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September 23, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

First Foreigners to the Islands?

“The Pacific, the largest ocean in the world, extending over more than one third of the surface of our globe, was discovered in the year 1513, by Vasco Nugnez de Balboa, a courageous and enterprising Spaniard, governor of the Spanish colony of Santa Maria in the isthmus of Darien.”

“The desire of finding a more direct communication with the East Indies had prompted Columbus to the daring voyage which resulted in the discovery of the new world.”

“In that immense and unexplored region, his followers pursued their career of enterprise, until Balboa, by discovering the great South Sea, accomplished what Columbus, notwithstanding his most splendid achievements, had in vain attempted.”

“Magellan, a Portuguese, despatched by the court of Spain … sailed along the eastern coast of South America, discovered the straits that bear his name; and, passing through them, first launched the ships of Europe in the Southern Sea.”

“Several distinguished Spanish, Dutch, and British navigators followed the adventurous course of Magellan across the waters of the Pacific, and were rewarded by the discoveries they made in that part of the world, which, under the appellation of Polynesia, from a Greek term signifying ‘many islands’”. (Ellis)

“There is no locality in the Hawaiian Islands which has so many associations with its early history as Kealakekua Bay and its surroundings. The two villages on its shore, Ka‘awaloa, and Kakua, now called Napo‘opo‘o, are mentioned in nearly all the books and journals written by explorers and traders, from the death of Captain Cook in 1779 onward, but as far as I know there has been no collection of historic data relating to this district.”

“The first circumstance, which I believe to be authentic, is connected with the landing of seven men at Kealakekua Bay at a period less remote in point of time, than the reputed landing of other foreigners.”

“The Rev. William Ellis, who came to Hawaii in 1822, and remained here over two years, was soon proficient in the Hawaiian language, as he had lived in Tahiti for six years, where a variation of the Polynesian dialect is spoken.”

“He heard as he journeyed about the Hawaiian group, several stories of the landing of foreigners, but they varied greatly as to the place and details. One story he heard from different men, on many occasions, and all who told it agreed as to the number of men, the description of the boat in which they came, the clothes they wore, etc.”

“Shortly before Liholiho left for England he gave Mr. Ellis a detailed account of the occurrence, which is as follows:”

“‘In the days of Kahoukapu, King of Kaawaloa, seven foreigners arrived at Kealakekua Bay. They came in a painted boat, with an awning over the stern, but without mast or sails.”’”

“‘They were all dressed, the color of their clothes was white or yellow, and one of them had a pahi (that is a long knife, or sword) by his side, and had a feather in his hat.’”

“‘The natives treated them kindly. They married native women, were made chiefs, and ultimately became very powerful in the Island of Hawaii’”.

“Liholiho had no idea whence they came. I am inclined to believe that they may have been deserters from the Dutch ship Hope.” (Restarick)

“June 27, 1598, a fleet, consisting of the Hope, 500 tons; Faith, 320 tons; Charity, 300 tons; Fidelity, 220 tons and the yacht Merry Messenger, 150 tons, sailed from Rotterdam, under command of Admiral De Weert, ‘being provided with all manner of provisions and ammunition, with cannon, money, merchandise and all necessaries whatever for a long voyage.’”

“It proceeded through the Straits of Magellan, thence across the Pacific, and home by way of the Cape of Good Hope, arriving at Rotterdam May 13, 1600.” (Clark)

“(The Hope) in company with the Charity, sailed from Chili taking a north-west course until they reached 27 degrees north. When about 16 degrees north they passed an island, and seven men took the ship’s pinnace and made for the land, and were not seen again.”

“The course of the Hope would have taken her near Hawaii, and according to the log of the pilot Will Adams, they would have been here in February, 1600.” (Restarick)

“The first Dutch ships to cross the Pacific east-west were the Hope, Charity and Faith (the Hoop, Liefde and Trouw) the surviving vessels of an expedition of five ships led by Jacques Mahu in 1598.”

