Kekūanāoa
| Kekūanāoʻa | |
|---|---|
| Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Islands and Governor of Oʻahu | |
 | |
| | |
| Reign | December 21, 1863 – August 24, 1864 |
| Predecessor | Kaʻahumanu IV |
| Successor | position abolished |
| | |
| Reign | 1834–1868 |
| Predecessor | John Adams Kuakini |
| Successor | John Owen Dominis |
| Spouse | Kalehua Pauahi Kīnaʻu Kaloloahilani |
| Issue | |
| Paʻalua Ruth Keʻelikōlani (probable) David Kamehameha Moses Kekūāiwa Lot Kapuāiwa Alexander Liholiho Victoria Kamāmalu | |
| Full name | |
| Mataio (Matthew) Keawenui Kekūanaōʻa | |
| Father | Nāhiʻōleʻa |
| Mother | Inaina |
| Born | c. 1793 |
| Died | November 4, 1868 Honolulu, Oʻahu |
| Burial | December 22, 1868[1] Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum |
| Signature |  |
Mataio Kekūanāoʻa (1793–1868) was descended from the high chiefs of the island of Oʻahu. His name Mataio was the Hawaiian form of Matthew, although the former remain the most common form used to referred to him.
He was born in 1791 or 1793. His mother was Inaina, daughter of Pupuka, an Oʻahu chief who perished with Elani of Ewa in their revolt against Kahekili II. His father was either Nāhiʻōleʻa, an Oʻahu chief descended from Kalehunapaikua, or Kiʻilaweau, the grandson of the Hawaii Island Chief Alapaʻinuiakauaua, the king that had sought to kill the infant Kamehameha at his birth.[2]:146 He was the punahele, or intimate companion of King Kamehameha II in his youth,[3] and followed him to England where the King and Queen Kamāmalu died of measles in 1824. He was able to escape the sickness and return to Hawaii, stabilizing himself in the court by marrying two wives of his late sovereign.
His first marriage to Kalehua lasted from 1822 to 1825, and the product of this marriage was a son named Paʻaula. He married again to Pauahi, the widow of Kamehameha II. Their marriage lasted from 1825 to her death in 1826, and he was probably the father of her daughter Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani. He remarried Elizabeth Kīnaʻu, another Kamehameha II widow, who ruled as the Kuhina Nui at the time under the name Kaʻahumanu II. From her he fathered David Kamehameha, Moses Kekūāiwa, Lot Kapuāiwa, Alexander Liholiho, and Victoria Kamāmalu. His sons Alexander and Lot would become King Kamehameha IV and King Kamehameha V. His daughter would become the fifth Kuhina Nui as Kaʻahumanu IV. The third marriage lasted from 1827 until Kīnaʻu's death in 1839. After 6 years as a widower he remarried again in 1845, to the High Chiefess Kaloloahilani. [4] The marriage resulted in the birth of a son on November 28, 1846.[5]
He was the Royal Governor of Oʻahu 1839–1864.[6] On December 21, 1863 he was made the sixth Kuhina Nui, replacing his daughter who became Crown Princess and heir apparent to the throne. For most of his reign as Kuhina Nui he supported his son Kamehameha V's view of abolishing the position. He held the position until 1864 when the Constitution of 1864 abolished it. He also served as a member of the House of Nobles from 1841–1868, Privy Council 1845–1869, and as President of the Board of Education from 1860.[7] In 1866, Mark Twain praised Mataio Kekūanāoʻa as "a man of noble presence... seemingly natural and fitted to the place as if he had been born to it...."[8]
The Territorial Building in the Hawaii Capital Historic District was named for him.[9]
References
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- ↑ David W. Forbes, ed. (2001). Hawaiian national bibliography, 1780–1900 3. University of Hawaii Press. p. 469. ISBN 0-8248-2503-9.
- ↑ John Papa Īī, Mary Kawena Pukui, Dorothy B. Barrère (1983). Fragments of Hawaiian History (2 ed.). Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 0-910240-31-0.
- ↑ Sophia Cracroft, Lady Franklin, Queen Emma of Hawaii (1958). Alfons L. Korn, ed. The Victorian visitors: an account of the Hawaiian Kingdom, 1861–1866, including the journal letters of Sophia Cracroft: extracts from the journals of Lady Franklin, and diaries and letters of Queen Emma of Hawaii. The University Press of Hawaii. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-87022-421-8.
- ↑ Mataio Kekūanāoʻa Hawaii Department of Accounting and General Services
- ↑ Journal, Amos Starr Cooke, December 1, 1846. Vol. 8, p. 14., Honolulu: Hawaiian Mission Houses Library.
- ↑ "Governor of Oahu". official archives. State of Hawaii. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- ↑ "Kekuanaoa, Mateo office record". official archives. State of Hawaii. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
- ↑ Mark Twain (1872). "LXVII". Roughing It. David Widger.
- ↑ Burl Burlingame (June 27, 2004). "Territorial Office Building is district’s underrated gem". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
| Preceded by John Adams Kuakini |
Royal Governor of Oʻahu 1839–1864 |
Succeeded by John Owen Dominis |
| Preceded by Kaʻahumanu IV |
Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Islands December 21, 1863 – August 24, 1864 |
Succeeded by Position Abolished |