Prominent People | Page 104 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

August 20, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Robert Wilcox’s Quest for Statehood

In 1890, Robert Wilcox was elected to the Legislature in the Islands. Following the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893, the Committee of Safety established the Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi as a temporary government until annexation by the United States.

The Provisional Government convened a constitutional convention and established the Republic of Hawaiʻi on July 4, 1894. The Republic continued to govern the Islands.

From January 6 to January 9, 1895, in a “Counter-Revolution,” patriots of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the forces that had overthrown the constitutional Hawaiian monarchy were engaged in a war that consisted of battles on the island of Oʻahu.

It has also been called the Second Wilcox Rebellion of 1895, the Revolution of 1895, the Hawaiian Counter-revolution of 1895, the 1895 Uprising in Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian Civil War, the 1895 Uprising Against the Provisional Government or the Uprising of 1895.

In their attempt to return Queen Liliʻuokalani to the throne, it was the last major military operation by royalists who opposed the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. The goal of the rebellion failed.

Wilcox was court-martialed and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to thirty-five years. While in prison in 1895, Pope Leo XIII granted an annulment of their marriage. The Italian Consul and the Catholic Bishop at Honolulu confirmed this action.

In January, 1896, he was given a conditional pardon and became a free man; later that year, Wilcox married again, this time to Mrs. Theresa Cartwright. In 1898, President Dole gave him a full pardon.

With the establishment of Territorial status in the Islands, Hawaiʻi was eligible to have a non-voting delegate in the US House of Representatives.

Wilcox and others formed the Independent “Home Rule” Party and Wilcox ran as a candidate for the Delegate position (against Republican Samuel Parker and Democrat Prince David Kawānanakoa.) Wilcox won, and served as the first delegate and representative of Hawaiʻi in the US Congress.

Robert W Wilcox – the man who figured so prominently and conspicuously noted, related to the overthrow, “Queen Lili‘uokalani brought these evils upon herself and the country both by her personal corruption, and that of her Government.”

“She surrounded herself with bad advisers, and seemed determined to drive the nation to destruction. Good people had no influence over her whatever, for she indignantly refused to listen to them.”

“I believe that if we can be annexed to the United States, the rights of all of our citizens, and especially those of the native Hawaiians, will be protected more carefully than they have ever been under the monarchy.”

“My countrymen, with the exception of the most intelligent among them, do not understand much about these things. They need to be educated. They have so often been told by designing men that the United States was their enemy that they are naturally suspicious.”

“Politicians who have sought to use the natives simply as so many tools have deceived them. When they understand from the lips of disinterested men and patriots what annexation means, and become acquainted with the benefits that it will bring them, they will be as much in favor of the movement as any of our other classes of citizens.”

“They are naturally somewhat prejudiced against (the Provisional Government), as monarchy is the only form of Government with which they are familiar, but this feeling will quickly wear away as the Hawaiians are led to see that the Government is friendly to them and their interests. They already have confidence in the integrity and patriotism of President Dole.”

“I have repeatedly (advocated annexation to the United States) in public meetings held in this city. … but I am compelled to move cautiously or I shall lose my influence over them. I believe I am doing a good work by constantly conversing with them on the subject.

“I have told my countrymen that the monarchy is gone forever, and when they ask me what is the best thing to follow it I tell them annexation, and I firmly believe that in a very short time every Hawaiian will be in favor of that step.” (Wilcox interview with Hoes; Reports of Committees of the Senate of the United States, 1893-1894)

“Washington. July 3 (1901). Delegate Wilcox, of Hawaii, announces here that at the very opening of the next session of Congress in December he will introduce a bill granting statehood to the territory of Hawaii. Mr. Wilcox says that he does not fully expect that the bill will become a law next winter, but he predicts early statehood for the territory.”

“‘Of course I realize,’ says Mr. Wilcox, ‘that this proposition will meet with opposition on the ground that we have but recently been incorporated Into a territory and that we should wait, but I shall Introduce the bill just the same and commence working upon it.’”

“Mr. Wilcox also says that he is going to introduce a bill to provide for the laying of a cable between Honolulu and San Francisco as soon as Congress meets. There are several bills of that sort already on tap, but another will do little harm.”

“The statehood bill that Mr. Wilcox says he is going to bring forward will result In nothing but a discussion of the political conditions In Hawaii. There is no chance whatever that during the term for which Mr. Wilcox has been elected to sit in Congress he can get a statehood bill through for the territory.”

