General | Page 152 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

January 20, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Chinatown Evacuations to Kawaiaha‘o Church

“Chinatown is no more. …”

“It was intended by the Board of Health that that portion of Block 15, between Kaumakapili Church and Nu‘uanu street and mauka from Beretania, should be given to the flames, as has been done with several other plague spots.”

“The Fire Department proceeded as usual to carry out the instructions of the Board. Chief Hunt, with the entire Fire Department forces, and four engines, got to work at about 9 o’clock yesterday morning (January 20, 1900).”

“A fair northeast wind was blowing across the city at the time, and realizing the danger from a break away should the wind rise, one engine (No. 1) was placed at the Intersection of Maunakea and Beretania streets while the others obtained connection with the water mains along Beretania street.”

“It was intended that the fire should eat its way back against the wind toward Kukui street and with this object in view a two-story frame structure back of the church was selected as the best situated for the application of the torch.”

“All went well for about an hour, when the wind began to rise and changed about two points eastward. This combination carried the blazing embers upon the dry roofs of the closely packed buildings in the vicinity”.

“The high wind fanned the flames till they took leaps of fifty and sixty feet along the doomed buildings of Block 1, from which the occupants had hastily removed, carrying as many personal effects as could be collected, and in many cases returning three and four times for more.”

“The Fire Department, as soon as it was discovered that the flames were beyond control …” (Hawaiian Gazette, January 23, 1900)

“Four thousand three hundred and twenty-five men, women and children, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiians and white were rendered homeless by the flames today.”

“Tonight they are the wards of a community which has risen to the humanity and generosity demanded by the emergency and with an energy seldom equaled has provided shelter and food and made the refugees as comfortable as it is possible under the circumstances.” (Hawaiian Star, January 20, 1900)

“Japanese and Chinamen are being marched by the hundreds to Kawaiaha‘o church yard, guarded all the way from Nu‘uanu street by a line of volunteer citizen guards. There they will remain until some accommodations can be prepared for them.”

“Included in this mass of Asiatics are a great number of women with their children and all that can be done for them is being done.”

“The citizens have the situation well in hand. Every man is out with some kind of a club and there is a set determination that there shall be no outbreak from Chinatown.” (Evening Bulletin, January 20, 1900)

“No church ever held a more extraordinary assemblage than that which gathered in Kawaiaha‘o when the tired inhabitants of Chinatown reached there after their march of four blocks between lines of Honolulu citizens armed with clubs.”

“The march was a very hard one for some of the people who were compelled to move, and the line was a most pitiful spectacle as it moved along King street.” (Hawaiian Star, January 20, 1900)

“‘Women first’ was the natural order, as soon as the business of getting people into the church was begun. In two hours the big-church was packed up stairs and down with Chinese women and children. They occupied all of every pew.”

“The big place of worship was so crowded that those who had seats could not even turn in their places. The gallery held a throng that filled nearly all the aisles and the reception rooms, as well as the auditorium, was the same.”

“Still women were coming and asking for places, and a thousand men were outside with no place to do anything but sit down and await developments. Inside the church the women and children sat and waited for what was coming.”

“Some of the mothers walked up and down the aisles trying to quiet infants that cried for food, while Board of Health men ran up and down doing all they could to help their charges.”

“It was a pitiful scene of suffering, as a climax to what the victims have suffered in the quarantined district ever since the beginning of the dread visitation of black plague. The Chinese Consul and the Japanese Consul were both in the building, watching the efforts that were being made to look after their countrymen.” (Hawaiian Star, January 20, 1900)

“Under the shadow of the clouds of smoke and fire the hordes of Chinatown stood in mute terror. Depressed by their long quarantine, when the literal baptism of fire came, it found them without spirit.”

“Beyond the confines of the district, particularly along the main thoroughfares of King and Beretania, they beheld not only the guardsmen with bayonetted guns, but a mass of people which must have overawed them by its very numbers.”

