Images of Old Hawaiʻi

  • Home
  • About
  • Categories
    • Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance
    • American Protestant Mission
    • Buildings
    • Collections
    • Economy
    • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings
    • General
    • Hawaiian Traditions
    • Other Summaries
    • Mayflower Summaries
    • Mayflower Full Summaries
    • Military
    • Place Names
    • Prominent People
    • Schools
    • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
    • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Collections
  • Contact
  • Follow

September 1, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pa‘upa‘u

Pa‘upa‘u (lit. drudgery (servants were weary of bringing water to bathe the chief’s child)) is a hill above Lahainaluna School on Maui.

As noted in Pukui’s ‘Place Names’ book, “Not many years ago Mary Kawena Pukui found a colleague, Ke=oho=kapu, hard at work.”

“Instead of the banal comment that a haole would make, she asked cryptically, ‘E ku‘o‘i a‘e ana i ke One=o=Luhi?’ (Are [you] limping along the Beach of Weariness?)”

“Ke=oho=kapu, quick as a flash, said resignedly. ‘He pi‘i-na ke-ia i mauna Pa‘u-pa‘u.’ ([I”m) just climbing up Drudgery Hill.)”

“Both were pleased, and as a result of this repartee, the work may have seemed less like drudgery. The core of these sayings is the double meaning – in the place names Luhi ‘weariness’ and Pa‘u-pa‘u ‘drudgery’ a device rarely used in English sayings.” (Pukui, Appendix 8.1)

Sheldon Dibble had a house on the hill … “…Mon. Dec 14. Dined with Mr. Baldwin whose domicile joins that of Mr. Forbes, & is equally pleasantly situated. Mr. B[aldwin] has a wife & 5 children, the eldest a lad of 12 or 13 apparently…”

“Tues Dec 15th 1846. Rose soon after daylight & with Messrs Alexander & Hunt took a delightful ride on horseback along the base of the hills back of the Seminary.”

“We first rode up the hill to the cottage formerly built & occupied by Mr. Dibble situated on the side of the mountain 1500 ft above the sea (900 above Lahainaluna).”

“This residence was doubtless the means of prolonging the life of Mr. D[ibble] while declining of pulmonary consumption. The great objection to the residence is the difficulty of procuring water which has to be brought from a distance up very steep precipices.”

“The hill which rises back of this cottage on the flank of which it stands is called Mt Ball. The top of it is 2100 ft above the ocean…” (Lyman)

Another missionary, Samuel Whitney, also used the house on the hill … he had “taken ill on the island of Kauai, on the 21st of September last (1845). His symptoms, from the first, indicated a disordered liver.”

“After trying a change of air at his summer retreat at Hanapepeluna and employing various remedies, he, with his family, sailed on the 21st of October for Honolulu, where he arrived in three days …”

“From this, however, he partially recovered, and he was induced, by an earnest invitation, to come to Maui, to try the effects of a residence at the cool and elevated retreat of Mount Ball, above Lahainaluna. … When he arrived, he was quite fatigued, and he was ever afterwards confined mostly to his bed.”

“He now rapidly wasted away under the influence of disease, though his friends generally hoped he would soon begin to mend. …” Whitney died December 15, 1845.

Though David Malo did not die at Pa‘upa‘u, he wanted to be (and was) buried there. “He said this land will fall into the possession of foreigners. Land in Lahaina would be valuable.”

“The graveyards, enriched by the remains of the natives, would be coveted, and the contents of the graves scattered abroad. He wished not his bones to be disturbed. Let him be buried on that summit where no white man will ever build his house.” (Honolulu Advertiser, January 7, 1918)

Pu‘u Pa‘upa‘u has a symbol from Malo’s school (he was one of the first students enrolled at Lahainaluna Seminary). A large ‘L’ (standing for Lahainaluna, reportedly put there in 1929) is visible from most parts below.

