Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1880s – Kalākaua goes on his world tour, Matson acquires his first vessel, Pauahi dies, Bayonet Constitution and Pearl Harbor is leased by US Navy. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.
Founder’s Day
Pauahi Pākī was born on December 19, 1831; she was the great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I. Pauahi was hānai (adopted) to her aunt, Kīnaʻu (the eldest daughter of Kamehameha.) Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha (later Queen Lili‘uokalani) was hānai (adopted) to the Pākīs, who reared her with their birth daughter, Pauahi. The two girls developed a close, loving relationship.
In 1850, at the age of 19, Pauahi married Charles Reed Bishop, a young American businessman. When her cousin, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani, died, Keʻelikōlani’s will stated gave all of her land to Pauahi – about 353,000 acres. Bernice Pauahi died childless on October 16, 1884. Through her will she founded Kamehameha Schools. Today, December 19, is Pauahi’s birthday; it is also known as Founder’s Day at Kamehameha Schools.
Lili‘uokalani Childhood
“Very near to (the site of Queen’s Hospital,) on Sept. 2, 1838, I was born. … I was destined to grow up away from the house of my parents.” ”When I was taken from my own parents and adopted by Paki and Konia, or about two months thereafter, a child was born to Kīna‘u. That little babe was the Princess Victoria, two of whose brothers became sovereigns of the Hawaiian people.” “While the infant was at its mother’s breast, Kīna‘u always preferred to take me into her arms to nurse, and would hand her own child to the woman attendant who was there for that purpose.”
“I knew no other father or mother than my foster-parents, no other sister than Bernice. I used to climb up on the knees of Paki, put my arms around his neck, kiss him, and he caressed me as a father would his child, while on the contrary, when I met my own parents, it was with perhaps more of interest, yet always with the demeanor I would have shown to any strangers who noticed me.”
Kīnaʻu
Kīnaʻu was the daughter of Kamehameha and Kalākua Kaheiheimālie (Hoapili Wahine.) She was a niece of Kaʻahumanu. Kīnaʻu was born probably in 1805 at Waikiki. She was first married to her half-brother Liholiho who became King Kamehameha II with the death of their father 1819. Her second husband was Kauai Governor Kāhalaiʻa Luanuʻu, a grandson of Kamehameha I. Her third husband was O‘ahu Governor Mataio Kekūanāoʻa.
Kīna’u was the highest in rank of any of the women chiefs of her day. With Kekūanāoʻa she had several children, including Lot (afterwards Kamehameha V,) Alexander Liholiho (afterwards Kamehameha IV) and Victoria. Kīnaʻu “was sedate, courteous, and reliable, a little haughty in her deportment toward strangers, but a loving, exemplary wife, a tender mother, and a warmhearted, unwavering friend.” Kīnaʻu died on April 4, 1839.
Keʻelikōlani
Keʻelikōlani (Princess Ruth) was born February 9, 1826; she was a high-ranking aliʻi wahine. She was held in high regard by the general populace, and treated lovingly or respectfully by the ranking chiefs, government officials, and the people of her time.
She was a great-granddaughter of Kamehameha, a grand-niece to Kamehameha II and III, and a half-sister of Kamehameha IV and V. Keʻelikōlani died in 1883 at Haleʻōlelo, her large hale pili thatched home on the grounds of Huliheʻe Palace in Kailua-Kona. At her death, Keʻelikōlani gave her property to Pauahi who used it as the land base for the formation of Kamehameha Schools.
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