Prominent People | Page 118 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

May 28, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Edmund R Butler

Edmund R Butler “arrived at these Islands in the year 1813 from Boston Mass. Shortly afterwards Kamehameha 1st granted him a farm called Kawaiiki, near Honolulu, O‘ahu, in the district of Kapalama.”

“Afterwards in the year 1817, Kamehameha 1st further granted (Butler) a district of land on the Island of Maui, situated between the village of Lahaina and Lahainaluna called Pū‘ou.”

“(He has) continuously occupied these lands until this time, except some portion of the second named land at Lahaina, which was taken from him by the Donor, and conferred upon the seminary at Lahainaluna.”

“The first mentioned land called Kawaiiki, was again assured to the Claimant by his present Majesty (King Kamehameha III) in the year 1831.” (LCA-32 Testimony)

To help tell his story, the following are snippets of the diversity of Butler’s involvement and interests and his time in the Islands …

On August 17, 1818, Hipólito (Hypolite) Bouchard arrived on ‘La Argentina’ at Kealakekua Bay. He found the Argentine corvette ‘Chacabuco’ (‘Santa Rosa’) in the Bay and learned that the crew of the Santa Rosa had mutinied near Chile’s coast and headed to Hawaiʻi, where the crew had attempted to sell the vessel to the Hawaiian king.

King Kamehameha bought the ship (for “6000 piculs of sandal-wood and a number of casks of rum.”) Bouchard found things to trade (reportedly Bouchard gave Kamehameha the honorary title of colonel together with his own uniform, hat and saber (nava-org)) and he took charge of the Santa Rosa, which he had to partially rebuild.

During negotiations with King Kamehameha, he also signed and Kamehameha placed his mark on an agreement.

In part, the agreement set to “consign to Senor Don Eduardo Butler, resident of the Sandwich Islands, the offices of agent of my nation with full authority in national matters, political affairs, national commerce and in mailers of the Cabinets”.

It also noted, “… when ships from the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata arrive in that dominion that this gentleman (Butler) have authority, in company with Your Majesty Kamehameha, over all matters pertaining to the Government of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata … I beg Your Majesty to recognize Senor Don Eduardo as agent of the Government of the United Provinces”.

Reportedly, in the memoirs of Captain José María Piris Montevideo (member of the expedition) Bouchard asserts that Kamehameha signed a Treaty of Commerce, Peace and Friendship with Hipólito Bouchard, which recognized the independence of the United Provinces of Rio de la Plata. (Some suggest this was that document.)

Edmund Butler briefly operated a tavern in Lahaina, Maui, as early as 1819. However, the governor of Maui, strict Christian Hoapili, curbed the sale of liquor on that island. (Hibbard)

Butler was present at the first printing by the American Protestant missionaries, “January 7, 1822 … A day of spiritual interest. Commenced the first printing ever done in the Sandwich Islands, the operators of the printing press having fitted up for the purpose one of the thatched houses built for us by the government.”

“Governor Cox (Ke’eaumoku, Governor of Maui), who seems to take as friendly an interest in our work as any of the chiefs, was present and assisted with his own hands in composing a line or two and in working off a few copies of the first lesson of Hawaiian syllables, having the composing stick put into his hands and being shown when to take and how to place the types and then to pull the lever.”

“Several gentlemen, also, were present, Captain Masters, Captain Henry, Mr. Hunnewell from America, and Mr. Butler, a resident of Maui, who also took an interest in this novel scene, while one of the highest chiefs of these islands aided in commencing the printing of his native tongue.” (Gulick)

In 1823, when the Second Company of missionaries arrived, and Taua, Reynolds, Stewart, Loomis and Betsey Stockton escorted the ailing Keōpūolani to Lāhainā, they noted …

“The settlement is far more beautiful than any place we have yet seen on the islands. The entire district, stretching nearly three miles along the sea-side, is covered with luxuriant groves …”

“… not only of the cocoa-nut, (the only tree we have before seen, except on the tops of the mountains,) but also of the bread-fruit and of the kou, a species of cordia, an ornamental tree, resembling, at a distance, a large and flourishing, full, round-topped apple-tree …”

“… while the banana plant, tapa, and sugar-cane, are abundant, and extend almost to the beach, on which a fine surf constantly rolls.”

“On coming to an anchor, Karaimoku (Kalanimōku) expressed his regret that there was no house at the disposal of himself or the queen, suitable for our accommodation: and wished us to procure a temporary residence with Mr. Butler, an American established here, till houses could be provided for us by Keōpūolani.”

