Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Nuʻuanu

In 1872, some referred to it as “Missionary Street,” although the Missionary Period had ended about 10-years earlier (the Missionary Period was from 1820 – 1863.)

You might more accurately call it the home of the elite, and that is not limited to folks of the Caucasian persuasion – both Kauikeaouli and Emma had summer residences here and included in the list of successful business people who called it home were the Afongs and others.

But you can’t help concluding the strong demand to live there based on early descriptions – even Realtors, today, would be envious of the descriptors Ellis used in 1831: “The scenery is romantic and delightful.”

“Across this plain, immediately opposite the harbour of Honoruru, lies the valley of Anuanu (Nuʻuanu,) leading to a pass in the mountains, called by the natives Ka Pari (Pali,) the precipice, which is well worth the attention of every intelligent foreigner visiting Oahu.”  (Ellis, 1831)

“The mouth of the valley, which opens immediately behind the town of Honoruru, is a complete garden, carefully kept by its respective proprietors in a state of high cultivation; and the ground, being irrigated by the water from a river that winds rapidly down the valley, is remarkably productive.”  (Ellis, 1831)

Over sixty years later (1897,) Stoddard keeps the demand momentum going by adding, “The way lies through shady avenues, between residences that stand in the midst of broad lawns and among foliage of the most brilliant description. An infinite variety of palms and tropical plants, with leaves of enormous circumference, diversify the landscape.”

Today, the descriptors of the past hold true – and the place is high in the demand (and price,) just as it was nearly two centuries ago.

So, who were some of the people who called this place home?

As noted, an early resident of Nuʻuanu was Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III.  Consistent with tradition, his home had a name, Kaniakapūpū (sound or song of the land snail;) it was located back up into the valley at Luakaha.

Ruins today, the structure, modeled on an Irish stone cottage, was completed in 1845 and is reportedly built on top or in the vicinity of an ancient heiau.  It was a simple cottage, a square with four straight walls.

Another royal, Queen Emma, had a “mountain” home, Hānaiakamālama (Lit., the foster child of the light (or moon,)) now known as the Queen Emma Summer Palace.  In 1857, she inherited it from her uncle, John Young II, son of the famous advisor to Kamehameha I, John Young I.

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.  The Daughters of Hawaiʻi saved it from demolition and it is now operated as a museum and open to the public (a nominal admission fee is charged.)

On the private side, the following are only a few of the several notable residences (existing, or long gone,) in Nuʻuanu Valley.

A notable home is the “Walker Estate;” one of the few intact estates that were built in the upper Nuʻuanu Valley before and after the turn of the century (built in 1905,) it is a two story wood frame structure of Classical Revival style.  (NPS)

The home on the 5.7-acre estate was initially built for the Rodiek family, a leading businessman in Honolulu. Due to war time pressures on the family, who were German citizens, the home was sold in 1918 to Wilcox who lived there into the 1930s, when it was taken over by Henry Alexander Walker, president and chairman of the Board of Amfac (one of the Hawaiʻi Big Five businesses.)

The grounds were originally used for orchards and vegetables, although the Japanese garden was put in shortly after the house was built and is thought to be the oldest formal Japanese garden in Hawaiʻi, the stones, lamps and images specially brought from Japan for it.  (NPS)

Another notable home is former Governor George Carter’s “Lihiwai” (water’s edge.)  In the late-1920s, Carter built his 26,000-square feet home; it is reportedly “the largest and finest private residence ever constructed in Hawaiʻi (with the exception of ʻIolani Palace.)”  (NPS)

The entire building is built of shaped bluestone set in concrete and steel reinforced cement, and all the perimeter walls are 2 – 3-feet thick with the exception of the end walls, which are 6-feet thick.  It is constructed entirely of bluestone, concrete, steel, copper, bronze and teak.

Originally, the building was connected to two smaller structures — by a breezeway on the eastern side and by the porte-cochere on the western side (these structures were separated in 1957.)  The property was originally 10-acres, but portions were subdivided and sold in 1945 after the death of Helen Strong Carter. Today, the property includes the original house on a little over 1-acre.   (The home is undergoing restoration.)

