Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Alexander Adams

Alexander Adams was born December 27, 1780; he left Scotland in 1792 to begin a life of working on the sea. This eventually led him to Hawaiʻi, where he arrived in 1811 on the American trading ship the ‘Albatross’ from Boston.

He became an intimate friend and confidential advisor to King Kamehameha I, who entrusted to him the command of the king’s sandalwood fleet. He became the first regular pilot for the port of Honolulu, a position he held for 30-years.

Adams is credited with helping to design the Hawaiian flag – a new flag for Hawaiʻi was needed to avoid confusion by American vessels (prior to that time, Hawaiian vessels flew the British Union Jack.)

“The Hawaiian flag was designed for King Kamehameha I, in the year 1816. As the King desired to send a vessel to China to sell a cargo of sandal-wood, he in company with John Young, Isaac Davis and Alexander Adams … made this flag for the ship, which was a war vessel, called the Forrester, carrying 16 guns, and was owned by Kamehameha I.” (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, January 1, 1862)

On March 7, 1817, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi sent Adams to China to sell the sandalwood. When he sailed to China, it was the first vessel under the flag of Hawaiʻi.

To enter the Chinese harbor, the ship was heavily taxed in port charges. Upon returning October 5, 1817, at Hilo and hearing of the amount Adams had to pay, King Kamehameha decided Hawaiʻi should also generate revenue from port charges. This was the origin of harbor dues in the islands.

Kamehameha awarded Adams control of over 2,000-acres in the Niu Valley (much of which is still under the control on his descendants.)

Adams stood on the shore with John Young at Kailua-Kona when the first American Christian missionaries anchored off shore in 1820. He helped convince the King to allow the missionaries to come ashore and take up residence in Hawaiʻi.

When the HMS Blonde arrived in 1825, Adams helped the Scottish naturalist (James Macrae) distribute some plants he thought would be commercially successful in the tropical climate.

In 1828, Queen Kaʻahumanu gave Adams over 290-acres of land in Kalihi Valley (on the island of Oʻahu) in connection with and in gratitude for his services. The area was called Apili.

After 30 years of piloting, Adams retired in 1853, grew fruit on his land in Kalihi Valley, and was great host to visitors. He also had a home on what was named Adams Lane (in 1850,) a small lane in downtown Honolulu off of Hotel Street named after him (near the Hawaiian Telephone company building.)

Adams married three times, his first was to Sarah “Sally” Davis, daughter of Isaac Davis; two of his wives were the Harbottle sisters (Sarah Harbottle and Charlotte Harbottle,) who were reared by Queen Kaʻahumanu and were favorites at court. According to his personal account, he was the father of 15 children, eight of whom were by his third wife.

The estate in Niu Valley was held by his granddaughter Mary Lucas, who started subdividing it in the 1950s. The area created by the filling of Kupapa Fishpond is now the site of numerous oceanfront homes.

Old Niu Fishpond (Kupapa Fishpond) is part of a tract of 2,446 acres that was once a summer home of Kamehameha I and which later claimed by Alexander Adams under Claim No. 802 filed Feb. 14, 1848, with the land commission at the time of the Great Māhele.

The claim states: “From the testimony of Governor Kekūanāoʻa … it appears that the claimant was created lord of konohiki of this land, in the time of Kamehameha I, and that he has exercised the konohikiship of the same without dispute ever since the year of Our Lord 1822.”

It further appears that the claimant obtained his rights in this land, in the same way that he obtained his rights in the land comprised in the Claim No. 801 (in Downtown Honolulu,) namely in remuneration for services rendered the king as sea captain or sailing master.”

Adams died October 17, 1871. He is buried next to his friend and fellow Scotsman Andrew Auld in the Oʻahu Cemetery. Their common tombstone contains the following inscription in the Scots dialect: “Twa croanies frae the land of heather; Are sleepin’ here in death th’gether.”

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William Sumner

William Sumner was born in 1786 in Northampton, England; he boarded a British vessel as a steward of the captain, and came to Hawaiʻi in 1807.

When the ship arrived on Kauai, William Sumner jumped-ship and lived amongst the Hawaiians there. Kaumuali‘i was the king of Kauai at the time, and when he saw Sumner, he was entranced by this youth, and took him as a “keiki hoʻokama” (adopted him.)

Archibald Campbell in his visit to the islands in 1809, referring to the vessels of Kamehameha, said, “I counted more than thirty vessels; they are kept with the utmost care, having sheds built over them, their spars laid alongside, and their rigging and cables preserved in stores.”

“They are chiefly sloops and schooners, under forty tons burden, and have all been built by his own carpenters, principally natives, under the direction of an Englishman of the name of Boyd.”

