Royal School | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

January 3, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1830s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1830s – death of Ka‘ahumanu, first successful commercial sugar, first English language newspaper and Declaration of Rights. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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July 10, 2016 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Broken Bones

The Chiefs’ Children’s School (The Royal School) was founded in 1839. The cornerstone of the original school was laid on June 28, 1839 in the area of the old barracks of ʻIolani Palace (at about the site of the present State Capitol of Hawaiʻi.)

The school was created by King Kamehameha III; the main goal of this school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom.

Seven families were eligible under succession laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; Kamehameha III called on seven boys and seven girls of his family to board in the Chief’s Children’s School.

The Chiefs’ Children’s School was unique because for the first time Aliʻi children would be brought together in a group to be taught, ostensibly, about the ways of governance.

Amos Starr Cooke (1810–1871) and Juliette Montague Cooke (1812-1896), missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, were selected to teach the 16 royal children and run the school.

In this school were educated the Hawai‘i sovereigns who reigned over the Hawaiian people from 1855, namely, Alexander Liholiho (King Kamehameha IV,) Queen Emma, Lot Kamehameha (King Kamehameha V,) King William Lunalilo, King David Kalākaua and Queen Lydia Lili‘uokalani.

In addition, the following royal family members were taught there: Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Princess Elizabeth Kekaaniau Pratt, Prince Moses Kekuaiwa, Princess Jane Loeau Jasper, Princess Victoria Kamāmalu, Prince Peter Young Kaeo, Prince William Pitt Kīnaʻu, Princess Abigail Maheha, Prince James Kaliokalani and Princess Mary Polly Paʻaʻāina.

In a letter requesting the Cookes to teach and Judd to care for the children, King Kamehameha III wrote, “Greetings to you all, Teachers – Where are you, all you teachers? We ask Mr. Cooke to be teacher for our royal children. He is the teacher of our royal children and Dr. Judd is the one to take care of the royal children because we two hold Dr Judd as necessary for the children and also in certain difficulties between us and you all.”

But all were not always well. “On Saturday afternoon, when we returned from bathing David fell off his horse and broke his arm so I ran after his father and the Gov and Abigail’s mother came to see him and Dr Judd set it.” (Monday, July 29, 1844 entry in Prince Lot Kapuāiwa’s diary while at the Chiefs’ Children’s School)

Amos Cooke’s journal entry on the day of the accident explains what happened, “About 3 o’clock we went to bathe & all the boys went & I took special pains to wash them very clean.”

“We returned in very good spirits & most of us had reached home, but (David, written in different ink) came on behind & just as he was turning the last corner his horse jumped one side & threw him off, & broke his right shoulder bone near the elbow.”

“Dr Judd came in immediately & set it. His head was bruised some & so was one of his ankles. He now lies in the room occupied by Mr Sturges when he was here. The king & suite have not come to day as was expected.” (Amos Cooke Journal, July 27, 1844)

Cooke later noted, “… though the youngest boy, David, fell from his horse in July last and broke his right shoulder bone. During the setting of it, and also a resetting, he neither flinched nor shed a tear. (Letter Amos Cooke to Rev D Gree, March 22, 1845)

By the entries in Prince Lot’s journal, it appears the students of the Chief’s Childrens’ School (Royal School) regularly rode horses – typically before breakfast. And, Kalākaua was not the only one to fall and break a bone.

A month before Kalākaua’s fall, Prince Lot noted the third anniversary that Moses Kekūāiwa also “fell off from his horse and broke his arm”. (Prince lot, June 20, 1844 Journal entry)

The Cooke’s also experienced bone breaks; their daughter “Juliette has been so unfortunate as to break her arm 10 days since. She is still under some restraint – gets hurt frequently. Bears it very well.”

“It is no small affair to have a broken bone in the family, but I am so thankful that it is only her arm, her head and back being all safe that I have not felt like complaining. I feel more than common cheerfulness and gratitude.” (Amos Cooke Letter to his mother, August 27, 1847)

Another unidentified bone break happened later, “Juliette and our children are enjoying usual health. Our little scholar with a broken leg has nearly recovered. He hobbles about.” (Amos Cooke Letter to his mother, July 20, 1848)

There were some other close calls, “This afternoon, at recess, Jane & Abigail were swinging Emma & swung her so forcibly that she hit against the post & injured her hip & knee.”

“This evening sent for Dr Judd who says no bones are broken. This afternoon Dr Rooke sailed for Maui in the Kahaelaia & we hesitated about letting Emma go home until her mother came, & took her home.” (Cooke Journal, October 13, 1842)

While Cooke noted the student injuries, he was not immune to injury himself. “After dinner at 2 o’clock I started alone for Waialua. … I went several miles inland …. In going down a pale (pali) & getting back to the road I lost Wm’s poncho, & left word with an old woman if she found it to send it to Mr Bishop’s.”