“We were soon met by Keōua, the governor of Lāhainā, to whom I delivered a letter of introduction from his friend Laʻanui, at O‘ahu, and proceeded in search of the plantation of Mr. Butler.”

“We found his enclosure pleasantly situated about a quarter of a mile directly in rear of the landing-place, and were received by him in a kind and friendly manner.”

“When acquainted with our object in coming to Lahaina, he proffered every assistance in his power, and tendered his best house for the reception of our families.”

“His civility greatly prepossessed us in his favour, and made us almost forget that we were in the land of strangers.”

“He returned to the barge with us, to bring the ladies on shore; and early in the afternoon our whole number were comfortably and quietly settled in the midst of his luxuriant grounds.”

“The thick shade of the bread-fruit trees which surround his cottages – the rustling of the breeze through the bananas and the sugar-cane – the murmurs of the mountain streams encircling the yard – and the coolness and verdure of every spot around us …”

“… seemed, in contrast with our situation, during a six months’ voyage, and four weeks’ residence on the dreary plain of Honoruru, like the delights of an Eden …”

“… and caused our hearts to beat warmly with gratitude to the Almighty Being, who had brought us in safety to the scene of our future labours, and had at once provided us with so refreshing an asylum.” (CS Stewart)

“October 1823 was a dangerous time to be at O‘ahu. The king had been tricked into another drinking bout by American traders while he was at Lahaina in September.”

“As a result, some of his chiefs spread tales around Honolulu that all the white men would be expelled from the island. Then Liholiho and his chiefs took an extraordinary step: they stopped trading and refused to permit any of their people to trade.”

“A report circulated that the king and his chiefs would not pay their sandalwood debts. Talk of rebellion made the gossip rounds, and Edmund Butler, an American resident, warned the king on October 16 that ‘the gentlemen’ (meaning whites) were going to kill him.”

“Clearly, threats against him from members of the American trading community had reached the point where Liholiho needed to take bold, decisive action. It may not have been coincidence that on that same day Starbuck ordered the ship’s company to return from shore duty and put L’Aigle in shape for a long voyage.” (Corley)

Butler’s daughter, Hannah (Hana), was the first wife of James Campbell. In 1850, after several years in Tahiti, Campbell boarded a whaling ship which brought him to Lahaina, Maui. (CHS)

Campbell made a good living as a carpenter and made a fortune investing in sugar production and real estate investing after inheriting property from his first wife, Hannah, in 1858. (Roth) In 1860 James Campbell, with Henry Turton and James Dunbar, established the Pioneer Mill Company, which became the basis of Campbell’s fortune.

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May 25, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Boris Ignatieff

Boris Ivanovitch Ignatieff was born December 4, 1874 to a prominent Don Cossack family. A brother became Governor-General of Irkutsk Province after high rank in the Imperial Army.

Boris “fought for half a dozen Balkan governments before he was 30, was in one army after another almost continuously. Was cited for bravery and decorated 12 times in 10 years, and only left the Balkans when, for the moment, there was peace there.” (Montana Standard, December 8, 1929)

At 17, he saved his Russian commander’s life under fire from the Turkish army. His criticism of the Russian regime led to his exile when he was 20.

“Went to South America. And for several years was a real ‘soldier of fortune,’ fighting with different armies. But always for what he considered to be the right; was in numerous engagements, great and small, and was again decorated.”

“Tried living in peace in the United States for a time, but could not stand the monotony. Enlisted and fought in the Spanish-American War.” (Montana Standard, December 8, 1929)

He became a US citizen and took the name Sam Johnson. Johnson had no use whatever for “anything humdrum” and would do almost anything to get into the thick of things.

He made way to Honolulu in 1893 via the merchant marine and service in the Argentine Army (wounded, with decorations). Entered service as a private in the Hawaiian National Guard, rising to Brigadier General and Hawai‘i’s third Adjutant General.

Although he had reached the envious post of militia brigadier general, he relinquished his commission and had become a private again when, in his rage, he had found that he was not being sent to Europe to fight in World War I.

