Levi Haʻalelea | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byEnoch Wood Perry Jr. | |
| Member of theHouse of Nobles | |
| In office 1853–1862 | |
| Member of thePrivy Council of State | |
| In office April 26, 1852 – July 18, 1855 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1822 Lahaina,Maui,Hawaiian Kingdom |
| Died | October 3, 1864 (aged 41–42) Holani Pa,Honolulu,Oahu,Hawaiian Kingdom |
| Resting place | Kawaiahaʻo Cemetery |
| Spouse(s) | Kekauʻōnohi Amoe Ululani Ena |
| Children | Julia Kamalalehua |
| Parent(s) | Haʻaloʻu and Kipa |
| Alma mater | Lahainaluna School |
| Occupation | Politician |
Levi Haʻalelea (c. 1822 – October 3, 1864) was a high chief and member of the Hawaiian nobility during theHawaiian Kingdom. He initially served as a kahu (royal caretaker) andkonohiki (land agent) for High ChiefLeleiohoku, one of the grandsons ofKamehameha I. He later became abHulumanu (court favorite) in the royal court ofKamehameha III and eventually served as Chamberlain for the court. He marriedKekauʻōnohi, the granddaughter of Kamehameha I. These connections to the ruling dynasty gave him access to vast landholding during the land division of theGreat Mahele in 1848. Active in politics, he was a member of thePrivy Council of State and served in theHouse of Nobles. In later life, he helped the early Mormon missionaries to the islands by leasing them land and eventually converted to that faith.
Born circa 1822 inLahaina,Maui, his father was Haʻaloʻu, the Governor of the island ofMolokai under Prime MinisterKalanimoku, and his mother was Kipa. His maternal half-brother wasTimoteo Haʻalilio, secretary ofKamehameha III and envoy of the Hawaiian Kingdom who led a diplomatic mission to Europe and the United States for international recognition of Hawaii's sovereignty.[1][2]In theHawaiian language, his nameHaʻalelea meantman sacrificed when cutting anʻōhiʻa tree for an image.[3]
Haʻalelea became akahu (caretaker) and cared for High ChiefLeleiohoku along with his maternal uncle Malo. Leleiohoku was the son of Kalanimoku and a grandson ofKamehameha I. He would also serve as Leleiohoku'skonohiki or chief of land (land agent).[4][5]In 1834, he and Leleiohoku attendLahainaluna Seminary, a school ran by theAmerican missionaries who arrived in Hawaii in 1820. Some of his classmates included writerS. N. Haleole, historianSamuel Kamakau and future royal governorGeorge Luther Kapeau.[6] He became a Hulumanu (court favorite) in the royal court ofKamehameha III in the 1830s. In 1837, the members of the Hulumanu divided the king's land on the island of Molokai between themselves and Haʻalelea received lands at Ohia and half theahupuaʻa of Kamananoni.[1][7][8]
Haʻalelea also served as the private secretary and land agent ofKealiʻiahonui, the son of the last independent king of KauaʻiKaumualiʻi, and his wifeKekauʻōnohi, the granddaughter ofKamehameha I and former wife ofKamehameha II, until the former's death in 1849.[9] Around November 1849 (Haʻalelea himself dates this to 1850), he married Kealiʻiahonui's widow Kekauʻōnohi. This marriage elevated him to the status of chief but produced no children before Kekauʻōnohi's death in 1851.[1][10][11] TheGreat Mahele of 1848 reaffirmed him in his personal landholdings at Kamananoni, Molokai.[1] After his marriage, he received additional land from Kekauʻōnohi and became the largest landowner on Molokai. His landholdings on Molokai included the ahupuaʻa of Makanalua, Naiwa in Kalaʻe, the adjoining kona ahupuaʻa of Kapulei, Kumueli, and Wawaia, the ahupuaʻa of Moakea on the far east end of the island and forty-one acres in Pelekunu Valley.[8] He also held lands onOahu, Maui,Lanai and the island ofHawaii.[1]
His only child was a daughter named Julia Kamalalehua or Kamalelehua (1839–1856). She died on February 8, 1856, at her father's residence, of brain congestion, at the age of sixteen and six months.[2][12][13]
