Liliuokalani | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

November 23, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Beehive

When Brigham Young and the Latter-day Saints arrived in Salt Lake Valley in July of 1847, Young chose the name “Deseret” for their new home, and the beehive as its emblem, symbolizing the kind of cooperative work that would be required to make the desert bloom.

Mark Twain commented on the Utah beehive symbol in his book on the 1860s American West, Roughing It, “The Mormon crest was easy.”

“And it was simple, unostentatious and it fitted like a glove. It was a representation of a Golden Beehive, with all the bees at work.”

On October 11, 1881 an article in the Deseret News explained the symbolism: “The hive and honey bees form our communal coat of arms. …”

“It is a significant representation of the industry, harmony, order and frugality of the people, and of the sweet results of their toil, union and intelligent cooperation.”

When Utah territory became a state in 1896, it retained the beehive symbol in its state seal and on its flag. The state adopted the beehive as its official symbol in 1959, designated the honeybee as the state insect, and even named the “beehive cluster” as the state’s astronomical symbol.

Utah is known as “The Beehive State,” and businesses continue to name themselves after the antique skep, many of them without knowing what a bee skep is, or where the bees are. (Salt Lake Magazine)

The Beehive House was built between 1853 and 1855 and served as home to Brigham Young when he was President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and governor of the Utah Territory.

Liliuokalani was a guest at the Beehive House on November 23, 1901. “Perhaps fifty natives of the Sandwich Islands were in attendance at the reception last evening, and they were given the first chance to greet the Queen.”

“Some merely bowed low as they grasped her hand, while other stooped to kiss the white kid glove. Many gave expressions of love and loyalty.”

“Although she surrounds herself with an air of hauteur and reserve, the former queen at times unbent and chatted pleasantly with different persons who came to meet her specially with President Joseph F Smith, who was able to converse with her in her native tongue.”

“President Joseph F Smith (of the Mormon Church) made a short speech of welcome to the ex-Queen. It is a coincidence which was not brought out last evening that President Smith is just nineteen days older than Liliuokalani.”

“The president spoke of the time when, in 1854, as a boy of sixteen, he had gone to the Sandwich Islands to labor as a missionary.”

“He told how he had been kindly treated by the natives of the Islands, and one Hawaiian woman had become a foster mother to him, taking him into her home while he was learning the new tongue.”

“For this hospitality he had always been grateful, and he was glad to extend a welcome to the former queen of the people who had been so kind to him and the people of his faith.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 11, 1901)

On July 7, 1906, Elder Abraham Kaleimahoe Fernandez baptized and then confirmed Queen Lydia Kamakaeha Liliuokalani a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Although technically she was no longer the queen of Hawai’i in 1906, Elder Fernandez recorded and reported to President Samuel E. Woolley that he had baptized Her Majesty Queen Liliuokalani. (Walker)

Although she is first monarch to join the Mormon church, she also joined other churches in her last years.

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November 10, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lili‘uokalani and the Episcopal Church

“American bishop of Honolulu celebrated the Holy Communion at Saint Andrew’s Cathedral at seven am, on August 10, 1902, and Queen Liliuokalani was present and communicated. Some days after this he called at Washington Place by appointment and she stated in welcoming him that she sincerely hoped the Church would prosper and grow.”

“On subsequent calls upon the Queen, as everyone here called her, she talked of the overthrow of the monarchy and expressed herself calmly and with resignation.” (Restarick)

“That first night of my imprisonment was the longest night I have ever passed in my life; it seemed as though the dawn of day would never come. I found in my bag a small Book of Common Prayer according to the ritual of the Episcopal Church.”

“It was a great comfort to me, And before retiring to rest Mrs. Clark and I spent a few minutes in the devotions Appropriate to the evening.” (Liliʻuokalani)

“She was for years, after our coming, a regular attendant at the Hawaiian Service at the cathedral. She always had with her certain attendants who sat in the seat behind her.”

“The service at that time was all in Hawaiian but portions of it are now in English because the young people understand little of the language of their parents.”