Today, Lahainaluna students continue to maintain the ‘L’ on Pa‘upa‘u (a 30-foot letter of the natural red of the hill, outlined with white lime) at about the 2,000-foot elevation. (The school’s colors are red and white.)

Twice a year, students in Lahainaluna’s boarding program lug sacks of lime up to the site to outline the red ‘L’ in white. Hash-marks on the long side of the ‘L’ indicate sports championships.

Students also make the trek to pay reverence to David Malo, who died October 21, 1853 and who is buried on its summit. The school has an annual ho‘olaulea, David Malo Day, that pays tribute to Malo.

Pu‘u Pa‘upa‘u is also referred to as Mount Ball. It is not clear why or when it was named such, but references back to the mid-1840s, at least, use that name.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2018 Hoʻokuleana LLC

lahainaluna-L
lahainaluna-L
The L Lahainaluna-MountBall
The L Lahainaluna-MountBall
Lahainaluna High School L
Lahainaluna High School L
Lahainaluna L in need of lime
Lahainaluna L in need of lime
Lahainaluna L-lazarohike
Lahainaluna L-lazarohike
David Malo grave
David Malo grave
Rainbow_over_Lahainaluna
Rainbow_over_Lahainaluna
Lahaina as seen from Lahainaluna (Maui) Miss Thurston, Attributed to possibly be Eliza Thurston (1807-1873)
Lahaina as seen from Lahainaluna (Maui) Miss Thurston, Attributed to possibly be Eliza Thurston (1807-1873)

Filed Under: Place Names, Schools, General Tagged With: Hawaii, Maui, Lahainaluna, David Malo, Lahaina, Puu Paupau, Mt Ball

August 9, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ghosts of the Hilo Hills

One of these legends about Hina and her famous son Maui and her less widely known relates to three small hills back of Hilo toward the mountain, Halai, Opeapea and Puu Honu (not far from the Wailuku river and Rainbow Falls).

Here in a cave under the Rainbow Falls was the home of Hina, the mother of Maui. Other parts of the Pacific sometimes make Hina Maui’s wife, and sometimes a goddess from whom he descended.

Hina had several daughters, four of whose names are given: Hina Ke Ahi, Hina Ke Kai, Hina Mahuia, and Hina Kuluua. Each name marked the peculiar “mana” or divine gift which Hina, the mother, had bestowed upon her daughters.

Hina Ke Ahi meant the Hina who had control of fire. This name is sometimes given to Hina the mother. Hina Ke Kai was the daughter who had power over the sea. She was said to have been in a canoe with her brother Maui when he fished up Cocoanut Island, his line breaking before he could pull it up to the mainland and make it fast.

Hina Kuluua was the mistress over the forces of rain. The winds and the storms were supposed to obey her will. Hina Mahuia is peculiarly a name connected with the legends of the other island groups of the Pacific.

The legend of the Hilo hills pertains especially to Hina Ke Ahi and Hina Kuluua. Hina the mother gave the hill Halai to Hina Ke Ahi and the hill Puu Honu to Hina Kuluua for their families and dependents.

The hills were of rich soil and there was much rain. Therefore, for a long time, the two daughters had plenty of food for themselves and their people, but at last the days were like fire and the sky had no rain in it.

The taro planted on the hillsides died. The bananas and sugar cane and sweet potatoes withered and the fruit on the trees was blasted. The people were faint because of hunger, and the shadow of death was over the land. Hina Ke Ahi pitied her suffering friends and determined to provide food for them.

Slowly her people labored at her command. They went to the banks of the river course, which was only the bed of an ancient lava stream, over which no water was flowing; the famished laborers toiled, gathering and carrying back whatever wood they could find, then up the mountain side to the great koa and ohia forests, gathering their burdens of fuel according to the wishes of their chiefess.

Their sorcerers planted charms along the way and uttered incantations to ward off the danger of failure. The priests offered sacrifices and prayers for the safe and successful return of the burden-bearers. After many days the great quantity of wood desired by the goddess was piled up by the side of the Halai Hill.