A home long gone, but we are repeatedly reminded of it in on-the-air marketing for senior living in Nuʻuanu, is “Craigside.”  This was the home of Theophilus Harris Davies.  Not only was Davies’ firm, Theo H Davies, one of the Hawaiʻi Big Five, he personally served as guardian to Princess Kaʻiulani while she was studying in England (Davies had another home there – “Sundown.”)

Likewise, just up the hill, was the Paty house “Buena Vista;” it’s now gone and part of the Wyllie Street interchange with Pali Highway.  (Look for the parallel palms in the yard of the immediately-makai ‘Community Church of Honolulu.’  They used to line the Paty driveway, with the house off to the left (mauka.)

During the Spanish American War, the military took over Buena Vista and turned it into the Nuʻuanu Valley Military Hospital (also known as “Buena Vista Hospital.”)

Just mauka of Buena Vista (now also part of the Wyllie-Nuʻuanu interchange) was Robert Crichton Wyllie’ “Rosebank.”  Wyllie first worked as acting British Consul. Attracted by Wyllie’s devotion to the affairs of Hawaiʻi, in 1845, King Kamehameha III appointed him the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Kamehameha IV reappointed all the ministers who were in office when Kamehameha III died, including Robert C Wyllie as Minister of Foreign Relations (he was in Hawaiʻi from 1844 until his death in 1865.)  Wyllie served as Minister of Foreign Relations from 1845 until his death in 1865, serving under Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.

Finally, a home of a missionary, Dr. Gerrit Parmele Judd, “Sweet Home” was located at the intersection of Nuʻuanu and Judd.   Judd was in the 3rd company of missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (he was in Hawaiʻi from 1828 until his death in 1873.)  After serving the mission for 15-years, Judd was translator and later Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of the House of Nobles and Privy Council, and Minister of Finance under Kamehameha III.

Wife Laura Judd once noted, “we were supposed to be rich,” but insisted they had never been so poor, being obliged to borrow money to pay for carpenters and masons.  (Scott, Saga)  The house was torn down in 1911 and the property became part of what is now Oʻahu Cemetery.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Attempt at Annexation

“In 1854, the total population of 80,000 comprised 70,000 Kanakas and 10,000 foreigners, the latter of whom were chiefly Americans and subjects of Great Britain.”

The first endeavor for the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States was made in 1854, the second year of President
Pierce’s administration. The time was singularly opportune.”

“The Islands had, during the reign of Liholiho, second of the Kamehameha line of kings, been virtually under protection of the British crown. King Liholiho … died, and was succeeded by Kamehameha III.”

“During his reign, a British admiral took possession of Honolulu, the capital, and forced claim to the kingdom in the name of Great Britain. (1843) … The independence of Hawaii was recognized by the United States and Great Britain, and Kamehameha was maintained as King.”

“President Pierce appointed David L. Gregg of Illinois as American Commissioner in Hawaii, and when he was installed in office, the war between Russia and the allied powers of Europe, led by England and France, was declared.”

“Gregg had become very popular with the Hawaiian court and the native chiefs and nobles. The annexation of the Islands was soon projected.”

“The commerce was chiefly American and British. Of the total shipping more than 500 vessels were American whalers, and about 200, merchant ships. Honolulu, on the island of Oahu; Lahaina, on Maui; Hilo, on Hawaii, and two harbors on Atauai, were the principal ports, the first three particularly for whalers, mostly on the Arctic cruise.”

“The total product of sugar was less than 1,000,000 pounds; of coffee only about 50,000 pounds per annum, grown on Atauai, 100 miles westward of Oahu, which was the main sugar and coffee producing island of the group.”

“Maui produced small crops of wheat and potatoes; Hawaii, merely a few cattle, a little wool and tropical fruits; on Oahu there was barely anything produced. Fish and poi constituted the chief food of the natives.”

“The crown was not by inheritance; the Kings appointed their successors as they chose. Alexander … had been named by King Kamehameha as his successor.”