The Hope and Charity intended to sail from Peru to the Moloccas … In 1600, the Charity disappeared north of Hawai‘i. The Hope sighted several islands, probably Johnston Atoll and the Marianas, before reaching Japan in April 1600, where the surviving crew were imprisoned.”

“The expedition was a failure, (lead merchant) died before rounding Cape Horn … and the Hoop (Hope) (was) lost off Hawai‘i.” (Quanchi & Robson)

“It was late November 1599 when the (Hope and Faith) sailed westwardly for Japan. On their way, the two ships made landfall in ‘certain islands’ (possibly the islands of Hawai‘i) where eight sailors deserted the ships. Later during the voyage, a typhoon claimed the Hoop with all hands, in late February 1600. (Luscombe)

“I am aware that this is only a theory, but I have seen no refutation of it which has been satisfactory to me. From the description, the men would seem to have been Europeans. In any event this is the first chronicled event connected with Kealakekua Bay.” (Restarick)

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Dutch Fleet to Japan
Dutch Fleet to Japan

Filed Under: Prominent People, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: First Foreigners, Foreigners, Dutch, Hawaii, Kealakekua, Columbus, Portuguese, Pacific, Kealakekua Bay, Magellan, Straits of Magellan

September 22, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ka ua moaniani lehua o Puna

The rain that brings the fragrance of the lehua of Puna (Pukui 1983:172, verse 1587)

Puna is known for its groves of hala and ʻōhiʻa-lehua trees. This ʻōlelo no‘eau refers to the forests of Puna, which attract clouds to drench the district with many rains, refreshing and enriching the Puna water table, and sustaining the life cycle of all living things in Puna. (McGregor)

While the Puna moku (district) does not have running streams, it does have many inland and shoreline springs continuously fed by rains borne upon the northeast tradewinds. (McGregor)

Another ‘Ōlelo Noe‘au notes “Puna paia ʻala i ka hala. Puna, with walls fragrant with pandanus blossoms. Puna, Hawai’i, is a place of hala and lehua forests.

In olden days the people would stick the bracts of hala into the thatching of their houses to bring some of the fragrance indoors. (Pukui 1983:301, verse 2749)

“Puna on Hawaiʻi Island was the land first reached by Pāʻao, and here in Puna he built his first heiau for his god Ahaʻula and named it Ahaʻula [Wahaʻula.]”

“It was a luakini (large heiau where human sacrifice was offered). From Puna, Pāʻao went on to land in Kohala, at Puʻuepa. He built a heiau there, called Moʻokini.” (Kamakau)

One story tells that Hāʻena, a small bay near the northern boundary of Puna, is said to be the birthplace of hula. The goddess Hiʻiaka is said to have been instructed to dance hula on the beach there.

Puna is said to inspire hula because of the natural movements of waves, wind and trees. (Other stories suggest hula was started in other areas of the Islands.) (McGregor)

Early settlement patterns in the Islands put people on the windward sides of the islands, typically along the shoreline. However, in Puna, much of the district’s coastal areas have thin soils and there are no good deep water harbors. The ocean along the Puna coast is often rough and windblown. (Escott)

As a result, settlement patterns in Puna tend to be dispersed and without major population centers. Villages in Puna tended to be spread out over larger areas and often are inland, and away from the coast, where the soil is better for agriculture. (Escott)

This was confirmed on William Ellis’ travel around the island in the early 1800s, “Hitherto we had travelled close to the sea-shore, in order to visit the most populous villages in the districts through which we had passed.”

“But here receiving information that we should find more inhabitants a few miles inland, than nearer the sea, we thought it best to direct our course towards the mountains.” (Ellis, 1826)

Alexander later (1891) noted, “The first settlement met with after leaving Hilo by the sea coast road, is at Keaʻau, a distant 10 miles where there are less than a dozen inhabitants …”

“… the next is at Makuʻu, distant 14 miles where there are a few more, after which there is occasionally a stray hut or two, until Halepuaʻa and Koaʻe are reached, 21 miles from Hilo, at which place there is quite a village”. (Alexander in Escott)

“Nearly all the food consumed by the residents of this District is raised in the interior belt to which access is had by the ancient paths or trails leading from the sea coast.”