Stationed in Hawaii, he had decided that if he renounced his rank and started all over again in the States, he might have a chance to get into the fight. (Faulstich)

“So I resigned my commission and went to the States to get into training. I thought I would be recommissioned and sent to France where I could pot a few Krauts.” (Johnson; Faulstich)

He transferred to the Regular Army as Major in 1915, apparently expecting US to fight Germany. He commanded US troops [27th Rgt, 33 Div, American Expeditionary Forces (Siberia)] on the troopship USS Sheridan en route to Vladivostok, 1918. He was a major figure in the International Police Force in Siberia.

While with the allied forces, he “was sent to Vladivostock in command of the second expedition of 4,000 men in Camp Fremont, and there became chief of the international Military Police, where he rendered distinguished service.”

“Heard of the capture and imprisonment of a General Romanovsky, broke through the lines under heavy machine gun fire, engaged the general’s guard in a hand-to-hand fight, rescued the general and his family, and got them out of Russia.”

“As a token of his appreciation, the general took from his own coat a certain flaming medal of honor and pinned it on …. When the latter came to examine it, he found it was the medal of the officer’s order, Cross of St George, the highest Russian honor for valor – and the one he had denied at 17 because of his youth.” Montana Standard, December 8, 1929)

He lived in the Philippines for a time and managed a large plantation there. Then he bought a ranch in Texas. He later was liquor enforcement chief in San Francisco during prohibition.

He lived with Mrs. Johnson in an apartment on Lombard Street, and ultimately had been confined to his bed or a chair. He died in San Francisco, February 24, 1948.

Years after his Siberian sojourn, Johnson passed away quitely in his sleep at the Fort Miley Veterans’ Hospital near San Francisco. His moment of death was unlike his life. As a soldier of fortune, he had taken part in unnumbered battle in uncounted wars. The rewards of his military achievements, however, live on. Johnson was awarded nearly eighty decorations. (Faulstich)

He received three decorations from the Argentine Republic; the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) and Siberian campaign medal from the United States; DSO from Great Britain; the Croix de Guerre with palm from France …

Emblem of the Knight of the Crown and Order of the Crown of Italy from Italy; Distinguished Service War Cross from Czechoslovakia; the Rising Sun, Imperial Order of Meiji, from Japan …

Striped Tiger of the Order of Wen-Hu from China; Order of the White Eagle with sword from Serbia, and officers Order of St. George and a dozen other decorations from Russia.

The US Distinguished Service Cross was for actions November 17-18, 1919 in rescuing non-combatants (including, apparently, a cat) caught in a crossfire between Russian factions in Vladivostok.

“On three successive occasions Major Johnson went through a zone swept by intense fire of contending factions to the railroad station and brought out noncombatants through the continuous fire from rifles and machine guns.” Military Times)

He also won a Carnegie Medal for Heroism in a civilian rescue in Hawaii in 1915. (Holscher) (Lots of information here is from Orr, Faulstich and Holscher.)

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May 22, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

500,000 Feathers

In the dawn hours of January 18, 1778, on his third expedition, British explorer Captain James Cook on the HMS Resolution and Captain Charles Clerke of the HMS Discovery first sighted what Cook named the Sandwich Islands (that were later named the Hawaiian Islands.)

Cook continued to sail along the coast searching for a suitable anchorage. His two ships remained offshore, but a few Hawaiians were allowed to come on board on the morning of January 20, before Cook continued on in search of a safe harbor.

On the afternoon of January 20, 1778, Cook anchored his ships near the mouth of the Waimea River on Kauai’s southwestern shore. After a couple of weeks, there, they headed to the west coast of North America.

After the West Coast, Alaska and Bering Strait exploration, on October 24, 1778 the two ships headed back to the islands; they sighted Maui on November 26, circled the Island of Hawaiʻi and eventually anchored at Kealakekua Bay on January 17, 1779.

At the time, the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokai, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Kalaniʻōpuʻu was on the island of Maui. Kalaniʻōpuʻu returned to Hawaiʻi and met with Cook on January 26, 1779, exchanging gifts, including an ʻahuʻula (feathered cloak) and mahiole (ceremonial feather helmet.) Cook also received pieces of kapa, feathers, hogs and vegetables.

In return, Cook gave Kalaniʻōpuʻu a linen shirt and a sword; later on, Cook gave other presents to Kalaniʻōpuʻu, among which one of the journals mentions “a complete Tool Chest.”

“For Native Hawaiians, the ʻahuʻula, mahiole, and all other featherwork were reserved exclusively for the use of their ali‘i (royalty), symbolizing their chiefly divinity, rank and power.”

