Prominent People | Page 142 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

February 9, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Hardy House

Frederic W Hardy was born of early New England ancestry on January 23, 1859, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of George Dana Boardman and Olive (Andrews) Hardy.

He was educated in the grammar and high schools of Malden Mass and in 1881 received the degree of Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Harvard.

Mr. Hardy came to the Islands in 1882 on account of health, (he had a severe attack of malaria-typhoid fever.) He sailed from New York to San Francisco, via the Isthmus of Panama, by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and then by the schooner ‘Consuelo’ to Kahului, Maui, arriving in April, 1883.

In September, 1883, he was appointed vice-principal of the Wailuku school and was the first teacher to bear such a title in the kingdom. The late DD Baldwin was at that time inspector-general of schools and CR Bishop, president of the board of education.

From 1884-1888 he was instructor at Lahainaluna Seminary of which HR Hitchcock was principal. He taught universal history, algebra, geometry, etc.

In December 1896 he married Lillian Hitchcock Aiken, daughter of Dr PJ Aiken, at Paia, Maui. (Dr Aiken was the first doctor of the first hospital of Maui Agricultural Company , then known as the Paia Plantation.) They had a son, Hollis Aiken Hardy.

Hardy became principal of the Makawao school in September, 1888. He was the first teacher and principal of the Makawao School.

As school funds and equipment were very limited in those early days, his wife donated both time and material to teach the girls sewing, crocheting and embroidery, in which she was very skilled.

In 1897, Hardy added to an existing house to create what is now known as the ‘Hardy House,’ one of the oldest wood frame houses in Makawao. It was built onto an existing one room house (that was then about 10-15 years old.)

The new house had a double pitch (Hawaiian) roof; it is reminiscent of those by Charles W Dickey (Hardy was friend of Charles H Dickey, the architect’s son.)

Though not documented, some have concluded that from the circumstantial evidence that CW Dickey played a part in the design of the house (Dickey had started practicing in Hawai‘i in 1895.)

The house once stood on about 20-acres of land; the site is now about ½- acre. The house was originally ‘T’ shaped as viewed from the top. The removal of the lanai makes the house resemble a modified ‘L.’

The house has two stories in the bedroom portion and one story in the living room, downstairs bath, utility area , kitchen , and dining room section.

The Victorian architectural style was popular in the Eastern United States; San Francisco, California; etc. but a rarity in Hawaii. The wealthier early families who moved to Hawaii fashioned their homes and lives according to customs on the mainland.

Lumber, square nails, windows, fixtures , furniture, etc. came from around the Horn and from California. Lumber was floated from ship to shore.

Supplies were hauled in bullock drawn carts over muddy roads to the construction site. It took two days for a Bullock team to make the 26 mile trip. The Hardy house had such an eventful beginning.

The down stairs veranda is fifty feet long and almost seven feet wide. It provides access to the house through four doors (two to the living room and one to each of the two downstairs bedrooms.)

The double wood paneled bottom half of these doors is molded. The veranda has wooden floors and seven supporting columns . The tops of these columns are decorated with gingerbread scroll brackets.

The veranda continues for fifteen feet at right angles to the fifty foot length around a corner to provide private entrance to each of the two downstairs bedrooms. The windows and doors are flanked with original louvered shutters.

Very few wooden houses of that age have survived the termites, harsh tropical climate and temptation to tear down the old to build new. The Hardy House is on the National Register of Historic Places; it is also known as the Rezents House. (Lots of information here is from NPS and Maui News, April 9, 1920.)

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February 8, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Leavitt Stevens

“That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America, whose minister plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu, and declared that he would support the said provisional government.” (Lili‘uokalani, January 17, 1893)

In 1893, “[a] so-called Committee of Safety, a group of professionals and businessmen, with the active assistance of John Stevens, the United States Minister to Hawai‘i, acting with the United States Armed Forces, replaced the [Hawaiian] monarchy with a provisional government.” (US Supreme Court; Hawaii v OHA, 2008)

John Leavitt Stevens, journalist, author and diplomat, was born in Mount Vernon, Maine, August 1, 1820. By his own efforts he was educated at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary and the Waterville Liberal Institute for the Universalist ministry.

After ten years in the service of this denomination, he was attracted by the intensely interesting condition of national affairs, of which he was always a keen observer, into newspaper work, entering into partnership in 1855 with the late James G. Blaine in conducting The Kennebec Journal.

There he remained for nearly fourteen years, and it was during this period that he obtained that influence in the political world that was afterward recognized by his foreign appointments from the Government. He was repeatedly sent to the State Legislature and Senate, and was one of the chief movers in the formation of the Republican Party in Maine.

