Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance | Page 2

May 8, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Only The Stars Of The Heavens Know

Kamehameha I died May 8, 1819 at Kamakahonu at Kailua-Kona.

“His bones, in accordance with traditions afforded high kings, were separated from his flesh and placed in a kaʻai, a basket woven of sennet cordage.” (Bill Maiʻoho, Mauna Ala Kahu (caretaker,) Star-Bulletin)

“Mother of pearl was inlaid for the eyes and the king’s own teeth formed the mouth; his flesh was thrown far out to sea.” (Maiʻoho)

“Kamehameha was a planner, so he talked to Hoapili and Hoʻolulu about where his iwi should be hidden,” noting Kamehameha wanted his bones protected from desecration not only from rival chiefs, but from westerners who were sailing into the islands and sacking sacred sites. (Maiʻoho)

Hoapili (originally known as Ulumāheihei) (c. 1775–1840) and Hoʻolulu (1794–1865) were brothers. Both were trusted advisors to Kamehameha.

Their father, High Chief Kameʻeiamoku, was one of the “royal twins” who helped Kamehameha I come to power – the twins are on the Islands’ coat of arms – Kameʻeiamoku is on the right (bearing a kahili,) his brother, Kamanawa is on the left, holding a spear.

When the days of purification were ended and the platform for the body was covered with kapa and a girdle of leaves had been placed, then the high priest finished his ceremonies within the temple house where he had been praying that the spirit of the dead might be given life and welcomed to the company of the good spirits to dwell with Wākea. (Thrum)

When these ceremonies were finished, Hoapili and Hoʻolulu prepared to obey the command given them by Kamehameha to take care of his body and thoroughly secrete it. (Thrum)

The chief’s bones belonged by right to the family of Keawe-a-heulu and to the hidden burial places of its members from Kiolakaʻa and Waiʻōhinu in Kāʻu, but Kamehameha doubted whether this family could keep the place secret, for the place where the bones of their father, Keōua, were hidden was pointed out on the cliffs of Kaʻawaloa. (Kamakau)

Kamehameha had therefore entrusted his bones to Hoapili and Hoʻolulu, with instructions to put them in a place which would never be pointed out to anyone.

Different stories suggest different places where Kamehameha’s bones are located: to an undersea cave that could only be accessed at low tide; over the rough lava plains of Puʻuokaloa to Kaloko in Kekaha; within Kaloko fishpond and others. All stories note he was buried in secret under the cover of darkness.

The ceremonial burial of iwi kupuna (ancestral Native Hawaiian remains) and moepū (funerary objects) involves great secrecy in order to protect the burial site and ensure the peace and sanctity of ancestors who have passed away, as well as the spiritual, physical, and psychological well-being of their descendants. (He Ho‘olaha, OHA)

Kamehameha’s final resting place and his bones have never been found; a saying related to that site notes: ‘Only the stars of the heavens know the resting place of Kamehameha.’

For Hawaiians, burial locations were one of the most secretive traditions in a culture over a thousand years old, and proper handling of ancient burial remains uncovered today; continue to be a highly sensitive cultural concern. (Yardley)

State law (§6E) addresses dealing with burials; §6E-43 Prehistoric and historic burial sites – at any site, other than a known, maintained, actively used cemetery where human skeletal remains are discovered or are known to be buried and appear to be over fifty years old, the remains and their associated burial goods shall not be moved without the department’s approval.

§6E-43.5 Island burial councils; creation; appointment; composition; duties. (a) The department shall establish island burial councils for Hawaii, Maui/Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai/Niihau, to implement section 6E-43.

The councils shall: Determine the preservation or relocation of previously identified native Hawaiian burial sites; Assist the department in the inventory and identification of native Hawaiian burial sites; Make recommendations regarding appropriate treatment and protection of native Hawaiian burial sites, and on any other matters relating to native Hawaiian burial sites.

Reportedly, upon the death of Ka‘ahumanu, the favorite wife of Kamehameha, Kuakini, with the help of Hoapili and Ho‘olulu (who had previously hidden the bones of Kamehameha) took the bones of Ka‘ahumanu and put hers with his, so she would be with Kamehameha forever. (Mellen)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

May 6, 2020 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Two Wills, Two Outcomes

Prince Lunalilo was born on January 31, 1835 to High Chiefess Miriam ‘Auhea Kekauluohi (Kuhina Nui, or Premier of the Hawaiian Kingdom and niece of Kamehameha I) and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina.