Then came the days of digging out the hill and making a great imu or cooking oven and preparing it with stones and wood. Large quantities of wood were thrown into the place. Stones best fitted for retaining heat were gathered and the fires kindled.

When the stones were hot, Hina Ke Ahi directed the people to arrange the imu in its proper order for cooking the materials for a great feast. A place was made for sweet potatoes, another for taro, another for pigs and another for dogs. All the form of preparing the food for cooking was passed through, but no real food was laid on the stones.

Then Hina told them to make a place in the imu for a human sacrifice. Human sacrifices were frequently offered by the Hawaiians even after the days of the coming of Captain Cook. A dead body was supposed to be acceptable to the gods when a chief’s house was built, when a chief’s new canoe was to be made or when temple walls were to be erected or victories celebrated

Therefore it was in quiet despair that the workmen obeyed Hina Ke Ahi and prepared the place for sacrifice. It might mean their own holocaust as an offering to the gods.

At last Hina Ke Ahi bade the laborers cease their work and stand by the side of the oven ready to cover it with the dirt which had been thrown out and piled up by the side. The people stood by, not knowing upon whom, the blow might fall.

But Hina Ke Ahi was “Hina the kind,” and although she stood before them robed in royal majesty and power, still her face was full of pity and love. Her voice melted the hearts of her retainers as she bade them carefully follow her directions.

“O my people. Where are you? Will you obey and do as I command? This imu is my imu. I shall lie down on its bed of burning stones. I shall sleep under its cover. But deeply cover ine or I may perish. Quickly throw the dirt over in), body. Fear not the fire. Watch for three days. A woman will stand by the imu. Obey her will.”

Hina Ke Ahi was very beautiful, and her eyes flashed light like fire as she stepped into the great pit and lay down on the burning stones. A great smoke arose and gathered over the imu. The men toiled rapidly, placing the imu mats over their chiefess and throwing the dirt back into the oven until it was all thoroughly covered and the smoke was quenched.

Then they waited for the strange, mysterious thing which must follow the sacrifice of this divine chiefess.

Halai hill trembled and earthquakes shook the land round about. The great heat of the fire in the imu withered the little life which was still left from the famine.

Meanwhile Hina Ke Ahi was carrying out her plan for securing aid for her people. She could not be injured by the heat for she was a goddess of fire. The waves of heat raged around her as she sank down through the stones of the imu into the underground paths which belonged to the spirit world.

The legend says that Hina made her appearance in the form of a gushing stream of water which would always supply the want of her adherents.

The second day passed. Hina was still journeying underground, but this time she came to the surface as a pool named Moe Waa (canoe sleep) much nearer the sea. The third day came and Hina caused a great spring of sweet water to burst forth from the sea shore in the very path of the ocean surf. This received the name Auauwai.

Here Hina washed away all traces of her journey through the depths. This was the last of the series of earthquakes and the appearance of new water springs. The people waited, feeling that some more wonderful event must follow the remarkable experiences of the three days.

Soon a woman stood by the imu, who commanded the laborers to dig away the dirt and remove the mats. When this was done, the hungry people found a very great abundance of food, enough to supply their want until the food plants should have time to ripen and the days of the famine should be over.

The joy of the people was great when they knew that their chiefess had escaped death and would still dwell among them in comfort. Many were the songs sung and stories told about the great famine and the success of the goddess of fire.

The second sister, Hina Kuluua, the goddess of rain, was always very jealous of her beautiful sister Hina Ke Ahi, and many times sent rain to put out fires which her sister tried to kindle. Hina Ke Ahi could not stand the rain and so fled with her people to a home by the seaside.

Hina Kuluua (or Hina Kuliua) could control rain and storms, but for some reason failed to provide a food supply for her people, and the famine wrought havoc among them.

She thought of the stories told and songs sung about her sister and wished for the same honor for herself. She commanded her people to make a great imu for her in the hill Pun Honu.

