Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Barbara Hall

“Born in Honolulu the son of a whaler, [Alfred Wellington] AW Carter graduated summa cum laude from Yale law school, became a judge, and distinguished himself in various positions in island commerce and government.”

“The ‘big thing’ in his business life – running Parker Ranch – started in 1899 when, at the age of 32, he was named as guardian of young Thelma Kahiluonapuaapiilani Parker. He was to guide Parker Ranch for nearly half a century and do more to advance it than anyone but old Parker himself.” (Paniolo Hall of Fame)

“A man of great humility and spirit, he ever disclaimed that he alone made the Parker Ranch one of the most important meat-producing units of the world, although this was often said of him.”

“Mr. Carter gave the major credit for building this mighty enterprise to the teamwork of the Hawaiian cowboys; to the advice of practical ranchmen who had learned by experience; and to the reasoning of research in the ways of life from germs to genetics.”

“Some thought him a martinet because he demanded that instructions be followed to the letter, but he took the blame himself for errors of judgment, this personally humble and humane servant of the law and leader among his fellows.”

“An unusual man, this Hawaii’s native son, creator of great wealth for others.  A somewhat austere man because of his almost puritanical adherence to right and justice, the warmth of his friendships will be a treasured remembrance always.” (Honolulu Advertiser, April 29, 1949)

In 1915, “Barbara Hall is built at a cost of $6,954.02 by Parker Ranch as a place of rest and relaxation for ranch employees and is named in honor of the daughter of then Parker Ranch Manager, AW Carter.” (Parker School)  (Barbara Juliette Carter was born June 25, 1901.)

“The courthouse was [used for social activities] … in the meantime we had built this Barbara Hall … That was built for social activities. And then, that [courthouse] building there was used by the police department and for court cases.”

“It was just a big hall and a back room and upstairs for movie projector. We used to have silent pictures those days. Once in a while, we had silent pictures (shown for ranch) families.”

“It was mostly (used) for ranch affairs, ranch functions. When we grew up, we’re not able to throw a party or have a big function like we do now. Everybody just goes out and have a big Iu‘au or for a wedding or baptism. Those days, we didn’t have such a thing. So the hall was strictly used for ranch functions. (It was not opened to the community.)”

“That’s where they had the Christmas-tree program and the big lu’au and silent movies. And meetings would be held, as long it’s ranch-associated, like Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, you know, that are sponsored by the ranch. They would have first use of that facility. Otherwise, there was no other place to hold a meeting, except to go (to) the schools.” (Elizabeth Kimura, Oral History)

“In addition to R&R for Parker Ranch employees, Barbara Hall serves as a community hall for social gatherings, flower shows, community plays, fashion shows, club activities, baby clinics, dance classes, and other community events.”

“Parker Ranch hosts an annual Christmas party and New Year’s Eve luau inviting all residents of Waimea to Barbara Hall.” (Parker School)

“[When] they had a lū‘au there and it took about a week to prepare things for the lū‘au. Because they’d go down to ‘Anaeho‘omalu to get coconuts. They’d go up in the mountain to pick maile and pick fern, to decorate the tables and whatnot.”

“And then cut firewood for the imu, and I guess there probably were twenty-five, thirty people involved in preparing this lū‘au. And every employee on the ranch and a lot of outsiders, non-ranch people, were invited to the lū‘au.”

“The tables were all decorated beautifully with palapalai and ginger and they put the food on the table and they keep the door closed. And when Mr. Carter came up they’d open the door and he would be the first one to go in and sit down, and everybody else would follow in.” (Rally Greenwell, Oral History)

“[D]uring the war … That’s when the marines took over and they added on to the old Barbara Hall and made extensions more for gathering place. The boys would go there and play cards and have bingo games. Recreation …”

In 1943, “Barbara Hall [became] a United Service Organizations (USO) facility for more than 55,000 United States Marines and Navy personnel (two waves of roughly 25,000 soldiers over a two-year period) who train at Camp Tarawa on Parker Ranch during World War II. In two weeks, Waimea’s population explodes from approximately 400 to 25,000 people.” (Parker School)

Barbara Hall at main side Camp Tarawa in Waimea was the busiest and most popular USO on the Island. It was the site of dances with live music played by famous orchestras, entertainment by big-name stars and other recreational activities. (Greguras)

“Our local people used to join in with [the military]. And then they built the (movie) theater right next door to the hall. The military did that. … We used to call it Kahilu Theatre. … Everybody came and watched movies.”

