New England Missionary Families in Hawaii

by Delia Cothrun Bourne

Taking a long cruise to Hawaii may be a pleasant vacation to Americans now, but in the nineteenth century such a trip may have been motivated by a religious vocation to minister to, and convert, native Hawaiians. The Genealogy Center has two volumes which provide a wealth of information on the people and activities of the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society.

The first is “Missionary Album: Portraits and Biographical Sketches of the American Protestant Missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands” (996.9 H31), published by the Society in 1969. Along with detailed biographies and portraits of the missionaries are a map and descriptions of the various stations throughout the Islands. The arrivals of the twelve “Companies” of missionaries (1820-1848) are also listed, including departure and arrival ports and dates, ship’s name with description, captain’s name, and notes concerning the voyage. For example, the Third Company sailed on Captain Richard D. Blinn’s “Parthian” from Boston in 1827, arriving in Honolulu in 1828. The entry details the cost of passage for sixteen missionaries and four Polynesians, and notes that the ship carried material for two frame houses, a printing press and its accoutrements, and 40,000 Bible tracts printed in the Hawaiian language. The 1837-38 Eighth Company voyage was pleasant, with a cooperative captain who allowed Hawaiian seamen to tutor the missionaries in the language, culminating in public confessions of faith by six of the ship’s crew. In contrast, food washed overboard on the Ninth Company’s trip, 1840-41, resulting in a poor diet for the remainder of the voyage because the captain refused to replace it.

“Descendants of New England Protestant Missionaries to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands), 1820-1900: An Alphabetically Arranged Copy of Births, Marriages, and Deaths from the Records of the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society Library” (996.9 R44D) includes the same listings of the missionary Companies, along with arrivals of individuals, 1823-1894. Family groups are listed by surname, and include parents and children with vital record dates and places. One can then trace the descendants of each child for several generations, following families back to the mainland, or to foreign countries. Married daughters will be listed under their husband’s surname. An every name index also makes it possible to begin with a descendant and trace back to the missionary ancestors. Both of these volumes could assist in breaking down a wall in the research of missionary ancestors.

Genealogy Gems[1]: News from the Fort Wayne Library
No. 65, July 31, 2009