She knew that a strange power belonged to her and yet, blinded by jealousy, forgot that rain and fire could not work together. She planned to furnish a great supply of food for her people in the same way in which her sister had worked.

The oven was dug. Stones and wood were collected and the same ghostly array of potatoes, taro, pig and dog prepared as had been done before by her sister.

The kahunas or priests knew that Hina Kuluua was going out of her province in trying to do as her sister had done, but there was no use in attempting to change her plans. jealousy is self-willed and obstinate and no amount of reasoning from her dependents could have any influence over her.

The ordinary incantations were observed, and Hina Kulutia gave the same directions as those her sister had given. The imu was to be well heated. The make-believe food was to be put in and a place left for her body. It was the goddess of rain making ready to lie down on a bed prepared for the goddess of fire.

When all was ready, she lay down on the heated stones and the oven mats were thrown over her and the ghostly provisions. Then the covering of dirt was thrown back upon the mats and heated stones, filling the pit which had been dug. The goddess of rain was left to prepare a feast for her people as the goddess of fire had done for her followers.

Some of the legends have introduced the demi-god Maui into this story. The natives say that Maui came to “burn” or “cook the rain” and that he made the oven very hot, but that the goddess of rain escaped and hung over the hill in the form of a cloud.

At least this is what the people saw-not a cloud of smoke over the imu, but a rain cloud. They waited and watched for such evidences of underground labor as attended the passage of Hina Ke Ahi through the earth from the hill to the sea, but the only strange appearance was the dark rain cloud.

They waited three days and looked for their chiefess to come in the form of a woman. They waited another day and still another and no signs or wonders were manifest.

Meanwhile Maui, changing himself into a white bird, flew up into the sky to catch the ghost of the goddess of rain which had escaped from the burning oven.

Having caught this spirit, he rolled it in some kapa cloth which lie kept for food to be placed in an oven and carried it to a place in the forest on the mountain side where again the attempt was made to “burn the rain,” but a great drop escaped and sped upward into the sky.

Whether this Maui legend has any real connection with the two Hinas and the famine we do not surely know. After five days had passed the retainers decided on their own responsibility to open the imu. No woman had appeared to give them directions.

Nothing but a mysterious rain cloud over the hill. In doubt and fear, the dirt was thrown off and the mats removed. Nothing was found but the ashes of Hina Kuluua.

There was no food for her followers and the goddess had lost all power of appearing as a chiefess. Her bitter and thoughtless jealousy brought destruction upon herself and her people.

The ghosts of Hina Ke Ahi and Hina Kuluua sometimes draw near to the old hills in the form of the fire of flowing lava or clouds of rain while the old men and women tell the story of the Hinas, the sisters of Maui, who were laid upon the burning stones of the imus of a famine. (Westervelt)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2018 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hilo_Hills-Three_Sisters-Puuhono-Opeapea-Halai-Leithead-Todd
Hilo_Hills-Three_Sisters-Puuhono-Opeapea-Halai-Leithead-Todd
Waiakea_USGS_Quadrangle-Waiakea-Hilo-1912-portion-Hilo Hills marked
Waiakea_USGS_Quadrangle-Waiakea-Hilo-1912-portion-Hilo Hills marked

Filed Under: Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Hilo Hills, Ghosts, Halai, Opeapea, Puu Honu, Hina Ke Ahi, Hawaii, Hina Ke Kai, Hawaii Island, Hina Mahuia, Hilo, Hina Kuluua, Maui, Hina

July 31, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Gorham Dummer Gilman

“Somewhere about the year 1848, possibly earlier (actually, 1841,) a young man from Boston landed on the shores of our Islands; he was about eighteen years of age, an entire stranger, coming out to those distant fields of labor to seek his fortune. “

“My adopted father, the chief Pāki, befriended him, gave him the first helping hand which welcomed him to his new country, and rendered him such assistance as was in fact the means of showing to him the opportunity of making his way in the world …” (Lili‘uokalani)

Gorham D Gilman was born in Hallowell, Maine, May 29, 1822. He shipped on a vessel, arriving in Honolulu early in 1841. He found commercial employment, mastered the Hawaiian language, and pursued his career at several locations in the islands. For some years, he was in business at Koloa, Kauai.