“In fact, the war did a lot of good for Waimea. They brought in the theater, and brought in electricity, that’s a big help. … And after the military left, (the theater was operated by a private individual).”

“It was renamed after Richard’s [Richard Smart’s] mother. Richard’s mother, Kahilu [taken from the first three syllables of her Hawaiian name-Thelma Kahiluonapuaapi’ilani Parker Smart]. It was named Kahilu Hall.” (Elizabeth Kimura, Oral History)

On September 3, 1976, Parker School began; 58 students (grades 9 – 12) were enrolled in the side downstairs portion of Kahilu Hall. Richard Smart loaned the space for the first five classrooms, including a science lab and library-study hall. Parker School continues to use the former Barbara Hall on its campus.

“And then, Richard [Smart] built a new town hall in honor of his mother. Kahilu Town Hall and the Kahilu Theatre.” (Elizabeth Kimura, Oral History)

Alfred Hartwell Carter, commonly known as Hartwell, was the only son of Alfred Wellington Carter and Edith Hartwell Carter. He became Parker Ranch manager in 1937 upon the retirement of his father, AW Carter.

In 1949, Carter Sr. passed away leaving his son with complete responsibility for management of the huge Parker Ranch. Hartwell retired on December 31, 1959, after nearly 23 years of service. (Paniolo Hall of Fame)

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hawaiʻi Loa College

Usually you like to start at the beginning of a story – however, as you will see, there are lots of beginnings here – so we’ll start at the end … this is a little about Hawaiʻi Pacific University (HPU), particularly its “Hawaiʻi Loa” campus.

HPU is the state’s largest private university; it is the third-largest tenant of the Downtown area, after Bank of Hawaii and First Hawaiian Bank … since it’s beginning, it has continued to expand.

Let’s step back a bit.

In the early 1960s, a survey was done concerning the possible need for a high-quality four-year liberal arts college.  The idea originated with Rev. Harry S. Komuro, then superintendent of the Methodist Mission in Hawaii.

The survey was completed in April 1962. Once it was determined that there was such a need, several churches joined in to help accomplish this goal.

Then, on August 8, 1963, trustees signed a charter and bylaws for a four-denominational (United Church of Christ (Congregational), Methodist, Episcopal and Presbyterian) Protestant college, tentatively named the Christian College of the Pacific. (SB, Aug 10, 1963)

The founding trustees were Dr. Joseph Bevilacqua, general secretary of the United Church of Christ; Rev. Frank E. Butterworth, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Honolulu; Bishop Harry S. Kennedy of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii; and Dr. William E. Phifer, Jr., pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu.

About a year later, “A new and permanent name for the Christian College of the Pacific was adopted by the Board of Trustees. Hawaii Loa College is the first college in the US to be organized by four Protestant denominations.

“Island History has it that Hawaii Loa was a great Polynesian navigator who sailed across the Pacific from the south, discovered the Hawaiian Islands, and settled here”.

“[T]he name was adopted because in ‘conveys to the people of Hawaii, the Mainland, and the entire Pacific Basin the true meaning of our multi-cultural and multi-racial background.” (Rev. Joseph J Bevilacqua, board chairman, SB, Sep 29, 1964)

Hawaii Loa College will be a four-year, residential, co-educational liberal arts school.  It will be built in Windward Oahu directly across from the Pali Golf Course on 100 acres of land donated by Harold KL Castle.  (SB, Sep 29, 1964)

In 1965, Dr Chandler W Rowe. Former dean of academic affairs at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, was named the school president. “Dr Rowe said the new school will not try to become a university. ‘We don’t intend to compete with the University of Hawaii; rather, we want to cooperate fully with all of Hawaii’s institution of higher learning.’” SB, May 5, 1965)

Hawaii Loa College buildings were designed by Gin Wong from William Perriera & Associates. Wong is best known for his work on the Los Angeles Airport modernization (the spaceship), a Union 76 station in Beverly Hills and the Transamerica Tower (Pyramid) building in San Francisco. (Docomomo)

In September 1967, the first Hawaii Loa College students met in temporary classroom buildings at Chaminade College.  The forty-three students who completed applications, 32 men and 11 women, were from Oahu (35), California, Massachusetts and Japan (2-each) and Tennessee and Illinois (1-each). (SB, Sep 4, 1967)