Captain William Sumner served as one of the captains on ships in this fleet. In doing so, he also participated in some of the monumental moments in Hawai‘i’s history of his time.

When Kamehameha called for Kaumuali‘i to meet, in 1810, reportedly, it was Sumner who accompanied King Kaumuali‘i to Pākākā for the peaceful settlement between Kaumuali‘i and Kamehameha.

After this meeting, Kaumuali‘i returned to Kauai, but because Kamehameha took a fancy to Sumner, he was held back to stay with Kamehameha. Sumner became one of the few who lived with the family of Kamehameha.

In 1817, he was Chief Mate on Brig Forrester, bound for China, under the command of Alexander Adams. On this trip they proceeded first to Kauai to haul down the Russian flag at Fort Elizabeth. After expelling the Russians, they then sailed for China.

In addition to interisland travel, Sumner captained ships for trade for the Kingdom.

In 1821, he commanded the Brig Thaddeus and sailed for Kamchatka with a load of salt; in 1824, he was given charge of the brig Ainoa for a sealing voyage, returning October with 5,845 fur skins, a quantity of elephant oil and fish; in 1829, he took charge of the Brig Neo bound to Tahiti, to recover “lost” cargo; and over the years, he transported sandalwood.

In 1822, Captain Sumner captained an expedition to claim Nihoa as a possession of Hawai‘i. He also took Ka‘ahumanu and a royal party including Kaumuali’i, Liholiho, Keōpūolani and Kahekili Ke‘eaumoku on a visit to Ni‘ihau.

In 1831, Captain Sumner played a role in expelling and deporting the Catholics priests out of Hawai‘i. On May 5, 1831, King Kamehameha III issued a commission to Sumner, as commander of the brig Waverley, “to receive on board two French gentlemen and their goods, or whatever they may bring on board, and to proceed on to California, and land them safe on shore, with everything belonging to them, where they may subsist, and then to return back to the Sandwich Islands.”

Some foreigners, like Captain William Sumner who sailed ships for Kamehameha, Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III,) were awarded land grants for their services.

In 1819, Kamehameha I gave LCA 155 to ship Captain William Sumner for services rendered. This site was at the corner of today’s Hotel and Punchbowl Streets (near where the present Barracks are at ʻIolani Palace.)

In 1840, Kamehameha III granted William Sumner the “farmland to the west of Honolulu known as Kahaohao” (about 60-acres.) The deed included a “proviso that the said property cannot be transferred to any other than a native-born citizen of the Sandwich Islands.”

Sumner was also awarded “… a fishery of the 647 Diamond Head acres of the reef lying between the Kalihi and Honolulu Harbor Channels. The area carried the Hawaiian name of Kaholaloa (Koholaloa, Kahololoa, Kaholoa.) The Ewa portion of this reef was designated Mokauea.”

Following the Mahele, Mokapu Peninsula was kept as Crown Lands. Koʻolaupoko District Chief Abner Pāki was awarded over 3,000 acres in Heʻeia ahupua`a (LCA 10613) and Queen Kalama, wife of Kamehameha III was awarded over 9,000 acres in Kāneʻohe ahupuaʻa (LCA 4452). Both awards were given for nearly the entire ahupuaʻa.

Pāki’s portion of ili Mokapu was sold at auction to brothers William and John Sumner and included 464 acres. John Sumner became sole owner upon his brother’s death, and left the lands in trust to Robert Wyllie Davis, his nephew.

The area was later divided into house lots in 1932 and sold off. In 1940, by Federal Executive Order through the U.S. Navy, all 331 parcels on the 464 acres were condemned and a Declaration of Takings enacted.

Sumner married the High Chiefess Keakuaaihue Kanealai Hua in 1818; they had three children, William Sumner, Jr.; John K. Sumner; and Maria K Sumner. In 1847, William Sumner died; he’s buried at O‘ahu Cemetery.

The map shows the approximate area of William Sumner’s 60-acres of “farmland” (green) and 647-acres of “fishery” (blue) – this covers most of what is now Honolulu Harbor and Sand Island. Note Sumner’s house across from what is now downtown Honolulu.

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John Papa ʻĪʻī

John Papa ʻĪʻī, one of the leading citizens of the Hawaiian kingdom during the nineteenth century, was born at Waipi‘o, Oahu, on August 3, 1800.

At the age of ten John was brought to Honolulu and became an attendant of Kamehameha I and later became a companion and personal attendant to Liholiho (later King Kamehameha II.)

Upon the arrival of the missionaries in Hawai‘i in 1820, John ʻĪʻī was among the first Hawaiians to study reading and writing with the missionaries, studying under the Reverend Hiram Bingham.