In 1870, Stevens accepted the position of United States Minister to Uruguay and Paraguay under President Grant. He resigned after remaining in Montevideo about three years.

He took a very active part in the Presidential campaign of 1876, acting as Chairman of the Republican State Committee of his native State,

He was rewarded with an appointment as Minister to Sweden and Norway in 1877, which position he held until 1883. In June, 1889, Stevens was appointed Minister to the Hawaiian Islands, his title soon after being changed to Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary. (NY Times, February 9, 1895)

“Although Stevens exaggerated the threatening situation in Hawai‘i, there was indeed some cause for American uneasiness. After the constitutional reforms of 1887, the split between foreigners and native nationalists had widened”

“British capitalists, stimulated by the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, sought new investments; a rumor circulated that Britain would welcome a protectorate.” (Pletcher)

“When the long-expected revolution finally began in January 1893, it was brought about by two interacting and partly indistinguishable groups, one wanting an independent Hawaiian republic and another seeking annexation to the US.”

“The immediate cause lay in two actions by Queen Liliuokalani. First she replaced a pro-American cabinet with a group of ill-qualified timeservers on whom she could rely.”

“Then, and more important, she revealed her determination to proclaim a new constitution, increasing the royal power and requiring all voters to be naturalized and take an oath of loyalty to her.”

“The course of the revolution was considerably simpler than its causes; it lasted two days and was almost entirely bloodless. (With) the queen’s announcement that the new constitution would be introduced …”

“… the Annexation Club carried out plans already discussed with Stevens and Captain GC Wiltse of the American Cruiser Boston, then in port. Wiltse landed 154 marines to restore order”. (Pletcher)

Stevens supported annexation by the US and in December 1893, he wrote ‘A Plea for Annexation’ in The North American Review where he concluded, “To say that we do not need the Hawaiian Islands as a security to our immense future interests is but the babble of children or of incompetent men.”

“It is blindly and recklessly to ignore the logic of irresistible circumstances, and to scoff at the plainest teachings of history. No! America cannot get rid of her future responsibilities if she would, and all attempts to do so will be at the cost of her future generations.”

“In the light of these inexorable truths, in the name of what is most sacred in Christian civilization, in behalf of a noble American colony, holding the advanced post of America’s progress …”

“… I cherish the faith that the American people, the American statesmen, and the American government, thoughtful of America’s great future, will settle the Hawaiian question wisely and well will see to it that the flag of the United States floats unmolested over the Hawaiian Islands.” (Stevens, The North American Review, December 1893)

“President Cleveland, directly after his inauguration, sent a message to the Senate withdrawing the question of annexation from further consideration; and a Commissioner, Mr. Blount, was sent to report on the situation. He ordered the protectorate withdrawn as unnecessary.”

“Mr. Stevens immediately resigned and returned home. He then devoted himself, in the public prints and on the platform, to a denunciation of the Administration’s Hawaiian policy.” Stevens died February 8, 1895 at his home in Augusta Maine. (NY Times, February 9, 1895)

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John Leavitt Stevens

February 7, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1860s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1860s – Queen’s Hospital formed, Hansen’s Disease patients to Kalaupapa and first Japanese contract laborers. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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Timeline-1860s

February 6, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

‘Ōpūkaha‘ia – The Inspiration for the Hawaiian Mission

In 1808, a young Hawaiian boy, ʻŌpūkahaʻia, swam out to the ‘Triumph’, a trading ship anchored in Kealakekua Bay. Both of ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s parents and his younger brother had been slain during the battles on the island.

Also on board was Hopu, another young Hawaiian, as well as Russell Hubbard. They eventually headed for New York. “This Mr. Hubbard was a member of Yale College. He was a friend of Christ.… Mr. Hubbard was very kind to me on our passage, and taught me the letters in English spelling-book.” (ʻŌpūkahaʻia)

They landed at New York and remained there until the Captain sold out all the Chinese goods. Then, they made their way to New England.

ʻŌpūkahaʻia was eager to study and learn. He “was sitting on the steps of a Yale building, weeping. A solicitous student stopped to inquire what was wrong, and Obookiah (the spelling of his name, based on its sound) said, ‘No one will give me learning.’”

The student was Edwin Dwight. “(W)hen the question was put him, ‘Do you wish to learn?’ his countenance began to brighten. And when the proposal was made that he should come the next day to the college for that purpose, he served it with great eagerness.” (Dwight)

Later, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) formed the Foreign Mission School; ʻŌpūkahaʻia was one of its first students. He yearned “with great earnestness that he would (return to Hawaiʻi) and preach the Gospel to his poor countrymen.” Unfortunately, ʻŌpūkahaʻia died on February 17, 1818.

