John William Elliott Maikai

John William Elliott Maikai
Member of the Kingdom of Hawaii
House of Representatives
for the island of Oahu
In office
1848, 1850, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856
Member of the Kingdom of Hawaii
House of Nobles
In office
October 3, 1859 – May 27, 1860
Personal details
Born c. 1828
Died May 27, 1860 (aged 32)
Honolulu, Oahu
Alma mater Lahainaluna Seminary
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Kingdom of Hawaii
Service/branch Hawaiian Army
Rank Major, Adjutant General

John William Elliott Maikai (c. 1828 – May 27, 1860) was a lawyer, politician and military officer of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He served as aide to King Kamehameha III and was the Akukana Kenela or Adjutant General of the Hawaiian Army during the reigns of King Kamehameha III and Kamehameha IV.

Life and career

He was the son of a man named Ehu, a recipient of the Great Māhele who owned land in the Mānoa Valley.[1][2] Maikai became part of the early generations of Hawaiian youths educated at the Lahainaluna Seminary on the island of Maui by the American Protestant missionary Lorrin Andrews. He graduated in 1845 with high honors.[3]

He initially went into governmental service as a secretary of Mataio Kekūanāoʻa, the Governor of Oahu. He later became a lawyer and was appointed a district justice, although he continued his law practice and working as a member of the Hawaiian bar.[3][4] American diplomat David L. Gregg, who witnessed one of his cases, noted, "I thought he displayed extraordinary accuteness in the management of the case. His speech to the jury was graceful and apparently eloquent."[5]

He was elected a member of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and sat in the legislative assembly sessions of 1848, 1850, 1853, 1854, 1855, and 1856.[6][7][8] His contemporaries noted, "Maikai was one of the most eloquent and able members of the House of Representatives, and his liberal policy and tact in debate gave him an influence to which few of his compeers attained."[3]

He became an aide-de-camp on the military staff to King Kamehameha III.[9] He was enlisted by Lieutenant Commander Prince Alexander Liholiho, who would later succeed to the throne as King Kamehameha IV, to help re-organize the Hawaiian Army. He initially held the rank of Brevet Captain of Infantry. On August 25, 1854, Prince Alexander Liholiho appointed him as Akukana Kenela, or Adjutant General to the Forces of the Hawaiian Islands to succeed the previous office holder Major Francis Funk.[10][11] He was placed in charge of all military accounts for the kingdom and held this post until his death.[3] He later achieved the rank of Major.[12] One of his protégés during this period was the future King Kalākaua who served as the military secretary to Maikai.[13]

On October 3, 1859, he was appointed as a member of the Privy Council of State, the advisory council to King Kamehameha IV. He was also appointed a life member of the House of Nobles, but only participated in the extraordinary session of 1859 in which Prince Albert Edward Kamehameha was conferred as heir-apparent to the throne. He did not get a chance to sit in the legislative session of 1860.[8][14][15][16]

He died at his home in Honolulu, on May 27, 1860, at the age of thirty-two.[3][17][18] On June 28, 1861, John Owen Dominis was appointed as his successor to the position of Adjutant General.[19][20] His son Samuel Maikai would later served as a lieutenant in the Royal Household Guard, a sub-lieutenant of the Royal Hawaiian Navy, and a military aide during the reign of King Kalākaua.[9][20][21]

References

  1. ↑ Thrum 1890, p. 110
  2. ↑ "Valuable Real Estate At Auction". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu. September 11, 1875. p. 3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Death of Hon. J. W. E. Maikai". The Polynesian. Honolulu. June 2, 1860. p. 2.
  4. ↑ Osorio 2002, p. 267.
  5. ↑ Gregg 1982, p. 70.
  6. ↑ Hawaii & Lydecker 1918, pp. 25, 29, 51, 55, 61, 69.
  7. ↑ Osorio 2002, pp. 104, 109.
  8. 1 2 "Maikai, John William Elliot office record" (PDF). state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Taylor 1922, p. 194.
  10. ↑ Forbes 2001, p. 140.
  11. ↑ "By Authority". The Polynesian. Honolulu. February 11, 1854. p. 3.; "General Order No. 1". The Polynesian. Honolulu. September 2, 1854. p. 3.
  12. ↑ Forbes 2001, p. 198.
  13. ↑ Honolulu Almanac and Directory 1884, p. 75; Poepoe & Brown 1891, p. 8; Zambucka 2002, p. 8
  14. ↑ Hawaii & Lydecker 1918, p. 76.
  15. ↑ "Extraordinary Session of the House of Nobles". The Polynesian. Honolulu. October 8, 1859. p. 2.
  16. ↑ "House of Nobles". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu. May 31, 1860. p. 3.
  17. ↑ "Death of J. W. E. Maikai". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Honolulu. May 31, 1860. p. 2.
  18. ↑ "Ka make o J. W. E. Maikai". Ka Hae Hawaii. 5 (9). Honolulu. May 30, 1860. p. 37.
  19. ↑ "By Authority". The Polynesian. Honolulu. June 29, 1861. p. 3.
  20. 1 2 "Army Commissions office record" (PDF). state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved February 3, 2017.; "Adjutant General – Army Commissions office record" (PDF). state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Navy, Royal Hawaiian – Commissions office record" (PDF). state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved February 3, 2017.

Bibliography

Military offices
Preceded by
Francis Funk		 Adjutant General to the Forces of the Hawaiian Islands
1854–1860 		Succeeded by
John Owen Dominis
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