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March 4, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Julia Sherman Mills Damon

The inscription on a headstone in Oʻahu Cemetery made me curious about her story: “Died in Cheyenne City, Wyoming USA, June 19, 1890.”

How did the daughter of a teacher to Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia, niece of the founder of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, wife of a prominent preacher in Honolulu and mother of a successful Honolulu businessman die in Wyoming? Before we go there, here is some of her background.

Julia Sherman Mills was born on August 17, 1817 in Torringford, Connecticut, the daughter of Eleanor Welles Mills (1785-1831) and Jeremiah Fuller Mills (1777-1833) (brother of Samuel John Mills Jr (1783–1818.))

Julia’s uncle, Samuel John Mills Jr, was one of five participants in the famous 1806 Williams College “Haystack Prayer Meeting” that led to the beginning of a secret missionary fraternity called the Society of Brethren, the first Protestant foreign missions organization in America.

He later led in the formation the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions or ABCFM (the Protestant Missionaries who came to Hawaiʻi in 1820.)

We should also recall that Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia (Obookiah,) a native Hawaiian from the Island of Hawaiʻi who in 1809, at the age of 16, after his parents had been killed, boarded a sailing ship anchored in Kealakekua Bay and sailed to the continent.

He traveled throughout New England and was greatly influenced by many young men who were active in the Second Great Awakening and the establishment of the missionary movement.

ʻŌpūkahaʻia lived with Samuel John Mills Jr and was studying at the Foreign Mission School to become a missionary (with other Hawaiians.) ʻŌpūkahaʻia noted that he continued his “study in spelling, reading, and writing to Mr. Jeremiah Mills (Julia’s father,) … “

“… whom (he) was acquainted with at the first. Here (he) learned some sort of farming-business: cutting wood, pulling flax, mowing, &c. – only to look at the other and learn from them.” (Memoirs)

ʻŌpūkahaʻia died suddenly of typhus fever in 1818, the “Memoirs of Henry Obookiah” served as an inspiration for missionaries to volunteer to carry his message to the Sandwich Islands. On October 23, 1819, a group of northeast missionaries led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.)

Julia was orphaned of both parents, at the age of fourteen. On October 16, 1841, Julia Sherman Mills married Samuel Chenery Damon. The Damons sailed from New York March 10, 1842 aboard the Victoria and arrived in Honolulu October 19, 1842.

“Of the social and religious life of this city, Mrs. Damon became a most important component part. The Chaplaincy on Chaplain Street, became under her ministration, a place of constant, simple, cordial hospitality …”

“… which multitudes of guests will ever remember, both travellers from abroad, visitors from our Pacific merchant and whaling fleets, and missionaries in transit, and from other islands.”

“That open parlor was always a place of warm and homelike welcome, while the table in the next room was almost never without one or more guests, often those sojourning in the house.” (The Friend, August 1, 1890)

Julia Damon, was for many years head of the Strangers’ Friend Society, a leading charitable organization to aid the sick and destitute stranger in Honolulu’s early days.

“Those Ladies of Honolulu have become interested in the enterprise, whose benevolence and capability are a sure pledge that it will succeed. The term “stranger” will not be narrowed down to signify only a select few, but it is intended that Charity shall spread wide her mantle.”

“We have bespoke for the sick sailor a berth, and feel confident that his case will be always attended to, whenever the Foreign Consuls in Honolulu do not make provision for him.” (The Friend, July 2, 1852)

“Mrs. Damon found an especial sphere of activity in aid and direction to the needy and suffering. … Dr. Damon was surely blessed in the sweet home his wife made for him, in her strong support and judicious counsel, and in her practical aid in his multifarious Church and Chaplaincy work …”

“… in the latter of which especially, her gift of free and graceful hospitality fell in accord with his own cordiality, and gave influence to them both. In the sacred relation of Mother, her children indeed rise up and call her blessed, and in their own lives and happy homes are testimonies to the excellence of their maternal training.” (The Friend, August 1, 1890)

About Julia’s death … she was widowed on February 7, 1885.

“Overtaken by a nervous depression, for which a change was the prescribed relief, she accompanied eastward, a son and his wife. …”

“Starting in her active way, to say, as is supposed, good bye to some friends leaving the train at a very early hour in the depot at Cheyenne, the car moved as she was leaving it; she fell with one arm under the wheel.”

“Amputation was necessary. After a very few hours of suffering, with no rational consciousness, her spirit took flight from all the clouds of earth into the light of heaven.” (The Friend, August 1, 1890)

A little side note; in 1843, Samuel Chenery Damon founded The Friend and served as editor and publisher of the monthly journal, which continued to be published for more than 100 years.

