Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings | Page 87

December 16, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Borders of the Grave

“As another instance of the unremitted kindness of my dear S(ybil), who every day gives me proof of the richness of that divine goodness, which in a way, unexpected ‘mysterious and kind’, brought to my bosom, a companion and helpmate …” (Hiram Bingham)

“About two months after the union of Ka‘ahumanu with Kaumuali‘i, she had a severe trial and admonition. Sickness, so much deprecated by the high and low, in Christian and in heathen lands, is often the messenger of mercy to the proud and gay lovers of the world …”

“… to make them feel the need of a friend in adversity, and to apprise them of the frailness of the tenure by which they hold their cherished share of earth, and to remind them of the necessity of something more satisfying and enduring.”

“Never perhaps was such an unwelcome messenger of mercy more opportunely sent to a haughty ruler, than in Dec. 1821, when the hard and lofty-hearted Kaahumanu was laid low and brought to the borders of the grave.”

“Repeatedly we called on her during this illness, and endeavored to secure her confidence and to do her good. So severe were her paroxysms, December 15th, that much apprehension was entertained that she would not live through the day.”

“Two skilful physicians connected with the Russian ships of discovery, before mentioned, under Commodore Vascilietf, now returned, prescribed for her.”

“On the evening of the 16th, Mrs. B. and myself visited her, when she returned our salutations with unwonted cordiality, and as I said to her, ‘I trust you are thinking seriously of the great God and our Savior,’ she replied, ‘I think more about him in my sickness.’”

“I endeavored to assure her that the blessed Savior who died for sinners could preserve her body and her soul; that he could restore her to health; or, if she trusted in him, he could take her ransomed soul to Heaven, if her body should be laid in the grave. To which she replied, ‘Maikai,’ it is well.” (Hiram Bingham)

“Sabbath. Dec. 16th. … This evening Mr. B. and I called again upon the sick Kahoomanoo. This sickness, we fear, may be unto death; still we hope that it will be to the glory of God.”

“She listened with an interest, such as she has never before manifested, to what was said concerning the blessed Redeemer. All her affected airs of dignity were laid aside. Lying on her sick couch, one hand given to Mr. Bingham, the other placed between mine, she seemed not only willing, but desirous to hear something from the servants of the living GOD.”

“After giving her such instructions as he thought suitable at this time, Mr. B. asked if he should pray; to which she readily assented, giving orders that the yard, filled with her attendants of every rank, should be kept in silence.”

“We knelt by her couch and sought to look to Him who has purchased the heathen with his own most precious blood. It would be impossible to speak the feelings which filled the breast. We took our leave. The friendly hona, with like friendly alloah was given by numbers as we passed out the yard.” (Sybil Bingham)

“She united with her husband in requesting us to come again. On the following evening, as we entered the room, her sister, Nāmāhāna, said, ‘Here comes the kahunapule’ (master or leader of religious worship) – ‘I hope we shall hear him pray.’” (Hiram Bingham)

“Dec. 17th. Accompanied Mr. B. again to the village. It is hoped K. is better. She received us with the same kindness as in the two former visits. I had a seat given me at her head, and while rubbing her with spirits of camphor …”

“… with which she seemed comforted, endeavored to divert her mind to Him who once endured pain and death for our sakes, but was now in glory–his placed upon us.”

“As we rose to go she requested that Mr. B. should pray with her again. I need not say this was a pleasant sound to our ears; and when she had commanded silence in all her attendants, with melting hearts we knelt by her side and offered our petitions. “ (Sybil Bingham)

“The sick queen appeared in some measure relieved; but yet not free from anxiety. She seemed gratified by our attentions. After pointing her to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, I was requested by her to pray, before leaving her.”

“At her direction that conversation should be suspended among the group around, there was a solemn stillness (altogether unusual in such an assemblage of natives, chiefs, and foreigners) …”

“… while a minister of Christ kneeled by the couch of the sufferer, and implored the health-giving mercies of God upon her body and soul. She was soon restored, and with her friends set a higher value on the religion which we were endeavoring to inculcate.”