Lured by news of the gold strike, by mid-November 1848, he was in San Francisco. There he formed a partnership with Mr Wetmore. But California proved a disappointment; in the spring of 1849 Gilman returned to Hawaii. (Sharpless & Greer)

“(A)s years passed by he established himself in business, and soon became one of the leading merchants of Lāhainā, at that time the port of call in the Islands for the whaleships, ranking second only to Honolulu.”

“It was then the base of supplies to this fleet of vessels, was a thoroughly thrifty place, and a business city of growing commercial importance. But the oil-wells of the land have thrown into neglect the oil-ships of the sea, and since this decline and decay Lahaina is little more than a city of ruins.” (Lili‘uokalani)

This phase of Gilman’s long life lasted until 1861. By then the whaling fleet, on which his prosperity depended, had deserted Lāhainā. (Sharpless & Greer)

“Mr. Gilman probably saw the approaching decline of the industry by which the place was supported; for he broke up his business connections there, sundered certain personal ties, and returned to the East with a very handsome fortune, it is said, the result of the accumulation of years of mercantile life on Hawaiian soil and under Hawaiian laws.” (Lili‘uokalani)

From Honolulu he returned to Boston where he and his brothers, John A and Samuel K Gilman, entered the wholesale drug firm of Gilman Brothers. After making his home at Newton, Massachusetts, in 1865, he became a prominent citizen of that community.

He developed an active interest in politics and served in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature. Gilman retained connections with Hawaii and the West Coast (as late as 1902 he was vice-president of an organization of California pioneers). (Sharpless & Greer)

“Gilman had been earlier in life a conspicuous figure, not only in the drug trade but in civic, Masonic and religious affairs. At various times in his career he was both a representative and a senator in the State legislature, an alderman in his home city of Newton, and Consul-General for New England of the Hawaiian government.” (Bulleting of Pharmacy, 1909)

“In 1887, during my journey with Queen Kapiʻolani, we met Mr. Gilman, who was at that time very kind and attentive to me. To be sure, he had a point to gain; he wanted a decoration from the king, and did not hesitate to say so.”

“On the return of the queen’s party to the Islands, letters were received from Mr. Gilman, directly applying for the honor to my brother. Chiefly by means of my personal influence his petition was granted, and he was made a Knight Companion of the Order of Kalākaua, and the decoration forwarded to him.” (Lili‘uokalani)

“Gorham D. Gilman, Hawai‘i’s good friend at the Hub of the Universe Boston will be honored by the Chamber of Commerce with a testimonial in the form of a laudatory letter, accompanied by some suitable memento of the Islands, in appreciation of his promotion efforts on behalf of Hawaii.”

“For years a resident of Honolulu; and for many, many years, a citizen of Boston, Mr. Gilman has not lost sight of the Islands, and his interest has gone so far that he has kept the progress of the group before the reading public and at great gatherings in the East.” (Recognition of Gilman by Honolulu Chamber of Commerce, PCA, July 16, 1897)

“His library of Hawaiiana was one of the most extensive in the northeastern US; it was supplemented by paintings, photos, and curios.”

“As consul, Gilman rendered great service by giving illustrated (stereopticon) lectures on Hawaii—especially during the critical year of 1893. And the student of Hawaiian history owes him much.”

“Besides the several journals he kept at various times, he produced a number of articles for Thrum’s Hawaiian Annual. These reminiscences add greatly to our knowledge of Honolulu in the 1840s and 1850s. ” (Sharpless & Greer)

“He made the acquaintance of King Kamehameha III, and of four kings who succeeded him, including King Kalākaua, also Queen Kapiʻolani and the present dethroned Queen Liliuokalani.”