“Arizona and New Mexico have for years been trying for statehood, and they are today apparently as far from it as ever, although the Congressional committees have again and again recommended the passage of the bills.”

“In the case of Hawaii more objections than Mr. Wilcox has mentioned will be raised. I remember that before the Hawaiian annexation resolution was passed Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, went to the White House one day and told the President that he would let that resolution go through if it could be understood that Hawaii should not be admitted into the Union as a State.”

“Hoar wanted that incorporated into the annexation resolution. This could not be done, because It would have been unconstitutional. But the promise was then and there given that if Hawaii should apply for statehood she would be refused for years to come, and that is the general understanding of the matter In Washington.”

“Expansion would not have taken place on so broad a scale if it had been understood that an application would so soon come from one of the island possessions for Statehood. Porto Rico is almost possibly not quite as well qualified for statehood as is Hawaii.”

“The island of Luzon with the city of Manila, is about as well qualified from the standpoint of general civilization and enlightenment as is Hawaii. The bars will not be let down for a long time to come to any of these territories.”

“It will take a very long probationary period to qualify the Territory of Hawaii for statehood in the minds of the American government officials. The recent political dildoes that have been cut there do not help the case.”

“Dole and his outfit have put Hawaii fifty years further from statehood than it was on the day that Congress finally passed a resolution annexing the Islands to the United States. Their continuation in office there for a few years more will put Hawaii everlastingly outside the pale of American political civilization.”

“The Administration thought when It annexed Hawaii, that it had got an asset: it finds that with Dole thrown in, Hawaii is a political liability. E. S. L.” (Honolulu Republican, July 17, 1901)

“What we are all looking forward to is Statehood and anything that will lead toward that end must be helped along by us. We will not mind much about the Governor then for it will be the people who will be paramount.” (Delegate Wilcox’s Impassioned Address to Hawaiians, The Independent, July 10, 1902)

Wilcox ran for re-election, but lost to Republican Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Piʻikoi (Prince Kūhiō served from 1903 until his death in 1922.)

Wilcox returned to Washington to finish out his term (November 6, 1900 to March 3, 1903,) but was very ill. He came back to Hawaiʻi in 1903, and died October 26, 1903. He is buried in the Catholic cemetery on King Street.

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August 16, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

James O’Meara

James O’Meara was born of Irish parentage in the City of New York, on June 22, 1825 to Timothy and Mary O’Meara, of County Cork, Ireland.

At four he began his school life in the “sandboard class” of the old-time “infant school”; when he had completed the course in the infant school, where only reading and writing were taught, he went to private schools until ready for college. He received his college education at Williams College.

His father never considered him too young to listen to great men talk; so when Daniel Webster was pouring forth all that magnificent eloquence of which he was master, Timothy O’Meara took his little boy to hear and to meet the great man.

When the boy grew to manhood, he recalled his childish elation when Webster, while talking to a group of friends, unconsciously placed his hands upon the soft, curly, brown head of the little boy standing beside him, then looked down and said, as he patted the head: ‘Here is a head that should count some day. I think when you grow up you will be a writer, my boy.’

This experience, perhaps, more than any other influence in his life, aroused the desire that led James O’Meara to make political journalism his life work.

When he was nineteen years of age his brother Maurice, the eldest of nine children, died in South America. The father sent James, his second son, on the sad mission of finding and returning with the body.

The death of Maurice necessitated a journey other than that to South America, for now James became the eldest son and as such became the heir to certain estates in Ireland.

As soon as he was twenty-one his father took him back to the old lands, where certain business affairs required his signature. This trip gave him glimpses of life in the Old World, the vivid recollections of which never forsook him.

Upon his return to New York he became interested in New York politics and newspaper work. His familiarity with life in the great city made both most attractive to him.

But politics claimed more and more of his interest, and though so young a man, his skill with both pen and tongue won for him a place in the New York Legislature.

Just what might have been his career had he remained in New York will never be known, for the news of the wondrous El Dorado was beginning to set the spirit of unrest at work in those filled with the ardor of youth, and he, too, was aglow with the desire to see this glorious new land of gold.

His home ties were of the strongest, for he was of the most affectionate and social nature, but the fascination of the new life “around the Horn” impelled him to leave home and a promising career in New York for the West.

On March 8, 1849, the stout bark Palmetto sailed out of the harbor bearing an enthusiastic throng. For one hundred and ninety-three days she sailed down the Atlantic and up the Pacific. September 17, 1849, the bark reached the long-looked-for haven and James O’Meara was in California.