“There was from this period a marked difference in her demeanor towards the missionaries, which became more and more striking, till we were allowed to acknowledge her as a disciple of the Divine Master.” (Hiram Bingham)

“Rarely has a missionary a more favorable opportunity to exert an influence on a whole nation, than was here afforded in the circle of the highest chiefs of these islands, balancing, as they were, between Idolatry, atheism, and the service of the true God.”

“Rarely has a Christian female, in any circumstances, a better opportunity to make an impression, powerful and salutary, than In attending a missionary husband at the couch of such a patient, surrounded by such a circle of relatives and dependants.”

“As Mrs. B. sat down by the side of the sick queen, and with unfeigned sympathy for her sufferings and danger, bathed her aching temples, she bound a silken cord around her heart, from which I think she never broke loose while she lived.”

“Kaumuali‘i not only desired me to repeat my visits to instruct her and pray for her, but when I requested him to teach her and guide her, he said, ‘I have told her some things about God, and I like to tell her what I understand.’”

“His rank and weight of character, his abstinence now from profaneness and intemperance, his confidence in the missionaries, and in what he had learned on the subject of religion, enabled him to exert a good influence in his new, though not altogether the most welcome circumstances.” (Hiram Bingham)

“Dec. 26th. It was most pleasant, this evening, in visiting Kahoomanoo, to see our faithful friend Thomas Hopoo superintending the sick chamber. It is a laborious and very responsible post; but we trust the hand of the Lord has placed him in it for good.”

“The Russians appear interested in him– have had him on board several days to assist them in forming a vocabulary of this language. It is through their influence that he is now attendant upon the queen.” (Sybil Bingham)

“Dec. 27th. The firing of the cannon last night announced the arrival of the king. The sickness of K. has hastened his return.”

“Dec. 28th. Great order and stillness appear in the chamber, tonight. The king, with two or three of his wives, Adams, Gov. of Owhyhee, and some others, were present. Thomas appeared awake to his duty.”

“K(a‘ahumanu) is lodged in the upper room of a framed house, lately purchased by government of American traders. Two more are upon the islands for sale. One is erected. This room is well done off – has in it two large glasses, a good sofa, a straw carpet, and a mahogany table filled, at present, with things suitable for a sick-room.”

“It is difficult to say what is the state of Kahoomanoo’s mind. She still appears disposed to give an ear to what is said of another world.” (Sybil Bingham)

“Dec. 31st. Dismissed school at sun-set, took my tea, laid my little one to rest, and once again went to visit K. … We told the queen that the Russians had given something towards educating one or two orphan children …”

“… and if she would commit to our care two little girls, this should be expended for them, and no pains should be spared on our part to do them good and train them up for usefulness …”

“The purpose pleased her. She at once said, that when well, she would look about her people, and two promising ones should be given me. We had a pleasant visit – joined in prayer and took our leave.” (Sybil Bingham)

“Of what amazing consequence was it that Ka‘ahumanu should be a believer and advocate of Christianity! Who would not covet the privilege of giving a right impulse to the mind and heart of one so high in rank, possessing her mental powers and occupying a position so favorable for exerting influence over a nation?”

“The Lord had a great work for her to accomplish, and was now recovering her from dangerous illness, and ordering circumstances and applying influences favorable for making her what her Christian friends desired her to be and what she was at length to become – a humble disciple of Christ, and a reformer of her nation.”

“But, rising from her illness to comfortable health, she was still too proud, too independent, too fond of pleasure, gaiety, honor, and amusement, to take the place of a cross-bearing servant of Christ.” (Hiram Bingham)

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Kaahumanu,_retouched_image_by_J._J._Williams_after_Louis_Choris

December 14, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Samuel Whitney’s Death

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of the American Protestant missionaries set sail on the Thaddeus for Hawai‘i – (two Ordained Preachers, Hiram & Sybil Bingham and Asa and Lucy Thurston; two Teachers, Samuel & Mercy Whitney and Samuel & Mary Ruggles; a Doctor, Thomas & Lucia Holman; a Printer, Elisha & Maria Loomis; and a Farmer, Daniel Chamberlain (and his family.)

