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May 6, 2022 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Robert Crichton Wyllie

Robert Crichton Wyllie was born October 13, 1798 in an area called Hazelbank in Dunlop parish of East Ayrshire, Scotland. His father was Alexander Wyllie and his mother was Janet Crichton.

He earned a medical diploma by the time he was 20.  In 1844, he arrived in Hawaiʻi and stayed in the Hawaiian Islands for the rest of his life.

Wyllie first worked as acting British Consul. During this time he compiled in-depth reports on the conditions in the islands. Attracted by Wyllie’s devotion to the affairs of Hawaiʻi, on March 26, 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.  Wyllie served as Minister of Foreign Relations from 1845 until his death in 1865, serving under Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.

Within five years after taking the helm of the office he had negotiated treaties with Denmark, England, France and the United States whereby Hawaiʻi’s status as an independent state was agreed.

Wyllie eventually gave up his allegiance to Queen Victoria and became a naturalized Hawaiian subject.

In 1847, Wyllie started collecting documents to form the Archives of Hawaii.  He requested the commander of the fort in Honolulu and all the chiefs to send in any papers they might have.  Two of the oldest documents included the 1790 letter of Captain Simon Metcalf and a letter by Captain George Vancouver dated 1792.

The foundation of the Archives of Hawaiʻi today are based almost entirely upon the vast, voluminous collections of letters and documents prepared and stored away by Wyllie.

Wyllie built a house in Nuʻuanu Valley he called Rosebank. He entertained foreign visitors at the house, and the area today still has several consular buildings.

In his role in foreign affairs, Wyllie was seen as a counter to the American influence.  Wyllie wrote in the early part of 1857, “There are two grand principles that we aspire to; the first is that all nations should agree to respect our independence and consider the Archipelago strictly neutral in all wars that may arise – and the second is, to have one identical Treaty with all nations.”  (Kuykendall)

Of these two principles, the second was auxiliary to the first. Wyllie’s great ambition was to set up some permanent barrier against any possible threat to Hawaii’s national independence. He had a clear idea as to the direction from which danger was most likely to come.  (Kuykendall)

In the latter part of 1857 he wrote, “If we be left to struggle for political life, under our own weakness and inability to keep up an adequate military and naval force, in the natural course of things, the Islands must sooner or later be engulfed into the Great American Union, in which case, in time of war, the United States would be able to sweep the whole Northern Pacific.”  (Kuykendall)

Wyllie, above all other men in Hawaiʻi, succeeded in compelling the powers to maintain an attitude of “hands off”, leaving the kingdom in the list of independent nations.  (Taylor)

In March 1853, he bought a plantation on Hanalei Bay on the north shore of the island of Kauaʻi. 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.)

Originally the land was planted with coffee; eventually it was planted with sugarcane.  Princeville became a ranch in 1895, when missionary son Albert S Wilcox bought the plantation.

A bachelor all his life, Wyllie died October 19, 1865 at the age of 67; Kamehameha V and the chiefs ordered the casket containing his remains be buried at Mauna ʻAla, the Royal Mausoleum, adjacent to those of the sovereigns and chiefs of Hawaiʻi.

Members of Queen Emma’s family are also interred in the crypt with Mr. Wyllie: 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.

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Prominent People Tagged With: Prince Albert, Princeville, Hawaii, Kamehameha V, Kamehameha IV, Mauna Ala, Queen Emma, Kamehameha III, Robert Wyllie, Rooke, Rosebank

February 13, 2018 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Deaths at Hulihee

It became a favorite retreat for members of the Hawaiian royal family.

Huliheʻe Palace was constructed in 1838 by foreign seamen using lava rock, coral, koa and ōhi‘a timbers. It was initially the private residence of John Adams Kuakini (brother of Kaʻahumanu.)

Kuakini oversaw the construction of both Mokuaikaua Church and Hulihe‘e Palace and these landmarks once shared a similar architectural style with exposed stone – both are still standing, across the street from each other in Kailua-Kona.

After Kuakini’s death in 1844, the Palace passed to his adopted son, William Pitt Leleiohoku. Leleiohoku died a few months later, leaving Hulihe‘e to his wife, Princess Ruth Luka Ke‘elikōlani.

Princess Ruth also inherited all of the substantial landholdings of the Kamehameha dynasty from her brother, Lot Kapuāiwa; she became the largest landowner in the islands.