“The finest sweet potatoes are raised in places that look more like banks of cobble stones or piles of macadam freshly dumped varying from the size of a walnut to those as large as ones fist. In these holes there is not a particle of soil to be seen”. (Alexander, 1891)

Puna was famous as a district for some of its valuable products, including “hogs, gray tapa cloth (‘eleuli), tapas made of māmaki bark, fine mats made of young pandanus blossoms (‘ahuhinalo), mats made of young pandanus leaves (ʻahuao), and feathers of the ʻōʻō and mamo birds”. (McGregor)

An historic trail once ran from the modern day Lili‘uokalani Gardens area to Hāʻena along the Puna coast. The trail is often referred to as the old Puna Trail and/or Puna Road. There is an historic trail/cart road that is also called the Puna Trail (Ala Hele Puna) and/or the Old Government Road. (Escott)

It likely incorporated segments of the traditional Hawaiian trail system often referred to as the ala loa or ala hele. The full length of the Puna Trail, or Old Government Road, might have been constructed or improved just before 1840. The alignment was mapped by the Wilkes Expedition of 1804-41. (Escott)

With Western contact, extensive tracts of Puna’s landscape were transformed, first with sandalwood export, which began in 1790 and reached its peak between 1810 and 1825. (Puna CDP)

After Hawai‘i’s first forestry law in 1839 restricted the removal of sandalwood trees, cattle ranching and coffee cultivation became the leading commercial activities. By 1850, agriculture diversified with the cultivation of potatoes, onions, pumpkins, oranges and sugar molasses. (Puna CDP)

Before 1900, coffee was the chief agricultural crop in the area. Over 6,000-acres of coffee trees were owned by approximately 200-independent coffee planters and 6 incorporated companies. (HSPA)

Soon, sugarcane was in large-scale production. The dominant operation in Puna was the Puna Sugar Company, whose plantation fields extended for ten miles along both sides of Highway 11 between Keaʻau and Mountain View, as well as in the Pāhoa and Kapoho areas.

Initially founded in 1899 as Olaʻa Sugar Company, it was later (1960) renamed Puna Sugar Company. The coffee trees were uprooted to make way for sugarcane.

ʻŌhiʻa forests also had to be cleared, field rock piled, land plowed by mules or dug up by hand with a pick. Sugarcane was in large-scale production; the sugar mill operation ran for just over 80 years, until 1984.

Macadamia nuts and papaya were introduced in 1881 and 1919, respectively. Since the closure of the Puna Sugar Company, papaya and macadamia nut production have become the leading crops of Puna. About 97% of the state’s papaya production occurs in Puna, primarily in the Kapoho area.

Another thing growing in Puna is housing. Between 1958 and 1973, more than 52,500-individual lots were created – at least 40-substandard Puna subdivisions were created.

As a comparison, Oʻahu is about 382,500-acres in size; the district of Puna on the island of Hawaiʻi is about 320,000-acres in size – almost same-same.

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Forest_Scenery-Puna,-(WC)_c._1884
Forest_Scenery-Puna,-(WC)_c._1884
Hawaiian_Paradise_Park-8,800-lots-GoogleEarth
Hawaiian_Paradise_Park-8,800-lots-GoogleEarth
Puna_District-showing_parcels-GoogleEarth
Puna_District-showing_parcels-GoogleEarth
Puna-Non-Conforming_Subdivisions-(Puna_CDP)-Map
Puna-Non-Conforming_Subdivisions-(Puna_CDP)-Map

Filed Under: Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hala, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Puna, Lehua, Ohia

September 21, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

James Walker Austin

James Walker Austin (1829-1895) was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, January 8, 1829, son of William Austin (1778- 1841) and Lucy Jones (1802-1853).