At that time, school trustees were contemplating selling the Windward site. Castle’s will gave the land in fee simple with no striction on its use.  In addition, site development costs for the Windward campus were “so heavy that it is unable to proceed with construction.” (SB, Aug 31, 1967)

About 100 people met and organized a Citizens Committee for Hawaii Loa College to help the school turstees in efforts to build on the land donated by Castle at the foot of Nuuanu Pali.  Windward Jaycees presented petitions signed by 1,300 people asking that the school be built on the Pali site. (SB, Dec 1, 1967)

The Windward campus construction moved forward, and Hawaii’s newest four-year liberal arts college moved into its new campus in January 1971.  Prior to that classes were held at Chaminade and Community Church in Honolulu.  One hundred and five students began their 2nd semester classes in the new library-classroom building.

Hawaii Loa and Hawaii Pacific University had discussed merging as far back as 1977.  (Adv, Apr 24, 1992) Then, in 1992, Hawaiʻi Loa College, with about 500 students, merged into HPU, with nearly 6,700 students – the Windward campus was then referred to as the Hawaii Loa campus of HPU. (Adv, April 22, 1992)

Hawaii Loa was in danger of losing accreditation, pressed to meet payrolls and $3 million in debt. HPU centered its nursing and marine science programs at Hawaii Loa.  (Smyser)

Then, in 2016, it was announced that Castle Medical Center planned to buy the HPU Hawaii Loa campus to expand its health care offerings.  Adventist Health Castle had been serving Windward Oʻahu since Castle Memorial Hospital first opened its doors in 1963.

They plan a modern healthcare campus with inpatient facilities that meet an emerging standard of care, medical offices with adaptable spaces to accommodate changing care models and a cancer treatment center.

The hospital will provide emergency services and rooms for inpatient services. Outpatient support will be provided in the medical office buildings and the Cancer Center.

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Maui No Ka Oi

Several have asked about historical information on Lahaina and West Maui. Here is a repeat of something I posted a while ago – its focus is on West Maui.

West Maui was considered a ‘window to the world’ because this area has seen the comings and goings of rival chiefs, kings, missionaries, whalers, government officials, the military, sugar and pineapple plantation owners, early labor immigrants, celebrities and travelers for centuries.

This ‘window’ is a metaphor. As a ‘window to the world,’ the stories of West Maui give a bigger perspective of the world, than we would otherwise have, and helps us to expand our view and broaden our understanding of the world.

History tells us much about a community – what it is and where it has come from. West Maui has a rich history dating back to the times of: Pre-contact Hawaiʻi; Hawaiian Monarchy; American Protestant Missionaries; Whaling industry; Sugar and Pineapple Plantations; and Evolution of the West Maui Community.

Each successive passage of an era has added to the cultural richness of the community. And through the tireless efforts of numerous organizations and individuals in the community, much has been done to preserve the historic character of West Maui town and to restore historic sites.

The island of Maui is divided into twelve moku; Kāʻanapali, Lāhainā, Wailuku, Hāmākuapoko, Hāmākualoa, Koʻolau, Hāna, Kīpahulu, Kaupō, Kahikinui, Honuaʻula and Kula. Two of these, Kāʻanapali and Lāhainā make up West Maui.

Probably there is no portion of our Valley Isle, around which gathers so much historic value as West Maui. It was the former capital and favorite residence of kings and chiefs.

After serving for centuries as Royal Center to ruling chiefs, West Maui was selected by Kamehameha III and his chiefs to be the seat of government; here the first Hawaiian constitution was drafted and the first legislature was convened.

Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 when two New England ships became the first whaling ships to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands. Over the next two decades, the Pacific whaling fleet nearly quadrupled in size and in the record year of 1846, 736-whaling ships arrived in Hawai’i.

Although Honolulu was originally the port most favored by the whalers, West Maui often surpassed it in the number of recorded visits, particularly from about 1840 to 1855.

Lāhainā Roads, also called the Lāhainā Roadstead is a channel between the islands of Maui and Lānai (and to a lesser extent, Molokai and Kahoʻolawe) making it a sheltered anchorage.

The central location of the Hawaiian Islands between the continent and Japan whaling grounds brought many whaling ships to the Islands. Whalers needed food and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands.

