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Samoa (Western and American) (view source)
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[[Image:Samoa.png|thumb|left|450px]] | |||
[[Image:Samoan beach.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A beach fale on Upolo, Samoa]] | [[Image:Samoan beach.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A beach fale on Upolo, Samoa]] | ||
''[[Pacific Island Guide to Family History Research|Pacific Island Guide ]] > Samoa (Western and American)'' <br> | ''[[Pacific Island Guide to Family History Research|Pacific Island Guide ]] > Samoa (Western and American)'' <br> | ||
'''''Hamoa''''', the native name of '''''[[Portal:Samoa|Samoa]]''''', means ''The Islands''. These volcanic islands are located north of New Zealand and near Fiji and Tonga. | '''''Hamoa''''', the native name of '''''[[Portal:Samoa|Samoa]]''''', means ''The Islands''. These volcanic islands are located north of New Zealand and near Fiji and Tonga. | ||
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=== 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. | ||
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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. | ||
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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. | ||