Charles Coffin Harris
Encyclopedia
Charles Coffin Harris was a New England
lawyer who became a politician and judge in the Kingdom of Hawaii
who firmly supported the monarchy as an independent nation. After serving in a number of cabinet posts, he became chief justice of the supreme court.
. His father was educator William Coffin Harris (1788–1853) and mother was Mary Johnson.
After studying in his father's school in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
, he enrolled at Harvard in 1837 and graduated in 1841 when only 19 years old.
He taught school for a few years in Portsmouth.
On January 31, 1844 Harris married cousin Harriet Miller Harris, and in 1847 moved to Boston
to teach at the Chauncey Hall School while studying law.
In 1849 he and two brothers Thomas and Abel sailed to join the California Gold Rush
. On a trip to the Hawaiian Islands
to obtain produce to sell in California
, he stayed behind for what he thought would be a short visit. Younger brother Thomas Aston Harris (born 1824) went on to a career in the steamship business, and served in the American Civil War
.
Another younger brother Robert Harris
(1830–1894) became president of the Chicago Burlington Railroad
and then the Northern Pacific Railway
.
Harris decided to settle in Honolulu, and on September 23, 1850 became a naturalized citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii
.
He sent for his wife and young son who arrived in early 1852. Besides his private law practice, he became a police magistrate for minor offenses in 1852.
In 1853, King Kamehameha III
was seriously considering annexation by the US, since the islands had been invaded several times by European powers during his reign.
Harris instead advocated a free trade treaty while keeping Hawaii a sovereign state
.
The young princes were less attracted to American influence, because they were subject to racial discrimination in the US, while treated like royalty in Europe.
In 1861 Harris bought Kahuku Ranch, on Hawaii Island
. It included vast tracts of land of about 300000 acre on the southern slopes of Mauna Loa
.
For a few years the family shipping business produced furniture stuffing called pulu
from a soft fern that grew in Kahuku.
Some time in the 1860s Harris tried to develop an early sugar plantation that is now Kaneohe Ranch
on the east coast of Oahu
with Queen Dowager
Kalama
. The venture was not a success, but he was able to get title to the Kaneohe land as well.
, and was re-elected until 1862.
On August 26, 1862 King Kamehameha IV
(former Prince Alexander) appointed him as Attorney General of Hawaii
, a post effectively vacant since John Ricord
had left in 1847.
On November 30, 1862 Harris officially became a member of the Church of Hawaii
branch of Anglican Church
by new Bishop Thomas Nettleship Staley
, two days after the king and queen.
This further irritated the conservative Americans who were descended from the early missionaries identified with the Congregational Church
.
Harris also was appointed a member of the Privy Council
on December 7, 1863 by King Kamehameha V
, the former Prince Lot. In 1864 he was appointed to the upper House of Nobles in the legislature.
Kamehameha V insisted on a new 1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
, restoring some of the power to the monarchy that had been lost through the years. Harris issued his legal opinion that the king had such a right, and produced an early draft. A constitutional convention failed to reach agreement, so Harris got the cabinet to negotiate directly with Kamehameha V who accepted the result which lasted 23 years.
On December 21, 1865 he was appointed instead as minister of finance for the next four years.
Although he resigned as attorney general, he acted in that capacity until a new one (fellow New Englander Stephen Henry Phillips
) was appointed in September 1866.
Mark Twain
visited the islands in 1866, and published several widely read letters to The Sacramento Union newspaper. Harris was one of Twain's favorite targets of ridicule, describing Harris:
On March 30, 1867 Harris was made an envoy to the US to help negotiate the treaty he had long advocated. He met former Civil War General Edward M. McCook
who was the United States Minister to Hawaii
, in San Francisco. They drew up and signed a treaty on May 21, 1867. The ratification of this treaty by the Hawaii legislature was delayed because the presence of the American warship was seen as a show of force.
Harris in the meanwhile proceeded to Washington, DC where he found the United States Senate
did not have the two-thirds vote needed to ratify the treaty. Harris returned to Honolulu when congress recessed on in July, 1868.
On December 21, 1869, he was shuffled from minister of finance to minister of foreign affairs as Charles de Varigny
returned to France.