Between the 1820s and the 1860s, the Lāhainā Roadstead was the principal anchorage of the American Pacific whaling fleet. One reason why so many whalers preferred West Maui to other ports was that by anchoring in a roadstead from half a mile to a mile from shore they could control their crews better than when in a harbor.

Another factor to affect the change, growth and social structure of West Maui was the arrival of the first missionaries in the islands during 1820.

The first missionaries to be established at Lāhainā, the Rev. CS Stewart and the Rev. William Richards, arrived in 1823. They came at the request of Queen Mother Keōpūolani, who moved to live in Lāhainā that year.

The great event of 1823 was the death of Keōpūolani at Lāhainā. Within an hour before “joining the Great Majority” she had been baptized as a Christian, an occurrence which proved a great stimulus to increasing the influence of the missionaries. King Kaumuali’i of Kauai, at his special request, was buried beside Keōpūolani in 1824. (NPS)

In 1831, classes at the new Mission Seminary at Lahainaluna (later known as Lahainaluna (Upper Lahaina)) began. The school was established by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions “to instruct young men of piety and promising talents” (training preachers and teachers.) It is the oldest high school west of the Mississippi River.

Per the requests of the chiefs, the American Protestant missionaries began teaching the makaʻāinana (commoners.) Literacy levels exploded.

From 1820 to 1832, in which Hawaiian literacy grew by 91 percent, the literacy rate on the US continent grew by only 6 percent and did not exceed the 90 percent level until 1902 – three hundred years after the first settlers landed in Jamestown – overall European literacy rates in 1850 had not been much above 50 percent.

Centuries ago, the early Polynesian settlers to Hawaiʻi brought sugar cane with them and demonstrated that it could be grown successfully.

It was not until 1823 that several members of the West Maui Mission Station began to process sugar from native sugarcanes for their tables. By the 1840s, efforts were underway in West Maui to develop a means for making sugar as a commodity.

Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” a section of which provided the legal basis for a contract-labor system, labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

It is not likely anyone then foresaw the impact this would have on the cultural and social structure of the islands. The sugar industry is at the center of Hawaiʻi’s modern diversity of races and ethnic cultures. Of the nearly 385,000-workers that came, many thousands stayed to become a part of Hawai‘i’s unique ethnic mix. Hawai‘i continues to be one of the most culturally-diverse and racially-integrated places.

Pioneer Mill Company was one of the earliest plantations to use a steam tramway for transporting harvested cane from the fields to the mill. Cane from about 1000‐acres was flumed directly to the mill cane carrier with the rest coming to the mill by rail. (The Sugar Cane Train is a remnant of that system.)

In 1859, an oil well was discovered and developed in Titusville, Pennsylvania; within a few years this new type of oil replaced whale oil for lamps and many other uses – spelling the end of the whaling industry.

By 1862, the whaling industry was in a definite and permanent decline. The effect of West Maui was striking. Prosperity ended, prices fell, cattle and crops were a drag on the market, and ship chandleries and retail stores began to wither.

Historically Maui’s second largest industry, pineapple cultivation has also played a large role in forming Maui’s modern day landscape. The pineapple industry began on Maui in 1890 with Dwight D. Baldwin’s Haiku Fruit and Packing Company on the northeast side of the island.

West Maui’s roots in the historic pineapple industry began in 1912, when of Honolua Ranch manager, David Fleming began growing pineapple there; almost overnight the pineapple industry boomed.

The ranch was soon renamed Baldwin Packers; at one time they were the largest producer of private label pineapple and pineapple juice in the nation.

One of the first hotels in West Maui was the Pioneer Hotel – founded in 1901. George Freeland arrived in the Lāhainā roadstead on a ship that had just come from a long voyage through the south seas; he noted a need for a hotel.

It remained the only place for visitors to stay on Maui’s west side until the early-1960s. Tourism exploded; West Maui is a full-fledged tourist destination second only to Waikīkī.

Lāhainā’s Front Street, offering an incredible oceanfront setting, people of diverse cultures, architecture and incredible stories of Hawaiʻi’s past, was recognized as one of the American Planning Association’s 2011 “Great Streets in America.”

The following link is to a larger discussion on West Maui – it was prepared a few years ago, before the fires.

Click HERE to view/download for more information on West Maui’s place in the Islands and world.