Lunalilo’s grandparents were Kalaʻimamahu (half brother of Kamehameha I) and Kalākua (sister to Kaʻahumanu). His great grandfather was Keōuakupupailaninui (Keōua, father of Kamehameha I.)

Lunalilo was educated at the Chiefs’ Children’s School, and at age four, became one of its first students. He was known as a scholar, a poet and a student with amazing memory for detail.

From a very young age, he loved to write with favorite subjects in school being literature and music. He composed Hawai’i’s first national anthem, E Ola Ke Ali`i Akua, or God Save the King.

He also developed a sense of justice and love for people. These traits were recognized by the age of six in the unselfish and caring manner in which he interacted with his servants.

As a young man, he was courteous and intelligent, generous and friendly. His close friends affectionately called him “Prince Bill”. His native people called him ”Lokomaikaʻi”, meaning “generous or benevolent”.

When Lunalilo died in 1874, while he was king, he was the first of the large landholding aliʻi to create a charitable trust for the benefit of his people.

His estate included large landholdings on the five major islands, consisting of 33-ahupuaʻa, nine ʻili and more than a dozen home lots. His will, written in 1871, established a perpetual trust under the administration of three trustees to be appointed by the justices of the Hawaiian Supreme Court.

The purpose of the trust was to build a home to accommodate the poor, destitute and infirm people of Hawaiian (aboriginal) blood or extraction, with preference given to older people. The will charged the Trustees to sell all of the estate’s land to build and maintain the home.

His will states “all of the real estate of which I may die seized and possessed to three persons … to be held by them in trust for the following purposes, to wit …”

“… to sell and dispose of the said real estate to the best advantage at public or private sale and to invest the proceeds in some secure manner until the aggregate sum shall amount to $25,000, or until the sum realized by the said trustees shall with donations or contributions from other sources, amount to the said sum of $25,000.” (District Court Records)

“The will leaves the testator’s real estate to his Trustees in trust to sell the same at public or private sale and invest the same till the amount realized from such sale or by additions from other sources shall be $25,000 …”

“… and then directs that they shall expend the whole amount in the purchase of land and in the erection of a building or buildings on the Island of Oahu for specified eleemosynary purposes.” (Supreme Court Records)

His will notes, “Then I order the trustees to exceed the whole amount in the purchase of land and in the erection of a building or buildings on the Island of Oʻahu, of iron, stone, brick or other fireproof material, for the use and accommodation of poor, destitute and infirm people of Hawaiian blood or extraction, giving preference to old people.” (District Court Records)

According to the instructions in the will, the Estate trustees sold the land, built Lunalilo Home and invested the remaining proceeds in mortgages, securities and government bonds.

Unfortunately, those investments went sour, and today the Lunalilo estate has limited assets, other than Lunalilo Home in Hawaiʻi Kai and the land under it, and the trust must constantly raise funds to maintain the operation of the home. (Byrd)

Reportedly, Lunalilo left an estate even larger than the one left by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, founder of Kamehameha Schools. However, the outcome of her estate has had a different ending.

High Chief Abner Pākī and his wife High Chiefess Laura Kōnia (Kamehameha III’s niece) had one child, a daughter, Bernice Pauahi Pākī (born December 19, 1831.)

When her cousin, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani, died, Keʻelikōlani’s will stated that she “give and bequeath forever to my beloved younger sister (cousin), Bernice Pauahi Bishop, all of my property, the real property and personal property from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi, all of said property to be hers (about 353,000 acres.)”

(Keʻelikōlani had previously inherited all of the substantial landholdings of the Kamehameha dynasty from her brother, Lot Kapuāiwa (King Kamehameha V.))

Pauahi died childless on October 16, 1884. Her will formed and funded the Kamehameha Schools; “I give, devise and bequeath all of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate real and personal … to erect and maintain in the Hawaiian Islands two schools, each for boarding and day scholars, one for boys and one for girls, to be known as, and called the Kamehameha Schools.”

Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s will (Clause 13) states her desire that her trustees “provide first and chiefly a good education in the common English branches, and also instruction in morals and in such useful knowledge as may tend to make good and industrious men and women”.

That same Clause gives the “trustees full power to make all such rules and regulations as they may deem necessary for the government of said schools and to regulate the admission of pupils, and the same to alter, amend and publish upon a vote of a majority of said trustees.”

She directed “that the teachers of said schools shall forever be persons of the Protestant religion, but I do not intend that the choice should be restricted to persons of any particular sect of Protestants.”

