DIGITIZED ARCHIVE OF 19TH CENTURY KAUA‘I MISSIONARIES’ DOCUMENTS GOES LIVE ON WEB

News Release from Hawaiian Mission House January 27, 2015

(HONOLULU, HI)—The Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (HMHHSA) announced today that the latest addition of Kaua‘i missionary materials to the HMHHSA Digital Collection is now live on the web and accessible to anyone with an Internet connection and a web browser. The Kaua‘i Missionaries Digital Archive project is an initiative by the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives which was begun under a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services with matching funds provided by the George N. Wilcox Trust, Samuel W. Wilcox Trust, Elsie H. Wilcox Foundation, and Mabel I. Wilcox Foundation Trust. Historians, educators, students, researchers, and internet users from around the world now have access to extensive information about the missionary experience in Kaua‘i.

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives is very excited to add the extensive Abner and Lucy Wilcox Collection to the online Kaua‘i missionary resources. Abner and Lucy Wilcox sailed with the Eighth Company from Boston, Massachusetts, December 14, 1836, on the barque Mary Frazier and arrived at Honolulu, April 9, 1837. Stationed at Hilo, 1837 – 1844 where Abner preached the Gospel, they both taught at a children’s school with Native Hawaiian assistance. After two years on O‘ahu, in 1846 they moved to Wai‘oli Mission in Hanalei where Mr. Wilcox taught Hawaiian boys from Ni‘ihau and Kaua‘i for over 20 years. He believed in lay preaching and often gave the sermons on the Sabbath, assisting the Reverend Johnson.

The Abner and Lucy Wilcox collection contains three journals and 869 letters from the years 1829 to 1868 and one letter from 1922 confirming the date of Abner and Lucy Wilcox’s wedding.

Dr. Thomas Woods, Executive Director at HMHHSA said: “We are pleased to present our latest addition to our growing collection of digitized archival materials. We consider our efforts to preserve and to make the history of Hawai‘i available to the public via the Internet a success and will continue to make this mission a priority in the coming years.”

To begin your journey into the history of Hawai‘i’s missionaries visit: www.missionhouses.org/index.php/library/digital-collection.

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HAWAIIAN MISSION HOUSES HISTORIC SITE AND ARCHIVES LAUNCHES THE MAUI MISSIONARIES DIGITAL ARCHIVE PROJECT

News Release from Hawaiian Mission House January 27, 2015

(HONOLULU, HI)— The Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (HMHHSA) announced today that the latest addition of Maui missionary materials to its Digital Collection is now live on the web and accessible to anyone with an Internet connection and a web browser. The Maui Missionaries Digital Archive project is an initiative by the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives which was begun under a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services with matching funds provided by the Fred Baldwin Memorial Foundation and the Hawaii Council for the Humanities. Major grants from these federal and local sources helped preserve and digitize thousands of archival documents related to 19th century Hawaiian history.

Historians, educators, students, researchers, and Internet users from around the world now have access to extensive information 19th century Hawaiian history in Maui. Dr. Baldwin of Lahaina documented his work from 1848 to 1858 mixing medical notes with comments on daily life. Rev. Reuben Tinker records the dates he translated the History of Hawaii Ka Moolelo Hawaii, which had been written by Lahainaluna students. Concern for the education of their own children is expressed by Andelucia Conde as well as others, and her deep faith is evident in her entry about the death of her daughter before her second birthday.

Among the most remarkable of the travel journals kept during the six month voyage from New England to Hawaii is that of Rev. Reuben Tinker who includes drawings and a complete description of whaling. Striking among the journals are two by children. David D. Baldwin writing at age 13 is brief and factual with little comment although he does report what elders discussed. Fanny Perkins Andrews begins on her 14th birthday with entries that detail her lessons at Lahainaluna and later at East Maui Female Seminary. Most poignant is Fanny’s account of her father’s death in 1877 and her concern for her mother and her siblings.

Dr. Thomas Woods, Executive Director, at Hawaiian Mission Houses said: “We are pleased to present our latest addition to our growing collection of digitized archival materials. We consider our efforts to preserve and to make the history of Hawai‘i available to the public via the Internet a success and will continue to make this mission a priority in the coming years.”

To begin your own journey into the history of Hawai‘i’s missionaries visit: http://www.missionhouses.org/index.php/library/digital-collection.

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Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives is located in Honolulu’s Historic Capitol District and is the leading authority on Protestant missionary history in Hawai‘i. It is known worldwide as the place where the Hawaiian written language was developed through the collaborative efforts of the missionaries and the ali‘i (the Hawaiian royalty) and the Hawaiian people. It preserves the two oldest documented houses in Hawai‘i, which were built and used by missionaries in the early nineteenth century, and the largest collection of Hawaiian language books in the world.