“The British Consul – General was General Miller, an old British warrior and M. Perrin, the French Consul-General. The Privy Consul was an important body appointed by the King, with the Cabinet ministers, to whom was submitted all questions of a native and foreign nature.”

“The negotiations for annexation to the United States began in the summer of 1854, at Honolulu. The project was vehemently opposed by the English residents who were formidable in numbers and influence, and by nearly all the American merchants and others interested in whaling.”

“As matters stood, the U. S. Consul had control of the American shipping business. He fixed the price of whale oil, settled the disputes of masters and sailors, attended to the discharge and shipping of sailors, etc.”

“Lawyers were not employed in such cases, and costs of courts were escaped. It was simpler, cheaper, more expeditious and satisfactory to merchants and shipmasters, than to be troubled with procedure of the courts of law.”

“Annexation, it was argued, would bring lawyers and costly court proceedings, interfere with the whaling traffic and drive it from the kingdom. Therefore annexation was antagonized.”

“During the fall of 1854, there were in the harbor of Honolulu, awaiting the issue of the negotiations, the American war vessels, Portsmouth, Captain Dornin; the St. Mary, Commander Bailey; and a store ship, Commander Boyle.”

“The US steam ships, Mississippi and Susquehaima, Captains Lee and Buchanan, direct from Commodore Perry’s Japan expedition, also put in there homeward bound. The British frigate Triucomalee, Captain Houston, and the French warship, Eurydice, and another, were likewise in the harbor.”

“Commissioner Gregg vigorously prosecuted his efforts for annexation. He called to his aid several of the native chiefs, John Young, Minister Wyllie, Chief Justice Lee, Mr. Judd, formerly a missionary and Minister of Finance of the Kingdom – the most potential resident of the Islands – and several of the nobles and representatives.”

“The old King was disposed to annexation, but declined to consent to it unless his own appointed successor, Prince Alexander, assented.”

“During 1850, Alexander and his elder brother, Prince Lot, had visited the Atlantic States under the guardianship of Minister Judd, on their way to Europe. They were both of dark complexion.”

“At Pittsburg the two were ejected from a hotel dining room table, on account of their color … Proud and high-spirited, they were enraged at the humiliating affront and bore it in recollection.”

“In 1854, Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was U. S. Senator. He was against the annexation scheme and had written to a prominent missionary in the Islands to warn the King and natives that on annexation they would be considered as negroes, and that the ruling people of the United States held that negroes should be made slaves.”

“The letter bitterly impressed Alexander and Lot and had powerful effect upon many of the native chiefs. But the generous individual annuities offered in the terms of the treaty presented by Commissioner Gregg, had, on the other hand, great weight.”

“During life the King was to receive $50,000 a year; the Queen, $18,000; Prince Alexander, $10,000, and to succeed to the $50,000 on the death of the King; Prince Lot, his father, the Princess Victoria, and John Young and Chief Pakee, each $8,000 a year; other chiefs and prominent government officers, sums varying from $10,000 to $3,000.”

“Late in the fall the brig Zenobia arrived from Petropaulovski with intelligence of the British repulse at that place, and from California came report of the allied reverses in the Crimea, which much depressed the English and French in Honolulu, and disastrously affected their antagonism to annexation.”

“At length, late in November, Alexander expressed his willingness to agree to the treaty of annexation. The King was first to affix his signature, Alexander was to sign in succession, and the Cabinet was then to complete the convention, to await only the ratification of the President and Senate of the United States.”

“The King appointed Tuesday, December 12th, for the signing of the treaty, to be done at the palace. Meantime a commission of the surgeons of the British frigate, and others in Honolulu, had held an official examination of Consul-General Miller and declared him to be of infirm body and unsound mind, owing to advanced age and incurable disability.”

“It proved another favorable incident to annexation, and the matter was finally considered as definitely determined. Only the ceremony of signing the treaty remained.”