However, in order to support her vision, her will did not require her trustees to sell the land; rather, they can only sell “for the best interest” of the estate. Clause Seventeen notes, “I give unto the trustees … the most ample power to sell and dispose of any lands or other portion of my estate, and to exchange lands and otherwise dispose of the same … “

“I further direct that my said trustees shall not sell any real estate, cattle ranches, or other property, but to continue and manage the same, unless in their opinion a sale may be necessary for the establishment or maintenance of said schools, or for the best interest of my estate.”

Today, the Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate has net assets of nearly $7-billion and annual operating revenue of $1.34-billion.

“Had Lunalilo directed its trustees, as Princess Pauahi Bishop did, to retain the land and sell it only as necessary to run the home for the aged, the Lunalilo Trust today would rival the Bishop Estate in its net asset value, and it would be able to assist many more than the approximately fifty elderly Hawaiians who now live in Lunalilo Home.” (Takabuki)

“Princess Pauahi was wise when she directed her trustees to retain the “ʻĀina,” her primary endowment, and sell it only when necessary for the Kamehameha Schools or the best interest of the trust. Real estate has been, and will continue to be, a sound, prudent, long-term investment.” (Takabuki)

This summary is intended to address one key differing statement in the respective wills. While each called for trustees selected by the Supreme Court (thereby not knowing who would eventually carry out its instruction,) Lunalilo instructed his trustees to sell his land; on the other hand, Pauahi gave her trustees that right, but only in the “best interest” of the trust.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Bernice_Pauahi_Bishop,_about_age_twenty-three-1854

Bernice_Pauahi_Bishop,_San_Francisco,_1875

Charles Reed Bishop and his wife Bernice Pauahi Bishop in San Francisco in September 1876

Kamehameha School for Boys campus-(KSBE)-before 1900

Kamehameha School for Girls campus is the first to be completed on Kapälama Heights-(KSBE)-1931

Kamehameha_School_for_Girls-makai-Diamond Head corner of King and Kalihi Streets.(KSBE)

V2_5A Kamehameha Schools for Boys-(KSBE)-before 1900

Kamehameha_Schools_Land_Holdings-Google_Earth

May 5, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Haʻalilio

Timothy (Timoteo) Haʻalilio was born in 1808, at Koʻolau, Oʻahu. His parents were of respectable rank, and much esteemed.

His father died while he was quite young, and his widowed mother subsequently married the Governor of Molokai (after his death, she retained the authority of the island, and acted as Governess for the period of some fifteen years.)

At the age of eight years, Haʻalilio moved to Hilo where he was adopted into the family and became one of the playmates of the young prince Kauikeaouli (later, King Kamehameha III.) He travelled around the Islands with the prince and remained one of the most intimate companions and associates of the King.

At the age of about thirteen, he learned to read, and was a pleasant pupil and made great proficiency. There were then no regularly established schools, and, consistent with the wish of Kamehameha III, he was a private pupil of Hiram and Sybil Bingham.

In April or May, 1821, the King and the chiefs gathered in Honolulu and selected teachers to assist Mr. Bingham. James Kahuhu, John ʻĪʻi, Haʻalilio, Prince Kauikeaouli were among those who learned English. (Kamakau)

In addition to English, Haʻalilio learned to read Hawaiian and was taught arithmetic and penmanship, and was soon employed by the King to do his writing – not as an official secretary, but as a clerk.

On June 7, 1826, Haʻalilio married Hannah Hooper (Hana Hopua;) wedding entertainment was served at the house of Kīnaʻu, at which several of the members of the mission were present. (Chamberlain)

In 1831, the Lahainaluna School was founded, and Haʻalilio continued his education there.

During the brief conflict with Captain Cyrille-Pierre-Theodore Laplace and his fifty-two-gun frigate L’Artemise to Hawaiʻi in July, 1839 – where Laplace issued a ‘Manifesto’ “to put an end either by force or by persuasion to the ill-treatment of which the French are the victims at the Sandwich Islands” – Haʻalilio was taken hostage by the French. He was later exchanged for John ʻĪʻi who went on board the L’Artemise.

“The Kings and Chiefs could not fail to see the real value of such a man (Haʻalilio,) and they therefore promoted him to offices to which his birth would not, according to the old system, have entitled him.”

“He was properly the Lieutenant Governor of the Island of Oahu, and regularly acted as Governor during the absence of the incumbent. He was also elected a member of the council of Nobles.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

When the Hawaiian government needed to raise funds, as early as 1842, certain government lands were set aside to produce revenue for government needs.