On the boat was Humehume, son of Kauai’s King Kaumuali‘i. On May 3, 1820, Ruggles and Whitney took Humehume home to Kauai. Whitney primarily stayed on Kauai as a missionary teacher.

Then, “(Samuel Whitney) was taken ill on the island of Kauai, on the 21st of September last (1845). His symptoms, from the first, indicated a disordered liver.”

“After trying a change of air at his summer retreat at Hanapepeluna and employing various remedies, he, with his family, sailed on the 21st of October for Honolulu, where he arrived in three days, very much exhausted by bilious vomiting and diarrhoea, which continued for several weeks to pull down his strength.”

“It then received a temporary check, and for a little while he was better; but soon a renewed attack of vomiting and diarrhoea prostrated him again. From this, however, he partially recovered, and he was induced, by an earnest invitation, to come to Maui, to try the effects of a residence at the cool and elevated retreat of Mount Ball, above Lahainaluna.”

“He and his family (wife and daughter) accordingly sailed for Maui, Dec. 1st, and in less than twenty-two hours were at anchor at Lahaina.”

“When he arrived, he was quite fatigued, and he was ever afterwards confined mostly to his bed. He now rapidly wasted away under the influence of disease, though his friends generally hoped he would soon begin to mend. He seems to have understood better than they the serious nature of his disorder.”

“Almost a week before his death, he said one morning, ‘I am sinking, and if you have anything more to do for me, you must do it during the few remaining days of this week.’”

“On Friday morning, he was distinctly informed that his physician did not think he would recover, and when Mr. Baldwin, who had watched with him the night previous, came to take his leave, he said, ‘I am sinking,’ to which Mr. B. replied, ‘Well, perhaps your work is done, the Lord only knows.’”

“In the course of the day, he sent for his domestics (a man and woman, who had lived with him nineteen years) and said to them in the Hawaiian tongue, ‘The physicians have just told me that I am about to die. Here is my dying charge to you. Take care of her (pointing to his wife); she will act as my successor; obey her as you have obeyed me.’”

“At another time, he requested his dying, affectionate farewell to be given to all his flock, among whom he had labored and over whom he had been placed as a shepherd, to feed and guide them, naming with much tenderness various individuals.”

“Being asked by his wife whether he had any message to send to his surviving brothers and sisters, and to his own dear children in America, he answered, ‘Yes,’ and lying for a few moments apparently in deep thought, he said, …”

“‘Those dear children of Mr. Chamberlain, remember me affectionately to them. I little thought, when I parted with them, that it would be the last time I should ever see them. Dear children! – how I love them!’”

“He had lodged in Mr. Chamberlain’s family, while at Honolulu, and had ever manifested a deep interest in his children. It would seem that the tender recollection of these dear little ones made him forget his own children, or perhaps he was exhausted by the effort he had made.”

“In the evening, his wife said to him, ‘I have often thought that you I would outlive me, but you are about to go first and leave me behind.’ He replied, ‘Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in Thy sight.’”

“She added, she thought it would not be long before she should follow him, and I hoped they should have a happy meeting in heaven.”

“Saturday night, the night previous to his death, the north-east storm, which had been blowing for several days, increased to a gale and filled the air with dense clouds of dust, which added much to his suffering. But within, all was calm and peaceful.”

“After midnight, as the storm was raging, he was told that the Sabbath had arrived. ‘Blessed Sabbath,’ he said, ‘type of the rest above! Here it is dark and stormy; how sweet the contrast there! Peace and joy are there, and no pain, and there I will soon be. Yesterday I had some clouds, but now all clouds are brushed away. All is light and peace.’”

