James Kekela | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

While there were several other participants, this story really relates to two people – James Kekela and Jonathan Whalon … and because of the meeting between these two, President Abraham Lincoln stepped into the picture.

James Kekela was born in 1824 at Mokuleia, in Waialua. After public schooling, he was selected as a promising candidate to attend the mission school at Lahainaluna.

“Here he acquired what that center of light had to give; some knowledge of life, of the world in which we live, and of the divine revelation made in the Sacred Scriptures. And more than all else, he acquired a firm faith in a personal Savior and Redeemer.” (The Friend)

Mr. Kekela was the first Native Hawaiian to be ordained as a minister in Hawaiʻi, ordained at Kahuku on December 21, 1849 and settled as pastor of the Hauʻula church.

He served as pastor for two or three years until he was called to foreign missionary work – in 1853, the Hawaiian churches decided to unite to support a mission to the Marquesas Islands, sending out missionaries from among their own ranks.

Rev. James Kekela and Rev. Samuel Kauwealoha, and their wives, were accompanied by New England missionary Benjamin Parker of Kāneʻohe Mission Station; these native couples were the first Hawaiian families to serve as missionaries in the Marquesas, 1853-1909.

They settled on the island of Hiva-Oa in Puamau, a large valley with 500 inhabitants – the valley rises two miles inland, where it terminates in an abrupt precipice 2,000 feet high.

Kekela’s counterpart in this story, Jonathan Whalon, was born at Dartmouth, Massachusetts, in 1822. On July 13, 1841, he applied for and was granted Seaman’s Protection Certificate #58 at Fall River, Massachusetts.

He served on whaling ships and made a total of seven whaling voyages, working his way up the chain of command, from green-hand to captain on his fifth and sixth voyages.

His seventh and final voyage (in 1864) was on board the whaling ship Congress 2, as first mate. Evidently everything went smoothly until he decided to visit the natives on the island of Hiva-Oa.

Unbeknownst to all, previously, a Peruvian vessel had stolen men from Hiva-Oa, and the Marquesans were waiting for an opportunity to revenge the deed.

Mr. Whalon went on shore to trade for pigs, fowls, etc, and the natives, under the presence of hunting pigs, decoyed him into the woods, where, at a concerted signal, large numbers of men had been collected. Mr. Whalon was seized, bound, stripped of his clothing, and taken to be cooked and eaten.

“Kekela and others made haste to rescue the mate. At first the wrathful chief refused to give up his victim; but he yielded at length to Kekela’s entreaties, and offered to receive as a ransom his new six-oared boat, given him by his benefactor in Boston, which he greatly prized, and greatly needed in his missionary work. But the good man did not hesitate a moment to accept the hard terms.” (Hiram Bingham Jr.)

The dramatic circumstances of Jonathan Whalon’s capture and rescue were reported when his ship reached America, and the incident eventually came to the attention of President Abraham Lincoln.

Although the President was engrossed in the ‘War Between the States,’ he was so moved that he sent $500 in gold to Dr. McBride, US Minister resident in Honolulu, for the purchase of suitable gifts that would express his gratitude to those who had participated in the rescue.

The President presented a total of 10-gifts: two gold hunting case watches; two double-barreled guns (one to the Marquesan chief who rescued Mr. Whalon and the other to B. Nagel, the German who assisted the chief;) a silver medal to the girl who hailed the whaleboat and told the men to “pull away”; and, lastly, a spy-glass, two quadrants and two charts to the Marquesan Mission. All were inscribed in Hawaiian. (The Friend)

“This act of the President, in rewarding these persons, will have a good effect all through the ocean, for it will be circulated far and near, and will show them that the President not only hears of the good deeds of Polynesian islanders, but stands ready to reward them.” (The Friend)

Most interesting among the gifts was a large gold watch the President gave to Kekela (a similar watch was given to Kaukau, Kekela’s associate in the rescue.)

The inscription on it is translated from Hawaiian as follows:
“From the President of the United States to Rev. J. Kekela For His Noble Conduct in Rescuing An American Citizen from Death
On the Island of Hiva Oa January 14, 1864.”

Rev. Kekela sent a thank you letter, in response. In part, it stated: “Greetings to you, great and good Friend! … When I saw one of your countrymen, a citizen of your great nation, ill-treated, and about to be baked and eaten, as a pig is eaten, I ran to save him, full of pity and grief at the evil deed of these benighted people.”

“As to this friendly deed of mine in saving Mr. Whalon, its seed came from your great land, and was brought by certain of your countrymen, who had received the love of God. It was planted in Hawaii, and I brought it to plant in this land and in these dark regions, that they might receive the root of all that is good and true, which is love.”

“I gave my boat for the stranger’s life. This boat came from James Hunnewell, a gift of friendship. It became the ransom of this countryman of yours, that he might not be eaten by the savages who knew not Jehovah. This was Mr. Whalon, and the date, Jan. 14, 1864.” (Kekela as quoted by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Unfortunately, President Lincoln never received the thank you note; Lincoln was assassinated shortly before the note’s arrival.

After forty-seven years of foreign missionary service in the Marquesas, Rev. and Mrs. Kekela returned to their native islands. Kekela died in 1904. He is buried in Mission Houses cemetery a few steps from where his gold watch and letters are kept at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives.

