Prominent People | Page 105 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

July 27, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Brother Bertram

Father William Joseph Chaminade founded the Society of Mary (Marianists). It was founded with the principles that education would be the best way to reintroduce Catholic values into society. (St Louis Alumni)

In the Islands, first the Sacred Hearts Father’s College of Ahuimanu was founded on the Windward side of Oʻahu in 1846 by the Catholic Mission under the direction of the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

One of its students, Jozef de Veuster, arrived in Hawaiʻi on March 9, 1864, at the time a 24-year-old choirboy. Determined to become a priest, he had the remainder of his schooling the College of Ahuimanu.

On May 21, Jozef was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu (he was then called Father Damien); he spent the rest of his life in Hawaiʻi. In 2009, Father Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI.

The College of Ahuimanu flourished; as reported by the Bishop in 1865, “The college and the schools are doing well. But as the number of pupils is continually on the increase, it has become necessary to enlarge the college. First we have added a story and a top floor with an attic; then we have been obliged to construct a new building. And yet we are lacking room.”

In 1881, the school moved to its second location in former Rev. Richard Armstrong’s home, “Stonehouse” (named after the residence of Admiral Richard Thomas in England,) on 91 Beretania Street adjoining Washington Place. At that time, the name “College of St. Louis” was given to the institution in honor of Bishop Louis Maigret’s patron Saint, Louis IX.

Growing enrollment soon required the Mission Fathers to relocate the school, again; this time, they found a site on the banks of Nuʻuanu Stream. The College at Aʻala was placed under the direction of pioneer Brothers of Mary who arrived from Dayton, Ohio in 1883.

One such was German-born, Gabriel Bellinghausen, S.M. (Brother Bertram), who helped establish (if not ‘cement’) Catholic education in Hawaii. He was the first Principal (Director) of Saint Louis College, then located at Kamakela on Nu‘uanu Stream.

Brother Bertram was born in Germany, but his family emigrated to Philadelphia when he was a child. In 1865, he professed his first vows in the Society of Mary.

After having been in Cleveland, San Antonio, Dayton and Paris, France, he was appointed to open the first foreign mission of the SM (Society of Mary) in Winnipeg. (Marianistes) Then, he came to the Islands.

During his 22 years in Hawai‘i, Brother Bertram was exceptionally passionate about three things: the continued success and stability of Saint Louis College and its students …

Photography (having produced over 800 glass plate images and over 2,000 photographs) and; the establishment of an Alumni Association to insure continued support of Saint Louis College by its proud graduates.

Here is a link to some of his photographs: https://goo.gl/DmJVWc

His perseverance and single-mindedness helped form the Saint Louis Alumni Association (“SLAA”) which was formally incorporated on June 27, 1907, only a few short years after Brother Bertram’s departure from our Islands. (St Louis Alumni)

In 1923, they purchased 205 acres at Kalaepōhaku in Kaimuki; classes began there in 1928. After sixty-seven-years of providing education at grade levels one through twelve, the elementary and intermediate grades were withdrawn one-grade-a-year, beginning in 1950.

In 1955, the Marianists established Chaminade College on the east end of the Kalaepōhaku campus (it was initially named the Saint Louis Junior College; with it, Saint Louis College was renamed to Saint Louis High School.)

In 1957, Saint Louis Junior College became co-educational and a four-year college and the school was renamed to Chaminade College of Honolulu (named after the Society of Mary (Marianists) founder.)

St. Louis’ high school classes continued on campus until 1979, when the school’s Board of Trustees voted to re-incorporate intermediate grades seven and eight, beginning in fall, 1980. A sixth grade was added and the intermediate grades were then converted to a middle school beginning with the fall semester of 1990.

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Brother Bertram

July 24, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Machu Picchu Commemorations

A story told to some of the early Spanish chroniclers noted a mythical place from which the Incas had come when they started out and to make the beginnings of that great empire which was to embrace a large part of South America.

Thousands of years ago there lived in the highlands of Peru a megalithic folk who developed a remarkable civilization, and who left, as architectural records, such cyclopean structures as the fortresses of Sacsahuaman and Ollantaytambo. These people were attacked by barbarian hordes coming from the south – possibly from the Argentine pampas.

They were defeated, and fled into one of the most inaccessible Andine cañons. Here, in a region strongly defended by nature, they established themselves; here their descendants lived for several centuries. The chief place was called Tampu Tocco.

Eventually regaining their military strength and becoming crowded in this mountainous valley, they left Tampu Tocco, and, under the leadership of three brothers, went out of three windows (or caves) and started for Cuzco.