The Friend began as a monthly newspaper for seamen, which included news from both American and English newspapers, and gradually expanded to adding announcements of upcoming events, reprints of sermons, poetry, local news, editorials, ship arrivals and departures and a listing of marriages and deaths. Rev. Damon published between a half million and a million copies of The Friend, most of which he personally distributed.

March 3, 2020 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Pā‘ao

Fornander writes that prior to the period of Pā‘ao “… the kapus (forbidden actions) were few and the ceremonials easy; that human sacrifices were not practiced, and cannibalism unknown; and that government was more of a patriarchal than of a regal nature.”

Pā‘ao is said to have been a priest, as well as a chief and navigator, who arrived in the island of Hawai‘i as early as in the twelfth or thirteenth century (many say he was from Tahiti.)

Pā‘ao is reported to have introduced (or, at least expanded upon) a religious and political code in old Hawai`i, collectively called the kapu system. This forbid many things and demanded many more, with many infractions being punishable by death.

Pā‘ao’s period saw a greater rigidity of the kapus, the introduction of human sacrifices, “the hardening and confirming of the divisions of society, the exaltation of the nobles and the increase of their prerogatives, the separation and immunity of the priestly order, and the systematic setting down, if not actual debasement, of the commoners”.

Many believe the expansion and rigidity of the kapu were established as a result of the migrations from Tahiti and elsewhere, (and with the arrival of Pā‘ao,) bringing to Hawai‘i a system of laws and rituals protecting the mana (spiritual power or energy) which existed in all living things.

In establishing this strict religious system, Pā‘ao also introduced the custom of kapuō (prostration before kapu chiefs,) the pūloʻuloʻu (sign of kapu) and the walled heiau (previously, heiau had been open courtyards.)

He introduced several changes to Hawaiian religious practices and social structure that affected temple construction, priestly ritual and worship practices.

The large sacrificial government war temples, luakini heiau, contained altars where human lives were taken when assurance of success in combat was requested or when there was a very grave state emergency, such as pestilence or famine.

Prior to the Pā‘ao’s arrival, the Hawaiians worshipped unseen deities. Reportedly, Pāʻao provided the people with something tangible to worship, through the introduction of wooden temple images as representations of the gods.

These images were not worshipped as gods themselves, but it was thought that the mana or spirit of a god would occupy the carved statue and could be consulted in times of need.

Many things were kapu under Hawaiian culture.

Anything connected with the gods and their worship was considered sacred, such as idols, heiau and priests. Because chiefs were believed to be descendants of the gods, many kapu related to chiefs and their personal possessions, such as clothes, mats and houses.

Certain objects were also kapu, and to be avoided, either because they were sacred or because they were defiling. Seasons and places could also be declared kapu.

Certain religious kapu were permanent and unchangeable, relating to customary rites, observances, ceremonies and methods of worship, and to the maintenance of the gods and their priests.

Likewise, Pā‘ao reportedly initiated a lineage of kings, starting with Pili Ka‘aiea (the 1st “Aliʻi ʻAimoku” for the Big Island – the first ruler (sometimes called the “king”) of the island.)

The descendants of this king ruled the island of Hawai‘i until 1893, while Pā‘ao himself became the high priest of an order which he established and which continued until 1819.

The form of the heiau was changed by Pā‘ao and his successors, and the general population mingled less freely in the ceremonies of sacrifice and other forms of worship. The high-priesthood became more mysterious and exclusive.

This intricate system that supported Hawaiʻi’s social and political organization directed every activity of Hawaiian life, from birth through death, until its abolition by King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) in 1819.

March 2, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Prisoners, Pullmans and Prostitutes

Very few people lived there, but that shouldn’t suggest the place was without activity.

By the time of first contact with Europeans, the downtown area of Honolulu, known then as Kou, was comprised of shoreward fishponds and taro lo‘i fed by streams extending into the Nu‘uanu and Pauoa valleys.

On the opposite side (ʻEwa) of Nu‘uanu stream was a fishpond, identified as “Kawa” or the “King’s fish pond.” Iwilei at that time was a small, narrow peninsula, less populated than the Honolulu-side of Nuʻuanu stream.

Offshore from Iwilei was a small island on the coral reef on the west site of the bay. On the island was a small hut referred to as “Ka-moku-‘akulikuli” or “Kaha-ka-‘au-lana” (the early names for it were “Quarantine Island,” then “Sand Island” – it was a lot smaller, then, too.)

The first wharf at Honolulu Harbor was just north of Nuʻuanu Street. It was constructed from an old hulk sunk at the spot in 1825. This was replaced and expanded in 1837.

