SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN The Rev. Arthur Sutton was at Kawaiahao Missionary Graveyard earlier this month.

Chance discovery in Africa
leads missionary to Hawaii
for another revelation

A gravestone leads to the co-founder
of Alexander & Baldwin

---

By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com

It was curiosity about a gravestone in Africa that led a British Baptist preacher to Hawaii this month.

And that's why the Rev. Arthur Sutton from Blackpool, England, found his visit to the Kawaiahao Church cemetery "an absolutely thrilling experience."

What fascinated Sutton were the graves of the family of William P. Alexander and his wife who came to Hawaii in 1832 in the fifth company of Congregational missionaries from New England.

Sutton, 74, came to Hawaii to complete a missionary journey of his own. During his 25 years as a missionary and prison chaplain in Zambia and Uganda, he and his wife Ruby had discovered the gravesite of Samuel Thomas Alexander, who died in 1904 in an accident near Victoria Falls on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border.

"We were very touched at the inscription," said Sutton. "It identified him as the child of missionary parents in Hawaii. It also said Alexander was killed by a falling rock." The Suttons returned several times to visit and pull weeds at the long forgotten burial site.

He told the story when he preached Thursday at the River of Life Mission. His tales of adventures and escapes from armed guerrilla fighters during nationalist warfare in Africa, not to mention his English accent and expressions, were an exotic experience for the homeless men gathered for a midday meal at the Christian relief mission in Chinatown.

When Sutton contacted the mission because he is also affiliated with the Association of Gospel Rescue Mission, he chanced on the perfect guide to complete his Alexander research. A River of Life board member, Philip E. Spalding, is a descendant of another New England missionary family, the Cookes, as was the wife of Samuel Thomas Alexander.

What Sutton learned from Spalding and a visit to the Mission Houses Museum archives is that the man buried in Africa was no forgotten wanderer. Samuel Thomas Alexander was the co-founder of Alexander & Baldwin, one of the Big Five companies that were the motor of island commerce in his day. His death made headlines at the time.

"He was enjoying himself. He was traveling with 40 porters to carry his possessions in Africa," Sutton said.

He told his indigent audience, "Life isn't making a name for yourself. You don't have to die ... You have only to die to your sins and live only for the Lord Jesus Christ."

Sutton left Hawaii yesterday. He preached 14 times at the River of Life Mission during his 10 days here.

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