“My father died in my boyhood (in Charlestown, June 27, 1841), and now, after nearly fifty years, his pleasant smile, his kind heart, and the light of his countenance are still living memories.” (James Walker Austin)

James was prepared for college in the schools of Charlestown and at the Chauncy Hall School, Boston, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1849, and from the Law School two years later, and was admitted to the Suffolk Bar in 1851.

He went in 1851 to California, and thence to the Hawaiian Islands. He was attracted by the beauty and fertility of the islands, and he determined to settle there.

Austin arrived in Hawaii and was quickly thereafter enlisted by Kamehameha III for his legal services. He served the monarchy in that capacity through the reigns of Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.

On July 18, 1857, he married Ariana Elizabeth Smith Sleeper (1829-1911) who was the daughter of John Sherborn Sleeper (1794-1878) and Mary Folsom Noble (1798-1885). They were the parents of five children.

He rose rapidly in the public esteem, and was soon chosen to places of trust and honor. In rapid succession he was made District Attorney, Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House, and a Justice of the Supreme Court.

He was also placed on two important Commissions, — one for revising the Civil Code, the other for revising the Criminal Code of the Kingdom. (Edes; Colonial Society of MA, 1895)

In honor of his work for Kamehameha V, James Walker Austin was given the land upon which Kapualei Ranch sits on July 10, 1868. (Kapualei Ranch)

He was admitted to the Bar in that country, and was appointed district attorney. He was elected to the Hawaiian Parliament, and reelected for three sessions. He was speaker of the House one session.

He was the guardian a number of years, of Lunalilo, heir to the throne. “Prince Bill had many fine qualities. In spite of his many fine qualities he was overcome by one weakness. He became addicted to liquor.”

“In 1858 Kanaʻina, out of love and concern for his son, petitioned the court to appoint guardians for him. Prince Bill agreed to this idea even though he was twenty-three years old. So the court appointed his father and two others, Dr. Richard Armstrong and James W Austin, as guardians.” (Galuteria)

In 1868 Austin was appointed judge of the Supreme Court by a special act of the Legislature, and he was chosen to revise the criminal code of the islands, in connection with two other judges of the Supreme Court.

He had been a member of the commission to revise the civil code two years before. These codes were modeled on those of the State of Massachusetts.

He returned to the United States in 1872 for the education of his children. The Austins made 9 Arlington in Boston their home. Their children lived with them: Herbert Austin, who would become an iron and steel dealer; Walter Austin, who would become an attorney and author; William Francis Austin; and Edith Austin.

“Judge Austin was a man of strong character, and of many accomplishments. His integrity was unimpeachable. He had a large circle of friends at the islands, where he had much to do in building up a vigorous and well-ordered community.”

“He was highly esteemed for his many noble qualities. His rugged honesty of opinion and positive ideas were sometimes veiled by his gentle manner; but they never lacked vigorous expression upon all proper occasions, and he always had the courage of his convictions.”

“Frankness, purity of mind and of heart, loyalty to every duty and to friends, and sincerity were marked traits of his character. His sympathies were as tender and quick as a woman’s. Censoriousness had no place in his fine nature; and when he could not approve the actions of others, he cultivated that silence which is golden.”

“He was as generous in his judgments of others as in his gifts to many worthy objects; and in all the relations of life he furnished an example deserving emulation.” (Edes; Colonial Society of MA, 1895)

Austin went to Europe the last year of his life, with his wife and daughter, and they were with him at the time of his death. He died in Southampton, England, October 15, 1895. (New England Historic Genealogical Society)

“In every relation of his long and active life he was an example to be imitated and followed. Sincerity, truthfulness, and frankness spoke in every accent of his voice, in the pressure of his hand, in his manly and gentle spirit.”

“His affections, when once placed, were deep and lasting. His charity of thought and feeling and act seemed instinctive, but it rested on solid and enduring principles.”

“No one who knew him intimately in public or in social life could ever doubt that he was a man of positive opinions, or that he had any hesitancy, when occasion required, in expressing them; but he never unduly pressed his own views, and was eminently tolerant of the opinions, and even the prejudices, of his associates.”