“Towards morning, on receiving some little attention, he said, ‘How kind you all are! I am under great obligation to you all.’ To which was replied, ‘We esteem it a great privilege to take care of you, on your way to your Father’s house,’ when he said with much energy, ‘Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’”

“After getting relief from a severe fit of vomiting, he said, ‘It is hard work to die. This close union of soul and body, which has so long existed, is hard to dissolve.’”

“He bid farewell to his native man, enjoining upon him to prepare to meet him in heaven, saying he wished all his domestics and all the people of his charge to meet him there, that he was going soon, and it had been his desire all night to depart and be with Christ.”

“When his physician, who had attended him with tender solicitude, went to bid him farewell, he grasped his hand and said, ‘Doctor, Jesus Christ is the star of the universe; He is my hope, my life, my all.”

“Thirty-six years ago I set my affections on Him, and nothing has ever made me I swerve. Nothing can separate me from Him. The devil has tried to baffle me, but Jesus Christ is near to help me, Jesus Christ is here.’”

“About an hour before his death, his wife went to his bedside, but as his sight seemed to have failed, he did not at first notice her; but when told who she was, he raised his arms, and clasped them around her neck, and pressed her to his bosom.”

“Our departed friend and brother was blessed with a robust constitution and generally enjoyed good health, which enabled him so constantly to perform the great amount of labor which he kept up during more than a quarter of a century.”

“He also possessed a strong intellect, a well-balanced mind, and a sound judgment, united with firmness of purpose. He never engaged in visionary schemes; his projects were generally wise and well-digested, and with steadiness of purpose carried into execution.”

“He had a warm heart. His friendship was ardent. He was a whole soul man. In whatever he engaged, all his energies were summoned. What his hands found to do, he did with all his might. No trait in his character was more prominent than that of enlarged benevolence – a benevolence bounded only by his ability to confer happiness.”

“It was this that prompted him to abandon friends and country, and all the blessings of Christian society, and cast in his lot with a little band, who purposed to carry the Gospel of Jesus to the darkened savages of Hawaii. It was this which led him so often to strip himself of comforts and bestow them on his friends whom he thought more needy than himself.”

“Few have become acquainted with him, who have not received substantial tokens of his kindness and friendship. Most of the permanent houses of public worship on the islands contain a deposit from his benevolence. Few have been found more ready than he, to deny themselves, in order to do good to others.”

“He embarked in the missionary work as a work of self-denial, and cheerfully adopted the resolution that he would engage in no business for the purpose of private gain.”

“His whole life was an illustration of this resolution, and on his dying bed he charged his wife, saying, ‘You will remember, we own nothing at Waimea. The house, herd, &c., are, all, the property of the American Board.’”

“Confidence in God sustained him amid all the trials through which he passed. He was calm and unmoved, however dark the clouds that overhung the horizon. This confidence was the legitimate fruit of walking with God.”

“He told his daughter, on his dying bed, that from the time that he first covenanted to be the Lord’s, he had never, for a single day, I neglected prayer. That God whom he had honored in secret, rewarded him openly, and took him up from us in triumph to His rest above.” (Alexander; The Friend, January 15, 1846)

Samuel Whitney died in Lahaina on December 15, 1845; he was buried in the Lahainaluna School cemetery.

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Samuel_Whitney,_1819,_by_Samuel_F.B._Morse

December 12, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Early Church Buildings

“In an old journal of the writer’s father, the Rev. A. Bishop, then missionary at Kailua, is the following: ‘January 18, 1826 – Gov. Adams (Kuakini) and all the other chiefs, together with all the men of the place, left here this morning’ for Keauhou, to cut wood for a new church.’”

“This well illustrates the immense labor and activity with which the chiefs and people zealously united in church-building. The writer, then a child, well remembers in the thirties that immense thatched structure, with its lofty posts and huge rafters.”

“These were all cut by the Governor and his people in the great inland forest, probably six miles from the sea, to which the timbers were hauled by men.”

“That church was probably 100 feet by 50, holding 1,000 people. It was burned in 1835, and replaced the next year by a stone structure still standing.”