“Dr. Rooke, an English surgeon resident in Honolulu, and father of Miss Emma Rooke, the fiancée of Prince Alexander, protested against the annexation in vain. Miss Emma had reluctantly yielded her assent to the treaty, and she was included in the list of annuitants.” (All here is from O’Meara.)

The Annexation Treaty was never finalized, “The signatures were yet wanting; His Majesty more determined and impatient than ever, when he was taken suddenly ill, and died in three weeks (December 15, 1854.)” (Judd)

As Mr Severance truly said, “His partiality to Americans has always been strong, and it will be universally conceded that by his death they have lost a faithful and honorable friend.”

His adopted son and heir, Alexander Liholiho, was immediately proclaimed king, under the title of Kamehameha IV. Soon afterwards he expressed his wish that the negotiations that had been begun with Mr Gregg should be broken off, which was done. (Alexander)

“The hope of annexation had departed on the death of the old King, as it was Alexander’s chief ambition to be an absolute monarch. Soon afterwards he made Emma Rooke his Queen.”

“The dead project of American annexation has never been resuscitated from the United States Government point of vantage.” (O’Meara.)

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Photo_of_Kamehameha_III_(PP-97-7-003)-1853
Photo_of_Kamehameha_III_(PP-97-7-003)-1853

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Capital Punishment

Pā‘ao (ca 1300,) from Kahiki (Tahiti,) is reported to have introduced (or significantly expanded) a religious and political code in old Hawai‘i, collectively called the kapu system.

The kapu system was the common structure, the rule of order, and religious and political code.  This social and political structure gave leaders absolute rule and authority.   This forbid many things and demanded many more, with many infractions being punishable by death.

Shortly after the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) declared an end to the kapu system.  In a dramatic and highly symbolic event, Kamehameha II ate and drank with women, thereby breaking the important eating kapu.

This changed the course of the civilization and ended the kapu system, effectively weakened belief in the power of the gods and the inevitability of divine punishment for those who opposed them.  The end of the kapu system by Liholiho happened before the arrival of the missionaries; it made way for the transformation to Christianity and westernization.

While Liholiho’s brother Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) ruled as monarch (with shared authority with the Kuhina Nui,) he, too, took bold steps in changing the structure of governance.  Kamehameha III initiated and implemented Hawaiʻi’s first constitution (1840) (one of five constitutions governing the Islands – and then, later, governance as part of the United States.)

Included were also published “penal laws,” which outlined classes of offenses and punishments for the same – with the death penalty being allowed for acts of murder.

“Many foreigners had predicted that whenever it became necessary to enforce the Penal Laws this enacted and promulgated, leniency would be shown towards chiefs of high rank.”  (Bennet)

Then, there was enforcement and execution of the new laws on someone of rank, Kamanawa II (his father was High Chief Kepoʻokalani.)

Kamanawa, born during the days of the ancient customs with an unstructured approach to marriage, had found it difficult to live according to the increasingly Christian ways of his peers. When “one-to-one” marriage had been declared the law by royal order, his roving habits were not changed, and whenever he was attracted to a new love he followed his old ways. Kamokuiki (his wife,) adhering to the new faith, had little sympathy with his wanderings and finally went to the chiefs seeking a divorce.  (Gutmanis)

As early as 1825, the chiefs in various districts had issued edicts of law that, following Christian teachings, included prohibitions against adultery and the biblical relief of divorce and the right to remarry given the injured party. And so it was with Kamokuiki whose divorce, dated August 16, 1840, stated: because Kamanawa has repeatedly committed adultery, his wife Kamokuiki has requested a separation.  (Gutmanis)

There is no record of how Kamanawa received the decree, but six weeks later on September 26, 1840 Kamokuiki was dead. Murder being instantly suspected, an autopsy was performed and the stomach found to be “much inflamed while every thing else was in order.”  (Gutmanis)

Kamanawa and his friend Lonopuakau, captain of the Hawaiian vessel Hooikaika, confessed that Kamanawa had administered the fatal dose and that the Captain had prepared the mixture of ʻakia, ʻauhuhu and ʻawa that caused Kamokuiki’s death.