“No man loathed selfishness, deceit, or treachery more than he; but while he condemned the act he pitied the offender. He avoided controversy, and strove to be a peace-maker.”

“After more than twenty years of acquaintanceship – for many years seeing him almost daily – the writer of these lines does not recall an instance of hearing Judge Austin utter a censorious remark upon any man or woman.”

“And it is said that this temper and manner characterized him through his entire career, – in his boyhood days, at the university, at the bar, on the bench, and in all the various associations of his life, – public, social, and domestic.”

“But who can adequately express in words the prompt and unfailing sympathy he manifested for every form of woe and suffering? To many hearts surcharged with sorrow his ready and tender ministries have been a source of hope and courage, of comfort and of strength.

“He was, indeed, a rare man, and the world is poorer now that he has left us.” (Hoyt; New England Historic Genealogical Society)

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Old_Honolulu_Courthouse_illustration
Old_Honolulu_Courthouse_illustration
Old_Honolulu_Courthouse
Old_Honolulu_Courthouse
Old_Courthouse_by_Paul_Emmert-1854
Old_Courthouse_by_Paul_Emmert-1854
9-10-11 Arlington (ca. 1865), before construction of 8 Arlington; courtesy of Anthony Sammarco
9-10-11 Arlington (ca. 1865), before construction of 8 Arlington; courtesy of Anthony Sammarco
8-9-10-11 Arlington (ca. 1942), photograph by Bainbridge Bunting, courtesy of The Gleason Partnership
8-9-10-11 Arlington (ca. 1942), photograph by Bainbridge Bunting, courtesy of The Gleason Partnership
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arli-008-009-lot-site-a

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Prominent People Tagged With: Hawaii, Old Courthouse, James Walker Austin

September 19, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Elisha Loomis

“Conceiving it to be my duty to serve the Lord with all my might, and to engage in whatever business that would serve to promote the cause of the Redeemer, I last spring offered myself to the Board of Commissioners. as a printer to go the Sandwich Islands.”

“I proceeded to Brookfield, Mass. where I received the information that the Board had determined on my going in the mission this year. This I did not desire, as I had no female companion.”

“Disappointed in my expectation of finding one at Brookfield, Mass, I resolved to return home, make what preparations I could, and go out single, trusting that providence would, if it should be best, provide a companion.”

“Little did I think then, that God had prepared and help meet for me. A young lady of Utica, had for a considerable time been wishing to engage in a mission. By a remarkable Providence I became acquainted with her. … She had long been wishing to engage in a mission. Had frequently spoken of the Owhyean Mission.”

“I have now spent several days with her … Tomorrow I leave this village for Canandaigua expecting to return as soon as possible and be joined in marriage with Miss Maria Sartwell. (They wed September 27, 1819.) With her I shall proceed to Boston in time to embark with the mission.” Elisha Loomis to Samuel Worcester of the ABCFM, September 16, 1819)

He and Maria Loomis were in the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries, who left Boston on October 23, 1819 and arrived at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

Elisha Loomis was born December 11, 1799, son of Nathan and Dorcas Pratt Loomis at Middlesex Township, Ontario County, New York. He was a printer by trade.

“The first printing press at the Hawaiian Islands was imported by the American missionaries, and landed from the brig Thaddeus, at Honolulu, in April, 1820.”

“It was not unlike the first used by Benjamin Franklin, and was set up in a thatched house standing a few fathoms from the old mission frame house, but was not put in operation until the afternoon of January 7, 1822.” (Hunnewell)

“On the 7th of January, 1822, a year and eight months from the time of our receiving the governmental permission to enter the field and teach the people, we commenced printing the language in order to give them letters, libraries, and the living oracles in their own tongue, that the nation might read and understand the wonderful works of God.”

“The opening to them of this source of light never known to their ancestors remote or near, occurred while many thousands of the friends of the heathen were on the monthly concert, unitedly praying that the Gospel might have free course and he glorified.”