The migration was slow and deliberate. They eventually reached Cuzco, and there established the Inca kingdom, which through several centuries spread by conquest over the entire plateau, and even as far south as Chile and as far north as Ecuador.

This Inca empire had reached its height when the Spaniards came. The Spaniards were told that Tampu Tocco was at a place called Pacaritampu, a small village a day’s journey southwest of Cuzco and in the Apurimac Valley.

The chroniclers duly noted this location, and it has been taken for granted ever since that Tampu Tocco was at Pacaritampu. (National Geographic, 1913)

Tampu means “tavern,” or “a place of temporary abode.” Tocco means “window.” The legend is distinctly connected with a place of windows, preferably of three windows, from which the three brothers, the heads of three tribes or clans, started out on the campaign that founded the Inca empire.

“So far as I could discover, few travelers have ever taken the trouble to visit Pacaritampu, and no one knew whether there were any buildings with windows, or caves, there.” (Bingham)

Hiram Bingham III was born in Honolulu, on November 19, 1875, the son of missionaries to Micronesia and grandson of Hiram and Sybil Bingham, leader of the Pioneer Company of Missionaries to Hawaii. He completed his studies at Yale, earning a doctorate in Latin American history.

In 1905, Bingham made his first trip to South America, following the route of Simón Bolivar, from Caracas, Venezuela to Bogotá, Colombia. He returned in 1908 and retraced the Spanish trade route from Buenos Aires to Lima.

While in Peru, in February, 1909, he visited Choqquequirau, a recently discovered Inca site that had once been thought to be the last refuge of the Inca rulers after they were defeated by the Spanish explorer, Francisco Pizarro. This visit inspired him with the desire to find the legendary “lost city of the Incas.”

In 1911, Bingham went back to Peru with two goals: to climb Mount Coropuna to see whether it was higher than Mount Aconcagua and to seek out the last capital of the Incas, the almost mystical city of Vilcabamba.

Arriving in Arequipa, in June 1911, he decided that it would not be wise to try to make the climb in winter and instead decided to look for ruins in the valley of the Rio Urubamba. (Encyclopedia)

“In 1911, a young Peruvian boy led an American explorer and Yale historian named Hiram Bingham into the ancient Incan citadel of Machu Picchu. Hidden amidst the breathtaking heights of the Andes, this settlement of temples, tombs and palaces was the Incas’ greatest achievement.”

“Tall, handsome, and sure of his destiny, Bingham believed that Machu Picchu was the Incas’ final refuge, where they fled the Spanish Conquistadors.”

“Bingham made Machu Picchu famous, and his dispatches from the jungle cast him as the swashbuckling hero romanticized today as a true Indiana Jones-like character.” (History)

“Some experts believe that parts of the city, which Bingham named Machu Picchu (Old Peak), are 60 centuries old, which would make it 1,000 years older than ancient Babylon. More recently, if its ruins are interpreted correctly, it was at once an impregnable fortress and a majestic royal capital of an exiled civilization.”

“Built on a saddle between two peaks, Machu Picchu is surrounded by a granite wall, can be entered only by one main gate. Inside is a maze of a thousand ruined houses, temples, palaces, and staircases, all hewn from white granite and dominated by a great granite sundial.”

“In Quechua, language of the sun-worshipping Incas and their present-day descendants, the dial was known as Intihuatana—hitching post of the sun.” (Time)

Four different plaques commemorate the ‘find.’ Two plaques attached to a rock face near the entrance to Machu Picchu pay tribute to Hiram Bingham and his “discovery” of Machu Picchu.

The first plaque was erected in October, 1948, by the Rotary Club of Cusco. It reads (in Spanish): “Cusco is grateful to Hiram Bingham, scientific discoverer of Machu Picchu in 1911.” The second was put in place in 1961. It reads (also in Spanish): “Tribute to Hiram Bingham on the 50th anniversary of the discovery of Machu Picchu.”

The second was put in place in 1961. It reads (also in Spanish): “Tribute to Hiram Bingham on the 50th anniversary of the discovery of Machu Picchu.”

A third bronze plaque marks the 75th anniversary of the “scientific discovery” of Machu Picchu. It doesn’t mention Hiram Bingham, nor does it mention anyone else, apart from a reference to the “sons of Inti” who built Machu Picchu (Inti being the Inca sun god).

