Memoirs of Henry Obookiah

(1818, 1819, 1830) Revised Edition

Written by Edwin Welles Dwight and Henry Obookiah

Memoirs of Henry Obookiah is a personal biography written by Edwin Welles Dwight about his friendship with a youth from the Hawaiian Islands who arrived in New England without knowing a word of English. With Dwight’s help, Obookiah mastered the English language and formed friendships with missionaries, convincing them to return with him to Hawaii in order to bring Christianity to his people. Tragically, Obookiah died in February 1818 before the voyage to the Pacific could take place. Dwight culled the diaries and letters Henry Obookiah had left behind and together with a memoir about the brilliant man he had come to know, he published his account later that year. Memoirs of Henry Obookiah became an instant bestseller allowing for the voyage he had wanted to participate in to be funded. Within a year anchors dropped in Honolulu harbor as the missionaries he had befriended set out to make his dream a reality. Called the father of modern Hawaii, Obookiah’s writings continue to inspire over two centuries since his untimely death.