To support this, a Treasury Board was formed, Haʻalilio severed on the Board with Dr. Gerrit Judd and John ʻĪʻi; they accepted taxes paid into the treasury. (Van Dyke)

King Kamehameha III recognized the need for his kingdom to be recognized internationally and he decided to send abroad a first-class delegation composed of Haʻalilio and William Richards.

Although neither individual was a professionally trained or experienced diplomat, both were men of the highest intelligence and trustworthiness who had the unequivocal backing and confidence of the King.

The importance placed on this diplomatic mission by Kamehameha III was apparent in his choice of Haʻalilio, whose integrity and lofty reputation among native Hawaiians gave enormous respectability and political clout to the monarchy’s latest international endeavor. (Crapol)

Haʻalilio was a man of intelligence, of good judgment, of pleasing manners, and respectable business habits. Few men are more attentive to neatness and order, at home, on shipboard, or in foreign climes, than he; and few public officers possess integrity more trustworthy. (Bingham)

The other half of Kamehameha’s frontline team was William Richards, the American missionary who was the primary architect of the Hawaiian monarchy’s campaign for legitimacy and international acceptance. Prior to this mission, in recognition of talents and service to the Crown, Richards was chosen in 1838 to be the principal counselor to the King and his chiefs. (Crapol)

Haʻalilio had acquired a very full knowledge of the political relations of the country. He was a strenuous advocate for a constitutional and representative government. He was well acquainted with the practical influence of the former system of government, and considered a change necessary to the welfare of the nation. (Richards)

“In the month of April 1842, (Haʻalilio) was appointed a joint Commissioner with Mr. Richards to the Courts of the USA, England and France. (He and Richards sailed from Lāhainā, July 18, 1842, and arrived in Washington on the fifth of December.) …”

“After spending a month at Washington, and having accomplished the main objects of embassy there (and subsequent US recognition of the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom,) he proceeded to the north.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

While on the continent, a newspaper noted a note Haʻalilio passed to a friend: “We are happy that our Christian friends have so much reason to congratulate us on our success in the prosecution of our official business at Washington.”

“May the cause of righteousness and of liberty, and the cause of Christ every where be prospered. (Signed) T. Haalilio, William Richards.” Boston Harbor, Feb. 2. (The Middlebury People’s Press, Vermont, February 15, 1843)

On February 18, 1843, Haʻalilio arrived in London and within six weeks “after accomplishing the object of his embassy to England, he proceeded to France, where he was received in the same manner as in England, and …”

“… succeeded in obtaining from the French Government, not only a recognition of independence, but also a mutual guarantee from England and France that that independence should be respected. (Similar responses were made from Belgium.)” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

While in London, Haʻalilio commissioned the College of Arms in London to prepare the Hawaiʻi Coat of Arms (following his design;) a May 31, 1845 story in the Polynesian newspaper reported that the National Coat of Arms was adopted by the Legislative Assembly.

Haʻalilio was a man of intelligence and judgment, of agreeable manners, and respectable business habits. While employed on his embassy, he read his Hawaiian Bible through twice.

The proofs of his piety appeared in his love for the Scriptures, for secret and social prayer, for the Sabbath, and for the worship of the sanctuary. He was gratified by what he saw of the regard for the Lord’s day in the United States and England, and was shocked in view of its desecration in France and Belgium. (Anderson)

After fifteen months in Europe, he returned to the USA and prepared to return to the Islands.

“On his arrival in the western part of Massachusetts, was attacked by a severe cold, brought on by inclemencies of the weather, followed by a change in the thermometer of about sixty degrees in twenty-four hours. Here was probably laid the foundation of that disease by which his short but eventful life has been so afflictingly closed.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

“On Sabbath evening, just before his death, he said; ‘This is the happiest day of my life. My work is done. I am ready to go.’ Then he prayed; ‘O, my Father, thou hast not granted my desire to see once more the land of my birth, and my friends that dwell there; but I entreat Thee refuse not my petition to see thy kingdom, and my friends who are dwelling with Thee.’” (Anderson)

Timothy Haʻalilio died at sea December 3, 1844 from tuberculosis. He was 36 years old.