“Mr. Gilman received from these various royal personages many decorations and gifts. His mastery of the native language was so easily accomplished that he became very proficient, and his translation of an important United States Government treaty was accepted officially, in preference to that of a man of far greater experience.”

“Mr. Gilman lived widely, tried to do his whole duty, achieved a splendid record, kept at work under a full head of steam until he reached the fine age of 87 years, and has gone to the larger life, a noble alumnus of Mother Earth, well fitted for the career upon which he is now entering.” (The Friend, November 1909) Gilman died at Newton on October 3, 1909.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2018 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Gorham D. Gilman-PCA-July 16, 1908
Gorham D. Gilman-PCA-July 16, 1908
Halekamani; residence of Gorham D. Gilman (formerly the home of Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena); Lāhainā, Maui.
Halekamani; residence of Gorham D. Gilman (formerly the home of Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena); Lāhainā, Maui.
Gilman_Store-Custom_House_and_Meeting_House
Gilman_Store-Custom_House_and_Meeting_House

Filed Under: Economy, General, Prominent People Tagged With: Lahaina, Gorham Gilman, Halekamani, Hawaii, Maui

July 26, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

St Cross Seminary

“A College will shortly be opened for Hawaiian Girls, under the patronage of Her Gracious Majesty Queen Emma. Lady Superintendant, Mrs George Mason. Besides and ordinary English education, instruction will be given in Industrial work.”

“Application for the admission of Boarders and for terms, to be made to Mrs Mason, at the Parsonage, Kukui Street. Also, there will be opened shortly a Collegiate Grammar School, for Young Gentlemen (it started as St Albans, later, Iolani).”

“Instruction will be given in Latin, Greek, Euclid and Algebra, as well as in the usual branches of English education.” (Polynesian, November 8, 1862)

In January 1864, the Female Industrial Seminary was transferred to Lahaina; the Reverend Mother Lydia Sellon arrived in Hawai‘i in late-1864 and took charge of the school. By then, the school had 25-boarders and about 40-day girls; it was renamed St Cross school for girls (St Cross Seminary) (Kanahele).

The school was operated by three religious Sisters of the Society of the Most Holy Trinity, Devonport, England (the Devonport Sisters), the first of the Religious Orders re-founded in the Church of England after the Reformation.

“Lahaina was a great whaling port during the (eighteen) sixties, for as many as eighty or ninety whaleships were at one time anchored in the offing. Sailors crowded the streets of Lahaina, and people came from far and wide to see them.”

“Many even from Molokai were tempted to change their residences to Lahaina, just for the purpose of seeing the crowds of whaling men pass through the streets, and many of the young girls of those days, and many of the married women even, were parted from their parents and from their husbands just for the novelty of being in the company of seafaring men.”

“In 1860 the present Lahaina stone court house was built. It served the dual purposes of both court house and custom house, and the collector of customs did a thriving business during those whaling days. The Queen’s Hospital was started at Honolulu in the same year.”

“The St. Cross Hospital, built in 1865 by the Episcopal Mission, which was also used as an industrial girls’ school, flourished for some years at Lahaina, and the old stone building is still standing …” (Keola; Mid-Pacific Magazine, December 1915)

In 1873 Isabella Bird visited “the industrial training and boarding school for girls, taught and superintended by two English ladies of Miss Sellon’s sisterhood, Sisters Mary Clara and Phoebe”.

“She notes, “I found it buried under the shade of the finest candlenut trees I have yet seen. A rude wooden cross in front is a touching and fitting emblem of the Saviour, for whom these pious women have sacrificed friends, sympathy, and the social intercourse and amenities which are within daily reach of our workers at home.”