In 1993, Peru’s National Institute of Culture decided it was time to pay tribute to the locals who helped Hiram Bingham find his way to Machu Picchu. The sign reads: “The National Institute of Culture Cusco pays homage to Melchor Arteaga, Richarte and Álvarez who lived in Machu Picchu before Hiran [sic] Bingham.” (Atlas Obscura)

Melchor Arteaga was instrumental in Bingham’s expedition to Machu Picchu. A local farmer living at Mandor Pampa near Aguas Calientes, Arteaga knew the location of Machu Picchu and showed Bingham the way.

The other two names, Richarte and Álvarez, refer to two men and their families who lived up near Machu Picchu and still farmed on its lower terraces when Bingham arrived.

Bingham and Arteaga met Toribio Richarte and Anacleto Álvarez on their tough trek up the steep, jungle covered mountain. It was Anacleto’s son, Pablo, who on July 24, 1911 guided Bingham along the last leg of the trek, into the heart of Machu Picchu. (Atlas Obscura)

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1948 Plaque-Machu Picchu

1961 Plaque-Machu Picchu

1993 Tablet-Machu Picchu

hiram-bingham

Trapezoidal entry doors at Incan ruins of Machu Picchu.

The staircase leading up the Machhu Picchu.

Machu Picchu NatlGeo

Temple of Three Windows

Inca Story, Peru

The ruins of Machu Picchu.

July 19, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mother Baldwin

When celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding, “Punahou pauses to pay tribute to its oldest living graduate, Mrs. Henry Perrine Baldwin (Emily Whitney Alexander) of Maui, who observed her 95th birthday in January of (that) year.”

“Mrs. Baldwin’s family has had many associations and connections with Punahou during its hundred years of existence.”

“Her father, the Rev. William Patterson Alexander, was one of the missionaries who signed the resolution passed at the general meeting in 1841 for the founding of the school. He was a trustee of Punahou when it was incorporated in 1853.”

“Mrs. Baldwin, then Emily Whitney Alexander, entered Punahou Preparatory, as the school was first known, in 1857, when she was eleven years old. She attended the school from 1857 to 1864 except for one year, and was graduated in 1864 at the age of eighteen.”

“Upon her graduation, she was appointed to the teaching staff of the school, and taught the subjects of geometry, algebra and American history.”

“At the time of her appointment, her brother, W. D. Alexander, was president of the school. He served as president from 1864 to 1870. and prior to that was acting president in 1859 and 1860.”

“Emily Whitney Alexander left Punahou in 1866, and in 1870 she was married to Henry Perrine Baldwin, at the beginning of his career as Maui’s foremost builder.”

“During the early years of their marriage, and throughout their life together, she was his constant helpmate and inspiration.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin’s first home was at Sunnyside, where the Rev. and Mrs. W. E. Rowan now reside. There their children, Harry A. Baldwin, Mrs. Maud Baldwin Cooke, Frank F. Baldwin, Arthur A. Baldwin. Dr. William D. Baldwin and the late Fred Baldwin, were born.”

“In later years, when they had moved to Haiku to live, they became parents of the late Mrs. Charlotte Baldwin Rice and Samuel A. Baldwin.”

“Before moving to Maluhia in the Makawao district, where Mrs. Baldwin now makes her home, the couple lived at Spreckelsville, where a great deal of Mr. Baldwin’s pioneering in the sugar industry took place.”

“Now known throughout the territory as ‘Mother Baldwin,’ Mrs. Baldwin is beloved by a large circle of friends throughout Hawaii.”

“Her interest in Punahou has continued down the years, and through her financial assistance many students who otherwise would not have been able to attend the school have been able to matriculate there.”

“During her entire lifetime Mrs. Baldwin was devoted herself to civic and community good. Her charities are legion, accomplished quietly and without publicity.”

“To worthy organizations throughout the territory she has been an unstinting friend, and to thousands of individuals she has given help and assistance. Deeply religious, she has been a devoted church woman all her life.”

“It is truly said of her that her life is a benediction, her friendship a blessing to all who know her.” (Maile Stevenson Kearns)

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Emily Alexander Whitney (Baldwin)-14 year old student at Punahou-The Friend

July 14, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

John Young and Mission

John Young, a boatswain on the British fur trading vessel, Eleanora, was stranded on the Island of Hawai‘i in 1790. Kamehameha brought Young to Kawaihae, where he was building the massive Pu’ukoholā Heiau.

For the next several years, John Young, and another British sailor, Isaac Davis, went on to assist Kamehameha in his unification of the Hawaiian Islands.

When Captain George Vancouver visited Hawai‘i Island in 1793, he observed that both Young and Davis “are in his [Kamehameha’s] most perfect confidence, attend him in all his excursions of business or pleasure, or expeditions of war or enterprise; and are in the habit of daily experiencing from him the greatest respect, and the highest degree of esteem and regard.”