“The Queen had been brought up in the Congregational Mission and it was after the revolution, when she was a prisoner in the palace, that Bishop Willis ministered to her in her trouble. She frequently stated that Bishop Willis had been a great comfort and help to her.”

“The sons of the old missionaries were largely instrumental in bringing about the over throw and she naturally felt this, although before her death her friendship for them had returned and she showed her confidence and trust in them in many ways.”

“She was confirmed in Saint Andrew’s Cathedral on May 13, 1896. She became the president of the Hawaiian Guild which was organized in 1902 and when she could no longer take an active part she became the honorary president and remained so until her death.”

“She told the bishop that she often came to church when she was not very well, for the sake of example. She was interested in the work of raising an endowment for the Hawaiian pastorate and was always a regular contributor towards the support of the church, giving also generously to special objects.”

“In 1906 she laid the cornerstone of the Davies Memorial Hall and Parish House. Theophilus H Davies, in whose memory the building was erected by his children, had been a sincere friend of the Hawaiian people was present when Saint Andrew’s Priory had its closing exercises. The last time she did so was in 1915, since then she was seldom seen in public.”

“The Reverend Leopold Kroll, Priest-in-charge of the Hawaiian work, frequently called upon the Queen and enjoyed her confidence.”

“It was customary to address her as ‘Your Majesty’, and this was done by Americans as well as others. For some months the Queen had been failing but she became seriously ill only a few days before her death.”

“The bishop went with Mr. Kroll to Washington Place and next day, Friday, November ninth, he and Mr. Kroll held services at her bedside, Prince and Princess Kalanianaole and a few others being present.”

“She died on Sunday, November eleventh, at 8:30 am and the bishop was requested by the prince to officiate at the burial. A Church service was held on Monday night at Washington Place before the body was removed to Kawaiahao Church where Hawaiian monarchs since Kamehameha II have been laid in state.”

“Another service at which the cathedral Hawaiian choir sang was held before the body was removed to the throne room in the palace from which all the deceased members of the Kalakaua royal line had been buried.”

“Many of the old customs of the Hawaiians were observed while the body lay in state. Old Hawaiians chanted the deeds of her ancestors and the events of her life and many women and men in choruses sang wonderfully pathetic music every night until her burial. In charge of Hawaiians who knew ancient customs, arrangements were made for a dignified burial.”

“The ancient kahilis had been placed in order around the coffin from the time of her death, and they were carried in procession when she was moved until she reached her final resting place, as was also the tabu stick, beyond which, in ancient times, it meant death to go.”

“The bishop and Mr. Kroll took the service, the cathedral Hawaiian choir singing the musical portions. The throne room was the scene of strange magnificence and one which will never again be witnessed.”

“The procession which led to the royal mausoleum was simply wonderful; there were 2,000 United States troops, there were 1,500 women in Hawaiian societies …”

“… there were schools of Hawaiian children including Saint Andrew’s Priory, and then just preceding the catafalque the choir, the bishop and the clergy, the catafalque itself being drawn by 204 Hawaiian men dressed in white.”

“Arriving at the mausoleum the heavy koa casket was placed at its entrance and there the old Hawaiian retainers gave expression to their feelings by wailing in that pathetic and soul stirring use of the voice which is different from anything heard elsewhere.”

“At the close of the service the choir sang Peace Perfect Peace and the band played Aloha Oe, the Queen’s own composition, and then the bandsmen sang the words of the refrain. In the vault with her brother Kalakaua and others of the family, the last monarch of Hawaii was laid to rest.” (Restarick)

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October 16, 2018 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

‘I must own to one great disappointment’

“I was destined to grow up away from the house of my parents. Immediately after my birth I was wrapped in the finest soft tapa cloth, and taken to the house of another chief, by whom I was adopted.”

“Konia, my foster-mother, was a granddaughter of Kamehameha I, and was married to Paki, also a high chief; their only daughter, Bernice Pauahi, afterwards Mrs. Charles R. Bishop, was therefore my foster-sister.”

