William Pitt Kīnau

John William Pitt Kīnaʻu
House House of Kamehameha
Father William Pitt Leleiohoku I
Mother Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani
Born December 21, 1842(1842-12-21)
Died September 9, 1859(1859-09-09) (aged 16)
Burial Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum

John William Pitt Kīnaʻu (1842–1859) was a prince of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Life

He was born December 21, 1842. His father was High Chief William Pitt Leleiohoku I (1821–1848). His mother was Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani (1826–1883).[1] Through his mother he was Kamehameha I's only great-great grandchild. His mother's parentage has been disputed but she is a member of the House of Kamehameha by mother Kalanipauahi. Through his father he descended from King Kekaulike of Maui.[2] He was grandson Prime Minister Kalanimoku, also known as The Iron Cable of Hawaii. His name "William Pitt" was from his father and grandfather, originally chosen by his grandfather Kalanimoku after Prime Minister William Pitt of England. His Hawaiian name Kīnaʻu was in honor of the Queen Regent, Kīnaʻu, Ruth’s stepmother and childhood guardian. He had a brother who died in infancy.

He entered the Chiefs' Children's School on February 26, 1844 at the age of 2, as its sixteenth and last pupil.[3] He was the youngest with Victoria Kamamalu and Lydia Kamakaeha four year older. He was chosen by Kamehameha III to be eligible for the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was taught in English by American missionaries Amos Starr Cooke and his wife, Juliette Montague Cooke with his royal cousins. During their Sunday procession to church it was customary for boys and girls to walk side by side, John would walk beside Lydia Kamakaeha, the future Queen Liliʻuokalani of Hawaii.[4]

In 1848 the boarding school discontinued. His father died of measles, followed by his classmate and cousin Moses Kekūāiwa. He inherited all his father's property, including Huliheʻe Palace, but died before his 17th birthday on September 9, 1859 in the Kohala district on the island of Hawaiʻi. After the death of her son, Princess Keʻelikōlani kept his lead coffin in her house for weeks, with mourners chanting dirges night and day.[5] He was buried on the grounds of the current Iolani Palace and later remove to the Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ Henry Soszynski. "William Pitt Kinau". web page on "Rootsweb". http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~royalty/hawaii/i11.html#I11. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  2. ^ Christopher Buyers. "Maui Genealogy". Royal Ark web site. http://www.royalark.net/Hawaii/maui.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  3. ^ Amos Starr Cooke, Juliette Montague Cooke (1970) [1937]. Mary Atherton Richards. ed. The Hawaiian Chiefs' Children's School. C. E. Tuttle Company. http://books.google.com/books?id=kHBBAAAAIAAJ. 
  4. ^ Liliʻuokalani (Queen of Hawaii) (July 25, 2007) [1898]. Hawaii's story by Hawaii's queen, Liliuokalani. Lee and Shepard, reprinted by Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-0548222652. http://books.google.com/books?id=QrTCvcy0sE4C. 
  5. ^ "Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani". Biography Hawai‘i: Five Lives; A Series of Public Remembrances. University of Hawaii. http://www.hawaii.edu/biograph/biohi/ruthguide.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-28. 
  6. ^ Samuel P. King, Randall W. Roth (2006). Broken Trust. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 28–29. ISBN 0824830148. http://books.google.com/books?id=nJDoAF0tFcgC. 
  7. ^ "Royal Mausoleum". The Hawaiian Gazette. March 10, 1899. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025121/1899-03-10/ed-1/seq-1/;words=Royal+ROYAL+royal+Mausoleum+mausoleum+MAUSOLEUM. Retrieved June 28, 2010.