On January 21, 1858, he married his second wife Anaderia Amoe Ululani Kapukalakala Ena (1842–1904) at the age of 16. She was the eldest daughter of the chiefess Kaikilanialiiwahineopuna and John Ena (Zane Shang Hsien) ofHilo, a merchant ofChinese descent.[1][14][15]
Haʻalelea was a member of thePrivy Council of State from 1852 to 1855 and served in theHouse of Nobles from 1853 to 1862.[16] He would also serve as Chamberlain of the Royal Court.[17]
Haʻalelea was a staff officer in the retinue of Kamehameha III and later Prince Lot (the futureKamehameha V.[18][19] In the fall of 1860, Haʻalelea accompanied Prince Lot, a youngDavid Kalākaua and Hawaii's Consul for Peru,Josiah C. Spalding, on a two-month tour ofBritish Columbia and California. They sailed from Honolulu aboard the yachtEmma Rooke, on August 29, arriving on September 18 inVictoria, British Columbia where they were received by the local dignitaries of the city.[20] In California, the party visitedSan Francisco,Sacramento,Folsom and other local areas where they were honorably received.[21]
In 1854, Haʻalelea leased his land in the Pālāwai Valley on the island of Lanai to the earlyMormon missionaries who set up a Mormon colony on the island for a period of time. This land was however considered useless, so Haʻalelea may have used it as a chance to get rid of an unwanted piece of property.[22] He would eventually convert to theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1863, he sold the entire ahupuaʻa toWalter Murray Gibson.[23][24]
Haʻalelea died on October 3, 1864, ofaneurism at Holani Pa, his residence on Richards Street inHonolulu.[13][25][26] The two-story coral-house was originally built by Kealiʻiahonui and adjoined with Haimoeipo, the private residence of QueenKalama, a relative of Haʻalelea. In his lifetime, he befriended AmericanconchologistWilliam Harper Pease who kept his shell collections in Haʻalelea's home. After his death, it became known as Haʻalelea Lawn, but the house was later torn down and the land used by the University Club.[27][28]
In 1907, a marble memorial tablet atKawaiahaʻo Church was erected honoring Haʻalilio, Haʻalelea, and his second wife Amoe Ululani, who was a great benefactor of the church. The plaque and another plaque commemorating Ululani's sister Laura Kekuakapuokalani Coney hang above themauka (mountainward) royal pew at Kawaiahaʻo. His brother's Christian name was written as Richard instead of Timothy and Haʻalelea's birth year was inscribed as 1828 instead of 1822. The tablet reads: "In Memory of Levi Haalelea 1828-1864 His wife Ululani A. A. Haalelea 1824-1904 and Richard Haalilio 1808—1844."[29][30][31] A similarly inscribed stone grave marker for Ululani, Haʻalilio and Haʻalelea was erected at the Kawaiahaʻo Cemetery in an enclosure,makai (seaward) of theLunalilo Mausoleum.[32]
An oil portrait of Haʻalelea (above) byEnoch Wood Perry Jr. once hanged atʻIolani Palace in the 1920s.[18][33] It is now in the collections of the Hawaii State Archives.
He was a related by blood to both QueenKalama and her uncle,Charles Kanaʻina. After his death the two would approve administration of his Last Will and Testament as the devisees under the Will.[1]
| Keakealanikane | Kaleiheana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moanakane | Piʻilaniwahine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kapuni-a-Moana | Lono-a-Moana | Kauhi-a-Haki | Iliki-a-Moana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manua a.k.a. Uaua | Moanawahine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kuaina (Haaleleaina) | Ahumaikealake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Malo | Haʻaloʻu (k) | Koeleele (k) | Kipa (w) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Levi Haʻalelea | Timoteo Haʻalilio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