She was godmother to Princess Kaʻiulani. At Kaʻiulani’s baptism, Ruth gifted 10-acres of her land in Waikīkī where Kaʻiulani’s father Archibald Cleghorn built the ʻĀinahau Estate.

Kamehameha IV (Ruth’s half-brother, who had visited Huliheʻe as a student at the Royal School) and Queen Emma particularly enjoyed their time vacationing at Huliheʻe, and visited the palace many times with their son, Prince Albert.

Kamehameha IV signed a lease with Princess Ruth for Huliheʻe at $200 per year, with the agreement that additions and repairs made would be deducted from the rental. (Daughters of Hawaiʻi)

The King and Queen purchased the ahupuaʻa of Waiaha; in 1858 they moved to Kona for a 4-month stay. “On Tuesday afternoon last, at half-past 4 o’clock, their Majesties and Suit embarked on board of the schooner Maria, Capt F. Multeno, for Kona, Hawaiʻi …”

“… where they intend to reside for a few months; the dryness of the atmosphere and the salubrity of the climate in that district being unrivalled in the Pacific, and temptingly inviting as a contrast to the damp and chilly air pouring over Honolulu and vicinity, through the gorge of Nuʻuanu valley during the winter season.”

“Their Majesties were accompanied by the Prince of Hawaiʻi, the Princess Victoria, H. Ex. Gov. Kekuanaoa, Mesdames Rooke, Beckley; Dr. Rooke, Messrs. Hopkins, Webster and Nielson.”

“As the vessel cast off from the wharf, a royal salute was fired from the battery on Punch-bowl bill, and as she passed H. I. M’s ship Eurdice another Royal salute was fired and yards manned.” (Polynesian, September 18, 1858)

That visit was cut short with the untimely death of Queen Emma’s hānai father, Dr Rooke. “Our late townsman TCB Rooke Esq, died of apoplexy (unconsciousness or incapacity resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke,) at Kailua, Hawaiiʻ, on Sunday the 28th Nov. ult, at 1 o’clock pm.”

“He was attacked in the first instance at about 6 o’clock in the morning of the time day, when a messenger was instantly despatched for Dr. Herrick of South Kona, who arrived without loss of time and perceived at once that the patient was beyond recovery, and approved entirely of what had been done previous to his coming.” (Polynesian December 11, 1858)

Thomas Charles Byde Rooke, MD, died November 28, 1858, six months after the Prince of Hawaiʻi was born to Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. (Evening Bulletin, October 7, 1897)

In August 1873, shortly after being elected King, it became apparent that King Lunalilo was ill. At the urging of Princess Ruth and Queen Emma he went to Huliheʻe to recover.

Georges Phillipe Trousseau accompanied the King and stayed with Lunalilo at Huliheʻe Palace, from mid-November to the middle of January 1874. (Though not an official title, Trousseau served as royal physician.)

Lunalilo brought Henry Berger and the Royal Hawaiian Band to the palace throughout Christmas and the New Year to entertain the royalty during the holiday season.

After it became apparent that Lunalilo was not going to recover, and the royal party returned to Honolulu where Lunalilo died on February 3. (Greenwell)

Despite owning Huliheʻe Palace, Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani chose to live in a large hale pili (traditional grass home) on the same oceanfront property.

For a home in Honolulu, she built Keōua Hale, a large, Victorian-style mansion, and the most expansive residence of the time; it was larger than ʻIolani Palace. (It was situated on what is now Central Middle School.)

Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani never lived in the palace. She became ill immediately after the house warming and birthday luau. Her doctors recommended that she return to Huliheʻe, where they believed she would more quickly regain her health.

She received medical attention, but did not recover. On May 24, 1883, Keʻelikōlani died at the age of fifty-seven at Haleʻōlelo, her hale pili. Per her will, Huliheʻe Palace went to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (who died within a year of inheriting the palace.)