Dwight put together a book, ‘Memoirs of Henry Obookiah’ (the spelling of the name based on its pronunciation). It was an edited collection of ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s letters and journals/diaries. The book about his life was printed and circulated after his death.

ʻŌpūkahaʻia, inspired by many young men and women with proven sincerity and religious fervor of the missionary movement, had wanted to spread the word of Christianity back home in Hawaiʻi; his book inspired missionaries to volunteer to carry his message to the Hawaiian Islands.

In giving instructions to the first missionaries, the ABCFM, noted: “You will never forget ʻŌpūkahaʻia. You will never forget his fervent love, his affectionate counsels, his many prayers and tears for you, and for his and your nation.”

“You saw him die; saw how the Christian could triumph over death and the grave; saw the radient glory in which he left this world for heaven. You will remember it always, and you will tell it to your kindred and countrymen who are dying without hope.”

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) set sail on the ‘Thaddeus’ for the Hawaiian Islands. Their 164-day voyage ended They landed at Kailua-Kona April 4, 1820.

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”), about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM.

On August 15, 1993, ʻŌpūkahaʻia’s remains were returned to Hawai‘i from Cornwall and laid in a vault facing the ocean at Kahikolu Church, overlooking Kealakekua Bay.

Click HERE to view/download Background Information on ʻŌpūkahaʻia

Planning ahead … ʻŌpūkahaʻia Celebrations – the Hawaiian Mission Bicentennial is approaching; the following are some of the planned activities (it starts in about a year):

Hawaiian Mission Houses – February 17, 2018 – Free Open House marking the start of the Hawaiian Mission Bicentennial, Reflection and Rejuvenation 1820 – 2020 celebrations – activities follow services at adjoining Kawaiaha‘o Church commemorating ʻŌpūkahaʻia (details to follow).

Kahikolu Church (Napo‘opo‘o (Kealakekua Bay)) – 10 am, February 17, 2018
Kawaiaha‘o Church (Honolulu) – 10 am, February 17, 2018
Cornwall, Connecticut – 3 pm (EST) February 17, 2018

ʻAhahui O ʻŌpūkahaʻia is proposing three simultaneous services/celebrations at the above churches on February 17, 2018 (the bicentennial of his death) to honor ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia.

Anticipated activities at Kahikolu Church include a church service, gravesite commemoration and pa‘ina (food). ʻAhahui O ʻŌpūkahaʻia will be coordinating the activities at Kahikolu Church; Woman’s Board of Missions for the Pacific Islands will be coordinating services at Kawaiaha‘o Church.

This replicates the celebrations in 1968, when 3 events were held. The intent is to hold the Hawai‘i events at 10 am (HST), so the Connecticut event would be at 3 pm (EST). Related to this, each site would be on video, then combined into a single video.

Missionary Period

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”), about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

Collaboration between Native Hawaiians and American Protestant missionaries resulted in, among other things, the
• Introduction of Christianity;
• Development of a written Hawaiian language and establishment of schools that resulted in widespread literacy;
• Promulgation of the concept of constitutional government;
• Combination of Hawaiian with Western medicine; and
• Evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing)

If you would like to get on a separate e-mail distribution on Hawaiian Mission Bicentennial activities, please use the following link: Click HERE to Subscribe to Hawaiian Mission Bicentennial Updates

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February 5, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

London Missionary Society

Captain James Cook made three Pacific voyages, which, with those of Byron and Wallis, covered a continuous period of British exploration in the south Pacific from 1764 to 1780.

Cook’s first expedition (1768-1771) was under the auspices of the British Admiralty and the Royal Society, primarily to observe the transit of Venus from the newly found island of Tahiti. Cook was given command of the bark Endeavour.

Cook’s second voyage (1772-1775) was for the purpose of searching for the south continent. He had two ships, the Resolution, and the Adventure. The ships the Antarctic between the meridians of the Cape of Good Hope and New Zealand. On this trip, Omai, a Tahitian, was taken on board the Adventure and sailed with Cook back to Britain.

Cook’s third voyage (1776-1780) was for the purposes of returning Omai to his home in the Society Islands and seeking a northern passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The Resolution was refitted for her second voyage and the Discovery, under Captain Clerke, was added to the expedition. At the end of Cook’s last voyage, nearly all the important islands in Polynesia had been found.

The Pacific made a particular impression on the British imagination. The revelation of the Polynesian culture, entirely cut off from any exterior force of civilization, touched a chord with Cook’s compatriots.

Britain’s new fascination with the Polynesians was fueled by the arrival in London of a Polynesian – Omai. Joseph Banks, botanist on Cook’s ship the Endeavour, dressed Omai in tailor-made suits, the portraitist Joshua Reynolds painted him.