“In speaking of our relationship, I have adopted the term customarily used in the English language, but there was no such modification recognized in my native land. 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.” (Lili‘uokalani)

“My own father and mother had other children, ten in all, the most of them being adopted into other chiefs’ families; and although I knew that these were my own brothers and sisters, yet we met throughout my younger life as though we had not known our common parentage.”

“This was, and indeed is, in accordance with Hawaiian customs. It is not easy to explain its origin to those alien to our national life, but it seems perfectly natural to us.”

“As intelligible a reason as can be given is that this alliance by adoption cemented the ties of friendship between the chiefs. It spread to the common people, and it has doubtless fostered a community of interest and harmony.”

“The house she lived in, ‘Haleakala,’ “was completed in 1851, and occupied by Paki until 1855, when he died. … It was there that the years of my girlhood were passed, after school-days were over, and the pleasant company we often had in that house will never cease to give interest to the spot.”

It was “one of the most beautiful and central of the mansions in Honolulu. To it came all the high chiefs then living there, also the foreign residents; in fact, all the best society of the city.” (Lili‘uokalani)

“In the course of time Mr. and Mrs. Bishop were induced to take up their abode at ‘Haleakala,’ which, with other property, became hers as an inheritance from Paki.”

“This charming home, which immediately became the centre of all that was best, most cultivated, and refined in Hawaiian social life, has been graphically described by a cousin of Mr. Bishop, Mrs. Allen, who arrived in Honolulu in 1864 from California, on a visit.”

“It may be said that a warm and enduring friendship was formed at that time between the two, which continued unbroken during the lifetime of Mrs. Bishop. Of ‘Haleakala,’ as the house was called, and its picturesque life Mrs. Allen wrote:”

“‘At that time her home was the most beautiful in Honolulu, the house large and pleasant, the grounds full of beautiful trees, shrubs, and vines and so well cared-for. I shall never forget my first night’s rest in the home, and the satisfaction of waking in such pleasant surroundings.’”

“‘At that time there were at each end of the premises large yards with long low buildings on two sides, which were divided into rooms and occupied by numerous families attached to her as their chiefess to whom they looked for counsel in all their affairs—joys and sorrows.’”

“‘I was always interested to see her out under a large tamarind tree surrounded by her people, many of whom had come in from the country to advise with her. She would sit for hours with the utmost patience listening to them .’” (Allen; Krout)

Pauahi died October 16, 1884. “When the will of Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop was read, in which she disposed of her own estate, I did not happen to be present …”

“… but her husband, Hon. Charles R. Bishop, informed me that I had been duly remembered, that his wife had bequeathed to me the lands of Kahala, island of Oahu, Lumahai on Kauai, Kealia in Kona, Hawaii …”

“… besides which he sent to me a pair of diamond wristlets, a diamond pin with crown which had once belonged to the Princess Ruth, and a necklace of pearls beautifully chased and set in tigers’ claws.”

“But nevertheless I must own to one great disappointment. The estate which had been so dear to us both in my childhood, the house built by my father, Paki, where I had lived as a girl …”

“… which was connected with many happy memories of my early life, from whence I had been married to Governor Dominis, when he took me to Washington Place, I could not help feeling ought to have been left to me.”

“The estate was called Haleakala, or House of the Sun, and the residence received the name of Aikupika; but both these are forgotten now in that of the Arlington Hotel.”

“This wish of my heart was not gratified, and, at the present day strangers stroll through the grounds or lounge on the piazzas of that home once so dear to me.”

“Yet memories of my adopted parents still cling to that homestead, and rise before me not only when I pass its walls, but I recall in a foreign land the days of my youth.” (Lili‘uokalani)

“The place was maintained as a chief’s residence for many years. It can only have been turned to other uses during the past fifteen years; at the outside. Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop left the estate to her husband, who turned the property over to the Kamehameha estates.” (Bishop, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, September 6, 1900)

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September 2, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Liliʻuokalani

At that time she was born, children often were named in commemoration of an event. She was given the name Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamakaʻeha.