Like thousands of others he sought the excitement of the gold fields, but soon returned to the more attractive life in San Francisco. He wrote for the Times and Transcript and was soon associated with those interested in politics.

There was no man who won so much of his affectionate loyalty as did Dr. Wm. M. Gwin. It was his misfortune to be blind to the disastrous influence of this man whose cause he so devotedly espoused. He saw in this master of political manipulation a hero whom he idealized and idolized.

With his ardent and affectionate admiration so thoroughly aroused, he set about to do his utmost to serve one in whose integrity of character he had not the shadow of a doubt. It was this intimate association with Dr. Gwin that gave him the opportunity to write his history of the most famous political episode in California with such accuracy.

A frequent guest in the Gwin household, he felt their interests as his own. He wrote “Broderick and Gwin” that the election of Gwin and Broderick as senators from California.

In 1854 the government sent commissioners to the Hawaiian Islands to negotiate with the king in regard to annexation. Of this commission James O’Meara was a member.

After several months spent upon the islands, the commissioners finally succeeded in bringing matters to the point where all that was necessary was to secure the signature of the king.

The hour for this was set at twelve o’clock the following morning, and then the commissioners were to sail for the United States on the vessel awaiting them in the harbor.

But before eleven o’clock the following morning the king was dead. Prince Liholiho, or Alexander, became king, the treaty remained unsigned, and annexation was delayed for decades.

Leaving Mr. David C. Gregg, an old friend then serving as United States commissioner to the islands, the disappointed commissioners returned to San Francisco. Again. O’Meara plunged into political affairs on the continent.

The closing years of his life were spent in his home. No literary work of any sort came from the fingers too enfeebled to write, for at least three years. He spent his days reading and re-reading books, old and new, and the countless newspapers and magazines that every mail brought to his table.

A gentleman of the old school, his gentle, chivalrous and affectionate demeanor in his household had produced a home of unusual happiness. Always hopeful, always cheerful, the devoted husband and father had earned and spent freely to make his family happy. (All here is from Frances L. O’Meara, his daughter; Journal of the American-Irish Historical Society, 1917)

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August 10, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

George Washington’s Mahiole

“The little ship ‘Columbia’ of Boston, only eighty-three feet long, was the first American vessel to circumnavigate the globe, and a few years later was also the first to visit our Northwest Coast.”

“This last voyage was perhaps the most famous one ever undertaken by an American merchant ship, and its consequences were everlasting. A young American seaman first called attention to the importance of the fur trade of the Northwest.”

“He endeavored to influence English and New York merchants, but with no success until he reached Boston, where he succeeded in interesting six men …”

“… Joseph Boswell, a recent graduate of Harvard; Bulfinch, the architect; Captain John Derby of Salem; Samuel Brown; Captain Crowell Hatch of Cambridge; and J. W. Pintard of New York. These six enterprising merchants subscribed $50,000, which was a very large sum in those days.”

“The little ‘Columbia,’ which was built on the North River in Scituate, where over a thousand seagoing ships have been launched, was selected for the long voyage, and as her consort an even smaller craft, a ship of ninety tons, called the ‘Lady Washington,’ was chosen.”

“The commander of the ‘Columbia’ was John Kendrick of Wareham, the captain of the other vessel being Robert Gray of Boston. To the latter was really due the success of the expedition.”

“The State and Federal Governments were especially interested in the undertaking, and many special medals were struck off and distributed at the ports where the vessels touched.”

“Hundreds of these medals were later found among the Spaniards in South America, throughout the Sandwich Islands, and Oregon.”

“The two vessels sailed from Boston on September 30, 1787, amid a tremendous demonstration. They encountered heavy gales off Cape Horn, and only the determination of Kendrick and Gray enabled them to reach their destination.”

“The smaller of the two, the ‘Lady Washington,’ arrived first, and while waiting, Captain Gray and his brave crew were attacked by the Indians, and some of his men killed. This place was therefore named ‘Murderers’ Harbour.’”

