Prince Albert | Page 2 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

August 26, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Barony de Princeville

Kauai is the oldest of the eight main Hawaiian islands, and the island consists of one main extinct shield volcano( estimated to be about 5-million years old), as well as numerous younger lava flows (between 3.65-million years to 500,000-years old). The island is characterized by severe weathering. (DLNR)

Historically, the Island was divided into several districts and political units, which in ancient times were subject to various chiefs – sometimes independently, and at other times, in unity with the other districts. These early moku o loko, or districts included Nāpali, Haleleʻa, Koʻolau, Puna and Kona (Buke Mahele, 1848; Maly)

Located along the north coast of Kauai, Haleleʻa today is commonly referred to as the Kauaʻi “north shore”, which today encompasses the communities of Kilauea, Kalihiwai, ‘Anini/Kalihikai, Princeville, Hanalei/Waiʻoli, Wainiha and Haʻena.

Some suggest Hanalei ahupua‘a extended up onto the bluff to the east; others suggest Pupoa appears as the ahupua‘a in this area (between ʻAnini Beach to the east and Hanalei Bay to the west).

In 1831, Richard Charlton, British Consul to the Hawaiian Islands, leased lands between Hanalei and Kalihiwai from Governor Kaikioewa of Kauai to be used as a cattle ranch. Charlton brought in longhorn cattle from “Norte California,” and by 1840 the herd numbered 100 head.

In 1842, British sea captain Godfrey Rhodes (1815-97) and his partner, Frenchman John Bernard, established the first commercial coffee plantation on Kauai at Hanalei, on 150 acres of government-leased land along the banks of the Hanalei River. (Soboleski; TGI)

By 1846, Rhodes’ plantation and Yankee Charles Titcomb’s neighboring plantation had more than 100,000 coffee trees in cultivation. (Soboleski; TGI)

Yet, beginning in the late-1840s, coffee production suffered. Flooding damaged the coffee crop in 1847, workers were lost to the California Gold Rush beginning in 1848, a severe drought struck in 1851 and epidemics killed Native Hawaiian laborers.

By the time the rains finally returned and immigrant Chinese had eased the labor shortage, a blight caused by aphids ruined the coffee crops in Hanalei. (Soboleski; TGI)

In 1845, Charlton sold the ranch to the Dudoit family (later French consular agent). By this time, the number of cattle increased to an impressive 1800 head. The Dudoits salted beef locally to sell to whalers as well as shipped cattle to Honolulu for beef.

In 1855, Robert Crichton Wyllie (a Scottish physician who served as foreign minister under Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V) bought the Rhodes Coffee Plantation, which included 1700 acres in Hanalei.

He continued to acquire land and in 1862 purchased the remaining ranch lands as well as Titcomb’s Hanalei Sugar Plantation. (PrincevilleRanch) Wyllie abandoned the entire coffee planting of Hanalei and planted the land in sugar cane.

By 1860, coffee literally disappeared from Kauai and the decline continued in the other islands in the Kingdom. Sugar took its place. (Goto)

In 1860, Robert Crichton Wyllie, hosted his friends King Kamehameha IV, Queen Emma and their two-year-old son, Prince Albert at his plantation estate for several weeks.

In honor of the child, Wyllie, founder of the plantation, named his estate the “Barony de Princeville,” the City of the Prince (Princeville on Kauai.)

Alexander Liholiho and Emma had hoped to have Albert christened by a bishop of the Church of England. However, the prince became ill. As Albert became sick, and the bishop’s arrival was delayed; he was baptized on August 23, 1862 by Ephraim W. Clark, the American minister of Kawaiahaʻo Church. (Daws)

On the 27th of August, 1862, Prince Albert, the four-year-old son of Alexander Liholiho and Emma died, “leaving his father and mother heartbroken and the native community in desolation”. (Daws)

Albert Spencer Wilcox (1844-1919, son of eighth company of missionaries Abner Wilcox (1808-1869) and Lucy Eliza (Hart) Wilcox (1814-1869) was born in Hilo on Hawai‘i Island and grew up at Waiʻoli in Hanalei, Kauai.

He worked with his brother George Norton Wilcox (1839-1933) in a sugarcane business in Hanalei, before working as the manager of Hanamāʻulu Plantation; for many years (1877-1898) he managed that section of Līhuʻe plantation.

In 1892, Albert purchased an interest in the Princeville Plantation, and by 1899 had complete ownership; he sold the Princeville lands in June of 1916.

Līhuʻe Plantation expanded in 1910 with the purchase of controlling interest in Makee Sugar Company. Expansion again occurred in 1916 when Līhuʻe Plantation and WF Sanborn purchased the 6,000-acre Princeville Plantation.

Today, Princeville is a 2,000-acre resort and residential community along the sea cliffs between ʻAnini Beach to the east and Hanalei Bay to the west.

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The-Prince-of-Hawaii-Albert-Edward-Kauikeaouli-_by_Enoch_Wood_Perry-_Jr.-_1865

July 7, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Sarah Rhodes von Pfister

Sarah Rhodes von Pfister was not only a tutor and governess, but also a trusted mentor and confidante to one of Hawaiʻi’s Queens. Sarah played an important role in her growing up during her adolescence. (Kanahele)

Let’s look back.