“The large house, which is either plastered stone or adobe, contains the dormitories, visitors’ room, and oratory, and three houses at the back; all densely shaded, are used as schoolroom, cook-house, laundry, and refectory.“

“There is a playground under some fine tamarind trees, and an adobe wall encloses, without secluding, the whole. The visitors’ room is about twelve feet by eight feet, very bare, with a deal table and three chairs in it, but it was vacant …”

“… and I crossed to the large, shady, airy, school-room, where I found the senior sister engaged in teaching, while the junior was busy in the cook-house.”

“These ladies in eight years have never left Lahaina. Other people may think it necessary to leave its broiling heat, and seek health and recreation on the mountains, but their work has left them no leisure, and their zeal no desire, for a holiday.”

“A very solid, careful English education is given here, as well as a thorough training in all housewifely arts, and in the more important matters of modest dress and deportment, and propriety in language.
“

“There are thirty-seven boarders, native and half-native, and mixed native and Chinese, between the ages of four and eighteen. They provide their own clothes, beds, and bedding, and I think pay forty dollars a year. The capitation grant from Government
for two years was $2325.”

“Sister Phoebe was my cicerone, and l owe her one of the pleasantest days I have spent on the islands. The elder sister is in middle life, but though fragile-looking, has a pure complexion and a lovely countenance …”

“… the younger is scarcely middle-aged, one of the brightest, bonniest, sweetest-looking women I ever saw, with fun dancing in her eyes and round the corners of her mouth …”

“… yet the regnant expression on both faces was serenity, as though they had attained to ‘the love which looketh kindly, and the wisdom which looketh soberly on all things.’”

“I never saw such a mirthful-looking set of girls. Some were cooking the dinner, some ironing, others reading English aloud; but each occupation seemed a pastime, and whenever they spoke to the Sisters they clung about them as if they were their mothers.”

“I heard them read the Bible and an historical lesson, as well as play on a piano and sing, and they wrote some very difficult passages from dictation without any errors, and in a flowing, legible handwriting that I am disposed to envy.”

“Their accent and intonation were pleasing, and there was a briskness and emulation about their style of answering questions, rarely found in country schools with us, significant of intelligence and good teaching. All but the younger girls spoke English as fluently as Hawaiian.”

“I cannot convey a notion of the blithesomeness and independence of manner of these children. To say that they were free and easy would be wrong; it was rather the manner of very frolicksome daughters to very indulgent mothers or aunts. It was a family manner rather than a school manner, and the rule is obviously one of love.”

“The Sisters are very wise in adapting their discipline to the native character and circumstances. The rigidity which is customary in similar institutions at home would be out of place, as well as fatal here, and would ultimately lead to a rebound of a most injurious description.”

“Strict obedience is of course required, but the rules are few and lenient, and there is no more pressure of discipline than in a well-ordered family.” (Bird)

St. Cross provided the opportunity for the establishment of an enduring educational work for girls by the Society of the Holy Trinity. This venture proving successful, the Sisterhood presently opened a similar school – St. Andrew’s Priory – for which a site on the Cathedral property in Honolulu was granted. (Anglican History)

Despite the dedication of the Sisters and the support of the queen, St Cross was forced to close its doors in 1884 for lack of students. (Kanahele)

It was thereupon proposed that the two Sisters in charge should return to England; but they were so devoted to their task that they begged to be allowed to remain in Honolulu, depending upon such support as they themselves could secure.

Their plea was heeded and they continued in charge of the Priory until the transfer of jurisdiction to the American Church. (Anglican History)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2018 Hoʻokuleana LLC

St Cross Seminary-The Net-1877
St Cross Seminary-The Net-1877

Filed Under: Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Schools Tagged With: Oahu, Maui, Episcopal, Lahaina, Anglican Church, St Cross Seminary, Female Industrial Seminary, Hawaii

July 19, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mother Baldwin

When celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding, “Punahou pauses to pay tribute to its oldest living graduate, Mrs. Henry Perrine Baldwin (Emily Whitney Alexander) of Maui, who observed her 95th birthday in January of (that) year.”

“Mrs. Baldwin’s family has had many associations and connections with Punahou during its hundred years of existence.”