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Hulihee_Palace,_before 1884
Hulihee_Palace,_before 1884
Hulihee Palace(left)-Mokuaikaua Church(right)
Hulihee Palace(left)-Mokuaikaua Church(right)
Visit to Hulihee Palace, Kona, Hawaii by Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole (1871-1922) and party-(HSA)-PP-97-1-012
Visit to Hulihee Palace, Kona, Hawaii by Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole (1871-1922) and party-(HSA)-PP-97-1-012
Hulihee_Palace_with_Princess_Ruth_Keelikolani's_grass_house,_ca._1885,_by_C._J._Hedemann
Hulihee_Palace_with_Princess_Ruth_Keelikolani’s_grass_house,_ca._1885,_by_C._J._Hedemann
Princess Keelikōlani's hale pili (grass house) in Kailua, Kona, Hawai‘i. ca 1883_Hulihee_Palace-WC
Princess Keelikōlani’s hale pili (grass house) in Kailua, Kona, Hawai‘i. ca 1883_Hulihee_Palace-WC

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Buildings, Prominent People Tagged With: Hulihee Palace, Queen Emma, Princess Ruth Keelikolani, Rooke, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kona, Lunalilo, Kamehameha IV

July 1, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Antoinette Francesa Marin

Don Francisco de Paula Marin (known to the Hawaiian as “Manini”) was a Spaniard who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.) Manini’s nickname appears to be the closest way that the Hawaiians could pronounce his name.

Marin spoke four languages (he arrived fluent in Spanish, French and English, and learned Hawaiian) and was employed by Kamehameha as Interpreter, Bookkeeper and part time Physician (although he had no formal medical training, he had some basic medical knowledge.) He also served as purchasing agent for the arms that proved decisive to Kamehameha’s victory of the Battle of Nu‘uanu (1795.)

Among his several children, Marin had a daughter, Antoinette Francesa Marin, who was born on October 6, 1832 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

Her father died in 1837 and Antoinette was hānai to Dr Thomas Charles Byde and Grace Kamaikui Rooke; he was one of three physicians in Honolulu in the 1830s. (Santa Cruz Sentinel, December 14, 1941) (Emma, later Queen Emma, was also adopted by the Rookes.)

Antoinette later married Lyman Swan (born on February 26, 1823 at Jefferson County in Watertown, New York,) a partner in Swan & Clifford. “In 1848 (Ornan O Clifford) came to Honolulu and shortly after entered into co-partnership with Lyman Swan in the baking business, at the corner of King and Fort streets.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 28, 1884)

In April of 1853, Antoinette gave birth to the couple’s first child, Olivia (“Lily,”) and the young Swan family appeared to be living a life of prosperity and promise in Honolulu. (Dunn & Stoner)

Thrum notes Swan and Clifford were consignees to the first cargo of ice to the Islands that came from Sitka, per brig “Noble,” in October, 1854.

But as often would be the case with Lyman Swan throughout his life, appearances were often deceiving. Business records for Swan & Clifford indicate that while the chandlery was doing a booming business, income was not keeping up with expenses.

Apparently, unbeknownst to his partner, Swan was forging $40,000 in promissory notes and leaving over $80,000 in unpaid bills. A $5,000 reward was offered for information on his whereabouts. (Anderson)

Clifford declared his innocence. (Dunn & Stoner) Lyman left town and headed for California.

“Swan & Clifford bought and refitted the condemned bark George for whaling and trading … the senior member of the firm taking passage by her, on departure, to evade the impending crisis in their affairs in consequence of his own questionable transactions.”

“In the fall the vessel reported at San Francisco with 500 bbls oil, where Mr Swan remained. The ship on arrival here was seized by the marshal for the assignees and in due time was sold, as she lay”. (Thrum) Lyman was apprehended in Alameda.

All of the forged bills had been executed in Swan’s handwriting. While Hawaiian authorities tried to extradite Swan, he was never to return to the islands. He endured several years of both civil and criminal cases against him in San Francisco (he was found guilty on several, but not all, counts;) it’s uncertain if he was sentenced to any time in prison. (Dunn & Stoner)

Somehow, he managed to bring Antoinette and daughter Lily to California during his court cases, where the family first resided in San Jose. (Dunn & Stoner) Then, the family settled in Santa Cruz in around 1857.

They are considered one of the ‘Pioneers’ of Santa Cruz; Lyman was one of the signatories of the Constitution and Roll of Members of the Society of Pioneers of Santa Cruz County.

Swan returned to his roots and opened a bakery on Pacific Avenue; the Swans were popular and widely respected pillars of the Santa Cruz business community.