Siblings, (the boys) Henry and Godfrey Rhodes, and (the girls) Mary Ann, Annie, Sarah and Sussannah (Mrs Brown, Mrs. Covington, Mrs. von Pfister, and Mrs. Robinson) were children of a prominent officer of the Bank of England.

The von Pfister family came of good stock and was among the early settlers in New York; the brothers were Frank M, Edward H and John R von Pfister. (Brown)

Members of both families came to the Islands. John von Pfister courted and married Sarah Rhodes. They had two children, Ida and Ramsay.

In 1842, George Rhodes and Frenchman John Bernard “obtained a lease from the government for fifty years, on two parcels of land, ninety acres east and sixty acres west of the (Hanalei) river, and there started a coffee plantation.”

“This was a new industry for Kauai, although coffee berries had been brought to Honolulu from Brazil in 1825 on the British frigate Blonde, and a few plants had then been started in Manoa Valley on Oahu.

“Four or five years later the missionaries at Hilo and other planters in Kona on the island of Hawaii had begun to grow coffee around their houses, but it was from the original source in Manoa Valley that the seed and young were obtained for Hanalei.”

In October of 1845, Godfrey Rhodes and John von Pfister formed a partnership. By 1846, the Rhodes and Company Coffee Plantation covered seven hundred and fifty acres, so that the two plantations counted over one hundred thousand trees and “a great part of the valley, at least to the extent of a thousand acres, was under cultivation in coffee at this time.” (Damon)

“In May, 1847, just as the trees were in good condition of full bearing, they had “severe rains for two weeks which did much damage to the valley, flooding the coffee plantations.”

“Masses of rock, trees and earth were loosened and carried by force of water, crushing several hundred trees and doing much other damage.”

“Recovering from this pullback another difficulty was met with the following year by the California gold fever, rendering labor scarcer and dearer.” (Thrum)

John caught the Gold Fever and headed to California.

Placards posted around told the sad news, “Posted around San Francisco was a placard stating that a reward of $5,000 would be paid for the apprehension of Peter Raymond, who murdered John R von Pfister at Sutter’s Mill, or for his head in case he could not be taken alive.” (Grimshaw)

Widowed, Sarah managed to get along by teaching school, which filled a long-felt want in the community. (Brown)

Sarah moved to Honolulu and set up a “select” school for the children of Honolulu’s elite, which was located on Smith and Beretania Streets. (Kanahele)

Smith Street was opposite the old Kaumakapili church, and was named after its pastor, Rev. Lowell Smith. Sarah lived nearby and had a school there. (Unfortunately Sarah’s building burned down, but she was able to get a new school site.) (Brown)

Then came the new special student for Sarah Rhodes von Pfister. At the age of five, the child had entered the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

That school was created by King Kamehameha III; the main goal of the school was to groom the next generation of the highest ranking chief’s children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaii’s Kingdom.

Seven families were eligible under succession laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; Kamehameha III called on seven boys and seven girls to board in the Chief’s Children’s School.

The Chiefs’ Children’s School was unique because for the first time Aliʻi children would be brought together in a group to be taught, ostensibly, about the ways of governance.

Amos Starr Cooke (1810–1871) and Juliette Montague Cooke (1812-1896), missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, were selected by the King to teach the 16-royal children and run the school.

The school closed in 1849; then, when the school closed, Thomas Rooke, hānai father of Emma Naʻea Rooke, hired Sarah Rhodes von Pfister to tutor his daughter for the next four years.

As noted above, Sarah not only taught the young girl, she also became her friend.

On June 19, 1856, Emma married Alexander Liholiho (who a year earlier had assumed the throne as Kamehameha IV) and became Queen Emma.

In March 1853, Robert Crichton Wyllie bought the coffee plantation at Hanalei. In 1860, he hosted his friends King Kamehameha IV, Queen Emma and their two-year-old son, Prince Albert, at his estate for several weeks. In honor of the child, Wyllie named the plantation the “Barony de Princeville”, the City of the Prince (Princeville.)

Members of Queen Emma’s family are interred in the Wyllie Crypt at Mauna Ala: Queen Emma’s mother, Kekelaokalani; her hānai parents, Grace Kamaikui and Dr. Thomas Charles Byde Rooke; her uncles, Bennett Namakeha and Keoni Ana John Young II; her aunt, Jane Lahilahi; and her two cousins, Prince Albert Edward Kunuiakea and Peter Kekuaokalani.