Because of his knowledge of European warfare, Young is said to have trained Kamehameha and his men in the use of muskets and cannons. In addition, both Young and Davis fought alongside Kamehameha in his many battles.

With these powerful new weapons and associated war strategy, Kamehameha eventually brought all of the Hawaiian Islands under his rule.

Kamehameha appointed John Young as Governor of Kamehameha’s home island, Hawai‘i Island, and gave him a seat next to himself in the ruling council of chiefs.

He was married twice. His descendants were also prominent in Hawaiian history. The most prominent of his descendants was his granddaughter, Queen Emma.

In 1819, Young was one of the few present at the death of Kamehameha I. He then actively assisted Kamehameha II (Liholiho) in retaining his authority over the various factions that arose at his succession to the throne.

Young was also present for the ending of the kapu system in 1819 and, a few months later, advised the new king to allow the first Protestant missionaries to settle in the Islands

Of the missionaries, on November 27, 1826, he stated, “Whereas, it has been represented by many persons, that the labours of the missionaries in these Islands are attended with evil and disadvantage to the people, I hereby most cheerfully give my testimony to the contrary.”

“I am fully convinced that the good which is accomplishing, and already effected, is not little. The great and radical change already made for the better, in the manners and customs of this people, has far surpassed my most sanguine expectations.”

“During the forty years that I have resided here, I have known thousands of defenceless human beings cruelly massacred in their exterminating wars. I have seen multitudes of my fellow beings offered in sacrifice to their idol gods.”

“I have seen this large island, once filled with inhabitants, dwindle down to its present numbers through wars and disease, and I am persuaded that nothing but Christianity can preserve them from total extinction.”

“I rejoice that true religion is taking the place of superstition and idolatry, that good morals are superseding the reign of crime, and that a code of Christian laws is about to take the place of tyranny and oppression.”

“These things are what I have long wished for, but have never seen till now. I thank God, that in my old age I see them; and humbly trust I feel them too.” (John Young; Ellis)

Both Davis and Young lived out their lives in the Islands. When Davis died in 1810, Young adopted the Davis children. Although Young had died by the time of the Great Māhele land division, his property was awarded to his wife and children, including the children of Isaac Davis.

Finally, in 1835, at the age of 93, John Young, statesman, high chief, friend and advisor to Kamehameha the Great, died at his daughter’s home on O‘ahu.

His service to Kamehameha was considered to be so great that Young’s heirs did not have to pay commutation for their māhele awards.

John Young and his granddaughter Emma are buried at Mauna ‘Ala (the Royal Mausoleum on O‘ahu,) the final resting place of the high chiefs and royalty of the Kamehameha and Kalākaua dynasties.

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Colored_version_of_John_Young_-Hawaii-1819

July 13, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Thomas ap Catesby Jones to Hawaii

“When a candid and impartial view is taken of the nature and condition of our trade and commerce among the South Sea islands, and of the condition of the governments of those islands in 1823 …”

“… compared with what they now are, and with what they are destined to be, it will hardly be denied that our interests in that quarter, even in 1826, were sufficient to warrant the expense of a mission of high grade.”

“Between our trade with China, and our whale-fishery and commerce among the South Sea Islands, I consider the latter vastly more important to the United States, viewed in whatever light the question may be.”

“Master Commandant Jones was instructed to endeavor to relieve those islands from American seamen, who improperly deserted from whaling and other vessels, and taken refuge there, to the annoyance, not only of the people, but to the injury of our own citizens …”

“… to make arrangements by which such desertions might be prevented, and, if possible, to secure certain debts due to our citizens by the people, and government.”

Thomas ap Catesby Jones was born April 24, 1790 to Major Catesby and Lettice Turbeville Jones at Hickory Hill in Westmoreland County, Virginia. (The ‘ap’ in his name is a Welch prefix noting he is ‘Thomas, the son of Catesby Jones.’)

Growing concerns over treatment, safety and attitudes toward American sailors (and therefore other US citizens in the Islands) led the US Navy to send Jones to sail to the Islands, report back on what he learned, banish the bad-attitude sailors and maintain cordial relations with the Hawaiian government.

In his words … “The object of my visit to the Sandwich Islands was of high national importance, of multifarious character, and left entirely to my judgment as to the mode of executing it, with no other guide than a laconic order, which the Government designed one of the oldest and most experienced commanders in the navy should execute …”

“… if then it should appear that I have transcended the authority legally vested in me by the course I have pursued, whether as regards the arrangements made with the authorities of the several islands …”

“… or with respect to the exercise of judicial power over, and the removal of citizens of the United States from the scenes of their lawless practices, I once for all place my defence upon the grounds of imperious necessity in a situation altogether then novel and without a precedent.”