“It embodied the life essence of a thriving abundant environment which are the telltale signs of leadership, as it takes a healthy forest ecosystem to produce enough bird feathers and cordage to make these regal pieces.” (OHA)

The construction of featherwork in ancient Hawai‘i required an incredible amount of labor and craftsmanship. The ‘ahu‘ula of Kalaniʻōpuʻu has 500,000 feathers (lashed one-by-one) from about 20,000 birds.

“Skilled trappers caught the birds by employing various techniques such as snaring their prey midair with nets, or using decoy birds to lure them onto branches coated with a sticky substance.”

“They often harvested only a few feathers from each bird before releasing them back into the wild so they could produce more feathers. Skilled workers belonging to the aliʻi class crafted the olonā cordage backing, a netting used as the foundation for the cloak, onto which the bundles of feathers were attached, creating bold designs.”

“After the ‘ahu‘ula and mahiole left on Cook’s ship, both were taken to England and passed through the hands of various museum owners and collectors.”

“They eventually came under the care of the Lord St Oswald, who unexpectedly presented his entire collection in 1912 to the Dominion Museum in New Zealand, the predecessor of Te Papa Tongarewa. The cloak and helmet have been in the national collection ever since.”

“In 2013, discussions began among the Bishop Museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, and OHA to bring these treasures back to Hawai‘i, culminating in this significant homecoming.” (OHA)

In a partnership between the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), The National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, the ‘ahu‘ula and mahiole of Kalani‘ōpu‘u came back in March 2016 and are displayed at Bishop Museum on long-term loan.

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May 19, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

‘Singing to Me is a Paradise’

Despite the title here, this story is about a writer, not a singer. In fact, her Biography notes, “the Washington Post names Kate Fields ‘one of the foremost women of America,’ and the New York Tribune called her ‘one of the best-known women in America’”. (Moss) (Her name was Mary Katherine Keemle Field, but was generally know as Kate Field.)

“Kate Field, known to all the nation as one of its most wide-awake, progressive women, died a few weeks ago in Honolulu. She died suddenly, among friends for her friends are everywhere but far from her native land and all associations endeared to her by close ties of kinship.”

“Some strange foreboding filled her mind before leaving this city for her pleasure trip to the Islands, and she asked strangely, it seemed then that if she should die in a foreign land her remains might lie in the soil of her own country.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, August 17, 1896)

“Kate Field was born in St Louis, Mo., October 1, (1838). When a young girl she with her mother and sister removed to Chicago, where Miss Field adopted the stage as a profession, appearing first at McVicker’s Theater.”

“Being a woman of strong individuality, the doubtful success to be achieved as an actress made her abandon the stage for the rostrum, delivering lectures through the United States, meeting with success wherever she spoke.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 22, 1896)

In a June 9, 1868 note to Charles Warren Stoddard, she notes, “I thank you for your kind words and am more than pleased that my little books should have strayed off to California. If I live I hope to do something more worthy of praise.”

“I can say nothing to you, a stranger, that will be worth the reading. Everyone must work out his own salvation and in his own particular way.”

“My motto is Emerson’s ‘Hitch your wagon to a star.’ If you do you will rise sooner or later. Try it and see if the effect is not a beneficial one in character. I am Very truly yours, Kate Field” (Stoddard; National Magazine, January 1906)

“For six years prior to her coming to (Hawai‘i) she owned and edited ‘Kate Field’s Washington’… It was during this time that she toured the country lecturing … As a public woman and a writer she was known all over the world. In Washington she was a recognized power in the lobby during the Republican administrations of the last twenty years.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 22, 1896)

“Field worked for several years as a freelance journalist before grabbing another set of literary coattails: those of Charles Dickens. Field covered his 1867-68 American reading tour with such rhapsodic brio that she earned ‘wide, spasmodic notoriety’ …”

“… as Mark Twain put it, becoming ‘a celebrity at once.’” (Downing) some suggest she was “a more prominent journalist than Clemens [Mark Twain].” (Weber)

“(S)he headed west, writing a series of anti-Mormon articles and lectures and another series in praise of Alaska. She also won a lucrative contract to promote California wines — to preach “the gospel of the grape,” as she put it.”

“Eventually Field swung back east, this time to Washington, which she predicted was ‘destined to be the social, literary and artistic center of this country.’ … There she founded an influential weekly paper, Kate Field’s Washington, which ran from 1890 to 1895.” (Downing)

She came to the Islands “to personally investigate the condition of the Hawaiians and obtain their views of annexation.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 22, 1896) However, “she contracted (pneumonia) on the Island of Hawaii.”