“The ‘Columbia’ arrived a week later, her crew suffering frightfully from scurvy, the voyage having consumed one whole year.” (Old Shipping Days in Boston, 1918)

“When the expedition arrived on the northwest coast, captain Kendrick turned his back on his country—prevailed on a number of the seamen to join him, took possession of the sloop Washington, and refused to return. Capt. Robert Gray then took command of the Columbia, and continued the voyage.” (Niles National Register, November 25, 1837)

“The cargo of hardware, tools, toys, beads, etc, brought from Boston was gradually exchanged during the long winter for furs, which were taken to Canton, the two captains then exchanging commands. The proceeds of the skins were used to purchase tea, which was brought back to Boston.” (Old Shipping Days in Boston, 1918)

“On his return (Gray) called at the different clusters of islands in the South seas, and among the rest at the Sandwich, where, as well as in other places, he met with the most friendly attentions from the natives, go at Owyhee, where their king resided.” (Niles National Register, November 25, 1837)

“The ‘Columbia’ … spent three weeks at the Hawaiian Islands, laying in a store of fruits, yams, potatoes, and hogs. They were kindly received there”. (Porter)

“Such was the confidence placed in captain Gray, both by king and people, that they permitted him to bring away with him to Boston their crown prince (Attoo), fully relying on his promise to return him to them.” (Niles National Register, November 25, 1837)

“Gray’s discoveries of Gray’s Harbor and the Columbia River were witnessed by Attoo before the Hawaiian completed his circumnavigation on Columbia in 1792.” (Mockford)

“From China the ship, loaded with teas, sailed for home by way of the Cape of Good Hope. In August of 1790 she dropped anchor in Boston harbor, the first American vessel to circumnavigate the earth.”

“The ship was absent upwards of three years, and had not been heard from for a large portion of the time, when, in the summer of 1790, in a fine afternoon, we had just arrived in Boston, from Worcester, when a strange ship, bearing the stars and stripes of our country, arrived abreast of the castle, and fired a national salute, which was promptly returned by that fortress.”

“The firing was distinctly heard and seen from Boston, but no one could imagine what ship it was, bearing our country’s flag, and doing and receiving such high honor. The inhabitants were all in motion, and coining to the long wharf by thousands; in the interim, the ship was recognized, the artillery were ordered out.”

“As she came to anchor off the end of the wharf, the delighted multitudes rent the air with joyful acclamations, while salvos of artillery shook the neighboring hills, and the astonished people hurried into the city to join in the general joy.”

“The ship having returned the salute of the city, the custom house barge was manned, when the venerable general Lincoln, collector of the port, with the owners of the Columbia, repaired on board …”

“… and after bidding a hearty welcome to captain Gray and his princely passenger, they all returned to the wharf together, when the air again rang, with loud acclaim, and the artillery again poured forth its thunder.”

“The prince, who was an Apollo in personal symmetry and beauty, was dressed in a helmet of the ancient roman form, covered with small feathers of the most beautiful plumage, which glittered in the sun …”

“… while on his body he wore a close dress, not visible except the sleeve, and over it a large and flowing robe, in the form of the toga, made of cloth, covered with feathers precisely like the helmet. In this splendid costume, he took the arm of captain Gray, and a procession being formed, they marched to governor Hancock’s, who sent his adjutant general to bid them welcome.”

“After a residence of some months, the ship was refitted, and, with the same commander, returned the prince in safety to his country and friends (“The Hawaiian, Jack Attoo, went back as cabin-boy.” (Porter)) …”

“… from thence sprung all that friendly intercourse between those happy islanders and the United States, to whom they are indebted for civilization and the useful arts which are making such progress among them. (Niles National Register, November 25, 1837)

“(T)hat helmet of the ancient roman form, covered with small feathers” (Mahiole) was given to (Governor John Hancock) of Massachusetts, and it was then given to President George Washington. (Peabody Museum)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oRFhujeu5o&t=19s

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August 5, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Wreck of the Bering

“Russians – or explorers hired by Russians – were curious about northeastern Asia and the American continent, wanting to know if the two were connected.”

“As early as 1648 Simeyon Dezhnev had passed through what would become known as Bering Strait ad into the Bering Sea. Dezhnev had discovered there was no land connection between Asia and America”.

“In 1728 Vitus Bering, a Dane in the service of Russia, sailed the same area, but at no time coming or going did he sight the American continent through the fogs and mists.”

“In June 1741 Vitius Bering tried again in the ship St Peter. On this terribly trying trip he did see the American mainland, but did not go ashore. On his way south Bering was shipwrecked a d died of scurvy.”

“Those who survived constructed a small boat from the wreckage of the St Peter. James Cook later used some of Bering’s charts in searching for the Northwest Passage.”

“The greatest commotion involving Bering’s second voyage did not result from the American continent, but rather from a book published by a German, George Steller, who was a naturalist aboard the St Peter.”

“In his book Steller gave the first descriptions of four previously unknown marine mammals – the fur seal, the sea otter, the sea lion and the sea cow.”