“That also was built by the chiefs and people. Men dived for bunch coral to burn for lime with ohia logs carried on their shoulders from the mountain.”

“When we removed in 1836 to Ewa, the adobe walls of a large church were already partly erected by the people under the direction of their chiefs and of Rev. Lowell Smith, our predecessor.”

“Rev. A. Bishop continued the work, and frequently went up several miles into the mountains with the native gangs after roofing timbers, which were hauled to the hilltop with great shoutings. That old church stood until about twenty years ago, when it was replaced by the present wooden edifice and steeple.”

“In 1837, Rev. Lowell Smith induced the building of the old Kaumakapili church with adobe walls and a steep thatched roof, with overhanging lanai, very similar to the old Ewa church. The walls of both churches were well plastered, inside and out.”

“A fine brick church with two steeples, some fifteen or twenty years ago, replaced the old adobes of Kaumakapili. (Adobes are large brick of dried mud and straw.)”

“The great Kawaiahaʻo stone church, still in use after much renovation, was a labor of pride and love by King Kauikeaouli and his royal chiefs, who felt an ownership in it. The corner-stone was laid in 1839. It was dedicated two or three years later.”

The earliest stone church in the Islands was the Waine‘e structure at Lahaina, built by Gov. Hoapili, advised by Rev. Wm. Richards, in 1833.”

“Many other stone churches were erected by chiefs and people during the succeeding fifteen years, at all of the mission stations, replacing the decayed thatched structures. Many of these are still in use.”

“In the work of church-building, the chiefs led the way, both by use of authority and by contributions of money. But the common people eagerly co-operated, both with money, materials and labor.”

“They felt a peculiar pride in creating a fine meeting-house. It has always been easy to raise contributions for church-building, when for nothing else.”

“From 1850 on, the plain square white houses of worship became conspicuous in the larger country villages, long before any dwellings of civilized form were visible.”

“Steeples were not common during the first forty years of the Mission. Lahaina, Kawaiahaʻo, and Kailua stone churches were perhaps the only ones with tower or steeple.”

“Bells began to be procured in the early thirties, and were objects of great ambition to the people. Before they came, the sonorous note of the great conch shell resounded over the hills, calling the people to worship.” (All here is from Sereno Bishop; The Friend)

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First Kawaiahao Church Building-TheFriend-Oct 1925

Mission_House and First_Christian_Church-Honolulu-1822

Fourth_Kawaiahao_Church-1840

Fourth_Kawaiahao_Church-1832

Kinau_returning_from_church_1837

Kawaiahao_Church_illustration,_c._1870s

Kaumakapili-1stChurch-(TheFriend)

Wainee_Church-1840

Mokuaikaua_Church,_ca._1890

December 5, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

‘Great Stone Church’

With the missionaries were four Hawaiian students from the Foreign Mission School, Thomas Hopu, William Kanui, John Honoliʻi and Humehume. They arrived in Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820. On May 3, 1820, Ruggles and Whitney took Humehume home to Kauai.

“Visited the king (Kaumuali‘i) and read to him in his Bible. He expresses an earnest desire to know all that is contained in the Bible, saying frequently, I want to understand it; and when you learn my language I shall know it.”

“He often says he wants Atooi (Kauai) to be like America. Today he told me he would support all the mission family if they would come to Atooi—that he would build as many school-houses as we wished, and a large meeting-house, and have a sabbath day and have prayers and singing.” (Ruggles, May 16, 1820)

Kaumuali‘i gave land for the first mission building. This land was on the east side of the Waimea River near the Russian Fort and included enough farmland to grow the food needed for sustaining the mission. The first building was a thatched structure.

After ten years of using the thatched structure, Reverend Samuel Whitney constructed a stone and mud building on the present site of the church. Unfortunately, the stone walls were not soundly stacked and the building toppled over and had to be rebuilt. (Waimea UCC)

In 1846 the Reverend George Berkeley Rowell came from the Waioli Mission to rebuild the stone church. He was an architect and cabinetmaker as well as a pastor. He planned for a grand church that would be the most beautiful building on the island.