The story is depicted in a recent Mysteries at the Museum – here is a link to the full program, the Kekela Watch sequence is within this video (go to 20:44):

https://www.travelchannel.com/content/travel-com/en/shows/m/mysteries-at-the-museum/episodes/1700/fleeing-fidel-murder-by-shark-and-inflated-feud.html

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James Hunnewell Kekela (1824–1904) and wife Naomi Kaenaokane Maka Kekela (1826–1902)-PP-74-8a-014

“It is indeed with a kind of melancholy pleasure I have sat down to write. There is a satisfaction in reflecting on the endearing relation which you sustain towards me that I would not part with for worlds; but when I consider the distance that separates us and the time that has and will elapse before we meet my feelings are overpowered.”

“Instead of becoming habituated to your absence by length of time I seem everyday less reconciled to it & “still alone” seems stamped on everything around me.” (Susannah Hunnewell to her husband James, November 6, 1820)

For all but seven months of the first eleven years of their marriage, James Hunnewell was living in the Pacific, Susannah was in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

On Monday, December 8, 1817, James Hunnewell, officer of the brig Bordeaux Packet, agreed with Andrew Blanchard, master, to remain at Honolulu after the sale of the vessel. (Thrum)

He would dispose of the balance of her cargo and invest and forward the proceeds. This was the beginning of the long business career of Hunnewell connected with the Islands, and his first act in settling there. (Thrum)

“The name … James Hunnewell was early associated with the commercial interests of these Islands, and his long and useful life was marked by such constant goodwill to my kingdom, that I shall always cherish his memory with sincere regard.” (Kamehameha V to Hunnewell’s son; Thrum)

Hunnewell first came to the Islands aboard the ‘Packet’ in October 1816. He agreed to stay and traded his boat and cargo for sandalwood, “We were the only traders on shore at Honolulu that had any goods to sell.” There was no currency at the time, so they generally traded for sandalwood. (Hunnewell, The Friend)

After trading sandalwood in China and then back to the northeast, Hunnewell returned to the Islands in 1820 on the ‘Thaddeus,’ “This was the memorable voyage when we carried out the first missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands.” (He was the person who first announced to the missionaries, that the Tabus were broken, and idolatry abolished. (The Friend, July, 1870))

He stayed … “it was urged by some of the chiefs that knew me on my previous voyage that I should remain instead of a stranger to trade with them.” (Hunnewell)

On January 7, 1822, a small group gathered to print the first work from the press, “Lesson in Owhyhee syllables.” Keeaumoku, a Hawaiian Chief, who had learned the alphabet, was given the honor of striking the first impression off the press, after which Loomis printed the second and Hunnewell the third.

It is a sheet four by six inches, headed “Lesson I,” beneath which are twelve lines, each having five separate syllables of two letters. This was certainly the first printing at the Hawaiian Islands, and probably the first on the shores, of the North Pacific Ocean.

The first printing press at the Hawaiian Islands was imported by the American missionaries, and landed from the Thaddeus. It was not unlike the first used by Benjamin Franklin, and was set up in a thatched house standing near the old mission frame house (but was not put in operation until that January 1822 pressing.) (Hawaiian Club, 1868)

Later, in 1825, he negotiated with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, “to take the missionary packet out, free from any charge whatever on (his) part for sailing and navigating the vessel – provided the Board would pay and feed the crew, and allow (him) to carry out in the schooner to the amount (in bulk) of some forty to fifty barrels”. (Hunnewell)

Hunnewell decided to return home on the continent (November 20, 1830) and left his partner in charge; Hunnewell thought he would come back to the Islands, but never did. Hunnewell decided to remain at home – the company he formed, was later known as C Brewer (one of Hawaiʻi’s ‘Big Five’ companies.)

Kekela, born at Mokuleʻia, Waialua, Oʻahu was a beneficiary of Hunnewell’s generosity – Kekela attended and graduated from the Lahainaluna Seminary, at the expense of Hunnewell. In recognition of his great obligation to his benefactor, he adopted his name and was ever known as James Kekela.

On December 21, 1849, he was ordained to the Christian ministry, being the first native Hawaiian clergyman, and became the pastor of the native church at Kahuku, Oahu. (The Friend, May 1, 1920)

Later, Kekela saved an American in the Marquesas; President Abraham Lincoln learned of the dramatic circumstances of the rescue and had presented a total of 10-gifts to the rescuers.

Most interesting among the gifts was a large gold watch the President gave to Kekela (a similar watch was given to Kaukau, Kekela’s associate in the rescue.) The inscription on it is translated from Hawaiian as follows:

“From the President of the United States to Rev. J. Kekela For His Noble Conduct in Rescuing An American Citizen from Death
On the Island of Hiva Oa January 14, 1864.”

Here’s a link to a prior post on the Kekela watch:
http://wp.me/p5GnMi-iz

“This discourse was delivered by the Rev. James B. Miles, pastor of the first parish church, Charlestown, Mass., and is commemorative of Mrs. S. L. Hunnewell, widow of the late Captain James Hunnewell. This friend of Oahu College, and of Hawaiians, died May 2nd, 1869, and the death of his beloved wife followed on the 20th of February, 1870.”

“If Mr. Hunnewell had survived a few months longer, their golden wedding would have been celebrated; but now both have passed away. They were long united in their lives, and in death they were not divided.” (The Friend, July, 1870)

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