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Princeville_plantation,_Hanalei,_Kauai,_by_M._Dickson-1870

Hanalei Bay, Kauai-River-(HSA)-PPWD-10-6-003-1890

Godfrey Rhodes-TGI

Photograph_of_the_Royal_School,_probably_after_1848

Emma with her parents Grace Kamaikui and Dr. Thomas Charles Byde Rooke-(HSA)-PP-96-3-018-1853

Queen_Emma_Kamehameha_IV

Queen_Emma_and_Kamehameha_IV-between 1856 and 1863

The Prince of Hawaii (Albert Edward Kauikeaouli)_by_Enoch_Wood_Perry,_Jr.,_1865

Christening_cup_of_Prince_Albert_Kamehameha_given_by Queen Victoria of the UK-his godmother

Mauna_Ala-(DMYoung)

Robert_C._Wyllie_tomb_-_Royal_Mausoleum,_Honolulu,_HI

January 29, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Solomon Lehuanui Kalaniomaiheuila Peleioholani

Solomon Lehuanui Kalaniomaiheuila Peleioholani (also called Peleioholani the 4th or Lehuanui, or simply, Peleioholani) (1843-1916) was the son of Peleioholani (uncle to the Kings Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V) and Piikeakaluaonalani (mother.)

His great grandfather was the high chief Keʻeaumoku (father of Kaʻahumanu,) one of the ablest supporters of Kamehameha I.

Keʻeaumoku distinguished himself in the battle of Mokuʻōhai, (a fight between Kamehameha and Kiwalaʻo in July, 1782 in which Kamehameha won and put the island of Hawaiʻi under his control – this led to his ultimate control of all the islands.)

Keʻeaumoku killed Kiwalaʻo in a hand-to-hand combat; however, Keʻeaumoku’s mamo ʻahuʻula (feather cape) was bloodstained in that fight. The cape, named “Eheukani” was later passed down through generations to Peleioholani.

Solomon LK Peleioholani, one of the highest surviving Hawaiian chiefs, was the man who stood before Lunalilo when he was crowned King of the Hawaiian Islands, wearing the famous cape, helmet and necklace, and also stood before Kalākaua at his coronation. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, January 22, 1902)

Unfortunately, “Eheukani” was later lost and presumed destroyed, along with other chiefly regalia and precious possessions belonging to Solomon LK Peleioholani, during the great Chinatown Fire of 1900.

As a boy, Peleioholani was the protégé of Kamehameha IV and his Queen Emma and the companion of their son Prince Albert (“Ka Haku O Hawaiʻi, “The Lord of Hawaiʻi.”)

During the short life of the little Prince, Peleioholani was his playmate, and both were treated with utmost respect by all they met. During this time, Peleioholani lived at the residence of Kekūanāo’a (hānai father of Bernice Pauahi Bishop.) (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, January 22, 1902)

After the Prince’s death, Peleioholani traveled; for five years, he made voyages visiting the South Seas, Japan, Manila and the Indian Ocean. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, January 22, 1902)

One day, a steamer came into port and Peleioholani was given an opportunity to go with her to Australia. He remained there, became a British subject, drilled with the Australians who were to do service for the Queen in Africa, and he went in a transport to the eastern coast of South Africa, arriving there as a sub-officer.

He was a Hawaiian Chief who fought in Africa.

“Destiny seems to have called him to become a soldier as his ancestors were warriors in the service of Kamehameha I. The blood of brave men flowed through his veins and from his infancy he had heard almost daily the tales of the deeds done by his great grandfather”. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, January 22, 1902)

The blacks were on the shore that day, October 22, 1869, when the troops commenced to land. The ships opened fire upon them and attempted to land men in launches. Seven of the latter were disabled.

From one of them Peleioholani was forced to swim back to the ship, carrying nothing but his sword and belt. He obtained another launch and thus from 2 until 5:30 o’clock in the afternoon the landing went on, the troops finally driving the enemy back. (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, January 22, 1902)

When they went to England, Queen Victoria (Prince Albert’s godmother) gave Peleioholani a service medal for bravery on the battlefields of Africa.

The Queen asked is nationality. “I told her I was Hawaiian. I told her my great grandfather had accompanied Kamehameha II to England. I told her Kamehameha V was my King.” (Peleioholani, Pacific Commercial Advertiser, January 22, 1902)

In 1874, he returned to Hawaiʻi and was a well-respected genealogist. For many, Peleioholani was considered an important Hawaiian antiquarian and the final word in Hawaiian genealogy, especially of the chiefs and royal families.

He also wrote of the Hawaiian history. One work, ‘The Ancient History of Hookumu-ka-lani Hookumu-ka-honua,’ was a commentary of the ancient Hawaiian cosmogonies (creation theories.)

One of Peleioholani’s theories in that book notes, “The ancestors of the Hawaiian race came not from the islands the South Pacific – for the immigrants from that direction were late arrivals there – but from the northern direction (welau lani,) that is, from the land of Kalonakikeke, now known as Alaska.”

Peleioholani was a High Chief, and in many ways both the pinnacle and terminus of the old royal blood lines from Maui, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi and Kauaʻi.

His grandparents were among those who sided with Kamehameha I to achieve unity of the islands. His father was an uncle to the Kings Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V and he was himself one of the highest ranking chiefs in the Hawaiian Islands. (kekoolani-org)

Besides being a direct lineal descendant of all the last independent ruling kings, he was also descended from what Hawaiian scholar Mary Pukui called the “chiefs of Pōkano,” chiefs of unblemished bloodline from remote times. (kekoolani-org)

The image shows Solomon LK Peleioholani in 1903 in a holiday pageant costume. (Lots of information here from Pacific Commercial Advertiser, January 22, 1902 and kekoolani-org.)