“She survived but three hours, medical assistance being of no avail. As soon as she was dead, which was about midnight, the news immediately spread and a terrible wailing commenced, which was quickly born to the other side of the island. It was so loud, so prolonged and so sudden as to awake at once almost all the residents, and at that hour, as its sepulchral cadences rose and fell, and were lost in the distance, the effect was startling and mournful in the extreme.”   (Hawaiian Gazette, October 12, 1894)

Justice was swift; on September 30, 1840, a jury of 12 chiefs was empaneled to try Kamanawa and Lonopuakau.

On “Wednesday morning a court was held at the Fort, for the trial of Kamanawa and Lono, captain of the schooner Hooikaika, for the murder of Kamokuiki, wife of the former.  Governor Kekūanāoʻa was the presiding Judge, the King and high chiefs being present.”  (The Polynesian, October 3, 1840)

“The court being organized, the trial commenced, when the following facts were developed: The first-mentioned person, it appears, had been divorced from his wife for some time past, but could not marry again while she was living: Having conceived a violent passion for another woman, he determined to rid himself of his wife, and applied to Lono, who was said to be skilled in preparing poisons. Lono also wishing to destroy his wife, the two agreed to poison both”.  (The Polynesian, October 3, 1840)

The jury found the two guilty and sentenced to hang on October 20th.

On the October 24, The Polynesian carried a short item that succinctly summed up the execution of the sentencing: “The murderers Kamanawa and Lonopuakau expiated their crime on the scaffold on Tuesday last, at the Fort in the presence of a large concourse of people.”

The site of the execution was over the gate of Fort Kekuanohu (Fort Honolulu – that once stood at the bottom of Fort Street;) the gallows was erected above the gate, so it could be easily seen for some distance.

After the hanging, either one or both of the bodies were buried at the cross-roads, in accordance with the old English custom of burying executed criminals where they would be out of the way, and the burial places be forever unknown. It is believed that the cross roads selected were at the junction of King and Punchbowl or Queen and Punchbowl streets.

I should note – Kamanawa II was no ‘ordinary’ ranking chief.

He was the grandson of Kameʻeiamoku, one of the ‘royal twins’ (uncles of Kamehameha the Great and his counselors in the wars to unite the Islands.) He was named after his famous grand uncle, the other royal twin.  (The twins are on Hawaiʻi’s Royal Coat of Arms; Kameʻeiamoku is on the right holding a kahili and Kamanawa on the left holding a spear.)

Oh, one more thing … Kamanawa II and Kamokuiki were parents of Caesar Kapaʻakea.  In 1835, Caesar married the High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole; they had several children.

Most notable were a son, who on February 13, 1874 became King Kalākaua, and a daughter, who on January 29, 1891 became Queen Liliʻuokalani (they were grandchildren of Kamanawa II, the first to be charged and hanged under Hawaiʻi’s first modern criminal laws.)

It is said that after Kalākaua came to the throne, he had the body of Kamanawa taken up and the bones removed to Mauna Ala in Nuʻuanu. This is positively stated by the natives.  (Hawaiian Gazette, October 12, 1894)  Kamokuiki was buried at Kawaiahaʻo Church.

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

‘E hoi kaua, he anu.

Let us return; ‘tis cold.’

The following is an account written by Hiram Bingham and his ascent with Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) in 1830 to the ‘frigid apex of Mauna Kea.’  What follows is pulled directly from Bingham’s ‘A Residence of Twenty-One Years in the Sandwich Islands.’

(T)he king set out with a party of more than a hundred, for an excursion further into the heart of the island, and an ascent to the summit of Mauna Kea. To watch over and instruct my young pupil, and to benefit my health, I accompanied him. The excursion occupied nearly five days, though it might have been accomplished much sooner.

Crossing in a southerly direction the plain of Waimea, some on horseback and some on foot, the party ascended a small part of the elevation of the mountain, and being in the afternoon enveloped in dense fog, they halted and encamped for the night.

