73,385
edits
Samoa (Western and American) (view source)
Revision as of 17:38, 21 November 2008
, 21 November 2008bread crumb trail
(add categories) |
(bread crumb trail) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
''[[Pacific Island Guide to Family History Research|Pacific Island Guide ]] > Samoa (Western and American)'' <br> | |||
'''''Hamoa''','' the native name of '''''Samoa''','' means ''The Islands''. These volcanic islands are located north of New Zealand and near Fiji and Tonga. | '''''Hamoa''','' the native name of '''''Samoa''','' means ''The Islands''. These volcanic islands are located north of New Zealand and near Fiji and Tonga. | ||
| Line 14: | Line 16: | ||
=== Historical background === | === Historical background === | ||
Oral legends: Pili’s four sons become rulers: '''Atua''', '''A`ana''', '''Tuamasaga''' and '''Tolufale'''.<br>950 Tongans conquer Samoa and rule until '''Tuna''','''''<i>Fata'''and '''Savea< | Oral legends: Pili’s four sons become rulers: '''Atua''', '''A`ana''', '''Tuamasaga''' and '''Tolufale'''.<br>950 Tongans conquer Samoa and rule until '''Tuna''','''''<i>Fata</i>'''''and '''Savea'''''<b>drove them from the country.</b>'''''Malietoa''(''brave warrior'') becomes a Matai title.<br>1000'''''<i>Faiga'''becomes Malietoa. He abandons cannibalism by not eating his son Polu. He gives his grand daughters titles. One becomes '''Gato`aitele''', and the other '''Tamasoali`i'''.<br>1550 A great woman named '''Nafanua</i> from Falealupo, Savai`i is the ruler and gains the Tafa`ifa title. The Samoan high chief married the daughter of the Tongan king. Their daughter, Salamasina, is adopted by So`oa`e, the widow of the high chief of Atua district. Salamasina also possesses royal Fijian and Tongan blood from her mother.<br>1700 Tupua becomes the progenitor of the Sa Tupua family, who has the right to kingship for 100 years.<br>1722 Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen trades in Samoa.<br>1768 Frenchman Antoine De Bougainville trades with Samoans.<br>1800 White traders begin to settle in Samoa.<br>1802 Malietoa Vai`inupo is appointed king after the death of King I`amafana. <br>1830 John Williams of the London Missionary Society brings Christianity to Samoa<br>1835 Methodists and London Missionary Society agree that Methodists will proselyte in Tonga and leave Samoa to the London Missionary Society.<br>1840 Malietoa Vai`inpo dies. Moli Malietoa, Tamasese, Tui-Aj`ana, and Mata`afa Tui-Atua contend for power.<br>1849 Willliam T. Pritchard sets up the first permanent store.<br>1855 Goddeffroy and sons of Germany establish a store.<br>1861 Maliatoa dies and his sons, Laupepa and Talavou battle over the Malietoa title.<br>1873 Peace is declared between Laupepa and Talavou. Colonel A. Steinberger of the USA helps the Samoans establish a government. Tupua Pule declares himself king. Alternating 4-year terms for each king begin.<br>1875 Steinberger becomes premier of ''Samoa.<br>''1880 Talavou dies. Laupepa becomes king, Tamasese Sa Tupua becomes vice-king, and Mata`afa Sa Tupua becomes prime minister. They wage a bloody war for power.<br>1860-89 Samoa exports cotton. Europeans purchase large amounts of land from Samoans. <br>1888 The LDS ''Samoan Mission ''was established.<br>1889 A devastating hurricane hits. German, British, and American warships sink. Malieatoa is crowned king of Samoa and Mata afa is given a high position. The land commission declares foreign land claims invalid and purchase of land outside Apia forbidden to non-Samoans. Robert Louis Stevenson moves to Samoa. Dies 5 years later and is buried on Mt. Vea.<br>1890 Wars occur between Malietoa Laupepa and Mata`afa.<br>1899 Laupepa’s son, Tanumafili is installed as king by force of foreign powers.<br>1899 USA, Great Britain and Germany agree to Western Samoa’s independence and neutrality. They set up a multi-government. Kingship is abolished in Samoa. 1900 Great Britain and Germany cede rights to the Islands east of 171 degrees west of Greenwich. Later, a few other islands are added. At present this is unincorporated territory of the United States. Western Samoa becomes a German protectorate and Heinrich Solf is governor for ten years. Workers migrate from Micronesia and Melanesia to help on plantations. Eastern Samoa (Tutuila and surrounding islands) become a U.S.A. protectorate.<br>1902 An LDS church and school are built in ''Pesega''. Mission headquarters moves there.<br>1903 Over 2 thousand Chinese laborers are imported to Samoa. The Samoan translation of the Book of Mormon becomes available.<br>1905 The volcano Matavanu on Savai`i erupts and the refugees move to two villages on Upolo.<br>1910 Dr. Eric Schultz is governor of Samoa and the Malietoa and Tupua families are given titles as counselors to the governor.<br>1914 Western Samoa is occupied by a New Zealand force during World War I. Colonel Robert Logan becomes Military Administrator.<br>1918 A deadly flu epidemic kills one-fifth of the Samoan population (approximately 8,000 people).<br>1920 New Zealand administers the islands because Germany loses the war. <br>1920s Schools are built in Sauniatu and Mapusaga. The chiefs of Taup`ele`ele decide to dismiss their minister and join the LDS Church. 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.A. 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'''. 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. | ||
=== Family History Work === | === Family History Work === | ||
Suggestions as reported by Brother Raymond Purcell, who was born in Savaii, Western Samoa in 1952.<br> | 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.''' <br> | '''1. Fill in forms with the information you already know.''' <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> | 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 your family for information.''' <br> | '''2. Ask members of your family for information.''' <br> | ||
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. | 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. Ask how you got your name.'''<br> | '''3. Ask how you got your 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. | 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. Talk to the older people about your ancestors.''' <br> | '''4. Talk to the older people about your 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. | 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. | ||
| Line 38: | Line 40: | ||
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. Pray for guidance and help to get the items we can’t get any other way.'''<br> | '''5. 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. | 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. | ||
| Line 48: | Line 50: | ||
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. Try to find out who the missionaries were who converted your ancestors and contact them, if possible.'''<br> | '''6. Try to find out who the missionaries were who converted your 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. | 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. | ||
| Line 70: | Line 72: | ||
Some civil registrations are available from 1876, 1900, and full registrations are available from 1905, along with many oral genealogies. | Some civil registrations are available from 1876, 1900, and full registrations are available from 1905, along with many oral genealogies. | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Pacific_Island_Research]] [[Category:American_Samoa]] [[Category:Samoa]] | ||