“I rode on pleasantly until within 2 ½ or 3 miles of Waialua, & while descending a little, my horse galloping & my reins down & holding a parasol with both hands, the horse stumbled & rolled over throwing me off on the near side. It was all done in an instant & when I started up & found my left arm lame & fearing some accident I began to feel to see if any bones were broken.”

“None were broken but my left shoulder was dislocated. At first, I felt faint, but I soon slung my arm in a handkerchief got up on my horse & started for Mr Wilcox’s with a hope that he might be able to set it.” (Cooke Journal, August 12, 1845)

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Photograph_of_the_Royal_School,_probably_after_1848

February 22, 2016 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Linekona School

In 1865, the board of education adopted a policy of separating school children by sex, and the Town Free School became the Mililani Girls School. (Town Free School was successor of Oʻahu Charity School – the first English-language-focused school, primarily for half-Hawaiian/half-foreign children.)

Most all the boys were sent to the Royal School; however, some of the students instead went to the Fort Street School, a newly formed private school.

In 1873, the Fort Street School went public, and in 1895 was split to create Kaʻiulani Elementary and the islands’ first public high school – Honolulu High School.

“The Honolulu High School is especially adapted to the needs of those who speak the English language as a mother tongue and to no others. It accommodates but passably a few of the exceptionally bright pupils of the much larger class who have the language to learn after entering school.”

“Taking into account the number of English speaking persons in Honolulu, it will be observed that the high school is of very creditable size.” (Report of the Minister of Public Instruction, 1899)

The high school met at the former palace of Princess Ruth on Emma Street (Keoua Hale) until 1908. At that time a new structure was built across from Thomas Square (at the corner of Beretania and Victoria streets – in William Maertens’ former home, where the University of Hawaiʻi started.)

The high school moved in and it was renamed President William McKinley High School, after President William McKinley, whose influence brought about the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the US.

The building served that function until the larger, present McKinley High was erected in 1923. At this time, the school was renamed Linekona (Lincoln) Elementary; it was the main elementary school in Honolulu. (NPS)

“A very marked improvement has been attained in the architecture of buildings recently erected in Hawaiʻi and the school-houses, constructed within the last few years, have kept pace with the movement. This is notably true of the imposing … building which compares most favorably with any of its kind in the world.”

“This structure, built of hollow concrete blocks, is two stories high and contains eight properly ventilated well-equipped class-rooms, a physical and a chemical laboratory, an up-to-date commercial department, a library and a comfortable and spacious assembly hall.”

“In addition there is a principal’s office, ladies’ retiring room, each provided with all conveniences, two hat rooms for the use of students, a specimen and apparatus room for the physics laboratory, a private chemistry laboratory and a dark room connected with the chemical laboratory.”

“The stage in the assembly hall is fourteen by twenty-four feet provided with a sliding curtain. The hat rooms are furnished with shelves and hooks for hanging garments and also umbrella racks.”

“The toilets have enameled closets without wooden tops, and rooms with shower baths are in one corner. The building is lighted throughout with electricity.”

“The ceilings and walls are plastered and tinted with colors pleasing to the eye. A wainscot extends from the floor to the blackboard and all the woodwork throughout the building is natural finish.”

“Large windows admit an abundance of light and these, together with the open transoms on the inside walls of the rooms assure good ventilation.” (King; Thrum, 1908)

The building housed Linekona School until 1956 when a new elementary school (renamed President Abraham Lincoln Elementary School) was built on Auwaiolimu Drive.

In 1957, the former Ala Moana School, which taught children with learning difficulties, occupied the building. Starting in the early 1970s, the building was used to teach English as a second language. (NPS)

In 1990, the building was renovated as the “Academy Art Center at Linekona,” the largest art private school in Hawaiʻi, under the administration of the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

The building is now used as the Honolulu Museum of Art School, reaching out to children and adults through studio art classes, workshops with visiting artists, school programs, outreach programs and exhibitions.

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Lincoln School-(vintagehawaii)-1940

Linekona-HHF

McKinley High School-Linekona-Academy_Art_Center-(ksbe)

Honolulu Museum of Art School

McKinley_HS-Then_Linekona_School-Now_the_Academy_Art_Center

December 30, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Paʻaʻaina

“Dearest Mary thou hast left us,
Here thy loss we deeply feel,
But ‘tis God who hath bereft us,
He can all our sorrow heal.”
(The Friend, June 1853)

Isaac Davis and John Young arrived in Hawai‘i at the same time (1790 – on different boats.) Isaac Davis (Welch) was the sole survivor of the massacre of the crew of The Fair American; John Young, British boatswain on the Eleanora, was stranded on the Island of Hawai‘i.