The lehua timbers for the roof would be cut down with stone adzes from the steep cliffs of Koke’e and floated in the ocean to treat the wood against termites. (Waimea UCC)

The Great Stone Church was constructed of local sandstone. Its simple rectangular plan is capped by a gable roof with returns, surmounted by a truncated steeple. (SAH)

Limestone blocks would be cut from a ledge about a mile away and dragged to the site by oxen. Mortar was made by diving into the sea a dozen fathoms from canoes to bring up coral to be crushed and burned in a limekiln.

The church members earned money by raising and shipping potatoes to people who had come to California to search for gold. With this new source of income, the work on the church continued.

After seven years of planning and labor, the walls went up in 1853. The building was completed in 1854 (except for the floor, added in 1858), and was dedicated with a worship service.

The building was built in Victorian style as can be noted in the large pointed arches of the windows. The coral-colored exterior stood out and could be seen from some distance at sea.

However the church has become more russet colored over time because of the staining effect of the red earth in the area. The completed church attained a bell that had been created in 1836 for the original stone structure and shipped from New England.

The inscription reads from Psalm 100: “E hele mai imua o kona ale me ke oli ana i ike oukou o Jehova oia no ke akua” (Come before His presence with singing that you may know Jehovah is God). (Waimea UCC)

Rowell presided over it until 1865, when he was suspended from the Hawaiian Evangelical Association on account of his suspect theological positions and reports that he had had illicit relations with a Hawaiian woman.

A number of Hawaiians stood by Rowell, and the pastor and his congregation tried to hold control over the stone church. However, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled against them and, in 1867, Rowell and his followers formed the Waimea Hawaiian Church, building a Victorian frame church at the corner of Kaumualii Highway and Halepule Road.

Rowell continued as its pastor until his death in 1884. In 1992 Hurricane Iniki collapsed this charming building; the congregation rebuilt it along the lines of the original.

Following Rowell’s discharge, the Great Stone Church’s congregation greatly declined, and between 1873 and 1889 it had no regular minister. It became the Waimea Foreign Church in 1894.

The church was remodeled around 1920, with the belfry being rebuilt and the openings given shallow Gothic arches. Hurricane Iniki decimated the roof and, in turn, the interior, leading to its restoration in 1993. (SAH)

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Waimea UCC

Waimea UCC-AlanRichards

November 29, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Cherokee Mission

The first of the missions of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) on the continent was to the Cherokee and Choctaw Indians of the southeast.

“Other Indian missions were begun shortly after this; in fact the next two decades saw the most widespread efforts of the Board upon the American continent. Many of these missions to Indian tribes were short lived and not very productive but there are three which stand out as of special interest: the mission to the Cherokees. the Oregon mission and the mission to the Dakotas.”

“Only one of these is still continuing, the Dakota work which has been carried on by the American Missionary Association since 1883. The Oregon mission was ended by massacre in 1847 and the general break-up which followed the massacre.”

“The Cherokee enterprise was the scene of some of the most stirring events in the history of our country and also of some of the most tragic and shameful actions. When the tribe was deported to the west in 1838 the mission continued but the great promise of earlier days was never fulfilled and the tribe ceased to be the significant nation that it once had been.”

“When Cyrus Kingsbury went to the land of the Cherokees in 1817 the tribe had already had a long and discouraging experience with the white man.”

“Their land had been taken from them piece by piece, treaties had been repeatedly broken – and that was to continue – and they had been in one way or another involved and had suffered in the wars between the French and the English and between the British and the Americans.”

“The Cherokee nation at that time was located mainly in the western and northwestern part of Georgia, in southern Tennessee and northeastern Alabama. The pressure of white settlers was increasing yearly especially upon the part of the nation located in the state of Georgia.”