“For here we find the flag of most commercial nations covering their ships richly laden, whilst their heterogeneous crews promiscuously intermix on shore without the constraint of law …”

“… which, if necessary, to curb the inordinate propensities of man in the best regulated societies, what might we not expect of sailors, who from time immemorial, have been looked upon, though with great injustice, as the very refuse of the human species …”

“… when those who convey them there, and who ought to set a better example, declare that ‘there is no law round Cape Horn,’ and that no act however atrocious, committed by a foreigner at those Islands is cognizable, or can be punished by the laws of the country to which the offender owes allegiance …”

“… and they even go further and declare that the Rulers of the Islands have no authority to punish foreigners who transgress their laws. Such were the judicial views of the foreign residents and traders at ‘ Woahoo’ when the Peacock arrived.”

“Then may I be asked what guarantee had the American Merchants for the safety of five millions of their property that enters the port of Honolulu annually, or the individual engaged in this commerce, for his life and liberty. The answer must be none!”

“Again we see a great influx of English Renegades from New South Wales into the Sandwich as well as the Society Islands, and I was informed by the English Consul-General for those Islands that his orders were not to molest these scape-gallows …”

“… who as soon as out of the reach of the halter, according to the views of the British ministry, are fit subjects for increasing His Majesty’s influence, and even for giving laws to the South Sea Islanders.”

“The missionaries at the Society Islands will bear testimony to the great evils Otaheite has already experienced by the interference of convicts who have escaped from Botany Bay, and forced their way to that Island.”

“Their number is quite sufficient now, at the different islands – and I know it to have been their design, in the event of war between the United States and England …”

“… to fit out the small vessels of the islands for the purpose of predatory warfare upon our defenceless commerce and whale-fishery in the Pacific Ocean, which, with the assistance of the Islanders, they would have annihilated before protection could be sent to its relief …”

“… hence the importance of strict neutrality on the part of all the South Sea Islanders in future wars between the United States and European Powers.”

“Under so great a responsibility, it was necessary for me to proceed with the greatest caution, and to measure well every step before it was taken; consequently the first ten or fifteen days were devoted to the study and examination of the character and natural disposition of a people who are so little known to the civilized world, and with whom I had important business to transact.”

“I however, at an early period after my arrival, took an occasion to state verbally to the chiefs, etc., that I should in a few days address them some communications designed to place upon a firm and permanent basis the friendly intercourse between our respective countries …”

“… to which they answered ‘it is good,’ or ‘it will be well,’ which is the highest term of approbation their language admits of. At this time Kalaimoku, the Prime Minister, a chief of great talents and influence was laboring under a severe dropsical attack …”

“… and Kaahumanu, in whom the government of the islands at present rests, was absent, and whose approbation could alone render valid any arrangement that might be effected …”

“… my principal communication was not made until the 13th of November; in the mean time preliminary notes were addressed to the King under dates of Oct. 17th, 23rd, and 31st, and November 4th, 1826.”

“The regulations which accompanied the letter of the 23rd were immediately approved of by Governor Boki and the King, and were accordingly adopted, and now form a part of their code …”

“The rule suggested by myself, and which was adopted on that occasion, with regard to citizens of the United States, and which ought never to be departed from, was, that all those sailors who had deserted, however remote the period …”

“… should be removed from the island, and those who were there from any other cause who had not some visible means of making an honest livelihood should also he removed, as well as all other foreigners who did not support a good character.”

“The number of American deserters banished from the scenes of their iniquity (many of whom, however, had been driven to it by the oppression of their employers)on this occassion, amounted to near thirty …”

“… most of whom were ultimately disposed of to the whale-ships in port, while the remainder, with the exception of one or two who were of notorious bad character, were permitted to sign articles for, and now compose a part of the Peacock’s crew.” (Jones Report to Navy Department, 1827)

Jones resolved the sailor desertion issue, the chiefs agreed to pay in full the debts and then Jones negotiated ‘Articles of Arrangement’ noting the “peace and friendship subsisting between the United States and their Majesties, the Queen Regent and Kauikeaouli, King of the Sandwich Islands, and their subjects and people,” (later referred to as the Treaty of 1826, the first treaty signed by the Hawaiians and US.)

He “secured for himself among the people the designation of ‘the kind-eyed chief’ – a compliment falling on the ear of many of different classes”. (Hiram Bingham)

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