“The first appearance of the disease which resulted in the death of Miss Field was in Kailua, while at the boarding house of Miss Paris. This was on Wednesday, May 13th. Deceased complained of feeling pains in her chest but did not consider the matter serious.”

“With her usual zeal for work, she told Miss Paris that it was her intention to go on to Kaawaloa and from there to the volcano on the journey that she had mapped out in the beginning.”

“Miss Paris accompanied Miss Field to Kaawaloa. Upon arrival at that place Miss Field went to the Greenwell’s. It was there that her condition began to grow worse, and Miss Paris remonstrated with her as to the inadvisability of going on to the volcano, to such good effect that she heeded the advice and decided to return to Honolulu.”

“As soon as she arrived aboard, Dr. Adriance took charge of her and kept administering restoratives, to which the disease yielded but temporarily.”

“During the evening some of the Coronet party grouped in the neighborhood of Miss Field’s stateroom on the port side of the steamer, and began singing familiar songs. When it was suggested that it might disturb her, she answered in a manner characteristic of the woman …”

“‘No, indeed! Singing to me is a paradise compared with the quiet of the country. Don’t talk to me about the quiet of the country, with chickens cackling, roosters crowing and dogs barking wow! wow! wow!’ After this utterance she seems to have responded to the soothing effect of the music, and went off to sleep.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 22, 1896)

“She died on the 19th of May, 1896, in the fifty-seventh year of her age. She once said: ‘I want to live every day as if it were my last,’ she also said: ‘I am a cremationist, because I believe cremation is not only the healthiest and cleanest, but the most poetical way of disposing of the dead. Whoever prefers loathsome worms to ashes, possesses a strange imagination.’”

“That her visit to Honolulu resulted in materially lengthening list of friends and she had made was evidenced by the number of people who attended the funeral services at Central Union Church yesterday. The assembly was not one made up of curious ones, but of those who knew her in life.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 22, 1896)

She was initially embalmed and buried in a casket in the John Paty vault at O‘ahu Cemetery. The San Francisco Press Club set up ‘The Examiner Kate Field Memorial Fund’ to return her remains to the continent.

Later, “A small copper box containing the ashes was placed in a grave beside that of Miss Field’s mother. … There was no ceremony at the grave. … It is all over now. Kate Field has been interred in an unmarked grave” in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts. (San Francisco Chronicle, January 11, 1897)

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April 30, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Early Doctors in Hawai‘i

Hawaiian culture had a well-established class of expert priestly physicians known as kāhuna. There were specialists among the kāhuna.

Diagnosticians, kāhuna hāhā, were able to arrive at diagnoses through palpation, observation and communication with the gods.

The kāhuna lā‘au lapa‘au were knowledgeable about botanical medicines. The kāhuna pā‘ao‘ao cared for children, and the kāhuna ho‘ohānau keiki cared for expectant mothers. (Young)

The first Western physicians to arrive in Hawai‘i were ships’ surgeons. On board Captain James Cooks’ HMS Resolution and Discovery in 1778 were 8. On board the HMS Resolution were surgeon Dr. William Anderson and surgeon’s mate Dr. David Samwell. On board the HMS Discovery were surgeon Dr. John Law and surgeon’s mate Dr. William Ellis.

Dr. Anderson, along with the captain of the HMS Discovery, Lt. Charles Clerke, and some of the sailors, already had advanced tuberculosis (and they likely introduced that disease at Waimea and 10 months later at Kealakekua).

Anderson died on August 3, 1779, from tuberculosis after the expedition departed from Kealakekua. He was buried at sea, and Dr. David Samwell was appointed to the position of surgeon on the HMS Resolution.

Later, a Spaniard, Francisco de Paula Marín, settled in the islands sometime around 1793 and effectively became the first resident Western Physician. However, there is some doubt as to whether or not he was a trained doctor.

Another early physician in Hawai‘i was Juan Elliott de Castro, described as surgeon to King Kamehameha. He may have settled in the islands as early as 1811 and had a family here. De Castro was the attending physician at the time of Kamehameha’s death in 1819.

Dr. Meredith Gairdner, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, was with the Hudson’s Bay Company and was stationed on the Columbia River. Dr. Gairdner came to the islands in about 1834, but his health failed, and he died on March 26, 1837, in
Honolulu.

Almost 30 years after Marín settled in Hawai‘i, other Western physicians arrived under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM).