The next day they passed over the western slope of the mountain to the southern side thence eastward along a nearly level plain, some seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, to a point south of the summit, and encamped out again, in the mild open air.

In the course of this day’s journey, the youthful king on horseback, pursued, ran down, and caught a yearling wild bullock, for amusement and for a luncheon for his attendants. A foreigner lassoed and killed a wild cow.

The next day was occupied chiefly in ascending in a northerly direction, very moderately. Our horses climbed slowly, and by taking a winding and zigzag course, were able, much of the way, to carry a rider. Having gained an elevation of about ten thousand feet, we halted and encamped for the night, in the dreary solitudes of rocks and clouds.

When the night spread her dark, damp mantle over us, we found ourselves in the chilly autumnal atmosphere of the temperate zone of this most stupendous Polynesian mountain. Below us, towards Mauna Loa, was spread out a sea of dense fog, above which the tops of the two mountains appeared like islands.

We found it a pretty cold lodging place. Ice was formed in a small stream of water near us, during the night. As the company were laying themselves down, here and there, upon the mountain side, for sleep, I observed that the king and Keoniani, subsequently premier, and a few others, having found a cave about four feet high, ten wide, and eight deep, made by a projecting rock, which would afford a shelter from a shower, and partially from wind and cold, had stretched themselves out to sleep upon the ground in front of it.

I was amused to see that their heads protruded somewhat more than six feet from the mouth of the cave, and asked, “Why do you not sleep under the rock, which is so good a sleeping house for you?”

Keoniani, always ready, replied, “We don’t know at what time the rock will fall.” Whether the apprehension that the firm rock might possibly fall upon the head of the king that night or their unwillingness that any ignoble foot should walk above it, or some other fancy, were the cause of his declining the shelter, did not appear.

In the morning we proceeded slowly upwards till about noon, when we came to banks of snow, and a pond of water partly covered with ice. In his first contact with a snow bank, the juvenile king seemed highly delighted. He bounded and tumbled on it, grasped and handled and hastily examined pieces of it, then ran and offered a fragment of it in vain to his horse.

He assisted in cutting out blocks of it, which were wrapped up and sent down as curiosities to the regent and other chiefs, at Waimea, some twenty-eight miles distant.

These specimens of snow and ice, like what are found in the colder regions of the earth, excited their interest and gratified their curiosity, and pleased them much; not only by their novelty, but by the evidence thus given of a pleasant remembrance by the youthful king.

After refreshing and amusing ourselves at this cold mountain lake, we proceeded a little west of north, and soon reached the lofty area which is surmounted by the ‘seven pillars’ which wisdom had hewed out and based upon it, or the several terminal peaks near each other, resting on what would otherwise be a somewhat irregular table land, or plain of some twelve miles circumference.

Ere we had reach’d the base of the highest peak, the sun was fast declining and the atmosphere growing cold. The king and nearly all the company declined the attempt to scale the summit, and passing on to the north-west crossed over, not at the highest point, and hastily descended towards Waimea.

John Phelps Kalaaulana, who had been in New England, the only native in the company who seemed inclined to brave the cold and undertake the labor of reaching the top, accompanied me, and we climbed to the summit of the loftiest peak.

The side of it was composed of small fragments of lava, scoria, and gravel lying loose and steep. The feet sank into them at every step. Our progress was slow and difficult, by a zigzag and winding course. Respiration was labored, and the air taken into the lungs seemed to supply less aid or strength than usual.

I repeatedly laid myself down panting to take breath and rest my exhausted muscles. On gaming the lofty apex, our position was an awful solitude, about 14,500 feet above the level of the sea, where no animal or vegetable life was found. No rustling leaf, or chirping bird, or living tenant of the place attracted the eye or ear.

Maui could be distinctly seen at the distance of one hundred miles over the mountains of Kohala. The immense pile of lava, once chiefly fluid, which constitutes the stupendous Mauna Loa, rose in the south-west, at the distance of thirty miles, to a height nearly equal to that of Mauna Kea, where we stood. Very light clouds occasionally appeared above us.