“Hundreds of these citizens had voluntarily offered their services to hold the Chinese and Japanese of the plague-infected district in check, should the advancing fire cause a riot before the unfortunate could be brought out in an orderly manner.”

“There was very little time for the quarantined people to gather their personal belongings. As the first of them came along King street the novelty of their appearance attracted great attention.”

“Stout little (Japanese) carried sewing-machines on their shoulders, and beside them brown infants bobbed up and down on the backs of mothers. Bundles of every conceivable description were carried, some large, some small, but everybody able to lug a parcel had his or her hands employed.”

“Veritable hordes of Asia, they marched along, casting frequent glances back at the red tongues licking up their homes. But there was no wailing – no loud complaint that might have made a bad situation worse.”

“Following the first batch of Chinese and Japanese – men, women and children, who were led out of the burning district down King street, came others from Beretania street down around Nu‘uanu street into King and hundreds of Hawaiians from toward the waterfront …”

“… all being led by guards into King street and along that thoroughfare down past the Executive building gates to the spacious grounds of Kawaiaha‘o Church, at the corner of King and Punchbowl streets.”

“In through the wide gates they passed, the women and children being allowed to take possession of the big stone church building, while the men swarmed over the grounds. Guards were immediately placed along the stone wall surrounding the premises, and crowds of curious people filled up the adjoining streets.”

“The church and the adjacent streets presented a scene of great animation from about 1:30 o’clock in the afternoon, when the quarantined Asiatics first began to arrive there, until a late hour last night.”

“At 5 o’clock in the afternoon the guardsmen and volunteers who patrolled the outer edge of the church premises were relieved by Batteries R and K of the Sixth Artillery, USA …”

“… who, in khaki uniforms and with rifles, took up the work of keeping the Chinese and Japanese within the church yard. The soldiers cleared the sidewalks of spectators and loungers and went at their task of patrolling like veterans.”

“Some of the most prominent men in the city volunteered to assist in looking after the unfortunates, and getting them settled.”

“The Chinese Consul deserves great praise for his efforts, which went far toward bringing order out of chaos. Toward evening it was ascertained that 1,780 Chinese, 1,025 Japanese and about 1,000 Hawaiians were within the walls of Kawaiahao Church yard.”

“These figures did not include the Japanese and Chinese women and children in the church building, estimated to number fully half a thousand.”

“The hospitality and liberality of the people of Honolulu was never before so much in evidence. Soon after it was learned that the thousands of homeless Chinese and Japanese were at the Kawaiaha‘o Church, transfer wagons, trucks and carriages began to arrive there in great number, with supplies of provisions.”

“Tons of cooked rice and other victuals were received through the gates, Mr. George Carter and a number of other gentlemen directing the work or receiving and distributing the provisions.”

“A large awning belonging to the church was also brought into use. Inside the church building the women and children were well provided with mattresses and blankets. No army brigade was ever so comfortably sheltered and fed, in so short a time, as these thousands of Chinese and Japanese were looked after last night.” (Hawaiian Gazette, January 23, 1900)

“In 1886 Honolulu was visited by a fire almost as disastrous as the Chinatown plague fire of last January. The ancient fire occurred in that section of the town now known as the burnt district, and it served to clear out blocks of miserable hovels and to clean up the most filthy section of the city.”

“Prior to the visitation the streets in Chinatown were only 36 feet wide. The houses were of a miserable character, mere shacks, and more suited for stables than the abode of human beings. Honolulu’s greatest cesspool had been cleared out and great chances for improvement were admitted to have been given the city.”

“The men in power at the time were not long in seizing the opportunity. Streets were widened to 50 feet and the majority of the houses were built of brick.” (Honolulu Republican, December 22, 1900)

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Ruins_of_Chinatown,_Honolulu_(02),_photograph_by_Brother_Bertram

kawaiahao_church-1900

Honolulu_Chinatown_Fire_of_1900_(49),_photograph_by_Brother_Bertram

Ruins_of_Chinatown,_Honolulu_(06),_photograph_by_Brother_Bertram

Ruins_of_Chinatown,_Honolulu_(09),_photograph_by_Brother_Bertram

Ruins_of_Chinatown,_Honolulu_(11),_photograph_by_Brother_Bertram

Ruins_of_Chinatown,_Honolulu_(14),_photograph_by_Brother_Bertram

Ruins_of_Chinatown,_Honolulu_(15),_photograph_by_Brother_Bertram

January 19, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Are You Sure?