“Great hopes had been entertained both among Hawaiians and foreigners, of the good results that would ensue to the kingdom from the addition of its councils of one of so intelligent a mind, stores as it was with the fruits of observant travel, and the advantages derived from long and familiar intercourse in the best circles of Europe and the United States. … (Upon news of his death) every attention affection or sympathy could suggest was afforded the deceased.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

“Let us not forget that Haalilio was permitted to live to accomplish the great objects of his mission, that he had represented his country with honor, and with a dignity which had inspired respect for him abroad both as an individual and as the Representative of (Kamehameha III.) …”

“In his death the nation has ample cause for mourning, and has met with a heavy loss, which time cannot repair.” (The Polynesian, April 12, 1845) (Lots of information from Polynesian, Richards, Chamberlain, Crapol and Kamakau.)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Timothy_Haalilio_and_William_Richards_(PP-96-5-003)

'Portrait_of_Timoteo_Ha'alilio_by_an_unknown_artist',_BishopMuseum

Timoteo_Ha'alilio_by_an_unknown_artist_BishopMuseum

Timothy_Haalilio_and_William_Richards-(WC)

Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Kingdom_of_Hawaii-1845

UK-France-Hawaii-Declaration-1843_page_1

UK-France-Hawaii-Declaration-1843_page_2

April 25, 2020 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

General Meeting

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 184-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the earliest efforts of the missionaries, who arrived in 1820, was the identification and selection of important communities (generally near ports and aliʻi residences) as “stations” for the regional church and school centers across the Hawaiian Islands.

The missionaries were scattered across the Islands, each home was usually in a thickly inhabited village, so that the missionary and his wife could be close to their work among the people. Meeting houses were constructed at the stations, as well as throughout the district. Initially constructed as the traditional Hawaiian thatched structures; they were later made of wood or stone.

By 1850, eighteen mission stations had been established; six on Hawaiʻi, four on Maui, four on Oʻahu, three on Kauai and one on Molokai.

Very prominent in the old mission life was the annual “General Meeting” where all of the missionary families from across the Islands gathered at Honolulu from four to six weeks.

“The design of their coming together would naturally suggest itself to any reflecting mind. They are all engaged in one work, but are stationed at various and distant points on different portions of the group, hence they feel the necessity of occasionally coming together, reviewing the past, and concerting plans for future operations.”

“Were it not for these meetings, missionaries at extreme parts of the group might never see each other, and in some instances we know that persons connected with the Sandwich Island Mission, have never seen each other’s faces, although for years they have been laboring in the same work.” (The Friend, June 15, 1846)

The primary object of this gathering was to hold a business meeting for hearing reports of the year’s work and of the year’s experiences in more secular matters, and there from to formulate their annual report to the Board in Boston. Annual General Meetings of the mission fixed policy – “the majority ruled”.

The General Meeting was held in an adobe school house (constructed during the period 1833-1835) still standing south of the Kawaiaha‘o Church, on Kawaiaha‘o Street.

An important object of the General Meeting was a social one. The many stations away from Honolulu were more or less isolated – some of them extremely so. Perhaps a dominant influence in the consumption of so much time was the appreciation of the social opportunity, and the unwillingness to bring it unnecessarily to a speedy close. (Dole)

“Often some forty or more of the missionaries besides their wives were present, as well as many of the older children. … Much business was transacted relating to the multifarious work and business of the Mission. New missionaries were to be located, and older ones transferred.” (Bishop)

Mission Houses Annual Meetings

The annual gathering of the Cousins, descendants of the early missionaries, continues. Today, the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society, a nonprofit educational institution and genealogical society, exists to promote an understanding of the social history of nineteenth-century Hawai‘i and its critical role in the formation of modern Hawai‘i.

The annual gathering of the Cousins, descendants of the early missionaries, continues. Hawaiian Mission Houses will be holding its annual meeting on April 25, 2020; however, due to present circumstances it will be held via video conference and not on the Mission Houses grounds, a stone’s throw from the old General Meeting house across Kawaiahaʻo Street.

The Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society, a nonprofit educational institution and genealogical society, exists to promote an understanding of the social history of nineteenth-century Hawai‘i and its critical role in the formation of modern Hawai‘i.

The Society operates the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives, comprised of three historic buildings and a research archives with reading room. The Society also compiles the genealogical records of the American Protestant missionaries in Hawai‘i and promotes the participation of missionary descendants in the Society’s activities.

Through the Site and Archives, the Society collects and preserves the documents, artifacts and other records of the missionaries in Hawai‘i’s history; makes these collections available for research and educational purposes; and interprets the historic site and collections to reflect the social history of nineteenth century Hawai‘i and America. Lots of stuff is online – click HERE.

When we are allowed to reopen, we plan to continue the guided tours of the houses and other parts of the historic site, Tuesday through Saturday, starting on the hour every hour from 11 am with the last tour beginning at 3 pm.

