough paper to print roughly 13,500 books.”

“In fact, while Liholiho was on his ill–fated trip to England, Kaʻahumanu, the kuhina nui (regent), and Kalanimōku reiterated their support by proclaiming that upon the completion of schools, ‘all the people shall learn the palapala.’”

“During this period, there were approximately 182,000 Hawaiians living throughout 1,103 districts in the archipelago. Extraordinarily, by 1831, the kingdom government financed all infrastructure costs for the 1,103 school houses and furnished them with teachers. Our kūpuna sunk their teeth into reading and writing like a tiger sharks and would not let go.” (KSBE)

“This legendary rise in literacy climbed from a near-zero literacy rate in 1820, to between 91 to 95 percent by 1834. That’s only twelve years from the time the first book was printed!” (KSBE)

It was through the cooperation and collaboration between the Ali‘i, people and missionaries that this was able to be accomplished.

Manu Ka‘iama then noted:

“I think I hear what you are saying, and it is an important point to make and to remember is that their mission was very different, that first generation of missionaries. Their mission or their reason to be here, and the assistance that they provided the ali‘i goes without saying. I guess these letters probably pretty much show that.”

“You can see the relationship and you can see how they worked together and that they learned from each other. And, I would assume that is so and I think we are hard on the missionaries because of maybe the next generation of missionaries …”

“We do, many times, kind of just brush over that earlier history, and we shouldn’t make that mistake, because the fact that these letters show a relationship that you think is honorable….” (Manu Ka‘iama)

Jon Yasuda then added,

“I think literacy was … almost like the new technology of the time. And, that was something that was new. … When the missionaries came, there was already contact with the Western world for many years…. But this was the first time that literacy really began to take hold.”

“The missionaries, when they came, they may have been the first group who came with a [united] purpose. They came together as a group and their purpose was to spread the Gospel the teachings of the Bible.”

“But the missionaries who came, came with a united purpose … and literacy was a big part of that. Literacy was important to them because literacy was what was going to get the Hawaiians to understand the word of the Bible …

“… and the written word became very attractive to the people, and there was a great desire to learn the written word. … Hawai‘i became the most literate nation at one time.”

Shifting Paradigm Noted by Kaliko Martin

“The Ali‘i Letters project “changed my perspective on the anti-missionary, anti-Anglo-Saxon rhetorical tradition that scholarship has been produced, contemporary scholarship, and it is not to discredit that scholarship, but just to change a paradigm, to shift the paradigm, and it shifted mine.” (Kaliko Martin, Research Assistant, Awaiaulu)

Puakea Nogelmeier had a similar conclusion. In remarks at a Hawaiian Mission Houses function he noted,

“The missionary effort is more successful in Hawai‘i than probably anywhere in the world, in the impact that it has on the character and the form of a nation. And so, that history is incredible; but history gets so blurry …”

“The missionary success cover decades and decades becomes sort of this huge force where people feel like the missionaries got off the boat barking orders … where they just kind of came in and took over. They got off the boat and said ‘stop dancing,’ ‘put on clothes,’ don’t sleep around.’”

“And it’s so not the case ….”

“The missionaries arrived here, and they’re a really remarkable bunch of people. They are scholars, they have got a dignity that goes with religious enterprise that the Hawaiians recognized immediately. …”

“The Hawaiians had been playing with the rest of the world for forty-years by the time the missionaries came here. The missionaries are not the first to the buffet and most people had messed up the food already.”

“(T)hey end up staying and the impact is immediate. They are the first outside group that doesn’t want to take advantage of you, one way or the other, get ahold of their goods, their food, or your daughter. … But, they couldn’t get literacy. It was intangible, they wanted to learn to read and write”. (Puakea Nogelmeier)

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January 15, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kailua Wharf

Kailua Bay has been a focal point for the Kona districts since ancient times. It was a Royal Center where ali‘i lived; this was a favorite spot of King Kamehameha I who spent his last years at Kailua. He died here at his home, Kamakahonu, on May 8, 1819. Other Hawaiian royalty lived here at different times.

By the end of the century, large ranches had begun to form and ranching, along with coffee, came to dominate much of the economics and landscape of the Kona Coast for the next 50 years.

The first Kailua wharf, adjoining Kaiakeakua Landing on the west was probably constructed in the late-nineteenth century to accommodate whale boats and lighters (open barges) from interisland steamers.

Competitors Wilder Steamship Co (1872) and Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co (1883) ran different routes, rather than engage in head to head competition.

“The Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co, established in 1883, own(ed) and operate(d) a fleet of first-class vessels engaged exclusively in the transportation of passengers and freight between ports on the islands of the Hawaiian group.” (Annual Report of the Governor, 1939)

Inter-Island operated the Kauaʻi and Oʻahu ports plus some on Hawaiʻi. Wilder took Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Maui plus Hawaiʻi ports not served by Inter-Island. Both companies stopped at Lāhainā, Māʻalaea Bay and Makena on Maui’s leeward coast. (HawaiianStamps)

Mahukona, Kawaihae and Hilo were the Big Island’s major ports; Inter-Island served Kona ports; vessels left Honolulu stopping at Lāhainā and Māʻalaea Bay on Maui and then proceeding directly to Kailua-Kona.