“The revelation of the existence of these creatures in large numbers brought Russian trappers, hunters and adventurers to the Aleutian Islands, to Alaska and down the Northwest Coast of America. Because of the profitable trade involved, the Russian American Company was founded.”

“In 1790 Alexander Baranov was named manager of the Russian American Company and was appointed governor of Russian America. … “

“The Russians would have preferred to keep the fur trade to themselves, but that was impossible … they could not guard the extensive coast … (and) the Russians received supplies on an irregular basis from ports far away. … The first Russian ships to visit Hawaii came in 1804.” (Joesting)

“From American and British traders who visited both the Russian settlements and Hawaii, the governor of the Russian company, Alexander Baranov, learned something about the resources and convenient location of the islands, and Kamehameha learned something about the needs of the Russians.”

“The general situation was obviously favorable to a useful commerce between the two places. Russian ships first visited the islands in 1804. but were not seen by Kamehameha.”

“A year or two afterwards. the latter made known to Baranov that he would “gladly send a ship every year with swine, salt. batatas [sweet potatoes], and other articles of food, if [the Russians] would in exchange let him have sea-otter skins at a fair price.” (Kuykendall)

“Shortly after, Baranov sent out (two) expeditions, American and British traders became embroiled in the War of 1812. With American and British ships pitted against one another, Baranov saw an opportunity for profit. Several American traders chose to sell their ships to Baranov at reduced prices rather than face the possibility that their ships would be captured or sunk.”

“Baranov had few available navigators, however, so American captains often continued to sail the vessels under contact to the RAC.”

“Baranov bought the Atahualpa and another ship, the Lydia, in exchange for twenty thousand sealskins in December 1813. The Atahualpa was renamed the Bering, after the leader of the first Russian expedition to reach Alaska. Its American captain, James Bennett, remained in command and sailed to Okhotsk to pick up the furs that were being used to buy the ship.” (Mills)

“The Bering sailed to Hawaii in late 1814 for a load of provisions destined for the North American colonies. After making stops at Kauai, Maui and Oahu, the ill-fated vessel made one land stop at Waimea, Kauai, on January 30, 1815.”

“At 3 am the next morning, the ship ran aground in Waimea Bay during a gale. The shipwrecked men were stranded on Kauai for more than two months, eventually receiving passage off the island on April 11, 1815 … Kauai islanders, under the rule of paramount chief Kaumuali‘i, retained the ship’s goods, including its cargo of furs”.

“It appears that Captain Bennett was livid about the whole affair. He proceeded to Sitka and advised Baranov to use force to retrieve the cargo. Baranov, however, chose diplomacy over force, sending Georg Anton Schäffer to Hawai’i on the American ship Isabella to resolve the situation.” (Mills)

Later that year, Schäffer arrived in Honolulu. Schäffer began building a fort and raised the Russian flag. When Kamehameha discovered this, he sent several of his men to remove the Russians from O‘ahu, by force, if necessary. The Russians judiciously chose to sail for Kaua‘i, instead of risking bloodshed.

Once on Kauai, Schäffer gained the confidence of King Kaumuali‘i, when he promised the king that the Russian Tsar would help him to break free of Kamehameha’s rule.

In 1817, however, it was discovered that Schäffer did not have the support of the Russian Tsar. He was forced to leave Hawai‘i, and Captain Alexander Adams, a Scotsman who served in the navy of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, raised the Kingdom of Hawai‘i flag over the fort in October 1817.

Eventually, over-hunting greatly diminished the number of sea otters and fur seals in the North Pacific. By the 1850s, New Archangel, which once owed its existence to the fur trade depended instead on a shipyard, a fish saltery, sawmills and an ice-exporting business.

The RAC and the Russian government no longer profited from the colony, instead focusing their main commercial activities on tea importing. The Crimean War highlighted Russian America’s vulnerability to attack by other European nations.

The Tsar decided to sell in 1867 rather than lose the territory in another war. The US States bought Alaska for $7.2 million, or approximately 2 cents per acre, and Russia ended its 126-year-old North American enterprise. (NPS)

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July 31, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Gorham Dummer Gilman

“Somewhere about the year 1848, possibly earlier (actually, 1841,) a young man from Boston landed on the shores of our Islands; he was about eighteen years of age, an entire stranger, coming out to those distant fields of labor to seek his fortune. “

“My adopted father, the chief Pāki, befriended him, gave him the first helping hand which welcomed him to his new country, and rendered him such assistance as was in fact the means of showing to him the opportunity of making his way in the world …” (Lili‘uokalani)

Gorham D Gilman was born in Hallowell, Maine, May 29, 1822. He shipped on a vessel, arriving in Honolulu early in 1841. He found commercial employment, mastered the Hawaiian language, and pursued his career at several locations in the islands. For some years, he was in business at Koloa, Kauai.