Click HERE to view/download Background Information on General Meeting

Old School House-General Meeting-Site-Centennial Book

April 8, 2020 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Freemasonry in Hawai‘i

Freemasonry, with its commitment to interdenominational and international fellowship, originated in the British Isles. The secret society emerged from the medieval guilds of stonemasons in Britain and Europe that set standards, protected workers’ rights and provided other benefits.

Though only Scottish and English associations can be connected to the modern Masonic fraternity, similar craft guilds and companies existed across Europe, playing an important role in the construction of abbeys, cathedrals and castles.

Masons’ tools such as the level, square and compass served to underline the fraternity’s values: equality, honesty, spirituality. Freemasonry spread like wildfire throughout Europe and America during the eighteenth century.

Hawai‘i was first visited by Freemasons as early as the early-1790s, with the visit of George Vancouver. In addition other lesser known Freemasons (mariners, merchants and professionals) visited the Islands.

Oddly enough, it was a French mariner who introduced this British cultural export into Hawai‘i at a time when the Union Jack flew over the kingdom’s capital.

On April 8, 1843, during the reign of King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli,) Freemasonry was formally established in Hawai‘i by Joseph Marie Le Tellier, Captain of the French whaling barque “Ajax” when he warranted Lodge Le Progres de l’Oceanie No. 124, of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the Supreme Council of France.

This was the first Masonic Lodge to be instituted in the Sandwich Islands (as Hawai‘i was referenced at that time) and is quite likely the first Lodge to be founded in the Pacific and West of the Rocky Mountains.

With it, Freemasonry became firmly established in the Sandwich Islands. In Honolulu, the original lodge members were European and American mariners, shopkeepers and farmers.

Membership in Masonic lodges has always served to facilitate business contacts, as well as social ones. By the late-1840s there were about thirty-five merchants and storekeepers in Honolulu, of whom about one third were Masons. Similar ratios existed for the other 150 skilled “mechanics” and professionals in town.

Hawaiian Royalty soon looked to membership. The association between Freemasonry and the Hawaiian Monarchy started with Prince Lot when he was raised in Hawaiian Lodge in 1853, and became the first Native Hawaiian to become a Freemason (he later became Kamehameha V.)

Prince Lot was followed into the fraternity by his younger brother Prince Alexander Liholiho, who later became Kamehameha IV, and was the Master of Lodge le Progres de l’Oceanie in 1859, 1861 and 1862.

In June 1853, Foreign Minister Robert Crichton Wyllie sent the lodge a request from King Kamehameha III that the reigning monarch be initiated “into our ancient and benevolent order.” Apparently, the lodge did not take the opportunity to enroll King Kamehameha III.

In July 1860, the ground breaking for Queen’s Hospital included a traditional Masonic cornerstone laying ceremony attended by thousands and presided over by the young monarch.

Later, in 1879, King Kalākaua (one of the most active members of the Craft in the Island Kingdom,) conducted a grand Masonic ceremony at the site of the new ‘Iolani Palace, using Masonic silver working tools specially crafted for the occasion.

Other public buildings dedicated under Masonic rites were Ali‘iolani Hale (now home to Hawai‘i’s Supreme Court) and Lunalilo Home.

Other notable Masons of that time included John Dominis (husband of Queen Lili’uokalani,) Archibald Cleghorn (Governor of O‘ahu,) Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku (younger brother of King Kalākaua) and Prince David Kawananakoa.

During the first decades of Masonic activity in the Islands, Americans constituted 40 percent to 50 percent of all members, and Scots, Irish and English together constituted another 30 percent.

Native Hawaiians, on the other hand, comprised no more than 5 to 10 percent of the fraternity, but because they were frequently royalty or important governmental officials, they were highly conspicuous.

In 1852, Hawaiian Lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of California and all Hawaiʻi lodges became part of that grand lodge from 1902 until 1989, when the Grand Lodge of Hawaiʻi was established.

After 137 years to the month (when the Hawaiian Lodge was chartered,) May 5, 1852 – May 20, 1989, of being a part of the California Jurisdiction, Hawai‘i established its own regular Grand Lodge.

On May 20, 1989, the twelve Masonic Lodges of Hawaiʻi instituted The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Hawai‘i.

The Grand Lodge of Hawai‘i is the smallest and youngest of American jurisdictions, consisting of eleven constituent lodges and about 1,700 members. Over the years, its members have included three kings, four governors and six chief justices of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger