The journals contained in this collection canvas the years that Stephen Reynolds spent in Honolulu, Hawaii, from 1823 to 1855. The pages here are typewritten transcripts of the original diaries created by the Peabody Museum of Salem in the 20th century.
Stephen Reynolds was born on November 17, 1782, in Andover, Massachusetts. In 1810, he sailed as a seaman on the brig New Hazard on a trading expedition to the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and Canton [Guangzhou], China. Although he was not the official log keeper for this voyage, his journal is the only remaining record and was published in 1938. In 1817, he sailed on the ship Ida, to the Northwest Coast. He was also a log keeper for a voyage from New York to Canton on the ship Adonis in 1821. In 1823 he moved to Honolulu and served as a clerk for merchant William French. He went into business for himself in 1829, first as a trader of sandalwood, and then of general merchandise.
Reynolds' early journal entries recorded the arrival and departure of ships, the sandalwood trade, and identifies merchants and traders in Hawaiian and Pacific commerce. He also records social interactions, and comments on the people he interacts with. Throughout the journal, Reynolds wrote about symptoms of illness. After a period of attempted respite in California, he returned to Honolulu where he was found to be unable to manage his affairs by a jury of peers. His sister Rebecca traveled to Honolulu to retrieve him in 1856. He died in Boxford, MA, on July 17, 1857.