I wasn’t sure I would publicly ever tell this story, but it seems like the right time and place, now.

While at DLNR, when we were contemplating State rules for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI,) several proposals were being considered; multiple maps illustrated the various alternatives.

Of particular interest and one of the significant issues at hand, was whether we would continue to permit bottom fishing, or not. At the time, a handful of bottom fishers had permits.

In addressing the potential impact of eliminating NWHI bottom fishing, I had a concern about the impact to the price of fresh bottom fish that local consumers would face, if we would eliminate that source.

I had requested that a study be done to evaluate the impact. PEW Foundation funded the study that folks at UH prepared concerning the price impact. That study concluded that prices increases were expected to be insignificant.

Never-the-less, various alternatives and mapping of such were part of the final evaluation.

We had regular meetings with individuals, organizations and federal agencies about the rules – whether fishing should be allowed, or not; if allowed, should we limit that to certain areas, etc.

For the longest time, we would go back to a certain map that was labeled “Peter’s” map. (I think it was really ‘Alternative 3’.)

That map, and the internal draft rule package associated with it, allowed for continued fishing in designated areas.

DLNR staff prepared a set of draft rules to take before the Board of Land and Natural Resources as the State’s proposed rules – it called for continuation of existing bottom fishing in the NWHI; the map noted open and closed areas for fishing.

These were being prepared to present them to the Land Board.

For weeks, each night, I would take the rule package home and review the rules and maps. I would occasionally make tweaks in the rules, but the basic premise (of continued fishing) remained.

Literally, in the morning of the decision to set the date for presentation and decision by the Land Board, I came to work (having re-reviewed the package the night before) and received a call from Athline Clark, who was DLNR’s lead for the NWHI.

We discussed the draft rules and I said, “Let’s go with it.”

Then, she simply asked, “Are you sure?”

At that moment, the last three weeks flashed through my mind and I remembered how uncomfortable I had been feeling about what we were proposing – and the lack of sleep that I had during this time.

I then went with my gut feeling of what I felt was right and said, “No, let’s shut it down.”

We immediately created the Refuge rules whose intent is “To establish a marine refuge in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for the long-term conservation and protection of the unique coral reef ecosystems and the related marine resources and species, to ensure their conservation and natural character for present and future generations.”

Fishing is prohibited.

This started a process where several others followed with similar protective measures.

The BLNR unanimously adopted the State’s Refuge rules, they were later signed by Governor Lingle; President Bush declared it a Marine National Monument (President Obama later expanded its size)’ UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site and … I guess, the rest is history.

To me, this action reflects the responsibility we share to provide future generations a chance to see what it looks like in a place in the world where you don’t take something.

One of the issues about the rules, and in protecting the place, relates to access. Due to the sensitivity of the area, permits are limited – so, rather than taking the people to the place, there are tools now in place to bring the place to the people.

Here’s a link to Google ‘Street View’ for some of the islands and atolls:

https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/education/virtual_visits.html

Here’s a link to the Monument website:

http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov

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Clouds of reef fish and corals, French frigate shoals, NWHI

fish-NOAA

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Ulua-NOAA

Jean-Michel Cousteau – PTY

Papahanaumokuakea-Marine-National-Monument-Map

Papahanaumokuakea_World_Heritage_Site

Papahanaumokuakea-World_Heritage_Site

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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Downtown and Vicinity-Street_Names-Map-1843

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_Pier-Old Wharf

Kailua Landing-PP-29-10-007

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

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Kailua Wharf-PP-29-9-004-1950

Cowboys at Kailua landing-PP-29-9-026

Kailua-Kona-pier in background

People gathered at Kailua landing-S00079

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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