Addison Pratt
| Addison Pratt | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
February 21, 1802 Winchester, New Hampshire |
| Died | October 10, 1872 (aged 70) Anaheim, California |
| Spouse(s) | Louisa Barnes Pratt |
Addison Pratt (February 21, 1802 – October 10, 1872) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and missionary. Pratt preached in French Polynesia from 1844 to 1848 and from 1850 to 1852, and is recognized by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) as the first Mormon missionary to preach in a language other than English.
Pratt was born in Winchester, New Hampshire. Raised a farmer, he was employed as a whaler in New England for more than a decade. He married Louisa Barnes, born in Warwick, Massachusetts, early feminist, an early contributor to the Women's Exponent, author of her own famous memoirs, and sister to Caroline Barnes Crosby, another influential early frontier woman writer and feminist.
After being taught by Caroline Barnes Crosby and Jonathan Crosby, early Mormon converts, the Pratts converted to Mormonism and joined the Latter Day Saints in Indiana, Missouri, and later moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. Years later, the Pratts persuaded the Crosbys to join them in missionary work in the Pacific Islands.
While working aboard a whaling ship as a young man, Pratt had jumped ship in Hawaii and spent several months living near the village of Honolulu; he was one of the first men of European descent to live in the Hawaiian islands. During that time, he learned to speak the Hawaiian language. Years later, in October 1843, Pratt recommended to Joseph Smith that the Church begin missionary work among the Polynesians, whom he expected to be receptive. Smith sent Pratt, Benjamin Franklin Grouard, Noah Rogers and Knowlton F. Hanks to create a mission in the Pacific Islands. They were the Church's first foreign language speaking missionaries. Hanks died en route and was buried at sea. Pratt disembarked at Tubuai in the Austral Islands on April 30, 1844, and began teaching in the Hawaiian language, noting its similarity to the local dialect of Tahitian. He later preached in Tahiti and other nearby islands and atolls.
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