As time passed, John ʻĪʻī divided his time between the ruling Kamehamehas and the missionaries, particularly Reverend Bingham.  John soon became an assistant to Bingham and a teacher at the latter’s school.

Ultimately, John ʻĪʻī served Kamehameha I, II, III and IV.  He also was selected to be kahu of the students (effectively a vice principal) at the Chiefs’ Children’s School in 1840 (effectively serving the next generations of the Kamehameha dynasty.)

By 1841, John ʻĪʻī was general superintendent of O‘ahu schools and was an influential member of the court of Kamehameha III.

In 1842, he was appointed by the king to be a member of the new Treasury Board.  This Board was empowered to set up a system of regular and systematic account keeping.

In 1845, as a member of the Privy Council, he was appointed with four other men to the Board of Land Commissioners.

In 1852, as a member of the House of Nobles, he was selected to represent that body in drafting the Constitution of 1852.

John ʻĪʻī’s service in the House of Nobles was from 1841 to 1854 and from 1858 to 1868.  He served as a member of the House of Representatives during the session of 1855.

He lived in an old fashioned cottage where the Judiciary building now stands.  His home was named “Mililani,” which means exalted or lifted heavenward.

In addition to his duties in the two legislative houses of the kingdom and his service on various governmental commissions, John ʻĪʻī served as a Superior Court judge, as well as on the Supreme Court.

His lifetime spanned many years of the Kamehameha Dynasty, beginning with the autocratic rule of Kamehameha I, extending through the transition period of rule by king and chiefs and continuing into the rule by constitutional monarchy.

He was raised under the kapu system and his life ended with him in service of the Christian ministry.

Mary A. Richards in her “Chiefs’ Childrens’ School” says, “Through the perspective of a century, John ʻĪʻī stands as one of the most remarkable Hawaiians of his time.”

The Reverend Richard Armstrong had this to say about him, “John ʻĪʻī, a man of high intelligence, sterling integrity and great moral worth.”

At nearly seventy years of age, after a life devoted to the furtherance and development of Christianity in Hawai‘i and the development of a democratic form of government, John ʻĪʻī died in May 1870.

With rare insight into the workings of the monarchy as well as the common people, ʻĪʻī  did just that, contributing regularly to the Hawaiian language publication Ka Nupepa Ku‘oko‘a from 1866 until his death in 1870.

The articles – first-hand accounts of life under the Kamehameha dynasty and detailed descriptions and observations on cultural practices, events, social interactions and other topics – were collected and translated by Mary Kawena Pukui and Dorothy Barrere in the 1959 publication “Fragments of Hawaiian History,” a standard resource for historians and students.  (I have a copy and often refer to this book for information.)

Here’s a link to a YouTube video of a Mission Houses Oʻahu Cemetery Theatre portrayal of John Papa I’i (1800-1870) (portrayed by William Hao:)

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Decoration Day

“Custom, which is stronger than law, has made May 30th a national holiday. We trust it will ere long be made a legal day of rest. Since the close of the late civil war it has been held sacred to the memory of the sailors and soldiers who lost their lives in defense of the Union.”

“Business is almost entirely suspended and flags float from public and private buildings, while the boom of cannon at sunrise awaken the people of of each city. Especially is the day observed in those towns and cities near which National Cemeteries are located.”

“At first, the day was one divided between sorrow and bitterness, and often the orators took advantage of the still bleeding wounds of those who lost friends to enforce sectional strife and advance their own interest …”

“… but the mellowing effect of time has robbed the observance of bitterness, so that now the same hand will lay flowers on the grave of friend and foe, recognizing them in death the brothers they were save for hot passion which marked the family quarrel, and we rejoice to realize as years pass on this custom is becoming a flower-wreathe d bond between the North and the South.”

The largest National Cemetery is at Arlington, about four miles from the Capital, on the Virginia side of the Potomac. The mansion house of this large estate was the home of George WP Custis, the adopted son of General Washington.”

“Mr. Custis lived on this princely domain until old age; and for a generation it was one of the most elegant and hospitable homes in the country. He bequeathed it to his only daughter, the wife of General Robert K Lee, Colonel in the U. S. Army.”

“At the breaking out of the late war, Colonel Lee went with the South, and if he had owned the estate it would have been confiscated; as it was the property of Mrs. Lee, reverting to her eldest son, it was sold for taxes …”

“(T)wo hundred acres immediately around the residence has been made a cemetery and here rest the bodies of sixteen’ thousand soldiers, gathered from the different Virginia battlefields and from the hospitals in and near Washington.”