With the king's influence, he was an investor with fellow American politician John Mott-Smith
in the first Hawaiian Hotel in 1872. The government issued bonds to finance its construction after Harris bought the land for the site. It was converted to a YMCA
in 1917. In 1926 the building was finally torn down, and it is now the site of the Hawaii State Art Museum
.
On August 25, 1872 Harris was replaced as foreign minister.
On the death of Kamehameha V at the end of 1872 without naming an heir, the constitution specified an election of a new ruler by the legislature.
Harris backed David Kalākaua
, who lost the election.
The new liberal King Lunalilo
had no use for Harris in his cabinet, but died just a year later.
On February 18, 1874 King Kalākaua won the next election and appointed Harris to the supreme court of the Kingdom. In 1875 he was awarded the Royal Order of Kamehameha I
and the Royal Order of Kalākaua decorations.
On February 1, 1877 he became chief justice of the supreme court when Elisha Hunt Allen
resigned as he was sent back to work out details of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
.
.
Her first husband was a son of the namesake company C. Brewer & Co.
Frank worked as tax collector and notary public
on Oahu
,
until he purchased the sugar plantation
at Ōōkala
(later called the Kaiwiki Sugar Company) in 1869.
On May 1, 1879 he married Ella Fessenden Tiffany, daughter of his predecessor Elisha Hunt Allen.
He died in Honolulu on July 2, 1881, leaving a large estate. Although his health had been declining, he worked until the day before his death.
After an official state funeral in Saint Andrew's Cathedral
on July 5, he was buried in Oahu Cemetery
.
Although often remembered outside of Hawaii by Twain's satiric attacks, at his death Harris was honored even by former political opponents such as William Richards Castle
, Alfred S. Hartwell
, and Albert Francis Judd
.
Some historians speculate that Harris was a model for the character from New England
who becomes active in a medieval kingdom in Twain's novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
. However, in Harris' case, he fought to preserve the monarchy, not overthrow it.
Judd, who followed him as chief justice, said:
Kahuku Ranch was bought by Alfred Wellington Carter
as part of Parker Ranch
after the unsustainable harvest of pulu quickly collapsed. In the 1950s part of it became the enormous subdivision called Hawaiian Ocean View Estates
. After becoming part of the Samuel Mills Damon
estate, another large section was sold to expand Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
in 2003, and some remains as a tourist accommodation.
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
lawyer who became a politician and judge in the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
who firmly supported the monarchy as an independent nation. After serving in a number of cabinet posts, he became chief justice of the supreme court.
Early life
Charles Coffin Harris was born June 9, 1822 in Newington, New HampshireNewington, New Hampshire
Newington is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 753 at the 2010 census. It is bounded to the west by Great Bay, northwest by Little Bay and northeast by the Piscataqua River. It is home to Portsmouth International Airport at Pease , and to the New...
. His father was educator William Coffin Harris (1788–1853) and mother was Mary Johnson.
After studying in his father's school in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, he enrolled at Harvard in 1837 and graduated in 1841 when only 19 years old.
He taught school for a few years in Portsmouth.
On January 31, 1844 Harris married cousin Harriet Miller Harris, and in 1847 moved to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to teach at the Chauncey Hall School while studying law.
In 1849 he and two brothers Thomas and Abel sailed to join the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. On a trip to the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
to obtain produce to sell in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, he stayed behind for what he thought would be a short visit. Younger brother Thomas Aston Harris (born 1824) went on to a career in the steamship business, and served in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Another younger brother Robert Harris
Robert Harris (NP)
Robert Harris was a civil engineer and railroad executive who became president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and Northern Pacific Railway.-Life:Robert Harris was born on July 29, 1830, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire...
(1830–1894) became president of the Chicago Burlington Railroad
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
and then the Northern Pacific Railway
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
.
Lawyer in Hawaii
In September 1850 when the Hawaiian Princes Alexander and Lot returned from their trip the United States and Europe, they encouraged Harris to become a lawyer in their kingdom.Harris decided to settle in Honolulu, and on September 23, 1850 became a naturalized citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
.
He sent for his wife and young son who arrived in early 1852. Besides his private law practice, he became a police magistrate for minor offenses in 1852.
In 1853, King Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III was the King of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalao i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.Under his...
was seriously considering annexation by the US, since the islands had been invaded several times by European powers during his reign.