From Kailua, the steamer went south stopping at the Kona ports of Nāpoʻopoʻo on Kealakekua Bay, Hoʻokena, Hoʻopuloa, rounding South Point, touching at the Kaʻū port of Honuʻapo and finally arriving at Punaluʻu, Kaʻū, the terminus of the route. (From Punaluʻu, five mile railroad took passengers to Pahala and then coaches hauled the visitors to the volcano from the Kaʻū side.)

In 1915, Kona freight shipments, consisting of coffee, sugar and general cargo, had increased to such an extent that it became necessary to enlarge the wharf area. This work was completed in 1916.

Another of the primary usages of the wharf was for the shipment of cattle. A unique facet of ranching in Hawai‘i was its close relationship to the local maritime industry of inter-island and inter-coastal shipping.

Before the days of refrigeration, cattle, for other than the local markets of each island, had to be shipped live to the island of Oahu where, because of the larger population and accelerated development, the demand for fresh beef was always greater.

The transporting of live cattle posed dramatic technical challenges that were complicated by the shallow bay bottom, precluding an inter-island schooner or steamer to dock for loading of cattle (or other freight).

Ranchers ran the cattle through Kailua town and the paniolo would drag cattle out from the beach to longboats that rowed out to the main steamer with cattle tied by the head to the gunwales. (Strazar)

The last shipment of cattle from Kailua occurred in the early 1950s. This marked the end of an area. This colorful but inefficient method of shipping cattle became obsolete when improvements were made to the Kawaihae Wharf located 30 miles to the north.

By 1944, the wharf was under the control of the Board of Harbor Commissioners and had an area of 11,608 square feet. In 1952 a contract was let to build a more modern facility of steel and concrete.

The Wharf had a berthing length of 157 feet and a water depth of three to five feet. The wharf area was 10,755 square feet and had a shed which covered an additional area of 9,508 square feet and a fuel storage facility.

“Plans are being prepared and bids will soon be called on the construction of a wharf to replace the old Kailua Wharf, Island of Hawaii.”

“This replacement will be so designed that barges and inter island vessels of draft of 16 to 18 feet can dock alongside of pier face. The cost of this project is being paid from current revenues.” (Board of Harbor Commissioners, 1952) The new wharf was completed in 1953.

However, with the completion of improvements to Kawaihae Harbor in 1959, the use of the Kailua-Kona Wharf became uneconomical and all cargo handling was moved to Kawaihae. The use of the Kailua Wharf became sport fishing oriented. As sport fishing and other visitor interests grew, it became apparent that the Wharf was too small to service all interested parties.

In the 1980s, damage to the Wharf’s steel bulkhead was discovered and repairs were made. In the early-1990s, underwater inspections revealed addition damage to the Wharf bulkhead. Repairs were made to the structure in 2004.

The present wharf, enlarged to 62,109 square feet in 1952, has mooring facilities, though limited, as well as a boat ramp.

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Kailua landing with the S.S. Humuula off-shore-PP-29-9-018-1935

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Kailua-Kona-pier in background

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January 14, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM)

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions had its beginning in the revivals at the end of the eighteenth, and the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Click HERE for an Expanded View of the ABCFM.

During the latter part of the eighteenth and the early part of the nineteenth century several missionary societies were formed in the United States.

Back then, Williamstown was a frontier village, similar in many respects to any western village of the last half century, composed of men with patriotic hopes and daring wills.”

Twelve years after the incorporation of Williams College in 1793, the Second Great Awakening spread from its origins in Connecticut to Williamstown, Massachusetts. Enlightenment ideals from France were gradually being countered by an increase in religious fervor, first in the town, and then in the College. (Williams College)

In the spring of 1806, Samuel J. Mills, the 23-year old son of a Connecticut clergyman, joined the Freshman class. Mills, after a period of religious questioning in his late teens, entered Williams with a passion to spread Christianity around the globe. (Williams College)

He found the town and college under the influence of a great revival. Though felt but slightly in the college in 1805, in the summer of 1806 it was profoundly stirring men’s souls. Prayer-meetings by groups of students were being maintained zealously.

On Wednesdays, the men met south of West College beneath the willow trees. On Saturdays, the meetings were held north of the college buildings, beneath the maple trees in Sloan’s meadow. (The Haystack Centennial)

On a Saturday afternoon in August, 1806, five Williams College students, Congregationalists in background, gathered in a field to discuss the spiritual needs of those living in Asian countries. The five who attended were Samuel J. Mills, James Richards, Francis L. Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram Green.

The meeting was interrupted by the approaching storm. It began to rain; the thunder rolled with deafening sound familiar to those who dwell among the hills; the sharp quick flashes of lightning seemed like snapping whips driving the men to shelter.

They crouched beside a large haystack which stood on the spot now marked by the Missionary Monument. Here, partially protected at least from the storm, they conversed on large themes.

The topic that engaged their interest was Asia. The work of the East India Company, with which they were all somewhat acquainted, naturally turned their thoughts to the people with which this company sought trade.

