William Fessenden Allen

Last updated May 05, 2019

William Fessenden Allen (1831–1906) was an American businessman in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii.

The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi originated in 1795 with the unification of the independent islands of Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi under one government. In 1810, the whole Hawaiian Islands became unified when Kauaʻi and Niʻihau joined the Kingdom of Hawai‘i voluntarily and without bloodshed or war. Two major dynastic families ruled the kingdom: the House of Kamehameha and the House of Kalākaua.

The Republic of Hawaiʻi was the formal name of the nation of Hawaiʻi between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii ended, and August 12, 1898, when it was annexed by the United States as a territory of the United States. The Territory of Hawaii was formally established as part of the U.S. on June 14, 1900.

Life

William Fessenden Allen was born December 19, 1831 in Bangor, Maine.^[1] His mother was Sarah Elizabeth Fessenden. His father was politician and diplomat Elisha Hunt Allen (1804–1883). After his mother died in 1845, he was brought up by his mother's mother Patty Fessenden in Brattleboro, Vermont, along with his brother and his two sisters.^[2]

Bangor is a city in the U.S. state of Maine, and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 33,039, making it the state's 3rd largest settlement behind Portland (66,882) and Lewiston (36,221).

Elisha Hunt Allen was an American congressman, lawyer and diplomat, and judge and diplomat for the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about 10 miles (16 km) north of the Massachusetts state line, at the confluence of Vermont's West River and the Connecticut. In 2014, Brattleboro's population was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to be 11,765.

Allen attended Williams College from 1848 to 1850.^[3] When his father was appointed Consul to the Kingdom of Hawaii, they sailed to Honolulu and arrived on May 31, 1850. However, the young Allen was attracted to the California Gold Rush and spent two years working in San Francisco. In 1852 he joined his father in Hawaii and worked as bookkeeper in a store selling supplies to whaling ships.^[4] He officially renounced his American citizenship and became naturalized to the Kingdom of Hawaii on June 19, 1860.^[5]

Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was killed in the French and Indian War in 1755. The college was ranked first in 2017 in the U.S. News & World Report's liberal arts ranking for the 15th consecutive year, and first among liberal arts colleges in the 2018 Forbes magazine ranking of America's Top Colleges.

A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the people of the two countries.

Honolulu State capital city in Hawaii, United States

Honolulu is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is an unincorporated part of and the county seat of the City and County of Honolulu along the southeast coast of the island of Oʻahu. The city is the main gateway to Hawaiʻi and a major portal into the United States. The city is also a major hub for international business, military defense, as well as famously being host to a diverse variety of east-west and Pacific culture, cuisine, and traditions.

Allen married Cordelia Church Bishop (1837–1912), the cousin of banker Charles Reed Bishop, in 1865 at San Francisco.^[6] He served as president of the sugarcane plantation in Princeville, Hawaii when his father traveled back to Washington, DC.^[7]

Charles Reed Bishop was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist in Hawaii. Born in Glens Falls, New York, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, and made his home there, marrying into the royal family of the kingdom. He served several monarchs in appointed positions in the kingdom, before its overthrow in 1893 by Americans from the United States and organization as the Territory of Hawaii.

Sugarcane, or sugar cane, are several species of tall perennial true grasses of the genus Saccharum, tribe Andropogoneae, native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea, and used for sugar production. It has stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in the sugar sucrose, which accumulates in the stalk internodes. The plant is two to six metres tall. All sugar cane species can interbreed and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids. Sugarcane belongs to the grass family Poaceae, an economically important seed plant family that includes maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum, and many forage crops.

Sugarcane was introduced to Hawaii by its first inhabitants and was observed by Captain Hegwood upon arrival in the islands in 1841 Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a century. The sugar grown and processed in Hawaii was shipped primarily to the United States and, in smaller quantities, globally. Sugar Cane and Pineapple plantations were the largest employers in Hawaii. Today both are gone, production having moved to other countries.

