Description:

Hawaiian Missionary Letter on Conversions & the Dying William Richards

A letter from a female Protestant missionary with details of her experiences in Hawaii. 4pp of a bifolium, measuring 7.75" x 9.75", Punahou, Oahu, dated October 25, 1847. From missionary Charlotte A. Knapp to her cousin, Cornelia K. Smith, in Long Island, New York. The letter, which was received almost five months later, concerns teaching and the likely event of the death of one of the pillars of the community, William Richards. Incredibly detailed, with text cross-hatched for lack of space. Flattened mail folds, with one area of loss affecting some text. Small tears and separations, some which have been repaired with archival tape. Uneven toning throughout. Broken wax seal.

In part:
"...Your letter of May 10th was received a week ago...the one to which that is an answer left the Islands ten months ago tomorrow. If I could always receive answers as soon, it would not be so trying as it now is, to be away from friends but sometimes it have been more than a year between their last dates…You speak of the soil of Long Island as being sandy. The same is the case here in some places, and the land in such situations is very barren. It is not so fertile in most places where the missionaries are located, as I supposed it would be before we came to the Islands. There are exceptions to this, but in many places it requires enriching, to make the land productive…I have not told you that there has been considerable seriousness in our school the last term, and especially among the boarders in our family. Two or three we hope have recently chosen that good part that never shall be taken from them, and two or three others a few weeks before the commencement of the school. There are 7 or 8 of whom we have hopes. One has been a professor of religion a few months. It is encouraging to see them seeking the salvation of their souls, both because their happiness will be thereby promoted and because they will be fitted for more extended usefulness…

…There is now no member of the mission sick with any dangerous disease, but Mr. Richards, who was formally connected with it [the family], and with whose family I spent so many pleasant weeks and months, has been apparently on the borders of the grave for weeks. He has a disease of the brain and lost his memory in a great degree before he was confined to his bed. He had been for days together unable to say anything except yes and no and sometimes not even that. Then again he will revive for a few days and seem more bright and notice objects about him. It is a severe affliction to his feeble wife, but she sustains it with a great deal of fortitude. The loss to the nation will be irreparable. No other person can fill his place in all respects. As the king expressed it, 'one of the pillars or props is about to be removed' No one had greater influence with the king or chiefs…"

William Richards (1793 - 1847) was an American missionary from Massachusetts and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, who helped secure British, French, and U.S. acknowledgment of Hawaiian independence and worked to promote a liberal constitutional monarchy in the islands. He graduated from Williams College in 1819 and set sail for Hawaii in 1822. He became an advisor to the king in 1838, after which time he assisted with a bill of rights and a constitution for the new constitutional state. He was later appointed Minister of Public Instruction in 1846. Richards became ill in July 1847 and died in Honolulu on November 7, less than two weeks after this letter was written. He was buried at Waineʻe Church among the graves of Hawaiian royalty. As a testament to his character, King Kamehameha III also settled an annuity upon Richards' family after his death.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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