“It was like laying a corner stone of an important edifice for the nation.” (Bingham)

“Gov. Cox (Ke‘eaumoku), who seems to take as friendly and lively an interest in our work as any of the windward chiefs, was present, and assisted with his own hands in composing a line or two and in working a few copies of the first lesson of Owhyhee 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 press.” (Mission Journal)

Later, “Liholiho, Kalanimōku, Boki and other chiefs, and numbers of the people, called to see the new engine, the printing-press, to them a great curiosity. Several were easily induced to undertake to learn the art of printing, and in time succeeded. Most of the printing done at the islands has been done by native hands.” (Bingham)

“The first lessons printed were eagerly received by those natives who had learned to read from manuscripts. For many years all the printing on the islands was done by the Hawaiians who had been taught by Mr. Loomis.”

“A few years later, when another printing press had been received, the first machine was taken to Oregon by a successor to Mr. Loomis, Mr. Edwin O. Hall, and was the first printing press seen west of the Rocky Mountains.” (Gulick)

On July 16, 1820, Elisha and Maria Loomis had a son, Levi Sartwell Loomis, the first white child born in the Hawaiian Islands.

Elisha and Maria would spend seven years in Hawai’i as missionaries. With his health failing, on January 6, 1827, they returned to New England but took up a new missionary post out in the Old Northwest – Mackinac Island – among the Ojibwe people. After two years in that missionary field they would return to New York. (Smola)

He recovered sufficiently to continue printing Hawaiian books in New York State, many for the American Bible Society and the American Tract Society. These books were sent to the Sandwich Islands with later missionary companies. (Judd)

Ka‘ahumanu wrote to Loomis, asking him to print and send her portions of the Bible, “Sincere love to you two Mr. & Mrs. Loomis – I have affection for you, my friends on account of your returning to America. To see all our friends there. Herein is my affection towards you. When you arrive in America, think of my love. Do not forget in the least.”

“This is what I desire, when you print; Do you print together the gospel of Matthew with John and Luke and Mark and Adam, and the Acts of the apostles, and the Epistles, and indeed the whole of the word of god. Let none be omitted.”

“There (with the scriptures) are my affections forever. Our thoughts centre in the love of God. I say unto you, give my love to all the chiefs in America. Together with all friends there: for the refreshing breeze now blows here even from the presence of God.” (Letter from Kaahumanu to the Loomis, June 3, 1827)

After Elisha’s death on August 27, 1836, Mrs. Loomis returned west to Ypsilanti, Michigan. She would spend the rest of her days there until she died in 1862. (Smola)

The mission press printed 10,000-copies of Ka Palapala Hemolele (The Holy Scriptures.) It was 2,331-pages long printed front and back.

Mission Press also printed newspaper, hymnals, schoolbooks, broadsides, fliers, laws, and proclamations. The Mission Presses printed over 113,000,000-sheets of paper in 20-years.

A replica Ramage printing press is at Mission Houses in Honolulu (it was built by students at Honolulu Community College in 1966.) Likewise, Hale Pa‘i in Lahainaluna has early Hawaiian printing displays.

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Mission Houses Printing Press Interpretive sign
Mission Houses Printing Press Interpretive sign
Image of first printing press
Image of first printing press
Ramage Press replica at Mission Houses
Ramage Press replica at Mission Houses
Elisha Loomis headstone
Elisha Loomis headstone
Levi Sartwell Loomis-HMH
Levi Sartwell Loomis-HMH
Levi Sartwell Loomis-headstone
Levi Sartwell Loomis-headstone

Filed Under: General, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings Tagged With: Hawaii, Missionaries, Elisha Loomis, Printing, American Protestant Missionaries, Levi Sartwell Loomis

September 18, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

USS Shaw

“John Shaw was born at Mt. Mellick, Queens County, Ireland, in 1773. In 1790, he came to the United States, settled in Philadelphia and entered the merchant marine.”