King George III himself eventually requested a meeting. Omai cheerfully shook hands when the meeting took place, saying `How do, King Tosh,’ to the King’s reported delight. (Hiney; NY Times)

Cook’s Pacific finds later led to questions for the Evangelicals. Why did British Christianity, with the means at hand, lack a missionary history? When had there last been a serious missionary movement among Christians anywhere?

The empire was in place to trade. In 1793 an India Bill went before parliament which renewed the royal license of the East India Company. There was a call for an amendment allowing Christian missions and native schools to be opened in India, but the bid was resisted.

It was in this climate that the London Missionary Society was formed. A meeting was called; on the first day, 200 Evangelicals gathered at the Castle and Falcon, paid the guinea membership, and proceeded to elect from among themselves thirty-four regional directors to meet once a year, and a London-based board of twelve to meet monthly. (Hiney; NY Times)

On August 9, 1796, a service was held for the inaugural mission at Surrey Chapel. Just four of the chosen thirty were ordained ministers. All four were in their late twenties: it was vital that they should be young and healthy.

The other, non-ordained missionaries had been chosen for their skills as much as their conviction; among them were six carpenters, two bricklayers, two tailors, two shoemakers, a gardener, a surgeon and a harness maker.

They sailed at six the next morning, on August 10, 1796. Nearly seven months later they anchored off the island of Tahiti, after a voyage via Gibraltar and Cape Horn. Seventeen missionaries were to disembark here, including all those who were married.

The first known Christian missionaries in Polynesia came from the London Missionary Society, an ecumenical Protestant organization; they landed in Tahiti, the Marquesas, then Tongatapu in Tonga. (PCC)

The missionaries soon saw an unforeseen problem. Since Cook’s voyages, other ships of exploration and whaling (Russian, French, British and American) had paid visits to the islands. Rum and firearms were now a part of life, as were disagreements and occasional violence between crews and islanders. Over the years, more London missionaries were sent.

One London Missionary Society member was William Ellis. Born in England, William and Mary Mercy Ellis went to Tahiti in 1817 as part of a new group of highly educated workers. They brought with them the first press and set it up in Moorea. They soon moved to Huahine, where William Ellis helped draft the code of laws. (Boston University)

Then the mission sent them to Hawai‘i. “The time for her departure at length came, and on the 31st of December, 1822, accompanied by her four children, she embarked, with her husband, on board the Active, for the Sandwich Islands.”

“The voyage to the Sandwich Islands, about three thousand miles distant, was safe, and not unpleasant, and by the tender mercy of their heavenly Father, they reached Oahu on the 5th of February, 1823.”

“Here Mrs. Ellis received on landing, a cordial welcome from many of the chief women of the settlement, and from the esteemed American Missionaries, of whose plain but hospitable and comfortable dwelling, she became for several weeks an inmate, and received every attention and kindness as a beloved sister in the Lord.”

“All the affection professed in the invitations they had so kindly forwarded, was practically manifested; and every hope of tenderness and sympathy which they excited, was fully realized. Mrs. Ellis found that the prospects of greater usefulness …”

“In Huahine the influence of the Missionaries could bear on a comparatively small number, but here the town of Honolulu contained not fewer than 8,000, while the population of the island amounted to 20,000, and the influence of the Missionaries was brought to bear indirectly upon 150,000 or 180,000 persons.” (Mary Mercy Ellis Memoirs)

Ellis and the others who joined him from the London Missionary Society (including Tahitians who came with them) worked well with the American Protestant missionaries who arrived in Hawaii in 1820.

In 1823, Ellis and three of the American missionaries, Asa Thurston, Artemas Bishop and Joseph Goodrich, toured the Island of Hawaii to learn more of the country and people, with a view to establishing mission stations there. They were the first white men to accomplish this, being also the first white men to visit the volcano of Kilauea. (Thurston)

Ellis remained in the Islands for eighteen months, but returned to England, due to illness of Mary (she died in 1835.) Ellis later remarried and continued mission work in the Madagascar. Ellis died in 1872.)

British mission activity started in the South Seas, with the first overseas mission to Tahiti in 1796. British missionary work expanded into North America and South Africa. Early mission activities also centered in areas of eastern and southern Europe including Russia, Greece and Malta.

During the 19th century, the main fields of mission activity for the London Missionary Society were China, South East Asia, India, the Pacific, Madagascar, Central Africa, Southern Africa, Australia and the Caribbean (including British Guiana, now Guyana.) (Guide to Council for World Mission) (Lots of information here is from Hiney; NY Times and Mary Mercy Ellis Memoirs.)

Because of the positive role of the London Missionary Society in assisting the Hawaiian mission, any descendant of a person sent by the London Missionary Society who served the Sandwich Island Mission in Hawaii is eligible to be an Enrolled Member in the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society.

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