To see and read about the many structures that were lost in the Lahaina fire, I encourage you to download an App developed by the Lahaina Restoration Foundation that was put together as a ‘Walking Tour’ through Lahaina (you will see images and information on the pre-fire structures):

https://lahainarestoration.org/lahaina-historic-trail/

The tragic fire in Lahaina destroyed many of the physical structures of the community. Some of the historic buildings may be rebuilt; something else will take the place of others.

But the fires did not take away the memory we share of this area. Do what you can to help those that have been impacted and share your memories of West Maui and Lahaina.  Maui No Ka Oi (Maui is the best).

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Humpback_Whale-Maui-(Stan_Butler-NOAA)-WC
Humpback_Whale-Maui-(Stan_Butler-NOAA)-WC
Olowalu-Petroglyphs
Olowalu-Petroglyphs
Bathing scene, Lahaina, Maui, watercolor, by James Gay Sawkins-1855
Bathing scene, Lahaina, Maui, watercolor, by James Gay Sawkins-1855
Port-of-Lahaina-Maui-1848
Port-of-Lahaina-Maui-1848
Whale-ships at Lahaina-(vintagehawaii)-1848
Whale-ships at Lahaina-(vintagehawaii)-1848
Edward_T._Perkins,_Rear_View_of_Lahaina,_1854
Edward_T._Perkins,_Rear_View_of_Lahaina,_1854
Whales from McGregor Point-(cphamrah)
Whales from McGregor Point-(cphamrah)
Pioneer Mill
Pioneer Mill
McGregor_Point-Norwegian-Monument
McGregor_Point-Norwegian-Monument
Lahaina_from_offshore_in-1885
Lahaina_from_offshore_in-1885
Lahaina_Boat_Landing
Lahaina_Boat_Landing
Lahaina,_West_Maui,_Sandwich_Islands2,_watercolor_and_pencil,_by_James_Gay_Sawkins-1855
Lahaina,_West_Maui,_Sandwich_Islands2,_watercolor_and_pencil,_by_James_Gay_Sawkins-1855
Lahaina,_Maui,_c._1831
Lahaina,_Maui,_c._1831
Lahaina, Front Street 1942
Lahaina, Front Street 1942
Lahaina Tunnel Dedication (1951)
Lahaina Tunnel Dedication (1951)
Lahaina Roads
Lahaina Roads
Lahaina Harbor before harbor perimeter retaining wall built-ca 1940
Lahaina Harbor before harbor perimeter retaining wall built-ca 1940
Lahaina Courthouse-fronting beach-(now Lahaina Small Boat Harbor)
Lahaina Courthouse-fronting beach-(now Lahaina Small Boat Harbor)
Banyan Tree located in courthouse square in the center of Lahaina
Banyan Tree located in courthouse square in the center of Lahaina
Baldwin Packers Cannery (kapalua)
Baldwin Packers Cannery (kapalua)
1837 Map of the Islands; made by students at Lahainaluna School (Mission Houses)
1837 Map of the Islands; made by students at Lahainaluna School (Mission Houses)

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Pōhakuloa

“E ku a mu mu.” (Be still! It is a god!)

“In ancient time women when they were to become Mothers made a pageant of love and ambition to this stone (Pōhakuloa) giving a Mohai (offering) laying before this God a fish called Hilu and emblem of gentleness, graceful, and good disposition in the child.”

“The fish Hilu was accompanied with the leaves of the Lama (a very large wood used in building houses for the Gods), and Emblem of wisdom, ambition and brightness for the child, Lamalama a torch (a beacon of light.)” (Montano – Galioto)

Pukui says it’s a “Large stone believed to bless expectant mothers and endow children with strength and wisdom.”  “The Pōhakuloa stone … was worshipped by Hawaiian women who prayed for their children to have wisdom and strength.”  (Aluli & McGregor)

About 1830, Queen Ka‘ahumanu ordered that a wall should be built from Punchbowl past Punahou to keep cattle from the inland residential areas. The stone wall also marked a path across Makiki that was first called Stonewall Street (it’s now known as Wilder Avenue.)

The Queen wished to form a gateway at Punahou School through this wall, and wanted two large stones on each side of the gate.

The stone would not move at first, so a kahuna was consulted.  The kahuna suggested that a lūʻau, or feast, be prepared with certain foods. After the lūʻau, the stone was moved easily to its new spot.