Dr. Thomas Holman, Hawai‘i’s first missionary doctor, and his wife Lucia arrived with the Pioneer Company of missionaries in Hawai‘i on April 4, 1820. (Young)

On April 11, King Kamehameha II gave the missionaries permission to stay. However, “The King gives orders that Dr. H(olman) and our teacher must land at Kiarooah – the village where he now resides, and the rest of the family may go to Oahhoo, or Wahhoo.”

“(H)e wanted the Dr. to stay with them, as they had no Physician and appeared much pleased that one had come; as to pulla-pulla (learning), they knew nothing about it. Consequently it was agreed that Dr. H. & Mr. Thurston should stay with the King and the rest of the family go to Oahhoo.” (Lucia Ruggles Holman) The Holman’s left in 1821.

The second missionary physician to come to Hawai‘i was Dr. Abraham Blatchley, with the Second Company, in 1823. Dr. Blatchley’s services were in great demand, and urgent requests came from every island in Hawai‘i.

His “usual” practice territory covered an area of 200 miles on Hawai‘i Island. Often his wife would accompany him on service calls. He was the attending physician when Queen Keōpūolani passed away in Lāhaina, Maui.

Within three years, he was so overworked that he submitted a request to be released from his duties as a missionary physician. This request was rejected, but due to his deteriorating health, he left Hawai‘i in November of 1826.

The third missionary physician to come to Hawai‘i, Dr. Gerritt P. Judd. He arrived in Hawai‘i with the Third Company of missionaries in 1828 and served the ABCFM for 14 years until 1842, when he resigned to enter the service of King Kamehameha III.

Judd had published the first medical textbook in 1838, Anatomia, the only medical textbook written in the Hawaiian language and taught basic anatomy to Hawaiians enrolled at the Mission Seminary (Lahainaluna.)

Later, Judd formed the Islands’ first modern medical school. “On the 9th of November, 1870, he opened a school with ten pupils.” (The Friend, July 1, 1871) The school ended on October 2, 1872, when Laura Fish Judd (Dr Judd’s wife) died.

Judd recommended to the Board of Health that all 10 students be certified and licensed medical physicians. The licenses were issued on October 14, 1872. (Mission Houses)

Dwight Baldwin arrived with the Fourth Company of missionaries in 1831. However, his lack of credentials led the Hawai‘i Medical Society to refuse him a license even though he practiced for 27 years as capably as any of his peers.

Dartmouth Medical College later awarded him an honorary degree in medicine, and he was eventually granted a license to practice in Hawai‘i.

Alonzo Chapin, MD, arrived with the Fifth Company of missionaries in 1832. He assisted Dr. G. P. Judd in providing medical services throughout the islands, mainly on Kauai and Maui. His wife suffered declining health, and they both returned to America in 1835.

Thomas Lafon, MD, arrived with the Eighth Company of missionaries in 1837 and was assigned to Kauai. He was stationed at Kōloa and became the first resident physician for that island.

Dr. Lafon was the first of the sugar plantation doctors, arrangements having been made with the Kōloa Sugar Plantation to care for plantation workers. Dr. Lafon was a staunch abolitionist and opposed the church’s receiving any contributions from slaveowners. He returned to America in 1842.

Seth Lathrop Andrews, MD, in the eighth company of missionaries, arrived with his wife in 1837. In 1852, Dr. Andrews requested
release as a medical missionary and returned to America.

James William Smith, MD, was a member of the Tenth Company of missionaries, arriving in Hawai‘i in 1842. He was assigned to the island of Kauai. In July 1854, Dr. Smith was ordained to the ministry. He served as pastor until 1860, when the ABCFM decided to place the churches under the charge of native ministers and Dr. Smith resigned.

Charles Hinkley Wetmore, MD, arrived with the Twelfth Company of missionaries in 1848. His main responsibility was to care for the families of missionaries. The relatively few deaths from the smallpox epidemic of 1853 in Hilo was due to his diligent immunization work.

He opened the first drugstore in Hilo. His daughter, Frances Matilda, studied medicine at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and was the first female physician in Hawai‘i.

Sarah Eliza Pierce Emerson was another early female physician who practiced in the islands. She was born in Massachusetts in 1855, came to Hawai‘i as a young child, and married the renowned missionary descendant, Civil War veteran, and physician Nathaniel Bright Emerson. She was trained as a homeopathic physician. (Young) (Most information here is from Young.)

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