The family purchased a large plot of land in downtown Santa Cruz, at what is now the corner of Front and Cathcart Streets, that backed up to the San Lorenzo River. At least two of the Swan sons, Frank and Alfred, then in their twenties, joined in the family business. (Dunn & Stoner)

But the Swan marriage was not a happy one. Lyman Swan’s larceny may have long been hidden from the Santa Cruz community, but he couldn’t hide it from Antoinette, whom he had shamed with his activities in Honolulu.

Antoinette decided to return to the islands for lengthy periods of time and was Queen Kapiʻolani’s Chambermaid for approximately 5-years. (Santa Cruz Sentinel, October 3, 1905) She returned to Santa Cruz.

When Princes David Kawānanakoa (Koa,) Edward Keliʻiahonui and Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, nephews of Queen Kapiʻolani, were schooled at St Matthew’s Hall in San Mateo in 1885, they were placed under the careful eye of Antoinette Swan.

When the Swan home became too crowded, the princes boarded at the nearby Wilkins House, located half a block away, on Pacific and Cathcart streets. (Dunn & Stoner)

The three princes are noted in the first account of surfing anywhere in the Americas: “The young Hawaiian princes were in the water, enjoying it hugely and giving interesting exhibitions of surf-board swimming as practiced in their native islands.” (Santa Cruz Daily Surf, July 20, 1885; Divine)

“Mrs Antoinette Don Paul Marie Swan was courtly in manner, and had a charm in her dealing with people that won many friends.”

“She was a kind neighbor and a devoted mother, loved by her children.” She was clearly a well-liked and widely respected member of the community. (Santa Cruz Daily Surf, October 2, 1905; Dunn & Stoner)

She died on October 1, 1905 at the age of 72 and was buried at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery. (Society of California Pioneers of Santa Cruz County)

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Antoinette_Swan-400
Antoinette_Swan-400
Kalakaua & Kapiolani - Iolani Palace with Col. Charles Hastings Judd (Chamberlain), and Antoinette F. Manini Swan (Chambermaid)-WC
Kalakaua & Kapiolani – Iolani Palace with Col. Charles Hastings Judd (Chamberlain), and Antoinette F. Manini Swan (Chambermaid)-WC
Antoinette-Swan-400
Antoinette-Swan-400
Queen_Kapiolani_on_the_Iolani_Palace_grounds with Antoinette Swan-(PP-97-14-016)
Queen_Kapiolani_on_the_Iolani_Palace_grounds with Antoinette Swan-(PP-97-14-016)
Royal_Bungalow_outside_Iolani_Palace_(PP-11-2-003)
Royal_Bungalow_outside_Iolani_Palace_(PP-11-2-003)
Kalakaua & Kapiolani and others in front of the Bungalow including Antoinette Swan PP-96-13-016
Kalakaua & Kapiolani and others in front of the Bungalow including Antoinette Swan PP-96-13-016
Chest of Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, later Antoinette Swan-PP-37-4-005
Chest of Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, later Antoinette Swan-PP-37-4-005
Chest of Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, later Antoinette Swan-PP-37-4-004
Chest of Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, later Antoinette Swan-PP-37-4-004
Frank Manini to Antoinette Swan-letter (portion)
Frank Manini to Antoinette Swan-letter (portion)

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Prominent People Tagged With: King Kalakaua, Antoinette Swan, Hawaii, Kapiolani, Don Francisco de Paula Marin, Rooke

May 18, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Thomas Charles Byde Rooke

Thomas Charles Byde Rooke was born to Thomas and Sarah Rooke on May 18, 1806, in Bengeo, Hertford, England. He studied to be a Doctor at a branch of Christ’s College Hospital in Hertford and had studied in London where he graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1826.

He first landed in the Islands at Lahaina in 1829. After another season’s cruise his ship put in at Honolulu. Here Dr. Rooke was asked to remain and practice medicine, and, with the consent of his Captain, he agreed.

That year, Rooke married Grace Kamaikui, the second daughter of John Young, Kamehameha’s advisor (and “in his most perfect confidence”.) Grace was widow of Keʻeaumoku (Queen Regent Kaʻahumanu’s younger brother.)

The Rookes were apparently unable to have children of their own; when Grace’s sister, Fanny, had a child, Emma, she was hanai (a traditional custom of adoption) to the Rookes.

Emma’s formal education began at age five at the Chiefs’ Children’s School. She grew up speaking both Hawaiian and English, the latter “with a perfect English accent.”

