Tombstone Tuesday- Leaving Leis at the Emerson family plot in Haleiwa, Hawaii

Whilst visiting the Queen Lili’uokalani church with my cousin, we found the graves of Reverend John Smith Emerson and his wife, Ursula Newell in the burial ground. He was a minister from Chester, New Hampshire for the Fifth Missionary Company to Hawaii in 1832.  I had previously written about this church and the Emerson gravesite on 3 December 2009 at my blog entry http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/12/rev-john-smith-emerson.html

This was a very moving experience for me, and I love the tradition of leaving leis. Here I received my own first lei, and I wore it constantly for the next few days until the orchids finally faded. I can imagine that Reverend John Smith Emerson was just as pleased with the tradition when he arrived from New Hampshire to Hawaii way back in 1832 with the Fifth Company of American Missionaries. I hope he still is smiling!

Please read my previous post about Rev. John Smith Emerson and his wife Ursula Sophia Newell:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/12/rev-john-smith-emerson.html
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Copyright 2010, Heather Wilkinson Rojo