Down towards the sea over Hilo and Hamakua the clouds were dark and heavy, floating below our level, and towards the north, were apparently rolling on the earth to the westward towards Waimea and Kawaihae, while the wind on our summit was in the opposite direction.

As the sun disappeared the cold was pinching. We occasionally cringed under the lee of the summit for a momentary relief from the chilling blast. While taking some trigonometrical observations my fingers were stiffened with the cold, and Phelps repeatedly cried out with emphasis, ‘E hoi kaua, he anu. Let us return; ’tis cold.’

The image is a drawing of Mauna Kea, as seen from Waimea (Harry Wishard.)

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Mauna Kea Wishard
Mauna Kea Wishard

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Haʻalilio

Timothy (Timoteo) Haʻalilio was born in 1808, at Koʻolau, Oʻahu. His parents were of respectable rank, and much esteemed.

His father died while he was quite young, and his widowed mother subsequently married the Governor of Molokai (after his death, she retained the authority of the island, and acted as Governess for the period of some fifteen years.)

At the age of eight years, Haʻalilio moved to Hilo where he was adopted into the family and became one of the playmates of the young prince Kauikeaouli (later, King Kamehameha III.) He travelled around the Islands with the prince and remained one of the most intimate companions and associates of the King.

At the age of about thirteen, he learned to read, and was a pleasant pupil and made great proficiency. There were then no regularly established schools, and, consistent with the wish of Kamehameha III, he was a private pupil of Hiram and Sybil Bingham.

In April or May, 1821, the King and the chiefs gathered in Honolulu and selected teachers to assist Mr. Bingham. James Kahuhu, John ʻĪʻi, Haʻalilio, Prince Kauikeaouli were among those who learned English. (Kamakau)

In addition to English, Haʻalilio learned to read Hawaiian and was taught arithmetic and penmanship, and was soon employed by the King to do his writing – not as an official secretary, but as a clerk.

On June 7, 1826, Haʻalilio married Hannah Hooper (Hana Hopua;) wedding entertainment was served at the house of Kīnaʻu, at which several of the members of the mission were present. (Chamberlain)

In 1831, the Lahainaluna School was founded, and Haʻalilio continued his education there.

During the brief conflict with Captain Cyrille-Pierre-Theodore Laplace and his fifty-two-gun frigate L’Artemise to Hawaiʻi in July, 1839 – where Laplace issued a ‘Manifesto’ “to put an end either by force or by persuasion to the ill-treatment of which the French are the victims at the Sandwich Islands” – Haʻalilio was taken hostage by the French. He was later exchanged for John ʻĪʻi who went on board the L’Artemise.

“The Kings and Chiefs could not fail to see the real value of such a man (Haʻalilio,) and they therefore promoted him to offices to which his birth would not, according to the old system, have entitled him.”

“He was properly the Lieutenant Governor of the Island of Oahu, and regularly acted as Governor during the absence of the incumbent. He was also elected a member of the council of Nobles.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

When the Hawaiian government needed to raise funds, as early as 1842, certain government lands were set aside to produce revenue for government needs.

To support this, a Treasury Board was formed, Haʻalilio severed on the Board with Dr. Gerrit Judd and John ʻĪʻi; they accepted taxes paid into the treasury. (Van Dyke)

King Kamehameha III recognized the need for his kingdom to be recognized internationally and he decided to send abroad a first-class delegation composed of Haʻalilio and William Richards.

Although neither individual was a professionally trained or experienced diplomat, both were men of the highest intelligence and trustworthiness who had the unequivocal backing and confidence of the King.

