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They set up a multi-government. Kingship is abolished in ''Samoa''. | They set up a multi-government. Kingship is abolished in ''Samoa''. | ||
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1900 ''Great Britain ''and ''Germany'' cede rights to the Islands east of 171 degrees west of Greenwich. | 1900 ''Great Britain ''and ''Germany'' cede rights to the Islands east of 171 degrees west of Greenwich. | ||
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Land is purchased, a school built, and the Mormon village becomes known as ''“Vaiola” (Living Waters). <br>''1923 Major George Richardson becomes administrator and dissension between him and ''Samoans ''begins.<br>1929 The Independence movement ''(Mau)'' becomes a political power.<br>1939 ''U.S.'' Marines establish airfields and a radio station in ''Eastern Samoa ''during World War II.<br> | Land is purchased, a school built, and the Mormon village becomes known as ''“Vaiola” (Living Waters). <br>''1923 Major George Richardson becomes administrator and dissension between him and ''Samoans ''begins.<br>1929 The Independence movement ''(Mau)'' becomes a political power.<br>1939 ''U.S.'' Marines establish airfields and a radio station in ''Eastern Samoa ''during World War II.<br> | ||
1951 ''American Samoa ''administered by the ''U.S''. Department of the Interior instead of the Navy.<br>1954 A Constitutional convention is held to prepare ''Western Samoa ''for independence.<br>1958 Native ''Samoans'' carry out most of the LDS missionary work because of government restriction on non-native | 1951 ''American Samoa ''administered by the ''U.S''. Department of the Interior instead of the Navy.<br> | ||
1954 A Constitutional convention is held to prepare ''Western Samoa ''for independence.<br>1958 Native ''Samoans'' carry out most of the LDS missionary work because of government restriction on non-native | |||
missionaries in the country. <br>1962 ''Western Samoa ''becomes an independent country which renames itself the ''Independent State of Samoa''.<br> The First LDS stake is organized in ''Samoa in Apia''.<br>1972 ''Samoa'' becomes the first country to be covered by Latter-day Saint stakes.<br>1976 First LDS area conference in ''Samoa.<br>''1983 The ''Apia, Samoa ''LDS temple is dedicated.<br>2000 The LDS Church has one mission in ''Samoa.'' There are 16 stakes in ''Western Samoa ''with 58,000 members, and 6 stakes in ''American Samoa ''with 13,000 members. | missionaries in the country. <br>1962 ''Western Samoa ''becomes an independent country which renames itself the ''Independent State of Samoa''.<br> The First LDS stake is organized in ''Samoa in Apia''.<br>1972 ''Samoa'' becomes the first country to be covered by Latter-day Saint stakes.<br>1976 First LDS area conference in ''Samoa.<br>''1983 The ''Apia, Samoa ''LDS temple is dedicated.<br>2000 The LDS Church has one mission in ''Samoa.'' There are 16 stakes in ''Western Samoa ''with 58,000 members, and 6 stakes in ''American Samoa ''with 13,000 members. | ||
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==== Family History Work suggestions, as reported by Brother Raymond Purcell, who was born in ''Savaii, Western Samoa ''in 1952.<br> ==== | ==== Family History Work suggestions, as reported by Brother Raymond Purcell, who was born in ''Savaii, Western Samoa ''in 1952.<br> ==== | ||
==== 1. '''Fill in forms with the information you already know.''' ==== | ==== 1. '''Fill in forms with the information you already know.''' ==== | ||
The first thing a ''Samoan ''should do is to fill in family group records and a pedigree chart of the four generations back from him. Also, if a person has his children and grandchildren, to record their information.<br> | The first thing a ''Samoan ''should do is to fill in family group records and a pedigree chart of the four generations back from him. Also, if a person has his children and grandchildren, to record their information.<br> | ||
2. Ask members of our family for information. | ==== 2. Ask members of our family for information. ==== | ||
Most Samoan people come to a problem because the genealogical information was passed by word of mouth from the father of the family to the eldest son. If the father of the family is still living, we should ask him to tell us about his family and his ancestors. If the eldest son is living, we should ask him to tell us the family information that he knows. Over the years, some of the names may have been lost and some of the facts have may have been changed. | |||