“My father had great difficulty in persuading them to move a large stone, which they revered as a Kupua, or local deity.  This was to be placed at one side of the upper gate as a part of the wall. It was considered very dangerous to move a Kupua, and disaster was almost sure to follow.”

“The workmen believed that the rock would remain stationary and refuse to be up-rooted, but it was displaced without any calamity and dragged by a team of oxen to the gate.”  (Rice, The Friend, March 1924)

“The stone was to be transported from the northeastern slope of Round Top (near the former home of Mrs. FM Swanzy). Its sacred nature required that ‘So sacred was Pōhakuloa that none but the king himself could sanction its removal and for that ceremony even the presence of the king was necessary, stripling though he was.'” (Damon, The Friend, March 1924).

“The big rock was exhumed from its bed (on the west side of the road leading to Manoa Valley, opposite the old “Cow Pen”) and rolled upon a framework of ship’s spars. The young King (Kamehameha III) then seated himself upon the apex of the rock, and gave the word of command …”

“… when rock, King and all were lifted upon the shoulders of the hulumanus – numerous as ants tugging at a kernel of corn – and carried down to its place.”  (Damon, The Friend, March 1924)

Pōhakuloa was shaped like a “mammoth taro leaf.”  Originally nine feet in length, the rock stood seven feet above ground and two below.

“(T)he huge lava boulder that stood guard at the Punahou gate. A monumental pyramid it seemed, towering upward in grim majesty, – probably ten feet.”

“A challenge it was to enterprising boys, with an instinct to decorate scenery with their initials, to climb its dizzy heights and leave their sculptured letters on the only “Walhalla” within reach.”  (Weaver, The Friend, March 1924)

“This rock was a curiosity about twelve feet high, and weighing several tons, and of the shape of a mammoth kalo. Often have I climbed to its top and eaten my lunch from my tin-pail thereon, and to my childish imagination it seemed as high as a church-tower.”  (Judd, The Friend, March 1924)

In 1854-59, Pōhakuloa, too large to move, was broken into pieces because it stood in the way of a road widening project.  A remainder of Pōhakuloa still stands at Punahou’s front gate.

“The other part of the stone … was given to a Japanese consul living at the corner of Beretania and Makiki streets. Kapiʻolani Maternity Home was later built at this site and some believe that the mana (divine power) of this pōhaku was a factor in its siting.”  (Aluli & McGregor)

Reportedly, there is another significant stone at Punahou, called Keapopo.  The story suggests it and Pōhakuloa would call to each other: “You come over here,” “No, you come here.”  (Manoa Heritage)

The image shows a remnant of the once larger Pōhakuloa at the Punahou School entrance (the plaque states “Punahou School Founded 1841”.)

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Betsey Stockton

Born in 1798 in Princeton, New Jersey, as a slave owned by the family of Robert Stockton, Esq., Betsey Stockton was presented as a gift to the Stockton’s eldest daughter and her husband, the Reverend Ashbel Green (who was later the President of Princeton College (later known as Princeton University.))

Although masters did not typically favor educating their slaves beyond proficient training as domestic nurse, seamstress and cook, Green gave her books and encouraged her to use the family library. She later attended evening classes at Princeton Theological Seminary.

In September 1816, Betsey’s application for admission to the First Presbyterian Church in Princeton was formally approved. Around 1817, Ashbel Green freed her.

Stockton often spoke to Green about her wish to journey abroad, possibly to Africa, on a Christian mission. Green introduced her to Charles S Stewart, a young missionary, newly ordained in 1821, who was about to be sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) to Hawaiʻi.

Through a special agreement between Green, the Stewarts and the ABCFM, Stockton joined the mission both as a domestic in the Stewart household and was commissioned by the ABCFM as a missionary.

She became the first single American woman sent overseas as a missionary.

Her contract with the Board and with the Stewarts said that she went “neither as an equal nor as a servant, but as a humble Christian friend” to the Stewarts, and provided that she was not to do more than an equal share of menial duties which might “prevent her being employed as a teacher of a school”.

In November 1822, Stockton, the Stewarts and the other missionaries in the 2nd Company set sail on the ‘Thames’ from New Haven, Connecticut for the Hawaiian Islands.

On April 24, 1823, “we saw and made Owhyhee (Hawaiʻi). At the first sight of the snow-capped mountains, I felt a strange sensation of joy and grief. It soon wore away, and as we sailed slowly past its windward side, we had a full view of all its grandeur.”