Kuhina Nui Kīnaʻu had developed an eye infection at the time of Liliʻu’s birth. She gave the child the names Liliʻu (smarting,) Loloku (tearful,) Walania (a burning pain) and Kamakaʻeha (sore eyes.)

“Very near to (the site of Queen’s Hospital,) on Sept. 2, 1838, I was born. My father’s name was Kapaʻakea, and my mother was Keohokālole; the latter was one of the fifteen counsellors of the king, Kamehameha III., who in 1840 gave the first written constitution to the Hawaiian people.”

“My great-grandfather, Keawe-a-Heulu, the founder of the dynasty of the Kamehamehas, and Keōua, father of Kamehameha I., were own cousins, and my great-grandaunt was the celebrated Queen Kapiʻolani, one of the first converts to Christianity. “

“She plucked the sacred berries from the borders of the volcano, descended to the boiling lava, and there, while singing Christian hymns, threw them into the lake of fire.”

“This was the act which broke forever the power of Pele, the fire-goddess, over the hearts of her people. Those interested in genealogies are referred to the tables at the close of this volume, which show the descent of our family from the highest chiefs of ancient days.”

“But I was destined to grow up away from the house of my parents.” (Lili‘uokalani)

As was the custom, Liliʻu was hānai (adopted) to Abner Pākī and his wife Laura Kōnia (granddaughter of Kamehameha I), who reared her with their birth daughter, Pauahi (born December 19, 1831).

“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.”

Lili‘uokalani lived on the property called Haleʻākala, in the house that Pākī built on King Street. It was the ‘Pink House,’ made from coral (the house was name ʻAikupika (Egypt.)) (It is not clear where the ʻAikupika name came from.)

The two-story coral house was built by Pākī himself, from the original grass hut complex of the same name at the same site; he financed the construction through the sale of Mākaha Valley (ʻAikupika would later become the primary residence of his daughter Bernice Pauahi and her husband, Charles Reed Bishop.)

“At the age of four years I was sent to what was then known as the Royal School, because its pupils were exclusively persons whose claims to the throne were acknowledged. It was founded and conducted by Mr Amos S Cooke, who was assisted by his wife.”

“It was a boarding-school, the pupils being allowed to return to their homes during vacation time, as well as for an occasional Sunday during the term.”

“I was a studious girl; and the acquisition of knowledge has been a passion with me during my whole life, one which has not lost its charm to the present day. In this respect I was quite different from my sister Bernice.” (Lili‘uokalani)

Founded in 1839 during the reign of King Kamehameha III, the original Chief’s Children’s School was in the area where the ʻIolani barracks now stand.

Mr. and Mrs. Amos Cooke, missionaries from New England, were commissioned to teach the 16 royal children (others who joined the Pākī sisters were Lot Kapuāiwa (later Kamehameha V), Queen Emma, King William Lunalilo and Liliʻu’s brother, David (later King Kalākaua.)

In 1846 the school’s name was officially changed to Royal School; attendance was restricted to descendants of the royal line and heirs of the chiefs. In 1850, a second school was built on the site of the present Royal School; it was opened to the general public in 1851.

The comments in quotes are from Liliʻuokalani from her book “Hawaiʻi’s Story by Hawaiʻi’s Queen, Liliʻuokalani.”

Fast forward … on the afternoon of January 16, 1893, 162 sailors and Marines aboard the USS Boston in Honolulu Harbor came ashore. The home that Liliʻuokalani was raised in (later known as Arlington Hotel) served as the headquarters for the USS Boston’s landing force (Camp Boston) at the time of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, January 17, 1893.

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Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī, the future Queen Liliuokalani, in her youth possibly at Royal School.