Government

Allen served as the Collector General of Customs for the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 1, 1864 until September 19, 1884. On March 5, 1867 King Kamehameha V appointed him to his staff with ceremonial rank of Colonel. He was reappointed by King Lunalilo in 1873 and King Kalākaua in 1874. Kalākaua appointed Allen to his Privy Council on January 18, 1879.^[8]

Kamehameha V, born as Lot Kapuāiwa, reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, steadfast or determined; he worked diligently for his people and kingdom and was described as the last great traditional chief. His full Hawaiian name prior to his succession was Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui.

Lunalilo, born William Charles Lunalilo, was the sixth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 8, 1873 until February 3, 1874. Due to his popularity and status as Hawaii's first elected monarch, he became known as "The People's King".

Kalākaua, born David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. Succeeding Lunalilo, he was elected to the vacant throne of Hawaiʻi against Queen Emma. He reigned from February 12, 1874, until his death in San Francisco, California, on January 20, 1891. Kalākaua had a convivial personality and enjoyed entertaining guests with his singing and ukulele playing. At his coronation and his birthday jubilee, the hula that had been banned from public in the kingdom became a celebration of Hawaiian culture.

After the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii Allen was on the Advisory Council of the Provisional Government of Hawaii (serving as chairman in March 1894), and then the Executive Council of the Republic of Hawaii.^[8]

The overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii began on January 17, 1893, with a coup d'état against Queen Liliʻuokalani on the island of Oahu by subjects of the Kingdom of Hawaii, United States citizens, and foreign residents residing in Honolulu. A majority of the insurgents were foreigners. They prevailed upon American minister John L. Stevens to call in the U.S. Marines to protect United States interests, an action that effectively buttressed the rebellion. The revolutionaries established the Republic of Hawaii, but their ultimate goal was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which occurred in 1898.

The Provisional Government of Hawaii, abbreviated "P.G.", was proclaimed after the coup d'état on January 17, 1893, by the 13-member Committee of Safety under the leadership of its chairman Henry E. Cooper and former judge Sanford B. Dole as the designated President of Hawaii. It replaced the Kingdom of Hawaii after the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani as a provisional government until the Republic of Hawaii was established on July 4, 1894.

Allen's health started to fail in 1905 and he died after suffering a stroke February 5, 1906 in Honolulu.^[1]

Family tree

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References

1 2 "Death Carries off an Eminent Citizen". Hawaiian Gazette. February 6, 1906. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
↑ Mary Rogers Cabot, ed. (1921). Annals of Brattleboro, 1681-1895. 1. E. L. Hildreth & Company. p. 523.
↑ Eli Herbert Botsford, ed. (1920). General catalogue of the non-graduates of Williams College. p. 21.
↑ "Col. W. F. Allen After Long Illness Died Last Night". Evening Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. February 5, 1906. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
↑ Hawaiʻi State Archives (2006). "Citizenship and Naturalization records, page 9 Aleana – Ana". Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
↑ Annual report. 61. Hawaiian Mission Children's Society. 1913. pp. 42–43.
↑ Rhoda E. A. Hackler (1982). "Princeville Plantation Papers". Hawaiian Journal of History. Hawaiian Historical Society. 16: 65–85. hdl:10524/630.
1 2 "Allen, William F. office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved November 1, 2010.

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[obit-1] 1 2 "Death Carries off an Eminent Citizen". Hawaiian Gazette. February 6, 1906. Retrieved November 1, 2010.

[2] Mary Rogers Cabot, ed. (1921). Annals of Brattleboro, 1681-1895. 1. E. L. Hildreth & Company. p. 523.

[3] Eli Herbert Botsford, ed. (1920). General catalogue of the non-graduates of Williams College. p. 21.

[obit2-4] "Col. W. F. Allen After Long Illness Died Last Night". Evening Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. February 5, 1906. Retrieved November 1, 2010.

[5] Hawaiʻi State Archives (2006). "Citizenship and Naturalization records, page 9 Aleana – Ana". Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library. Retrieved November 1, 2010.

[6] Annual report. 61. Hawaiian Mission Children's Society. 1913. pp. 42–43.

[princeville-7] Rhoda E. A. Hackler (1982). "Princeville Plantation Papers". Hawaiian Journal of History. Hawaiian Historical Society. 16: 65–85. hdl:10524/630.

[card-8] 1 2 "Allen, William F. office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved November 1, 2010.