WILLIAMS, John

[s. 802] : Born at Tottenham, near London, England, June 29, Erromanga November 20, 1839. 1796. Died at At the age of fourteen, while an apprentice to an ironmonger, he showed great taste for mechanics, and acquired considerable experience in mechanical work. At the age of twenty he offered himself to the London Mi ionary Society as a mi ionary, and, after some special training, was ordained, and sent with his wife, November, 1816, to the South Sea Islands. He was first stationed at Eimeo, one of the Society Islands, where he soon acquired a knowledge of the native language. Thence he went to Huahine, where he found the natives had generally renounced idolatry. At the invitation of the King of Raiatea, the largest of the Society group, he went to that island, which became his permanent headquarters. His succe here was remarkable, not only in Christian i zing the people, but with Christianity introducing the arts and habits of civilization. In 1823 he visited, with six native teachers, the Hervey Islands, and after several days’ search discovered Rarotonga, the largest of this group. Remaining here for some time, he founded a mi ion, which was greatly succe ful, not only Rarotonga, but the whole group of the Hervey Islands being Christian i zed. He helped the people at their own request to draw up a code of laws for civil administration. He made great use of native teachers whom he had trained. The work accomplished by him on both of these islands for the secular as well as the religious welfare of the natives was useful and permanent. He reduced the language of Raiatea to writing, translated with Pitman and Buzacot the New Testament into it, and prepared books for the schools he had established. Rarotonga being out of the way of ve els, he built one in which he might visit other islands. The boat was named the “Me enger of Peace.” In this ve el, during the next four years, he explored many groups of the South Sea Islands. In 1830 he set out in his ve el to carry the Gospel to the Samoan Islands, which he had planned to do in 1824, but was deterred by the great distance 2,000 miles and the ferocious character of the people. In 1832 he made a second visit to the Samoans, and found the people waiting for the Gospel. In le than twenty months an entire change had taken place in the habits and character of the Samoans. Chapels had been built, and everywhere the people seemed waiting to receive instruction. Having completed the object of his voyage, and visited all the islands,of the Samoan group, he returned to his family. With health impaired, after seventeen years of toil and hardship, he — — 786 1833 for England, where he remained During this time he had the Rarotongan New Testament published by the Bible Society, raised £4,000 for the purchase and outfit of a mi ionary ship for Polynesia, wrote and published a Narrative of Mi ionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands, and prepared plans for the establishment of a college for the education of native teachers, and for a high school at Tahiti. In 1838 he and his wife again embarked, accompanied by ten other mi ion sailed in four years. aries. After visiting the stations already estabby him, and several new groups, he proceeded with one companion to the New He brides with the view of establishing a mi ion, but was met by hostile natives at Erromanga, by whom he was killed. A portion of his bones was relished covered from the cannibals. It is supposed they were provoked to the deed by the ill treatment they had received from the crew of a ve el which a short time before had landed there. 803