the place of meeting. When we arived the meeting had commenced, we
conversed with the Deacon of the church, & informed him we were ser-
vents of the Lord, had a message to the people & wished to be herd. He con
versed with the Baptist Priest by the name of Gideon J. Newton upon
the subject, he did not object. We were invited into the stand, & Mr Ne-
wton gave out an appointment for us to preach at 5 oclock PM. When
he closed his discourse he invited us home with him & gave us some
refreshment, we presented him the Book of Mormon, he was mild and
said he would read it. Mr Newton accompanied us to the meeting house
the congregation assembled at the appointed time, and amid peculiar
feeling I arose and addressed them from Gal. 1 ch 8:9. this was the first
time that I or any Elder of the Church, (to my knowledge) ever arose befo-
re the inhabitants of one of the Islands of the sea to preach unto them the
fulness of the everlasting gospel and the Book of Mormon. After I closed
I gave out an appointment for each of the four following evenings to
be held in the several districts of North Island. We spent the night with
Mr Benj[amin] Kent distance of the day 8 miles
{Elder Hale and myself had a good time in secret prayer. May God bless us on the islands and help us find the blood of}Ephram
{aeiouy} AEIOUY {aeiouy au oy ou} AU OY OU
Vinal haven is in Lat. 44 North. Long 69.10 East. Pop. 1800. Maine
Vinal haven includes both North & South fox Islands. The inhabitants
are generally wealthy, healthy, intelligent, industrious, generous, and
hospitable to strangers. The people get most of their wealth & living
by fishing. The Town of Vinalhaven fits out rising of 100 licensed sail
beside small craft. North fox Island is 9 miles long & 2 miles wide. Pop
800. they have a post office, one store, a Baptist church & meeting
house & four school houses & a grist mill. The land is rather rocky
& rough yet there is many good farms which produces good wheat,
barley, oats, potatoes, & grass which is the staple production. The
principal timber is fir, spruice, hemlock & birch. Sheep are the pri-
ncipal stock upon the Island. Rasp. & Goose buries grow in great
abundance.
South fox Island comes as near being without
any form or void as any land I ever saw. It would be difficult
for the best historian to give an exact description of it. It is about
10 miles long & 5 broad and it is one universal mass of rocks formed
into shelves, hills & dales cut up into necks & points to make room for
the cooves & harbours that run through and through the Island. Pop is
1000. They get their wealth entirely by fishing. Their principal stock is
sheep. Their is some small parts of the Island under cultivation, but it is
at the expense of great labour and toil. Many of the inhabitants of this
Island fish at Newfoundland & bring their fish home & dry them upon
their own flakes & prepare them for market. they supply the market
annually with great quantities of dried fish, Mackerel & boxed
herren. There is two stores, three tide saw mills, six school houses
& a small branch of the methodist church & a priest. The timber is
pine, fir, spruce, hemlock & birch. much of the timber & whoretlebury
bushes grows out of the cracks of the rocks. Rasp & goose buries
also grow in great quantities upon this Island
the place of meeting. When we arived the meeting had commenced, we
conversed with the Deacon of the church, & informed him we were ser
vents of the Lord, had a message to the people & wished to be herd. He con
versed with the Baptist Priest by the name of Gideon J. Newton upon
the subject, he did not object. we were invited into the stand & Mr Ne
wton gave out an appointment for us to Preach at 5 oclock PM. When
he closed his discourse he invited us home with him & gave us some
refreshment, we presented him the Book of Mormon, he was mild and
said he would read it. Mr Newton accompanied us to the meeting house
the congregation assembled at the appointed time, and amid peculiar
feeling I arose and addressed them from Gal. 1 ch 8:9. this was the first
time that I or any Elder of the church (to my knowledge) ever arose befo
re the inhabitants of one of the Islands of the Sea to preach unto them the
fulness of the everlasting gospel and the Book of Mormon. After I closed
I gave out an appointment for each of the four following evenings to
be held in the several districts of North Island. We spent the night with
Mr Benjamin Kent distance of the day 8 miles
{Elder Hale and myself had a good time in secret prayer. May God bless us on the islands and help us find the blood of}Ephram
[FIGURE] {aeiouy} AEIOUY {aeiouy au oy ou} AU OY OU
Vinal haven is in Lat. 44. North. Long 69.10. East Pop. 1800. Maine
Vinal haven includes both North & South fox Islands. The inhabitants
are generally wealthy, healthy, intelligent, industrious, generous, and
hospitable to strangers. The people get most of their wealth & living
by fishing. The Town of Vinalhaven fits out rising of 100 licensed sail
beside small craft. North fox Island is 9 miles long & 2 miles wide. Pop
800. they have a Post office, one Store, a Baptist Church & meeting
house & four school houses & a grist mill. The land is rather rocky
& rough yet there is many good farms which produces good wheat,
barley, oats, potatoes, & grass which is the staple production. The
principal timber is fir, spruice, hemlock & birch. Sheep are the pri
ncipal stock upon the Island. Rasp. & Goose buries grow in great
abundance.
South fox Island comes as near being without
any form or void as any land I ever saw. It would be difficult
for the best historian to give an exact description of it. It is about
10 miles long & 5 broad and it is one universal mass of rocks formed
into shelves, hills & dales cut up into necks & points to make room for
the cooves & harbours that run through and through the Island. Pop is
1000. They get their wealth entirely by fishing. Their principal stock is
sheep. Their is some small parts of the Island under cultivation, but it is
at the expense of great labour and toil. Many of the inhabitants of this
Island fish at Newfoundland & bring their fish home & dry them upon
their own flakes & prepare them for market. they supply the market
annually with great quantities of dried fish, Mackerel & boxed
herren. There is two stores, three tide saw mills. six school houses
& a small branch of the methodist church & a priest. The timber is
pine, fir, spruce, hemlock & birch. much of the timber & whoretlebury
bushes grows out of the cracks of the rocks. Rasp & goose buries
also grow in great quantities upon this Island
"Journal (December 29, 1833 – January 3, 1838)," August 20, 1837, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, accessed October 10, 2024, https://wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/p/kK6