On the shoreline (at about what is now the intersection of Queen and Nimitz) Fort Kekuanohu was constructed. Its original purpose was to protect Honolulu by keeping enemy or otherwise undesirable ships out. Later, it was used as a prison.

In 1852, the legislature adopted a resolution directing the minister of the interior to remove the Fort and to use the material obtained thereby “in the construction of prisons, and the filling up of the reef.”

The Fort, being used as a prison, could not be removed until a new prison was built; construction for the new prison began in 1855, but not entirely completed until more than two years later. The Fort was then removed in 1857. (Kuykendall)

The Prison was on a marshy no-man’s land almost completely cut off from the main island by two immense fishponds. The causeway road (initially called “Prison Road,” later “Iwilei Street”) split Kawa Pond into Kawa and Kūwili fishponds.

Sometimes called the “Oʻahu Prison,” “King’s Prison,” “Kawa Prison” or, simply, “The Reef,” it was a coral block fortress built upon coral fill at the end of a coral built road over the coral reefs and mudflats of Iwilei.

In 1886, Mark Twain visited the prison and wrote: “… we presently arrived at a massive coral edifice which I took for a fortress at first, but found out directly that it was the government prison. A soldier at the great gate admitted us without further authority than my countenance, and I supposed he thought he was paying me a handsome compliment when he did so; and so did I until I reflected that the place was a penitentiary”.

The Prison was later relocated to Kalihi (1916) and renamed O‘ahu Jail; this is now known as O‘ahu Community Correctional Facility.

Another Iwilei activity included a railway station. In 1889, a group of businessmen led by Benjamin Dillingham founded the O‘ahu Railway and Land Company (OR&L).

OR&L built Honolulu’s first depot between Kūwili fishpond and King Street, west of Iwilei Street. The July 27, 1889 Advertiser noted, “Plans have been approved by which the main depot will be placed 180 feet from King Street in what is now a fishpond dividing Oahu Prison from the royal stables. A large portion, if not all, of this extensive fishpond will be filled in without delay…”

The railroad carried sugarcane from the plantations to Iwilei – it carried people, too. To accommodate this, the marshes and fishponds were filled in and new wharfs built. By 1901, the OR&L and other business interests had created about 500 acres of waterfront land. The docks could accommodate over 20 deepwater sailing vessels, unloading coal and loading sugar.

The last of the activities at early Iwilei was the business of sex. (Before there was Hotel Street (the 1940s gathering place,) there was Iwilei.) They called it the ‘Iwilei Stockade.’

Inside a high stockade wall were long rows of rooms, each 8×10; there were 225 of them. Most of the women were from Japan. From 4 pm to 2 am, the stockade gates were open. (Gallagher)

These women did not live at Iwilei; they only went there in the evenings, and then returned to their uptown homes at night. Some had homes of their own, others were servants of families; but all went back to town. They were in no sense isolated; Iwilei was not their home; they neither eat nor sleep there. (Special Legislative Committee Report, 1905)

Local law enforcement condoned and controlled the activities, under the guise that it was “a public necessity.” “The whole of Iwilei makai of the Oʻahu Prison has been used for the purpose of prostitution for some time past.” (Special Legislative Committee Report, 1905)

“The High Sheriff of the Territory, through his agents, has ordered all of such women (prostitutes) that are found in different parts of the City, and also in some portions of Iwilei, to move to one particular part as follows: on the makai side of Iwilei rice mill, and on the Ewa side of the Iwilei road.” (Special Legislative Committee Report, 1905)

The Iwilei brothels (or “boogie houses,” as they were also called back then) were later forced to relocate to Hotel Street and a few adjoining parts of Chinatown. By 1916, the Iwilei Stockade was shut down.

It has been suggested that one of the former Iwilei prostitutes became the role model for the key character in the silent film “Sadie Thompson,” based on W. Somerset Maugham’s short story “Rain” (as well as other adaptations.)

As time went on, more of the fringing reefs were filled, which made way for expanded commercial use. By the 1920s, small and large businesses moved in – and, now, gone are the Prisoners, Pullmans and Prostitutes from Iwilei.

Downtown_and_Vicinity-Map-noting_Oahu_Prison-Kawa_and_Kuwili_Fishponds-and-Shoreline-1887

Looking_mauka_from_Iwilei_Prison-overlooking_causeway-(Saga-Scott)

Prison_Inmates_around_Communal_Buckets_of_Poi

Honolulu_from_the_Prison-PP-38-2-002-1862

Looking_mauka_from_Iwilei_Prison-overlooking_causeway

Honolulu_Waterfront-From-Iwilei-PPWD-9-3-003-1890s

Dwellings probably along King St. near River St. and Nuuanu Stream-PP-38-3-017-1870

Honolulu_Waterfront_from_the_Prison-PP-38-5-007-1880s

River Street looking toward Punchbowl from King Street

pulls into the Honolulu Depot to pick up and dispatch passengers. Photo taken in 1890.

