March 15, 1820 – no entry. (Thaddeus Journal)
March 15,1820. Voted That the brethern the Mission be a Committee to sketch by-laws to be adopted and observed by this community. Several subjects partially discussed, and the meeting adjourned. (Minutes of the Prudential Meetings of the Mission Family)
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Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani Keanolani Kanāhoahoa was born in Pohukaina, O‘ahu on February 9, 1826, to High Chiefess Pauahi and High Chief Kekūanāo‘a.
The Princess was a descendant of senior royal lines on a member of both the Kamehameha Dynasty and Kalākaua Dynasty, and a great granddaughter of King Kamehameha I; her half-brother was Lot Kapuāiwa (Kamehameha V.)
Her mother, Pauahi, died while giving birth to Ruth Keʻelikōlani, and was then cared for by Kamehameha’s wife, Ka‘ahumanu, who herself died six years later. The Princess was then sent to live with her father, Kekūanāoʻa, and her stepmother, Kīna‘u.
Despite the pressures to convert to Christianity, Keʻelikōlani saw value in traditional ways and retained many traditional religious practices.
Although she learned English among other subjects at the Chief’s Children’s School, she was a staunch supporter of the Hawaiian language and traditional cultural practices. People spoke to her only in Hawaiian.
She was a member of the Privy Council (1847,) the House of Nobles (1855-1857) and served as Governor of the island of Hawaiʻi (1855-1874.)
Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani inherited all of the substantial landholdings of the Kamehameha dynasty from her brother, Lot Kapuāiwa; she became the largest landowner in the islands.
She was godmother to Princess Kaʻiulani. At Kaʻiulani’s baptism, Ruth gifted 10-acres of her land in Waikīkī where Kaʻiulani’s father Archibald Cleghorn built the ʻĀinahau Estate.
Despite owning Huliheʻe Palace, a Western-style house in Kailua-Kona, she chose to live in a large, traditional grass home on the same oceanfront property.
It is interesting, therefore, that she chose to build Keōua Hale, a large, ornate mansion on her land in Honolulu.
Keōua Hale was a Victorian-style mansion, and the most expansive residence of the time; it was larger than ʻIolani Palace.
It followed the Second Empire architecture, or so-called French style of architecture, and was considered a classical Victorian-style mansion. The gas-lit interior of the mansion was celebrated for its ornate plaster work and frescoes.
Surrounded by extensive, well-kept gardens, it was characterized by mansard roof, broad lanais, from which lofty flights of steps led down into the gardens, and a large drawing-room upon the ceiling of which was emblazoned the Hawaiian coat of arms.
The house was completed in 1883; however, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani never lived in the palace. She became ill immediately after the house warming and birthday luau.
Her doctors recommended that she return to Huliheʻe, her Kailua-Kona residence, where they believed she would more quickly regain her health.
She received medical attention, but did not recover. On May 24, 1883, Keʻelikōlani died at the age of fifty-seven, in her traditional grass home in Kailua-Kona.
At her death, Keʻelikōlani’s will stated that she “give and bequeath forever to my beloved younger sister (cousin), Bernice Pauahi Bishop, all of my property, the real property and personal property from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi, all of said property to be hers.” (about 353,000 acres)
This established the land-base endowment for Pauahi’s subsequent formation of Kamehameha Schools at her death. Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop passed away a year later.
In 1908, the building was converted to Central Grammar School. The present buildings were opened in 1926. The school became a junior high school in 1928, an intermediate school in 1932, and a middle school in 1997. The site of Keōua Hale is now Central Middle School.
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March 16, 1820 – no entry. (Thaddeus Journal)
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Captain George Vancouver gave a few cattle to Kamehameha I in 1793; Vancouver strongly encouraged Kamehameha to place a kapu on them to allow the herd to grow.
In the decades that followed, cattle flourished and turned into a dangerous nuisance. By 1846, 25,000 wild cattle roamed at will and an additional 10,000 semi‐domesticated cattle lived alongside humans.
John Adams Kuakini was an important adviser to Kamehameha I in the early stages of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i.
When the Kingdom’s central government moved to Lāhaina in 1820, Kuakini’s influence expanded on Hawaiʻi Island, with his appointment as the Royal Governor of Hawaiʻi Island, serving from 1820 until his death in 1844.
During his tenure, Kuakini built many of the historical sites that dominate Kailua today. The Great Wall of Kuakini, probably a major enhancement of an earlier wall, was one of these.
The Great Wall of Kuakini extends in a north-south direction for approximately 6 miles from Kailua to near Keauhou, and is generally 4 to 6-feet high and 4-feet wide.
Built between 1830 and 1840, the Great Wall of Kuakini separated the coastal lands from Kailua to Keauhou from the inland pasture lands.
The mortar-less lava-rock wall has had varying opinions regarding the purpose of its construction.
Speculation has ranged from military/defense to the confinement of grazing animals; however, most seem to agree it served as a cattle wall, keeping the troublesome cattle from wandering through the fields and houses of Kailua.
It is likely that the function of the wall changed over time, as the economic importance of cattle grew and the kinds and density of land use and settlement changed.
Kuakini was responsible for other changes and buildings in the Kona District during this era.
He gave land to Asa Thurston to build Moku‘aikaua Church.
He built Huliheʻe Palace in the American style out of native lava, coral lime mortar, koa and ‘ōhi‘a timbers. Completed in 1838, he used the palace to entertain visiting Americans and Europeans with great feasts.
Hulihe‘e Palace is now a museum run the Daughters of Hawaiʻi, including some of his artifacts.
He made official visits to all ships that arrived on the island, offering them tours of sites, such as the Kīlauea volcano.
He was born about 1789 with the name Kaluaikonahale. With the introduction of Christianity, Hawaiians were encouraged to take British or American names.
He chose the name John Adams after John Quincy Adams, the US president in office at the time. He adopted the name, as well as other customs of the US and Europe.
Kuakini was the youngest of four important siblings: sisters Queen Kaʻahumanu, Kamehameha’s favorite wife who later became the powerful Kuhina nui, Kalākua Kaheiheimālie and Namahana-o-Piʻia (also queens of Kamehameha) and brother George Cox Kahekili Keʻeaumoku.
He married Analeʻa (Ane or Annie) Keohokālole; they had no children. (She later married Caesar Kapaʻakea. That union produced several children (including the future King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani.)
A highway is named “Kuakini Highway,” which runs from the Hawaii Belt Road through the town of Kailua-Kona, to the Old Kona Airport Recreation Area.
He is also the namesake of Kuakini Street in Honolulu, which is in turn the namesake of the Kuakini Medical Center on it.
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March 17, 1820 – no entry. (Thaddeus Journal)
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