Lured by news of the gold strike, by mid-November 1848, he was in San Francisco. There he formed a partnership with Mr Wetmore. But California proved a disappointment; in the spring of 1849 Gilman returned to Hawaii. (Sharpless & Greer)

“(A)s years passed by he established himself in business, and soon became one of the leading merchants of Lāhainā, at that time the port of call in the Islands for the whaleships, ranking second only to Honolulu.”

“It was then the base of supplies to this fleet of vessels, was a thoroughly thrifty place, and a business city of growing commercial importance. But the oil-wells of the land have thrown into neglect the oil-ships of the sea, and since this decline and decay Lahaina is little more than a city of ruins.” (Lili‘uokalani)

This phase of Gilman’s long life lasted until 1861. By then the whaling fleet, on which his prosperity depended, had deserted Lāhainā. (Sharpless & Greer)

“Mr. Gilman probably saw the approaching decline of the industry by which the place was supported; for he broke up his business connections there, sundered certain personal ties, and returned to the East with a very handsome fortune, it is said, the result of the accumulation of years of mercantile life on Hawaiian soil and under Hawaiian laws.” (Lili‘uokalani)

From Honolulu he returned to Boston where he and his brothers, John A and Samuel K Gilman, entered the wholesale drug firm of Gilman Brothers. After making his home at Newton, Massachusetts, in 1865, he became a prominent citizen of that community.

He developed an active interest in politics and served in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature. Gilman retained connections with Hawaii and the West Coast (as late as 1902 he was vice-president of an organization of California pioneers). (Sharpless & Greer)

“Gilman had been earlier in life a conspicuous figure, not only in the drug trade but in civic, Masonic and religious affairs. At various times in his career he was both a representative and a senator in the State legislature, an alderman in his home city of Newton, and Consul-General for New England of the Hawaiian government.” (Bulleting of Pharmacy, 1909)

“In 1887, during my journey with Queen Kapiʻolani, we met Mr. Gilman, who was at that time very kind and attentive to me. To be sure, he had a point to gain; he wanted a decoration from the king, and did not hesitate to say so.”

“On the return of the queen’s party to the Islands, letters were received from Mr. Gilman, directly applying for the honor to my brother. Chiefly by means of my personal influence his petition was granted, and he was made a Knight Companion of the Order of Kalākaua, and the decoration forwarded to him.” (Lili‘uokalani)

“Gorham D. Gilman, Hawai‘i’s good friend at the Hub of the Universe Boston will be honored by the Chamber of Commerce with a testimonial in the form of a laudatory letter, accompanied by some suitable memento of the Islands, in appreciation of his promotion efforts on behalf of Hawaii.”

“For years a resident of Honolulu; and for many, many years, a citizen of Boston, Mr. Gilman has not lost sight of the Islands, and his interest has gone so far that he has kept the progress of the group before the reading public and at great gatherings in the East.” (Recognition of Gilman by Honolulu Chamber of Commerce, PCA, July 16, 1897)

“His library of Hawaiiana was one of the most extensive in the northeastern US; it was supplemented by paintings, photos, and curios.”

“As consul, Gilman rendered great service by giving illustrated (stereopticon) lectures on Hawaii—especially during the critical year of 1893. And the student of Hawaiian history owes him much.”

“Besides the several journals he kept at various times, he produced a number of articles for Thrum’s Hawaiian Annual. These reminiscences add greatly to our knowledge of Honolulu in the 1840s and 1850s. ” (Sharpless & Greer)

“He made the acquaintance of King Kamehameha III, and of four kings who succeeded him, including King Kalākaua, also Queen Kapiʻolani and the present dethroned Queen Liliuokalani.”

“Mr. Gilman received from these various royal personages many decorations and gifts. His mastery of the native language was so easily accomplished that he became very proficient, and his translation of an important United States Government treaty was accepted officially, in preference to that of a man of far greater experience.”

“Mr. Gilman lived widely, tried to do his whole duty, achieved a splendid record, kept at work under a full head of steam until he reached the fine age of 87 years, and has gone to the larger life, a noble alumnus of Mother Earth, well fitted for the career upon which he is now entering.” (The Friend, November 1909) Gilman died at Newton on October 3, 1909.

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