“Young and Davis would have been killed had not Kaoanaeha, a high lady, fallen in love with Young and by her intercession with the King saved the lives of both sailors. Kaoanaeha was the most beautiful woman on the Island of Owhyhee and was the admiration of all the sailors who visited Karakakooa Bay.”

“She was the only daughter of Keliimaiki, the favorite brother of the great King, Kamehameha I. John Young and Kaoauaeba were soon married. King Kamehameha appreciated the superior talents of the white men and made them high chiefs.”

“When the navigator Vancouver visited the island, in 1793, he was entertained by King Kamehameha and John Young, who was then the King’s chief counselor. Young built the first house on the island of Hawaii, and its ruins are still to be seen. It is of stone.”

“Here Young and Kaoanaeha lived and died, and here their daughter, Fannie Young Kekelaokalani was born.” (NY Times, February 14, 1886)

Fanny married twice, first to Henry Coleman Lewis (they had a daughter Mary Polly Paʻaʻaina;) then Fannie married High Chief George Naʻea (Emma, their daughter, was Paʻaʻaina’s step sister – Emma later married Alexander Liholiho and became Queen Emma.)

Paʻaʻaina was hanai (adopted) by John Papa ʻIʻi and his wife Sarai; ʻIʻi served as kahu (caretaker) to Princess Victoria Kamamalu.

Paʻaʻaina, Emma and twelve others eventually (at varying times) entered the Chief’s Childrens’ School. The main goal of the school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom.

In May 1843, Paʻaʻaina was the last girl to enter the boarding school; she was 10 years old which was relatively old (the last boy “William Pitt” Kinaʻu entered in 1844.)

The children were taught reading, spelling, penmanship, arithmetic, geometry, algebra, physics, geography, history, bookkeeping, singing and English composition.

King Kamehameha III founded the Chief’s Children’s School (Royal School) in 1839. The school’s main goal was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom. King Kamehameha III “ask(ed) (missionary) Mr Cooke to be teacher for our royal children.”

In this school, the Hawai‘i sovereigns who reigned over the Hawaiian people from 1855 were educated, including: Alexander Liholiho (King Kamehameha IV;) Emma Naʻea Rooke (Queen Emma;) Lot Kapuāiwa (King Kamehameha V;) William Lunalilo (King Lunalilo;) Bernice Pauahi (Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop founder of Kamehameha Schools;) David Kalākaua (King Kalakaua) and Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha (Queen Liliʻuokalani.)

The Chiefs’ Children’s School was unique because for the first time Aliʻi children would be brought together in a group to be taught, ostensibly, about the ways of governance.

(After his experience running the school teaching and training Hawai‘i’s future monarchs, Amos Cooke then co-founded the firm Castle & Cooke which became one of the “Big Five” corporations that dominated the early Hawaiian economy.)

Paʻaʻaina was a pupil in the Royal School for seven years where she endeared herself to her teachers and fellow pupils.

Then, she married Mr James Augustus Griswold on December 30, 1851, in Honolulu. Unfortunately, the marriage was short-lived; she became ill.

“Her sufferings during her last sickness were extreme. She felt conscious of danger, and, as far as human eye could see, prepared herself for her departure.”

“She took a calm and effecting leave of her friends that were present, and sent her last message to absent ones. She expressed the wish that others whom she loved would prepare while in health for the trying hour of death.” (The Friend, June 1853)

She died at Honolulu, May 28, 1853. Her only child was a daughter named Mary Paʻaʻaina Griswold. (Kravitz)

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September 7, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nā Lani ʻEhā

Nā Lani ʻEhā (The Royal Four; the Heavenly Four) are four siblings who, among other accomplishments, demonstrated extraordinary talent as musicians and composers. They were born to High Chief Caesar Kapaʻakea and High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole.

They were King Kalākaua (1836-1891,) Queen Liliʻuokalani (1838-1917,) Princess Likelike (1851-1887) and Prince Leleiōhoku (1854-1877.)

In 1995, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame recognized Nā Lani ʻEhā as “The Patrons of the Hawaiian Culture,” noting they “were not only giants in the field of Hawaiian music but form the very cornerstones of subsequent Hawaiian culture and arts, and as such, ‘preside’ over the greats of Hawaiian music honored” in the Hall of Fame.