The importance placed on this diplomatic mission by Kamehameha III was apparent in his choice of Haʻalilio, whose integrity and lofty reputation among native Hawaiians gave enormous respectability and political clout to the monarchy’s latest international endeavor. (Crapol)

Haʻalilio was a man of intelligence, of good judgment, of pleasing manners, and respectable business habits. Few men are more attentive to neatness and order, at home, on shipboard, or in foreign climes, than he; and few public officers possess integrity more trustworthy. (Bingham)

The other half of Kamehameha’s frontline team was William Richards, the American missionary who was the primary architect of the Hawaiian monarchy’s campaign for legitimacy and international acceptance. Prior to this mission, in recognition of talents and service to the Crown, Richards was chosen in 1838 to be the principal counselor to the King and his chiefs. (Crapol)

Haʻalilio had acquired a very full knowledge of the political relations of the country. He was a strenuous advocate for a constitutional and representative government. He was well acquainted with the practical influence of the former system of government, and considered a change necessary to the welfare of the nation. (Richards)

“In the month of April 1842, (Haʻalilio) was appointed a joint Commissioner with Mr. Richards to the Courts of the USA, England and France. (He and Richards sailed from Lāhainā, July 18, 1842, and arrived in Washington on the fifth of December.) …”

“After spending a month at Washington, and having accomplished the main objects of embassy there (and subsequent US recognition of the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom,) he proceeded to the north.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

While on the continent, a newspaper noted a note Haʻalilio passed to a friend: “We are happy that our Christian friends have so much reason to congratulate us on our success in the prosecution of our official business at Washington.”

“May the cause of righteousness and of liberty, and the cause of Christ every where be prospered. (Signed) T. Haalilio, William Richards.” Boston Harbor, Feb. 2. (The Middlebury People’s Press, Vermont, February 15, 1843)

On February 18, 1843, Haʻalilio arrived in London and within six weeks “after accomplishing the object of his embassy to England, he proceeded to France, where he was received in the same manner as in England, and …”

“… succeeded in obtaining from the French Government, not only a recognition of independence, but also a mutual guarantee from England and France that that independence should be respected. (Similar responses were made from Belgium.)” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

While in London, Haʻalilio commissioned the College of Arms in London to prepare the Hawaiʻi Coat of Arms (following his design;) a May 31, 1845 story in the Polynesian newspaper reported that the National Coat of Arms was adopted by the Legislative Assembly.

Haʻalilio was a man of intelligence and judgment, of agreeable manners, and respectable business habits. While employed on his embassy, he read his Hawaiian Bible through twice.

The proofs of his piety appeared in his love for the Scriptures, for secret and social prayer, for the Sabbath, and for the worship of the sanctuary. He was gratified by what he saw of the regard for the Lord’s day in the United States and England, and was shocked in view of its desecration in France and Belgium. (Anderson)

After fifteen months in Europe, he returned to the USA and prepared to return to the Islands.

“On his arrival in the western part of Massachusetts, was attacked by a severe cold, brought on by inclemencies of the weather, followed by a change in the thermometer of about sixty degrees in twenty-four hours. Here was probably laid the foundation of that disease by which his short but eventful life has been so afflictingly closed.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

“On Sabbath evening, just before his death, he said; ‘This is the happiest day of my life. My work is done. I am ready to go.’ Then he prayed; ‘O, my Father, thou hast not granted my desire to see once more the land of my birth, and my friends that dwell there; but I entreat Thee refuse not my petition to see thy kingdom, and my friends who are dwelling with Thee.’” (Anderson)

Timothy Haʻalilio died at sea December 3, 1844 from tuberculosis. He was 36 years old.

“Great hopes had been entertained both among Hawaiians and foreigners, of the good results that would ensue to the kingdom from the addition of its councils of one of so intelligent a mind, stores as it was with the fruits of observant travel, and the advantages derived from long and familiar intercourse in the best circles of Europe and the United States. … (Upon news of his death) every attention affection or sympathy could suggest was afforded the deceased.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

“Let us not forget that Haalilio was permitted to live to accomplish the great objects of his mission, that he had represented his country with honor, and with a dignity which had inspired respect for him abroad both as an individual and as the Representative of (Kamehameha III.) …”

“In his death the nation has ample cause for mourning, and has met with a heavy loss, which time cannot repair.” (The Polynesian, April 12, 1845) (Lots of information from Polynesian, Richards, Chamberlain, Crapol and Kamakau.)

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