At age 13, when the school closed in 1849, Rooke hired Sarah Rhodes von Pfister, an English governess, to tutor Emma for the next four years, but he also played an active role in her education. Emma learned a great deal about the outside world from her scholarly father, who assembled the finest library in Honolulu for her benefit.

At 20, on June 19, 1856, Emma married Alexander Liholiho, who a year earlier had assumed the throne as Kamehameha IV; she became Queen Emma. The couple had known each other since childhood.

Dr Rooke was one of the pioneers in the cultivation of coffee and was the charter member of the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society when it was organized in 1850, serving on the coffee committee.

Rooke had his office and dispensary in his home (“Rooke House” on the makai/Waikiki corner of Beretania Street and Nuʻuanu Avenue.) Rooke House was “like an old-fashioned New England house externally, but with two deep verandahs, and the entrance is on the upper one.”

“The lower floor seemed given up to attendants and offices, and a native woman was ironing clothes under a tree. Upstairs, the house is like a tasteful, English country-house, with a pleasant English look … the most English-looking house I have seen since I left home, except Bishopscourt at Melbourne.” (Bird)

He was also physician to the Court, friend and advisor to the royal family, and became a naturalized citizen. In 1844 he is listed as Port Physician, and in December, 1850, he was appointed to the first Board of Health and served as its chairman. Rooke served twice as a member of the House of Representatives, representing the Honolulu district.

He was “elegantly dressed, rubicund, affable, and redolent of delicious odors that I afterwards learned to recognize as indicative of acquaintance with the choicest brands of rare old wine. The cordiality of his manners placed me at ease”. (Lyman)

Dr Rooke was one of the ten Honolulu physicians who were signers of the charter of incorporation of the Hawaiian Medical Society on May 19, 1856.

Rooke also taught Emma by example. Not only did he provide medical care to the poor, he also served as physician at the Hospital for British Seamen, which was established in Pauoa Valley in 1846

Rooke foreshadowed the establishment of The Queen’s Hospital with his pleas in The Polynesian for the establishment of such an institution.

After living in the Islands for nearly 30-years, Dr Rooke died in November 28, 1858, at Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi, at the age of 52. He was buried in the Wyllie tomb, or Wyllie crypt, at Mauna Ala, along with other members of Emma’s family.

Although he did not live to see the opening of the Queen’s Hospital in 1860, it was he who kindled the spark which brought it into being.

“(W)e have lost not only the Senior Member of our Profession here, whose labors among this people and community during his long residence on these islands, have secured for him an enduring place in the memory of the Hawaiian Nation;”

“(B)ut, also, a brother, whose strict sense of professional propriety in his relations to as, as well as to those entrusted to his care, not less than his uniform kindness and urbanity of manners, have won for him our lasting esteem and respect.” (Hawaiian Medical Society; Polynesian, December 16, 1858) (Lots of information here is from Queen’s Medical Center and Kelley)

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Rookes_1853
Rookes_1853
Thomas_Charles_Byde_Rooke,_c._1840s
Thomas_Charles_Byde_Rooke,_c._1840s
GraceYoungRooke
GraceYoungRooke
Queen_Emma_and_Kamehameha_IV
Queen_Emma_and_Kamehameha_IV
Rooke_House
Rooke_House
Old_photograph_of_the_Queen's_Hospital
Old_photograph_of_the_Queen’s_Hospital
HawaiiMedicalAssociation
HawaiiMedicalAssociation
Wyllie Tomb-Thomas_Rooke
Wyllie Tomb-Thomas_Rooke

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Prominent People Tagged With: Queen's Hospital, Chief's Children's School, John Young, Rooke, Keeaumoku, Hawaii, Alexander Liholiho, Queen Emma, Queen's Medical Center

April 25, 2013 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Queen Emma

 

In 1836, Honolulu wasn’t really a city; it was just a large village with only one main street, King Street, and less than 6,000 people – about 500 were white foreigners.

It was a major port for whaling ships, and as one writer put it, one of the most “unattractive” places in the world.

Emma, the future queen, was born “Emma Naea” in Honolulu on January 2, 1836 to Fanny Kekelaokalani Young, daughter of John Young, King Kamehameha I’s counselor, and Kaʻoanaʻeha, Kamehameha’s niece. Her father was high chief George Naea.

