If the missionaries sailing to Christianize the “;heathen”; Hawaiians had been able to Twitter and Facebook and blog, you can just imagine the results:

OMG! I ax'd the Kamehameha dude, dude, what up? & he went, like, nothin'. & I went, like, me too, nothin'. & he went, like, dude, totally me 2. LOL!

You can stop shuddering now.

The 18th century saw the rise of literacy among common folk, and with it, an explosion of journals and letters and diaries. There was also the ship's log, in which the captain or first mate kept detailed accounts of voyages and encounters. Thanks to these written records, we have a fairly good idea of the inner lives, hopes, dreams and observations of average citizens of the era.

That is, if you have access to those records. Thanks to a new Internet “;blog”; sponsored by the Mission Houses Museum, you can follow along, day by day, the voyage of the brigantine Thaddeus as she sailed to Hawaii during the winter of 1819-1820, 190 years ago.

[ December 26, 1819—Sabbath. We have entered the Southern Temperate zone, in which Christianity prevails to a very limited extent. ... We find by happy experience that the Sabbath of our Lord can be pleasant and interesting and we believe profitable at sea as well as in the dear Christian land of our fathers. The smiles of Providence as to the skies above, the waves beneath, the winds around, and health and peace and means of grace within our floating sanctuary, call forth our gratitude, cheer our prospects of usefulness, and cherish our hopes of glory. ]

“;Thaddeus left Boston in October 1819 and arrived in April 1820,”; said Mary Ann Lentz, MHM development director. “;The voyages always took about six months, and they timed it so they could sail around the horn during summer in the Southern Hemisphere.”;

The timing of the blog works out well, too, concluding about the time of the annual meeting of the Hawaii Mission Children's' Society. The entries give an insight into what drove these proselytizers halfway around the earth.

[ December 25, 1819—Christmas. This day we pass under the vertical rays of the sun in the Tropic of Capricorn. This day we joyfully commemorate the rising of that SUN which is the Light of the world, far more glorious that the orb of day ...

...In the evening Bro. Bingham preached a sermon on the occasion from Luke 2. 14, in which the birth of the Saviour was considered, 1st, as a manifestation of the “;good will toward men,”; 2nd, as a means of promoting, “;Peace on earth”;, and 3rd, as an illustration of the glory of God.

Concluding with four reflections, 1st, This event is worthy of the most grateful and joyful commemoration, 2nd, How widely different are the feelings and conduct of infidels and scoffers from those of angels, respecting this birth of a Savior, 3rd. The propagation of the gospel is the most desirable employment this side of heaven; 4th, This event will be an occasion of joy to the thousands of the Sandwich Isles, to the millions of the earth universally, and to the holy kingdom of Jehovah to all eternity.”; The hymns sung were, “;Angels song,”; by Watts, “;Epiphany”; and an original hymn composed for the occasion by W.G. Conant, a serious youth of liberal education, mate of the Brig Thaddeus and considerably interested in the object of our mission. ]

The log entries are primarily from the journals of mission leader Hiram Bingham, preacher Asa Thurston and printer Elisha Loomis, explained Lentz. The actual work of preparing the daily updates is performed by MHM curator Elizabeth Nosek.

“;We want people to become engaged in the day-to-day challenges the missionaries faced during their long and perilous voyage,”; stated Nosek. “;Most of the missionaries were quite young—in their early 20s—newly married and full of optimism and hope for their plan to bring Christianity and Western education to the Hawaiian people.”;

“;We're getting some very cool feedback from readers,”; said Lentz, as the retro-blogging software allows people to comment on entries. Although most of the information has already been transcribed, the blog format allows it to be placed on the Internet in a logical, highly readable format.

Some entries come from the journal of missionary Lucia Ruggles Holman, wife of the company's doctor, whose memoir was originally published in 1931:

[ December 16, 1819— “;This has been a peculiarly interesting day to all of us, having spoke a vessel, bound from Calcutta to Boston, in which we have sent letters to America, but very much regretted not having more time, which was not more than 20 minutes. The boat, which took off our letters, returned and brought with it a Portuguese Man-of-war, as the sailors call it. An animal substance (if substance it may be said to possess, for it appears more like blubber than anything else) resembling a turn-over pie, with ten thousand fibrous legs and as many joints, each a foot long. The touch of this animal produces a sensation somewhat like an electric shock—the Dr. only, tried the experiment.

The colour is a changeable red and blue which gives a purple luster. We often see them floating upon the surface of the water, and they are objects of great curiosity to us who have never beheld many wonders of the sea ... ]

Holman also notes that eventually the entire passenger manifest became seasick—“;we were a pitiable company”;—lining the rails of the little ship to heave-ho over the side. The only exceptions, naturally, were the four Hawaiian lads guiding the missionaries.

The online blog of the voyage of Thaddeus can be found at missionhouses.blogspot.com, http://www.thaddeusjournal.org or cross-linked via http://www.missionhouses.org. Plans to continue the project with additional missionary journals now rest with whoever the next director of the museum will be (they're interviewing candidates now). There's also an upcoming related exhibit at the museum called “;Coming to Hawai'i: A Trunk Show.”;

In the meantime, creating a retro-blog might be just the thing for your great-grandma's diary, particularly if it's juicy, LOL.

[ December 16, 1819—I must drop my pen, it being past ten o'c. & all asleep but myself—a dread solemn seems to fill the whole ship—no sound or noise to be heard but the dashing of the waves against our vessel, which skims over the Main at the rate of 8 miles an hour, and the gentle footsteps of the man at helm, and the watch, who walks with half his weight for fear of waking his brother tars who are asleep below. ]

Follow the Thaddeus at www.thaddeusjournal.org.