“The tops of the mountains are hidden in the clouds, and covered with perpetual snow. We could see with a glass the white banks, which brought the strong wintry blasts of our native country to our minds so forcibly, as almost to make me shiver.” (Betsey Stockton Journal)

Upon her arrival, Stockton became the first known African American woman in Hawaiʻi.

Intelligent, industrious and frugal, she was aptly described as a devoted Christian, not only because of her constant attendance at church and her faith in God, but also because she supported the interests of the church, secured clothes for her students, and helped to heal the sick while continuing her domestic work to help the Stuarts. (Jackson)

“On Saturday, the 10th of May (1823,) we left the ship, and went to the mission enclosure at Honoruru. We had assigned to us a little thatched house in one corner of the yard, consisting of one small room, with a door, and two windows – the door too small to admit a person walking in without stooping, and the windows only large enough for one person to look out at a time.”

“The family all eat at the same table, and the ladies attend to the work by turns. Mrs. Stewart and myself took each of us a day separately.” (Betsey Stockton Journal)

“On the 26th of May (1823) we heard that the barge (Cleopatra’s Barge, or “Haʻaheo o Hawaiʻi,” Pride of Hawaiʻi) was about to sail for Lahaina, with the old queen (Keōpūolani) and princess (Nāhiʻenaʻena;) and that the queen was desirous to have missionaries to accompany her …”

“A meeting was called to consult whether it was expedient to establish a mission at Lahaina. The mission was determined on, and Mr. S. (Stewart) was appointed to go: he chose Mr. R. (Richards) for his companion … On the 28th we embarked on the mighty ocean again, which we had left so lately.” (Betsey Stockton Journal)

Per the requests of the chiefs, the American Protestant missionaries, at that time, were typically teaching their own children and the children of the Hawaiian chiefs.

“Now the chiefs have expressed their determination to have instruction in reading and writing extended to the whole population and have only been waiting for books, and an increase in the number of suitably qualified native teachers, to put the resolution, as far as practical, into effect.”

“A knowledge of this having reached some of the makaainana, or farmers of Lahaina … application was made by them to us for books and slates, and an instructor …”

“… and the first school, consisting of about thirty individuals, ever formed among that class of people, has, within a few days, been established in our enclosure, under the superintendence of B (Betsey Stockton), who is quite familiar with the native tongue.” (Charles Stewart Journal, August 1824)

In 1823, Kalākua Kaheiheimālie (ke Aliʻi Hoapili wahine, wife of Governor Hoapili) offered the American missionaries a tract of land on the slopes surrounding Puʻu Paʻupaʻu for the creation of a school.

Stockton founded a school for makaʻāinana (common people) including the women and children. The school was situated on what is now Lahainaluna School (and some suggest it served as the initial basis for that school.)

Stockton’s school was commended for its teaching proficiency, and later served as a model for the Hilo Boarding School and also for the Hampton Institute in Virginia, a historic Black college in Virginia established after the Civil War (founded by General Samuel C. Armstrong (son of missionary Richard Armstrong, former Pastor at Kawaiahaʻo Church.))

(Kalākaua visited Hampton Normal and Agricultural School – later known as Hampton Institute on one of his trips to the continent.)

Because of the serious illness of Mrs. Harriet Stewart, the Stewarts decided to return to Cooperstown, New York, after two and a half years in Hawaiʻi. Stockton accompanied them; leaving native Hawaiian teachers she had trained to take her place.

Stockton left Hawaiʻi in 1825, returning to the continent where she was assigned to teach Native American children in Canada. Then, Stockton returned to Princeton in 1835, living in a small house on Witherspoon Street, which was primarily an African American neighborhood.

Stockton was instrumental in the founding of the Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church, originally called the First Presbyterian Church of Color of Princeton. She also began teaching African American children in a public school in Princeton in 1837, which she continued to do for several years.

She spent the rest of her life in Princeton working on behalf of its African American and white residents to enrich the lives of the members of the local African American community.

Betsey Stockton began life as a slave, and went on to become a schoolteacher, medical nurse and missionary; she died in her hometown of Princeton, New Jersey in October 1865.

Here is a link to an expanded discussion on Betsey Stockton:

Click to access Betsey-Stockton.pdf

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