OR&L-Chinese_Theater-Kaumakapili_Church-PPWD-9-3-002-1890s

General_View_of_Iwilei_Pen-(The_Republican)-09-02-1900

February 29, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“Miss Ball Won The Fight For Others”

A healer touches people.

A good healer touches a person’s body, mind and spirit.

A great healer touches many people’s lives.

In attempting to describe a healer who touches the lives of thousands of sufferers around the world may lead us to call that individual a saint.

Saint Damien is appropriately recognized for his commitment in easing the suffering and caring for the thousands of suffering souls, banished to Kalaupapa because they had Hansen’s disease.

An almost forgotten healer was a young (24-years old) Black chemist and pharmacist, who made a revolutionary discovery that changed the lives of Hansen’s disease sufferers.

Once known as leprosy, the disease was renamed after Dr. Gerharad Armauer Hansen, a Norwegian physician, when he discovered the causative microorganism in 1873, the same year that Father Damien volunteered to serve at Kalaupapa.

Born on July 24, 1892 in Seattle, Washington, Alice Augusta Ball was the daughter of James P Ball and his wife, Laura; she lived in a middle or even upper-middle class household.

Ball’s grandfather, JP Ball, Sr, a photographer, was one of the first Blacks in the US to learn the art of daguerreotype and created in Cincinnati one of the more famous daguerreotype galleries. During his lifetime, Ball also opened photography galleries in Minneapolis, Helena, Montana, Seattle and Honolulu, where he died at the age of 79.

After moving to Hawaiʻi in 1903 and attending elementary school here, Alice Ball and her family moved back to the continent where she attended high school in Seattle, earning excellent grades, especially in the sciences.

After a stint with the family living in Montana and then returning to Seattle, Alice Ball entered the University of Washington and graduated with two degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry in 1912 and pharmacy in 1914.

In the fall of 1914, she entered the College of Hawaiʻi (later called the University of Hawaiʻi) as a graduate student in chemistry.

On June 1, 1915, she was the first African American and the first woman to graduate with a Master of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Hawaiʻi. In the 1915-1916 academic year, she also became the first woman to teach chemistry at the institution.

But the significant contribution Ball made to medicine was a successful injectable treatment for those suffering from Hansen’s disease.

She isolated the ethyl ester of chaulmoogra oil (from the tree native to India) which, when injected, proved extremely effective in relieving some of the symptoms of Hansen’s disease.

Although not a full cure, Ball’s discovery was a significant victory in the fight against a disease that has plagued nations for thousands of years. The discovery was coined, at least for the time being, the “Ball Method.”

A College of Hawaiʻi chemistry laboratory began producing large quantities of the new injectable chaulmoogra. During the four years between 1919 and 1923, no patients were sent to Kalaupapa – and, for the first time, some Kalaupapa patients were released.

Ball’s injectable compound seemed to provide effective treatment for the disease, and as a result the lab began to receive “requests for their chaulmoogra oil preparations from all over the world.”

“The annals of medical science are incomplete unless full credit is given for the work of Alice Ball. … It was no easy task. One after another the various preparations were tried and put aside. … It led to the discovery of the preparation which bids fair to become a specific in the treatment of leprosy. Miss Ball won the fight for others”. (American Missionary Association, April 1922)

The “Ball Method” continued to be the most effective method of treatment until the 1940s and as late as 1999 one medical journal indicated the “Ball Method” was still being used to treat Hansen disease patients in remote areas.

At the time of her research Ball became ill. She worked under extreme pressure to produce injectable chaulmoogra oil and, according to some observers, became exhausted in the process.

Unfortunately, Ball never lived to witness the results of her discovery. She returned to Seattle and died at the age of 24 on December 31, 1916. The cause of her death was unknown.

On February 29, 2000, the Governor of Hawaiʻi issued a proclamation, declaring it “Alice Ball Day.” On the same day the University of Hawaiʻi recognized its first woman graduate and pioneering chemist with a bronze plaque mounted at the base of the lone chaulmoogra tree on campus near Bachman Hall.

In January 2007, Alice Augusta Ball was presented posthumously the University of Hawaiʻi Regents’ Medal of Distinction, an award to individuals of exceptional accomplishment and distinction who have made significant contributions to the University, state, region or nation or within their field of endeavor.