“Appointed lieutenant in the United States Navy in 1798, he (later) assumed command of the schooner Enterprise in which, during the next year, he captured seven armed French vessels and recaptured several American merchantmen.”

“During the Barbary Wars, Shaw commanded the frigate John Adams in the Mediterranean under Commodore Rodgers from May to November 1804. During the War of 1812, he also commanded the frigate United States. Captain Shaw died at Philadelphia 17 September 1823.” (Destroyer History)

An iconic image of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, shows the USS Shaw, named after John Shaw. “Shaw (DD-373) was laid down on 1 October 1934 at the United States Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa.; launched on 28 October 1935; sponsored by Miss Dorothy L. Tinker; and commissioned on 18 September 1936, Lt. Comdr. E.A. Mitchell in command.”

“Following commissioning, Shaw remained at Philadelphia until April 1937 when she crossed the Atlantic on her shakedown cruise. … Shaw conducted training exercises in the Atlantic for the remainder of the year. She then transited to the Pacific and underwent overhaul at Mare Island from 8 January to 4 April 1939.”

“Shaw remained on the west coast until April 1940 participating in various exercises and providing services to carriers and submarines operating in the area.”

“In April she sailed for Hawaii where she participated in Fleet Problem XXI, an eight phased operation for the defense of the Hawaiian area. She remained in the Hawaiian area until November when she returned to the west coast for overhaul.”

“Back in the Hawaiian area by mid-February 1941, Shaw operated in those waters until November when she entered the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor for repairs, drydocking in YFD-2. … On 7 December, Shaw was still drydocked.” (Destroyer History)

(USS Shaw was in the old New Orleans floating drydock (YFD2) at the Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The weather was clear, with scattered clouds.”

“Three bombs struck the ship between 0755 and 0915. … The subsequent fire can be ascribed to ruptured oil tanks. The first two … bombs apparently struck the machine gun platform … and penetrated the gun shelter platform, forecastle and main decks. They perhaps exploded in the crew’s mess room on the first platform deck.”

“It appears that all three hits were made at about the same time. Fire broke out at once. Twenty minutes later the forward magazines blew up. This explosion severed the bow at about frame 65 with the exception of some bottom structure.”

“The dock was deliberately flooded to prevent more damage to it. As it sank, the bow of Shaw toppled over to starboard and went down with the dock. The Yard tug Sotoyomo was also in the dock and sank with it.” (Destroyer History)

“The USS Shaw lost 24 crewmen during the Pearl Harbor attack. Temporary repairs were made at Pearl Harbor, with the installation of a new bow and remaining repairs completed in San Francisco in June of 1943.”

“Returning to active duty for the remainder of World War II, the Shaw saw action at Guadalcanal, New Guinea and the Philippines.” (WWII Headquarters)

“Shaw arrived in San Francisco on 19 May. Repairs and alterations took her into August. The work was accomplished on the 20th. She then departed for the east coast.”

“On arrival at Philadelphia, she was routed to New York for deactivation. Decommissioned on 2 October 1945, her name was struck from the Navy list two days later. Her hulk was scrapped in July 1946. Shaw earned eleven battle stars during World War II.” (Destroyer History)

In the attack on Pearl Harbor nineteen US Navy ships, including 8 battleships were destroyed or damaged; there were 2,403 people killed and 1,178 wounded. Among the deceased were 2,008 Navy personnel, 109 Marine, 218 Army and 68 civilians. (navy-mil)

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Shaw-Pearl_Harbor-12-1941-400
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USS Shaw (DD-373)-post-Pearl Harbor attack
USS Shaw (DD-373)-post-Pearl Harbor attack
USS Shaw (DD-373) post-Pearl Harbor attack
USS Shaw (DD-373) post-Pearl Harbor attack
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19-N-88279
NH 97421
NH 97421
USS Shaw (DD-373)
USS Shaw (DD-373)
19-N-88286
19-N-88286
19-N-88284
19-N-88284

Filed Under: Military, Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks Tagged With: John Shaw, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, December 7, USS Shaw

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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