“But if relations with white settlers and governments had been adverse to the Indians there were already established missions, especially that of the Moravians, which gave support and encouragement to Kingsbury and those who soon followed him.”

“Their first station was located on Chickamauga Creek not far from the present city of Chattanooga and was named the Brainerd Mission after the early evangelist to Indians in the north. This became the center of a work that extends into Georgia and Alabama and other stations in Tennessee.”

“Cyrus Kingsbury went through Washington on his way to Tennessee and secured approval for the opening of a mission. President Monroe himself was interested in it.”

“Later after a surprise visit to the Brainerd station he declared himself to be more than satisfied with its program and promised to have means supplied for the building of a substantial frame house to take the place of the log structure then in use, a promise that was fulfilled.”

“Robert Sparks Walker declares that ‘the Brainerd Mission has the distinction of being the first school in North America to give instruction in systematic and scientific agriculture, also trades, domestic science and domestic arts.’ This educational program lay at the root of the ‘civilizing’ the mission felt that it must do.”

“Among tribes that never settled down to a life of work and discipline such as is involved in farming and the trades little progress has ever been made in the teaching which is necessary to the introduction of an ordered Christian life.”

“(T)he Brainerd mission was at once a school, a farm and a place of apprenticeship to such necessary trades as carpentry and blacksmithing. The long day of the Indian students was divided between study and work. … Both boys and girls, in separate schools, made up the industrious community.”

“Some of the test friends and helpers of the mission program were half breeds. One of these, Charles R. Hicks, was a chief of the Cherokees and a Christian.”

“Every one who reported on the progress of his people has called him the best friend of the mission and the most helpful in all dealings with the Indians. Elias Boudinot probably had some white blood in his veins. He studied in the mission school at Cornwall, Connecticut, married a daughter of one of the best families of that town and returned to be a leader of his people.”

“It is of interest to note that the school at Cornwall came into existence largely because of the plea that the Hawaiian, Obookiah, made for an education. Its function was to train both American students and young men from mission fields for the work of the mission.”

“It was closed in 1827 and at least one reason for its abandonment was the Opposition created in the town by the marriage of Cornwall girls of good family to Indian students. One of these students was Elias Boudinot; the other was John Ridge. Despite the opposition of the people of Cornwall both these marriages were successful.”

“The most noted Cherokee, however, was Sequoia, or George Guess as he was known among white people. Sequoia could neither read nor speak English. He was greatly distressed that his own language had no written form.”

“So he proceeded to create an alphabet of eighty-six characters which represented the language phonetically so well that it was soon adopted in preference to one upon which missionaries were at work. This became and remains the medium of all written or printed Cherokee. The Bible, of course, was translated into the language with the use of Sequoia’s alphabet.”

“The achievement of Sequoia’s deserves at least to be compared to the Laubach invention. To honor this Cherokee Indian, Stephen I. Endlicher in 1847, gave the name of Sequoia to the big trees in California.”

“The mission inevitably suffered from the encroachment of the citizens and the state of Georgia upon the lands of the Cherokee nation and their eventual deportation west of the Mississippi.”

“A law was passed by the Georgia Legislature requiring an oath of allegiance to the state by anyone who wanted to live within its boundaries and declaring null and void all laws and customs of the Cherokees.”

“As a result of refusal to take the oath several of the missionaries were arrested and Dr. Samuel A. Worcester and Dr. Elizur Butler were sentenced and kept in prison for more than a year.”

“Meantime, the lands of the Cherokees within the state of Georgia were divided up and opened to white settlers and the properties of the missionaries and mission were taken over by them.”

“The end of the mission in Tennessee and Georgia, however, was in sight. In final violation of the rights of the Cherokees as often affirmed in treaties, the whole tribe was transported to the Indian territory.”

“Some had gone west many years before and a mission was begun there in 1821. But the tribe disintegrated and the mission was closed in 1860. A mission to the Choctaws was also discontinued at about the same time.” (All from Hugh Vernon White, Secretary, The Congregational Church)

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