David Kalākaua (1836-1891)

David Kalākaua was hānai (adopted) by the chiefess Haʻaheo Kaniu, who took him to Maui. When Kalākaua was four, he returned to Oʻahu to begin his education at the Royal School.

On February 12, 1874, nine days after the passing of King Lunalilo, an election was held between the repeat candidate David Kalākaua and Queen Emma – widow of King Kamehameha IV. Kalākaua won.

Click HERE for a link to Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi:

Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha Paki (1838-1917)

Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha was hānai to Abner Pākī and his wife Laura Kōnia, and grew up with their daughter, Princess Bernice Pauahi. In her youth she was called ‘Lydia’ or ‘Liliʻu.’

By age 15, Liliʻu was already an accomplished musician and composer who could write music. Her best-known song ‘Aloha ʻOe’ was the first Hawaiian “hit” song outside of the Islands.

On April 10, 1877, King Kalākaua named her heir apparent to the throne of Hawaiʻi and changed her name to Liliʻuokalani. King Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891; Liliʻuokalani succeeded him to the Hawaiian throne.

Click HERE for a link to Aloha ʻOe:

Miriam Likelike (1851-1887)

Unlike her brothers and sister, Princess Miriam Likelike was raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. It was after her return to Honolulu as a teenager that her musical endeavors began in earnest. With her sister, she led one of the three royal music clubs that held regular friendly competitions to outdo each other in song and poetry.

‘ʻĀinahau,’ the most famous of Likelike’s compositions, was written about their residence in Waikīkī. She wrote most of her compositions there.

On October 16, 1875, a child was born to Princess Likelike and Archibald Cleghorn. The child, the only direct descendant of the Kalākaua dynasty, was named Princess Kaʻiulani.

Click HERE for a link to Ainahau:

William Pitt Leleiōhoku (1854-1877)

The youngest of “The Royal Four”, Prince Leleiōhoku was said by his sister, Lili`uokalani to have a talent for composition “really in advance” of the two princesses. He founded the Kawaihau Singing Club and soon he and his colleagues were winning most of the royal song club competitions.

When his older brother became king, Kalākaua’s first act as King was to appoint Leleiōhoku, as successor to the throne, thereby restoring to the crown the function of selecting kings.

Leleiōhoku married Ruth Keʻelikōlani, great-granddaughter of Kamehameha, a grand-niece to Kamehameha II and III, and a half-sister of Kamehameha IV and V. They had two children, only one of whom – William Pitt Kīnaʻu – survived childhood (but he died at the age of 17.) While serving as governor of Hawai‘i Island, Leleiōhoku died, only twenty-two years old.

Click HERE for a link to Hawaiian War Chant:

Click HERE for a link to Hole Waimea

A recent program at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives focused on compositions written by Nā Lani ʻEha, four royal siblings, King Kalākaua, Queen Liliʻuokalani, Princess Likelike and Prince Leleiōhoku.

Aaron Mahi, Kuʻuipo Kumukahi and Kaʻala Carmack first participated in a panel discussion about the four famous siblings.

Click HERE for a link to the 1-hour panel discussion:

In recognizing Nā Lani ʻEhā, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame also called to attention their early music teacher, Juliette Montague Cooke of the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

Founded in 1839, O‘ahu’s first school was called the Chiefs’ Children’s School (The Royal School.) The cornerstone of the original school was laid on June 28, 1839 in the area of the old barracks of ʻIolani Palace (at about the site of the present State Capitol of Hawaiʻi.)

The school was created by King Kamehameha III, with the main goal of this school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom.

Seven families were eligible under succession laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; Kamehameha III called on seven boys and seven girls to board in the Chief’s Children’s School.

For fourteen years, the Cookes lived with and taught the future kings and queens. Many of the children became boarders at very early ages; four of the students were under the age of four. (Liliʻuokalani was only three when she went to live with the Cookes.) (Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame)

Cooke was an excellent musician, and introduced them to the joy of singing. Since chanting had been the tradition in Hawaiian culture, a latent natural talent was released when the Hawaiians were introduced to the phenomena of melody and harmony. They embraced their music lessons with verve and enthusiasm; singing came to them naturally, and they loved their music lessons.

Cooke and her husband are buried in the Mission Cemetery behind the Kawaiahaʻo Church, and her tombstone has simply the word, “Mother”, because that was what the children at the school called her. (Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame)

The theme of this year’s Huakaʻi – A Musical Journey at Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives centers on the music of Nā Lani ʻEha; 6 – 10 pm, Saturday, September 13 (it is the major fundraising event for Mission Houses.)

The image shows Nā Lani ʻEhā (Kalākaua, Liliʻuokalani, Likelike and Leleiōhoku.) In addition, I have added others similar images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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