Peter Kaeo

Peter Young Kaʻeo Kekuaokalani (1836–1880) was a Hawaiian noble and politician of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Life

Peter was born March 4, 1836 at Paloha, Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu.^[1] His mother was Jane Lahilahi, the youngest daughter of John Young Olohana, the advisor to Kamehameha I, and Chiefess Kaʻōanaʻeha.^[2] His father was Joshua Kaʻeo, judge of the Supreme Court of Hawaii, and great-great grandson or great grandson of King Kalaniopuu.^[1][3] He was adopted, according to Hawaiian tradition of hānai by his maternal uncle John Kaleipaihala Young at birth. His uncle was the fourth Kuhina Nui and the Minister of the Interior. He was declared eligible to succeed to the Hawaiian throne by Kamehameha III and attended Chiefs' Children's School because of his descent from Keliʻimaikaʻi, Kamehameha III's uncle. The school was run by Amos Starr Cooke and Julliette Montague Cooke, an American missionary couple.

He served as a member of the House of Nobles 1863–1880, and on the Privy Council of King Kamehameha IV 1863–1864.^[4] He contracted leprosy, now known as the Hansen's disease, which was uncurable at the time. He was exiled to the leper colony at Kalaupapa on the island of Molokaʻi. He arrived on the settlement on the same boat as William P. Ragsdale, landing June 29, 1873. He had the means to maintain a comfortable existence, including two servants, but was aware of the poverty and desperation around him.

During his exile at Kalaupapa, he and his cousin Emma Kaleleonalani, at the time Queen Dowager, exchanged letters revealing their personal lives during this three-year period. In addition, as an account of the affairs of the Hawaiian Kingdom during the same interim, as viewed through the writers’ Hawaiian eyes and as expressed in their own words—a reflection of island politics, dynastic intrigues, interethnic rivalries and animosities, American-Hawaiian diplomatic strains and frustrations during a time of national crisis.^[5] They wrote 122 letters now in Hawaiian historical archives. For example, from Peter Kaeo to Queen Emma, August 11, 1873:

"Deaths occur quite frequently here, almost dayly. Napela (the Mormon elder and assistant supervisor of the Kalaupapa Settlement) last week rode around the Beach to inspect the Lepers and came on to one that had no Pai [taro] for a Week but manage to live on what he could find in his Hut, anything Chewable. His legs were so bad that he cannot walk, and few traverse the spot where His Hut stands, but fortunate enough for him that he had sufficient enough water to last him till aid came and that not too late, or else probably he must have died."^[5]

On November 26, 1880 at the age 44, he died at Honolulu, after being released from Kalawao in 1876.^[6] The Hawaiian Gazette, December 1, 1880 said: The Hon. P. Y. Kaeo died at his residence on Emma Street on Friday night [November 26, 1880]. The funeral took place on Sunday and was largely attended by the retainers and friends of the family. The hearse was surrounded by Kahili-bearers as becomes the dignity of a chief. He was laid to rest at Maemae, the resting place of the chiefs,^[1] rather than at Mauna Ala. His leprosy and later shunning by the rest of the royal community, except for his cousin Emma, may have been the main reason he was denied the honor that the majority of the descendants of John Young and even his bastard half-brother were given.

Family tree

References

External links

• Rootsweb:Peter Young Kaeo