Mills especially waxed eloquent on the moral and religious needs of these people, and afire with a great enthusiasm he proposed that the gospel of light be sent to those dwelling in such benighted lands

All but Loomis responded to this inspiration of Mills. Loomis contended that the East must first be civilized before the work of the missionary could begin.

The others contended that God would cooperate with all who did their part, for He would that all men should be partakers of the salvation of Christ.

Finally at Mills’ word, ‘Come, let us make it a subject of prayer under the haystack, while the dark clouds are going and the clear sky is coming,’ they all knelt in prayer. (The Haystack Centennial)

‘The brevity of the shower, the strangeness of the place of refuge, and the peculiarity of their topic of prayer and conference all took hold of their imaginations and their memories.’ (Global Ministries)

The students were also influenced by a pamphlet titled ‘An Inquiry into the Obligation of Christians to use means for the Conversion of the Heathen,’ written by British Baptist missionary William Carey.

After praying, these five young men sang a hymn together. It was then that Mills said loudly over the rain and the wind, ‘We can do this, if we will!’ (Williams College)

That moment changed those men forever. Many historians would tell you that all mission organizations in the US trace their history back to the Haystack Prayer Meeting in some way. Yes, these men turned the world upside down. And it all began in a prayer meeting under a haystack. (Southern Baptist Convention)

Though only two of the five Williams students at the Haystack Prayer meeting ever left the United States, the impact of their passion for missions is widespread.

Samuel Mills became the Haystack person with the greatest influence on the modern mission movement. He played a role in the founding of the American Bible Society and the United Foreign Missionary Society.

In 1808, Mills and other Williams students formed ‘The Brethren,’ a society organized to ‘effect, in the persons of its members, a mission to the heathen.’

Upon the enrollment of Mills and Richards at Andover Seminary in 1810, Adoniram Judson from Brown, Samuel Newall from Harvard, and Samuel Nott from Union College joined the Brethren.

Led by the enthusiasm of Judson, the young seminarians convinced the General Association of Congregational Ministers of Massachusetts to form The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. (Williams College)

In June 1810, Mills and James Richards petitioned the General Association of the Congregational Church to establish the foreign missions. American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was formed with a Board of members from Massachusetts and Connecticut.

“The general purpose of these devoted young men was fixed. Sometimes they talked of ‘cutting a path through the moral wilderness of the West to the Pacific.’ Sometimes they thought of South America; then of Africa. Their object was the salvation of the heathen; but no specific shape was given to their plans, till the formation of the American Board of Foreign Missions.” (Worcester)

“The Board has established missions, in the order of time in which they are now named at Bombay, and Ceylon; among the Cherokees, Choctaws, and the Cherokees of the Arkansaw …” (Missionary Herald)

At this same time, in the Islands, a Hawaiian, ʻŌpūkahaʻia, made a life-changing decision – not only which affected his life, but had a profound effect on the future of the Hawaiian Islands.

“I began to think about leaving that country, to go to some other part of the globe. I did not care where I shall go to. I thought to myself that if I should get away, and go to some other country, probably I may find some comfort, more than to live there, without father and mother.” (ʻŌpūkahaʻia)

‘Ōpūkaha’ia swam out to and boarded Brintnall’s ‘Triumph’ in Kealakekua Bay. After travelling to the American North West, then to China, they landed in New York in 1809. They continued to New Haven, Connecticut. ʻŌpūkahaʻia was eager to study and learn – seeking to be a student at Yale.

The Mills family invited ʻŌpūkahaʻia into their home. Later Mills brought ʻŌpūkahaʻia to Andover Theological Seminary, the center of foreign mission training in New England.

In October, 1816, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) decided to establish the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, for the instruction of youth like ʻŌpūkahaʻia.

By 1817, a dozen students, six of them Hawaiians, were training at the Foreign Mission School to become missionaries to teach the Christian faith to people around the world. Initially lacking a principal, Dwight filled that role from May 1817 – May 1818.

ʻŌpūkahaʻia was being groomed to be a key figure in a mission to Hawai‘i, to be joined by Samuel Mills Jr. Unfortunately, ʻŌpūkahaʻia died at Cornwall on February 17, 1818, and several months later Mills died at sea off West Africa after surveying lands that became Liberia.

Edwin W Dwight is remembered for putting together a book, ‘Memoirs of Henry Obookiah’ (the spelling of the name based on its pronunciation), as a fundraiser for the Foreign Mission School. It was an edited collection of ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s letters and journals/diaries. The book about his life was printed and circulated after his death, becoming a best-seller of its day.

Ōpūkaha’ia, inspired by many young men with proven sincerity and religious fervor of the missionary movement, had wanted to spread the word of Christianity back home in Hawaiʻi; his book inspired missionaries to volunteer to carry his message to the Hawaiian Islands.

The coming of Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia and other young Hawaiians to the US, who awakened a deep Christian sympathy in the churches, moved the ABCFM to establish a mission at the Islands.

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of ABCFM missionaries set sail from Boston on the Thaddeus to establish the Sandwich Islands Mission (now known as Hawai‘i). Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”), about 184-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM in the Hawaiian Islands.

Click HERE for an Expanded View of the ABCFM.

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