“June 29th. A busy day. - - - -” In part, the sole entry for that day in Sybil Bingham’s journal (1820) helps to describe what life was like for the families of the early missionaries in Hawaiʻi. The day started at 4 am ... it continued into the night, with no breaks. The mission children were up then, too; in the early morning, the parents taught their children.
“We had one tin whale-oil lamp between us, with a single wick…. Soon after five we had breakfast.” By 9 am, after accomplishing all domestic duties and schooling of the children, the wives would begin the instruction of the Hawaiian children – and taught them for six solid hours, occasionally running into the house to see that all was straight.
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