“Her father, the Rev. William Patterson Alexander, was one of the missionaries who signed the resolution passed at the general meeting in 1841 for the founding of the school. He was a trustee of Punahou when it was incorporated in 1853.”

“Mrs. Baldwin, then Emily Whitney Alexander, entered Punahou Preparatory, as the school was first known, in 1857, when she was eleven years old. She attended the school from 1857 to 1864 except for one year, and was graduated in 1864 at the age of eighteen.”

“Upon her graduation, she was appointed to the teaching staff of the school, and taught the subjects of geometry, algebra and American history.”

“At the time of her appointment, her brother, W. D. Alexander, was president of the school. He served as president from 1864 to 1870. and prior to that was acting president in 1859 and 1860.”

“Emily Whitney Alexander left Punahou in 1866, and in 1870 she was married to Henry Perrine Baldwin, at the beginning of his career as Maui’s foremost builder.”

“During the early years of their marriage, and throughout their life together, she was his constant helpmate and inspiration.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin’s first home was at Sunnyside, where the Rev. and Mrs. W. E. Rowan now reside. There their children, Harry A. Baldwin, Mrs. Maud Baldwin Cooke, Frank F. Baldwin, Arthur A. Baldwin. Dr. William D. Baldwin and the late Fred Baldwin, were born.”

“In later years, when they had moved to Haiku to live, they became parents of the late Mrs. Charlotte Baldwin Rice and Samuel A. Baldwin.”

“Before moving to Maluhia in the Makawao district, where Mrs. Baldwin now makes her home, the couple lived at Spreckelsville, where a great deal of Mr. Baldwin’s pioneering in the sugar industry took place.”

“Now known throughout the territory as ‘Mother Baldwin,’ Mrs. Baldwin is beloved by a large circle of friends throughout Hawaii.”

“Her interest in Punahou has continued down the years, and through her financial assistance many students who otherwise would not have been able to attend the school have been able to matriculate there.”

“During her entire lifetime Mrs. Baldwin was devoted herself to civic and community good. Her charities are legion, accomplished quietly and without publicity.”

“To worthy organizations throughout the territory she has been an unstinting friend, and to thousands of individuals she has given help and assistance. Deeply religious, she has been a devoted church woman all her life.”

“It is truly said of her that her life is a benediction, her friendship a blessing to all who know her.” (Maile Stevenson Kearns)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2018 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Emily Alexander Whitney (Baldwin)-14 year old student at Punahou-The Friend

Filed Under: Economy, General, Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings, Prominent People Tagged With: Punahou, HP Baldwin, William P Alexander, William DeWitt Alexander, Emily Whitney Alexander Baldwin, Mother Baldwin, Hawaii, Maui

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • …
  • 37
  • Next Page »

Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Women Warriors
  • Rainbow Plan
  • “Pele’s Grandson”
  • Bahá’í
  • Carriage to Horseless Carriage
  • Fire
  • Ka‘anapali Out Station

Categories

  • Hawaiian Traditions
  • Military
  • Place Names
  • Prominent People
  • Schools
  • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
  • Economy
  • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Mayflower Summaries
  • American Revolution
  • General
  • Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance
  • Buildings
  • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings

Tags

Albatross Al Capone Ane Keohokalole Archibald Campbell Bernice Pauahi Bishop Charles Reed Bishop Downtown Honolulu Eruption Founder's Day George Patton Great Wall of Kuakini Green Sea Turtle Hawaii Hawaii Island Hermes Hilo Holoikauaua Honolulu Isaac Davis James Robinson Kamae Kamaeokalani Kamanawa Kameeiamoku Kamehameha Schools Lalani Village Lava Flow Lelia Byrd Liliuokalani Mao Math Mauna Loa Midway Monk Seal Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Oahu Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Pearl Pualani Mossman Queen Liliuokalani Thomas Jaggar Volcano Waikiki Wake Wisdom

Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Copyright © 2012-2024 Peter T Young, Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

Loading Comments...