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Laura Kōnia (c. 1808–1857) was a member of the Hawaiian royal family. She was grandaughter of King Kamehameha I

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USS Boston officers at Camp Boston, Arlington Hotel, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1893

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July 8, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Dominis Aimoku

“John (Dominis) was, to use a euphemism, rather irregular as a husband – as many husbands in my experience are. He was fond of society, sometimes took more liquor than was good for him, and occasionally (although he never kept a regular mistress) had some love adventures.”

“In this small community they were reported to his wife, and I can vouch to how she suffered by it. She was exceedingly fond and jealous of him. But, like most unfaithful husbands, he would not have for one moment shut his eyes on even any sign of unfaithfulness on the part of his wife.”

“As long as he was alive, any one slandering his wife would have, I assure you, been severely punished.” (Trousseau, Blount Report)

“In November of 1882, Dr. Trousseau had the unpleasant duty of telling Lili‘uokalani that John Owen Dominis was about to have an illegitimate child born to a young half-Hawaiian woman”.

“This young woman was a retainer of Lili‘uokalani’s; a part of her ‘family’; she was also, however, officially married to a young Hawaiian by the name of John Lamiki Aimoku.” (Kelley)

“On January 9, 1883, a child was born in the household of Lili‘uokalani at Waikiki. The mother gave her child in Hawai’ian fashion in hānai to its maternal grandmother, Mary Purdy (Pahau), who was at the time 53 years old.”

“She claimed him as her own, (however) Princess Lili‘uokalani took over his support … (S)he followed the letter of law … that a child born out of wedlock took the legal surname of his mother, Aimoku. … Thus John Dominis Aimoku came into being.”

“In 1910, at the age of 27, young John told Lili‘uokalani that he was in love with Sybil McInerny, the daughter of a prominent Honolulu merchant, and wanted to marry her.”

“Upon hearing that news, Liliu‘okalani decided to officially adopt him and change his name to John Aimoku Dominis. She did so that May, 19 years after her husband’s death.” (Tsutsumi)

In Lili‘uokalani’s will, she left “For John Dominis Aimoku, the premises known as “Washington Place”, with the appurtenances, on Beretania Street, in Honolulu, for his lifetime …”

“… and on his death to the lawfully begotten heirs of his body during their lifetime (or so long after the death of said John Dominis Aimoku as the law will permit, with reversion then to the Trustees).” (Liliuokalani’s Will)

“John Aimoku Dominis, a ward of Queen Liliʻuokalani and one of the trustees of the Liliʻuokalani Trust, died on Saturday afternoon (July 8, 1917) after a long Illness and on Sunday the remains were cremated.”

“Following a long illness which developed into a condition which had been regarded hopeless for several days, Mr. Dominis died shortly before midnight on Saturday night at the McInerny residence at Kahala.”

“Mr. Dominis was 34 years of age. He was adopted by the queen … and for a Jong time was under the immediate care of Mrs Paakaiulaula Bush. He received his education In Iolani College.”

“For nearly five years Mr Dominis was a circuit court clerk, being assistant to Clerk Henry Smith in the main office. After leaving, this position he entered, the insurance business in which he continued until ill health necessitated his giving it up.” (Honolulu Star Bulletin, July 9, 1917)

Later, the Territorial Legislature noted, “those certain premises in the city of Honolulu known as Washington Place have for almost three-quarters of a century been associated and identified with the government of Hawaii”.

“Prince Jonah Kūhio Kalaniana‘ole has indicated his earnest desire that Washington Place should be acquired by the Territory of Hawaii as an executive mansion for its Governor, thus preserving to posterity the said Washington Place as a memorial to the late Queen Liliuokalani”.

“Prince Jonah Kūhio Kalaniana‘ole and the Trustees of the Liliuokalani Trust have agreed that the said Washington Place should be conveyed to the Territory of Hawaii for a price not to exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00), upon the condition that the Territory shall also, at the same time, acquire the life interest or right of occupancy of the heirs of John Dominis Aimoku”.

“The said premises known as Washington Place, when so acquired, shall be and are hereby set apart for use exclusively as an executive mansion for the governor of Hawai‘i.” (Act 229, approved April 39, 1919)

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