3. We should ask how we got our name.<br>How did the Purcell family get their name? Some English people were sent to Australia in my Great Grandfather’s time. Some of them stopped off in Samoa and settled there instead. My mother’s maiden name is Burgess, which is also from an Englishman who married into the Samoan lines. German names are also found in Samoa because of the rubber business.<br>Some Samoans took English names because it would help them get better jobs. There may or may not be an English person in our ancestry. | '''3. We should ask how we got our name.'''<br>How did the Purcell family get their name? Some English people were sent to Australia in my Great Grandfather’s time. Some of them stopped off in Samoa and settled there instead. My mother’s maiden name is Burgess, which is also from an Englishman who married into the Samoan lines. German names are also found in Samoa because of the rubber business.<br>Some Samoans took English names because it would help them get better jobs. There may or may not be an English person in our ancestry. | ||
4. We should talk to the older people about our ancestors. <br>My father, Mulivai Purcell, talked to the older folk who still have their genealogy memorized. He went back to his island and talked to the chiefs and asked them if they would be willing to recite it or voice record it. Sometimes he asked me to help type the transcripts of the tapes. | '''4. We should talk to the older people about our ancestors. <br>'''My father, Mulivai Purcell, talked to the older folk who still have their genealogy memorized. He went back to his island and talked to the chiefs and asked them if they would be willing to recite it or voice record it. Sometimes he asked me to help type the transcripts of the tapes. | ||
I donated these to the Family History Library and they have been microfilmed. Check the Family History Library Catalog under the author’s name, Mulivai Purcell. Microfilm numbers for these are 795863, 795864, and 795865. | I donated these to the Family History Library and they have been microfilmed. Check the Family History Library Catalog under the author’s name, '''Mulivai Purcell. Microfilm numbers for these are 795863, 795864, and 795865.''' | ||
5. We should pray for guidance and help to get the items we can’t get any other way.<br>My father had many spiritual experiences with genealogy. That was one of his favorite things to do. During this time, he would go to islands of Western Samoa. He would go by himself to the other islands, but when he went to the back villages of our island, I would drive him because he didn’t like to drive. He would place a tape recorder and cassette tapes with the chiefs. Then I would pick them up for him and he would transcribe them in his handwriting. | '''5. We should pray for guidance and help to get the items we can’t get any other way.<br>'''My father had many spiritual experiences with genealogy. That was one of his favorite things to do. During this time, he would go to islands of Western Samoa. He would go by himself to the other islands, but when he went to the back villages of our island, I would drive him because he didn’t like to drive. He would place a tape recorder and cassette tapes with the chiefs. Then I would pick them up for him and he would transcribe them in his handwriting. | ||
Sometimes the bride’s name would be left off the record, or some of the female children would be left off. That is where some of his spiritual experiences came in. At times he would be asleep. He would wake up in the middle of the night and go to the transcripts he was working on and write the names of the missing wives and children. Sometimes the names were not written correctly because they had been changed. Sometimes he had to get up again and write the names correctly. | Sometimes the bride’s name would be left off the record, or some of the female children would be left off. That is where some of his spiritual experiences came in. At times he would be asleep. He would wake up in the middle of the night and go to the transcripts he was working on and write the names of the missing wives and children. Sometimes the names were not written correctly because they had been changed. Sometimes he had to get up again and write the names correctly. | ||
Our ancestors want to be remembered. Sometimes children had been left out because the children were so young when they died. They were considered insignificant because they did not carry on the genealogy. He would find out their names and where they fit in with the list of children (first, second, third, etc.). | '''''Our ancestors want to be remembered'''.'' Sometimes children had been left out because the children were so young when they died. They were considered insignificant because they did not carry on the genealogy. He would find out their names and where they fit in with the list of children (first, second, third, etc.). | ||
I think a lot of Polynesians lose some of their spirituality when they are suddenly thrust into the fast-paced world that we live in. We need our spirituality, and it is good to have the spirit of the work. It is not just to say “Look. This is my Great Grandfather.” | I think a lot of Polynesians lose some of their spirituality when they are suddenly thrust into the fast-paced world that we live in. We need our spirituality, and it is good to have the spirit of the work. It is not just to say “Look. This is my Great Grandfather.” | ||