“The graves are marked as far as is known with the name, State, company, etc. The West Cemetery is devoted to the white, the North to the colored troops. A large square granite monument is placed above the spot where lie over two thousand bodies. The single word ‘Unknown’ tells eloquently one of the saddest tales of war.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 20, 1878)

Decoration Day began on May 5, 1866, the village of Waterloo, New York was decorated with flags at half mast, draped with evergreens and mourning black, and flowers were placed on the graves of those killed in the Civil War. In the following years, the ceremonies were repeated.

Later, Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared that “Decoration Day” should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

“The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.” (General Order 11)

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

By the end of the 19th century, Decoration Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities.

In Hawai‘i, Decoration Day was held for the first time in 1880. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, June 5, 1880) In 1881, “We noticed that Consul McKinley very appropriately kept his flag at half-mast on Monday last, in recognition of the day in Honolulu.”

“As it is stated on official authority that 200 native Hawaiians took part in the great war which is about a large a proportion of men to the population of the country, as many loyal States furnished for the prosecution of the war it is perfectly appropriate and consistent that Hawaiians should be pleased with the recognition of the American Decoration Day in this island Kingdom.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, June 4, 1881)

A recent (May 17, 2017) commemoration program through the Royal Order of Kamehameha I was held at O‘ahu Cemetery. In part, it recognized Nathaniel Emerson and JR Kealoha; each fought in the Civil War. A later ceremony was held at the Kealoha gravesite, the only known in Hawai‘i of a native Hawaiian veteran of the American Civil War.

In May 1966, Congress unanimously passed a resolution and President Lyndon B Johnson signed a Presidential Proclamation recognizing Waterloo as the Birthplace of Decoration Day / Memorial Day.

It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars.

In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May.

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Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Kealoha Grave _site Ceremony-Memorial Day-2017
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Grand Army of the Republic Section of Oahu Cemetery
Nathaniel Emerson Gravesite - Oahu Cemetery
Nathaniel Emerson Gravesite – Oahu Cemetery

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Footprints on the Land

Hawaiian Missions Houses Historic Site and Archives recently produced another Cemetery Pupu Theatre event at Oʻahu Cemetery.

It’s a unique dinner theatre experience where history comes alive for the evening, brought to you by Mission Houses and Oʻahu Cemetery.

Mission Houses discovers stories from the lives of prominent Hawaiʻi residents and brings those stories back to life – in the cemetery.

Footprints on the Land – This production focuses on the scientists, observers and those who impacted the landscape in 19th- and early 20th-century Hawai‘i. Directed by William Haʻo.

Standing at five different headstones, actors perform a monologue of the lives of the people buried at Oʻahu Cemetery.

Actors are dressed in period costume, telling the life events of select individuals, at their respective grave sites.

There was nothing ghoulish about it; rather, it was very effective storytelling.

Annie Alexander (Portrayed by Alicia Rice)

Annie Alexander (1867 – 1950), the paleontologist, botanist, and vertebrate zoologist who founded the Museum of Paleontology and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC-Berkeley.

Charles Sheldon Judd (Portrayed by Adam LeFebvre)

Charles Sheldon Judd (1881 – 1939) was a son of Albert Francis Judd, the supreme court justice. As an early Territorial forester, he did a lot of work with tree planting and preserving watersheds all over the islands.

Dr. Joseph Rock (Portrayed by Zach Thomas Woods)

Dr. Joseph Rock (1884 – 1962) was a botanist, explorer, ethnographer, and anthropologist who travelled extensively through China, Tibet, and Southeast Asia collecting specimens of plants and doing cultural anthropology work.

John Adams Kuakini Cummins (Portrayed by Moses Goods)

John Adams Kuakini Cummins (1835 – 1913) was a sugar planter and rancher in Waimanalo and was the President of the Waimanalo Sugar Company. He served in the legislature and in the government of King Kalakaua and was an advocate of royal rule of the islands.

Cherilla Lillian Lowrey (Portrayed by Karen Valasek)

Cherilla Lillian Lowrey (1861 – 1917) was the founder and first president of the Outdoor Circle whose mission was to “Keep Hawai‘i clean, green and beautiful.” Twenty-two Monkeypod trees were planted in A‘ala Park as the organization’s first tree planting project.

Check out the Mission Houses website for future Cemetery Pupu Theatre events, as well as the many other activities at the historic site on King and Kawaiahaʻo Streets. http://www.missionhouses.org

Coming up on July 10 will be the ‘Songs of Honolulu’ portion of Mission Houses ‘Mele Wahi Pana’ series.

Learn the music, mo‘olelo, and hula traditions of Honolulu and its environs: the valley of Nu‘uanu, the Kukalahale rain, the Bay of Mamala, the village of Kou, named for the groves of kou trees that grow so well in Honolulu.

Click here to make your reservation:
https://secure3.4agoodcause.com/mission-houses/register.aspx?eventid=54

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