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February 13, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

William Beckley

George Charles Beckley was known as “the English friend and military adviser of Kamehameha the Great.”  (Taylor)  Born in 1787, Beckley arrived in the Islands around 1804.  About 1813, he married Ahia Kalanikumaikiʻekiʻe.

Ahia was daughter of Kaha, a trusted friend of Kamehameha I, a warrior and Kahuna Kalaiwaʻa (a priest who superintended the building of canoes) and of Makaloa, daughter of Malulani (k) and of Kelehuna (w) of Puna, Hawaiʻi.  (Hawaiian Historical Society)

At the birth of the princess Nahiʻenaʻena (Kamehameha’s daughter) at Keauhou, Kona, in 1815, Beckley was made a high chief by Kamehameha, so that he might with impunity enter the sacred precinct and present the royal infant with a roll of China silk, after which he went outside, and fired a salute of thirteen guns in her honor.  (Hawaiian Historical Society)

The Beckleys had seven children, William (1814,) Maria (1817,) Localia (1818,) Mary (1820,) George (1823,) Hannah and Emmeline (1825.)

Captain Beckley’s oldest son, William Beckley, born at Keauhou (August 1, 1814,) was hānai to Keōpūolani and brought up together with Kauikeaouli (later King Kamehameha III.) George Beckley’s two oldest daughters were brought up by Queen Kaʻahumanu.  (Hawaiian Historical Society)  William was also playmates of Keoni Ana, son of John Young, and Aikake, son of Isaac Davis.

John Young and Isaac Davis were two of the several foreigners who aligned with Kamehameha I.  Young, a boatswain on the British fur trading vessel, Eleanora, was stranded on the Island of Hawai‘i in 1790.  Davis arrived the same year on The Fair American.  Both became close advisors to Kamehameha I.

With the arrival of Western ships, new plants and animals soon found their way to the Hawaiian Islands.  In 1793, Captain George Vancouver gave a few cattle to Kamehameha I.  When Vancouver landed additional cattle at Kealakekua in 1794, he strongly encouraged Kamehameha to place a 10‐year kapu on them to allow the herd to grow.

In the decades that followed, cattle flourished and later turned into a dangerous nuisance.  (By 1846, 25,000-wild cattle roamed at will and an additional 10,000-semi‐domesticated cattle lived alongside humans.)

Kamehameha III lifted the kapu in 1830 and the hunting of wild cattle was encouraged.  The king hired cattle hunters from overseas to help in the effort; many of these were former convicts from Botany Bay in Australia.

The hapa-haole Beckley was for a number of years in charge of the king’s cattle on Hawai’i. After the death of Governor Adams Kuakini on December 9, 1844, Beckley was appointed konohiki of Waimea, as well as manager of all the cattle there belonging to the king and the government.  (Clark/Kirch)

Kamehameha III, although a king, was one of the first ranchers in the islands, owning the largest on the Big Island, from the top of Mauna Kea to the sea. He had William Beckley for his partner and afterwards Olohana Davis (son of Isaac Davis.)    (Taylor)

Beckley carried his own portion independently; they were identified as Waʻawaʻa, Waikani and a pahale (houselot) at Līhuʻe.  In addition, some land nearby (Waiemi) was awarded to his wife (a granddaughter of Kameʻeiamoku (one of the four Kona Uncles and close associates with Kamehameha.))  (Clark/Kirch)

Beckley called his piece “Little Mexico,” where he raised thoroughbred horses. This was at Waimea, and a portion of this is now part of Parker Ranch.  (Taylor)

The “Mexico” reference may tie into one of the stories about how the initial vaqueros (Español – paniolo (cowboys)) came to the islands; one story suggests William Beckley recruited vaqueros from Veracruz Mexico.  (Barna)

The earliest Hawaiian bullock hunters hunted alone, on foot, and used guns and pit traps. By 1830, a few vaqueros who had perfected methods of capturing wild cattle on horseback in Alta California began working for the Hawaiian monarchy and teaching the Hawaiians their techniques.  (Mills)

Most histories credit Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) with the idea of hiring vaqueros.   Joaquin Armas arrived in Hawai‘i on April 4, 1831 and stayed in Hawai‘i at the bequest of the King. Armas had grown up in Monterey, where undoubtedly he learned how to rope cattle and process hides. Other contemporary vaqueros on Hawai‘i Island were Miguel Castro, a man named Boronda, and Frederico Ramon Baesa.  (Mills)

Hawaii’s cowboys became known as paniolo, a corruption of español, the language the vaquero spoke. The term still refers to cowboys working in the Islands and to the culture their lifestyle spawned.

By 1840, there was concern that the great herds of cattle would be diminished because of consistent hunting pressure. So, another kapu was placed on the cattle.

Under Beckley, more lands were converted to pasturage and holding pens; and, according to Lorezo Lyons, Waimea had turned into a “cattle pen” and “(b)y another unfavorable arrangement 2/3 of Waimea have been converted to a pasture for government herds of cattle, sheep, horses, etc.”  (MKSWCD)

In 1847, the branding of wild cattle became a government function, overseen by William Beckley.  That same year, John Palmer Parker purchased the first acres of land that would become Parker Ranch.  (Bergin)

Shortly after, in 1850, the King appointed George Davis Hueu, of Waikoloa, as “Keeper of the Cattle” at Waimea, Mauna Kea and surrounding districts.  (MKSWCD)  William Beckley died March 16, 1871.

The image shows an early view of Waimea (Engraved at Lahainaluna.) In addition, I have added some other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Filed Under: Prominent People, Economy Tagged With: Waimea, Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, Lorenzo Lyons, John Young, South Kohala, Hawaii, Beckley, Hawaii Island, Isaac Davis, Cattle, Paniolo

June 13, 2012 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hānaiakamalama – Queen Emma Summer Palace

 

Hānaiakamalama (Lit., the foster child of the light (or moon,)) now known as the Queen Emma Summer Palace, was the “mountain” home of Queen Emma, wife of Kamehameha IV.
The house was originally constructed by John George Lewis in 1848.  John Young II bought it in 1850 and named the home “Hānaiakamalama.”
Queen Emma inherited it from her uncle, John Young II, son of the famous advisor to Kamehameha I, John Young I, in 1857.
Queen Emma was born Emma Naea in Honolulu on January 2, 1836, the daughter of a British aristocratic woman and a Hawaiian high chief.
She became the hānai child of Dr. and Mrs. T. C. and Grace Rooke, her mother’s sister who had no children of their own.  Emma grew up speaking both Hawaiian and English, the latter “with a perfect English accent.”
At 20, Emma became engaged to the king of Hawai‘i, Alexander Liholiho, (Kamehameha IV,) a 22-year-old who had ascended to the throne in 1855.  The couple had known each other since childhood.
In his first speech as king, Kamehameha IV stated the need for a hospital to treat the native population.  Due to introduced diseases, the Hawaiian population had plummeted, with extinction a very real possibility.
To recognize and honor Emma’s efforts, it was decided to call the new hospital “Queen’s.”
Queen Emma used the home as a retreat where she could escape from the heat of Honolulu into the coolness of Nuʻuanu.  It’s about 5-miles from Downtown Honolulu and 10-miles from Waikīkī.
It was through this land that Kamehameha the Great marched during what would become the Battle of the Nu‘uanu in April 1795.
Coincidently, Kamehameha was aided by foreigners, including John Young, Queen Emma’s grandfather, who provided the cannons and tactical know-how used in the battle.
This land, a portion of a grant known as Kaukahōkū, was originally designated as Fort Land; that is, it was set apart for the use of the Fort, probably as agricultural land.  However, sometime in the 1840s Kekuanaoa, Governor of the island of Oʻahu, leased the land for private use.
The Summer Palace was modeled in the Greek Revival style. It has a formal plan arrangement, wide central hall, high ceilings and floor-length hinged, in-swinging shuttered casement window.
It is one-story, over a basement, and measures about 73-feet by 51-feet.  The roof is hipped over the main portion of the home and gabled over the rear lanai that was converted to a room.
The large single room in the rear of the home, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh Room, was converted from a lanai in 1869, to prepare for the reception of the Duke during a visit to Hawai‘i.
The kitchen was a small structure apart from the house. Baths were taken through large tubs brought into the bedrooms by servants and filled with buckets of hot and cold water.
Three outhouses served the occupants; one reserved for the King and Queen, one for guests and another for servants.
The Summer Palace was saved from demolition by the Daughters of Hawaiʻi.  Today, the Daughters preserve and maintain this residence and the Huliheʻe Palace in Kailua-Kona as museums open to the public.
The restored and furnished home of Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV offers a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Hawaiian monarchy.
The Daughters of Hawai‘i was founded in 1903 by seven women who were daughters of American Protestant missionaries.  They were born in Hawai‘i, were citizens of the Hawaiian Kingdom before annexation and foresaw the inevitable loss of much of the Hawaiian culture.
They founded the organization “to perpetuate the memory and spirit of old Hawai‘i and of historic facts, and to preserve the nomenclature and correct pronunciation of the Hawaiian language.”  (My mother was a Daughter.)
The property is open to the public, daily 9:00 am–4:00 pm; closed major holidays; Admission: Adult $6, Child 17 and under $1, Seniors $4; reservations required for groups of 20 or more.
The image shows Hānaiakamalama – Queen Emma Summer Palace.  In addition, I have included other images of the property and Queen Emma in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/peter.t.young.hawaii

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Buildings Tagged With: Kamehameha IV, Queen Emma, Queen's Hospital, Nuuanu, John Young, Queen Emma Summer Palace, Hanaiakamalama, Hawaii

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