6. We shoud try to find out who the missionaries were who converted our ancestors and contact them, if possible.<br>My great-great grand father was a true Englishman. We didn’t know anything about him until a lady in Springville, Utah, told us her great grandfather was a missionary with my great grandfather and he wrote in his journal about him. It was not my great grandfather who joined the LDS Church. It was my grandfather. My great grandfather’s relationship with the missionaries made it so it was easy for my grandfather to join the Church. He would have the missionaries over for dinner, and would have them sleep in his house. He was “dumb” enough to go against the decree of the Chief, who said there could be only one church in the village, and it wasn’t the Mormon Church. My grandfather told him he would do as he pleased. So he defended the Church with the village chief. | '''6. We shoud try to find out who the missionaries were who converted our ancestors and contact them, if possible.<br>'''My great-great grand father was a true Englishman. We didn’t know anything about him until a lady in Springville, Utah, told us her great grandfather was a missionary with my great grandfather and he wrote in his journal about him. It was not my great grandfather who joined the LDS Church. It was my grandfather. My great grandfather’s relationship with the missionaries made it so it was easy for my grandfather to join the Church. He would have the missionaries over for dinner, and would have them sleep in his house. He was “dumb” enough to go against the decree of the Chief, who said there could be only one church in the village, and it wasn’t the Mormon Church. My grandfather told him he would do as he pleased. So he defended the Church with the village chief. | ||
The property where the LDS Church is located in Samoa is the property of my family. We lease it to the Church for one dollar a year. There is a place for the Church, the Bishop’s home, a volleyball and basketball court, and land to grow some food on. | The property where the LDS Church is located in Samoa is the property of my family. We lease it to the Church for one dollar a year. There is a place for the Church, the Bishop’s home, a volleyball and basketball court, and land to grow some food on. | ||
7. If we have ancestors who came from outside of Samoa, we should learn as much as possible about where they came from. Then we need to learn how to do research for that part of the world.<br>Because of my English blood, I will eventually need to find out where in Great Britain my great grandfather came from and how to do British research in that area.<br><br>Resources available | '''7. If we have ancestors who came from outside of Samoa, we should learn as much as possible about where they came from.''' | ||
Then we need to learn how to do research for that part of the world.<br>Because of my English blood, I will eventually need to find out where in Great Britain my great grandfather came from and how to do British research in that area.<br><br> | |||
==== Resources available ==== | |||
The Family History Library has a large collection of Samoan records. <br>On the Internet, we can go to Familysearch.org and choose the Library tab and then Family History Library Catalog. We should type in Samoa to get records that are made on an Island Group-wide basis and print the items we are interested in. Then we should type in the name of the island where our ancestors were from to get a list of records made on that level. | |||
Next, we should type in the name of the village where our ancestors came from to see if any records were made on that level, click on the record types that interest us, and print out the lists we get. <br><br>To get the oral genealogies, select Samoa – Genealogy and Western Samoa. The title is Samoa oral genealogy project. On the list are Oral genealogy interviews which were done in Samoa by Mulivai Purcell and Tagomoa Matua. A few were done in Independence, Missouri, and in Salt Lake City, Utah. More than 100 interviews were recorded. Some of the tapes were not transcribed. If we look this up in the catalog and get the film notes, we can see the surnames of the families represented on each tape and film. | Next, we should type in the name of the village where our ancestors came from to see if any records were made on that level, click on the record types that interest us, and print out the lists we get. <br><br>To get the oral genealogies, select Samoa – Genealogy and Western Samoa. The title is Samoa oral genealogy project. On the list are Oral genealogy interviews which were done in Samoa by Mulivai Purcell and Tagomoa Matua. A few were done in Independence, Missouri, and in Salt Lake City, Utah. More than 100 interviews were recorded. Some of the tapes were not transcribed. If we look this up in the catalog and get the film notes, we can see the surnames of the families represented on each tape and film. | ||