As was the custom, she was offered to her mother’s sister, Grace Kamaikui Rooke and her husband, Dr. T.C.B. Rooke as hānai daughter. Unable to have children of their own, the Rookes adopted Emma.

Emma grew up speaking both Hawaiian and English, the latter “with a perfect English accent.” She began formal schooling at age 5 in the Chief’s Children’s School, where she was quick and bright in her studies.

At age 13, Dr. Rooke hired an English governess, Sarah Rhodes von Pfister, to tutor young Emma. He also encouraged reading from his extensive library. As a writer, he influenced Emma’s interest in reading and books.

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.

At the engagement party, accusations were made that Emma’s Caucasian blood made her not fit to be the Hawaiian queen, and her lineage was not suitable enough to be Alexander Liholiho’s bride.

However, the wedding was held as planned however, and the new queen soon became involved in the business of the kingdom, particularly that of saving the Hawaiian people from extinction.

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 since the time of Captain Cook’s arrival to 70,000, with extinction a very real possibility.

The treasury was empty, so the king and his queen undertook the mission of soliciting enough funds to establish a proper hospital in Honolulu. Within a month, their personal campaign had raised $13,530, almost twice their original goal.

To recognize and honor Emma’s efforts, it was decided to call the new hospital “Queen’s.”

The King and Queen rejoiced at the birth of their son, Albert Kauikeaouli Leiopapa a Kamehameha, on May 20, 1858. The entire populace welcomed the new heir to the throne with joy, only to be stricken by utter grief four years later when the little boy died suddenly of “brain fever.”

Just 15 months later, Alexander Liholiho, (Kamehameha IV,) weakened by chronic asthma, died at age 29.  In her grief, Queen Emma took a new name, Kaleleonalani, which means “flight of the heavenly chiefs.”

To ease her pain, Emma dedicated herself to many worthy causes, among which was organizing a hospital auxiliary of women to help with the ill. She also helped found two schools, St. Andrews Priory in Honolulu and St. Cross on Maui. Her work included the development of St. Andrews Cathedral. She journeyed to England where she and her friend, Queen Victoria, raised $30,000 for the construction or the cathedral.

“Queen Emma, or Kaleleonalani, the widowed queen of Kamehameha IV … refined by education and circumstances … is a very pretty, as well as a very graceful woman. She was brought up by Dr. Rooke, an English physician here, and though educated at the American school for the children of chiefs, is very English in her leanings and sympathies, an attached member of the English Church, and an ardent supporter of the “Honolulu Mission.” Socially she is very popular, and her exceeding kindness and benevolence, with her strongly national feeling as an Hawaiian, make her much beloved by the natives.”  (Bird)

When King Lunalilo died in 1874, Emma became a candidate for the throne (the Kingdom had become a constitutional democracy). Lunalilo had wanted her to succeed him, but he failed to make the legal pronouncement before he died.

An election for a new sovereign was held.  Although she campaigned actively, she lost the throne to David Kalākaua.

Politics was not her strong suit — humanitarianism was.  Queen Emma was much loved by the people and hundreds of mele have been composed in her honor.  Her humanitarian efforts set an example for Hawaii’s royal legacy of charitable bequests.

After her death on April 25, 1885 at age 49, she was given a royal funeral and laid to rest in Mauna ʻAla beside her husband and son.

“She was different from any of her contemporaries. Emma is Emma is Emma. There’s no one like her. A devout Christian who chose to be baptized in the Anglican church in adulthood, and a typically Victorian woman who wore widow’s weeds, gardened, drank tea, patronized charities and gave dinner parties, she yet remained quintessentially Hawaiian.”  (Kanahele)

“In a way, she was a harbinger of things to come in terms of Hawaii’s multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society. You have to be impressed with her eclecticism — spiritually, emotionally and physically. She was kind of our first renaissance queen.”  (Kanahele)

Queen Emma left the bulk of her estate, some 13,000 acres of land on the Big Island and in Waikiki on Oahu, in trust for the hospital that honors her.  (Lots of good information here came from Queen’s Hospital)

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© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance Tagged With: John Young, Rooke, Queen Emma Summer Palace, Prince Albert, Hawaii, St. Andrews Cathedral, Honolulu, Kamehameha IV, Alexander Liholiho, Queen Emma, Queen's Medical Center, Queen's Hospital

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.

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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

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