Harris instead advocated a free trade treaty while keeping Hawaii a sovereign state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
.
The young princes were less attracted to American influence, because they were subject to racial discrimination in the US, while treated like royalty in Europe.
In 1861 Harris bought Kahuku Ranch, on Hawaii Island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
. It included vast tracts of land of about 300000 acre on the southern slopes of Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, and the largest on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. It is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately , although its peak is about lower than that...
.
For a few years the family shipping business produced furniture stuffing called pulu
Pulu
Pulu is a silky material obtained from the fibers of the hapuu pulu , a tree fern of Hawaii. It is made of the brown hairs that cover the young fiddlehead as it uncoils.-Ancient Hawaii:...
from a soft fern that grew in Kahuku.
Some time in the 1860s Harris tried to develop an early sugar plantation that is now Kaneohe Ranch
Kaneohe Ranch
Kaneohe Ranch Management Limited manages the real estate owned by the family of Harold K.L. Castle and Alice H. Castle, and their non-profit charitable foundation, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation founded in 1962. The real estate portfolio consists of land holdings on the windward side of Oahu,...
on the east coast of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
with Queen Dowager
Queen Dowager
A queen dowager or dowager queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. In the case of the widow of a deceased emperor, the title of empress dowager is used...
Kalama
Kalama
Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili, Queen Consort of Hawaii was Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Hawaii alongside her husband, Kauikeaouli, who reigned as King Kamehameha III.-Early life:...
. The venture was not a success, but he was able to get title to the Kaneohe land as well.
In the government
In 1854 Harris was elected to the house of representatives of the legislature of the Hawaiian KingdomLegislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom was the bicameral legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term "Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom", and the first to subject the monarch to...
, and was re-elected until 1862.
On August 26, 1862 King Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV, born Alexander Iolani Liholiho Keawenui , reigned as the fourth king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 11, 1855 to November 30, 1863.-Early life:...
(former Prince Alexander) appointed him as Attorney General of Hawaii
Attorney General of Hawaii
The Attorney General of Hawaii is the chief legal and law enforcement officer of Hawaii. In present-day statehood within the United States, he or she is appointed by the elected governor with the approval of the state senate and is responsible for a state department charged with advising the...
, a post effectively vacant since John Ricord
John Ricord
John Ricord whose birth name was probably Jean Baptiste Ricord-Madianna II, was a lawyer and world traveler. He was involved in cases in Texas, Oregon, Hawaii, and California.-Life:...
had left in 1847.
On November 30, 1862 Harris officially became a member of the Church of Hawaii
Church of Hawaii
The Church of Hawaii, originally called the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church, was the national church of the Kingdom of Hawaii and a member of the Anglican Communion from 1862 to 1893.-History:...
branch of Anglican Church
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
by new Bishop Thomas Nettleship Staley
Thomas Nettleship Staley
Thomas Nettleship Staley was a British bishop of the Church of England and the first Anglican bishop of the Church of Hawaii.-Life:Thomas Nettleship Staley was born 17 January 1823 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England...
, two days after the king and queen.
This further irritated the conservative Americans who were descended from the early missionaries identified with the Congregational Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
.
Harris also was appointed a member of the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
on December 7, 1863 by King Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V
aloghaKamehameha V , born as Lot Kapuāiwa, reigned as monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipa`a": immovable, firm, steadfast or determined; he worked diligently for his people and kingdom and was described as the last great traditional chief...
, the former Prince Lot. In 1864 he was appointed to the upper House of Nobles in the legislature.
Kamehameha V insisted on a new 1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
The Constitution of 1864 of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a rewrite of the 1852 constitution issued by King Kamehameha III. It dramatically changed the way Hawaii's government worked by increasing the power of the king and changing the way the kingdom's legislature worked...
, restoring some of the power to the monarchy that had been lost through the years. Harris issued his legal opinion that the king had such a right, and produced an early draft. A constitutional convention failed to reach agreement, so Harris got the cabinet to negotiate directly with Kamehameha V who accepted the result which lasted 23 years.
On December 21, 1865 he was appointed instead as minister of finance for the next four years.
Although he resigned as attorney general, he acted in that capacity until a new one (fellow New Englander Stephen Henry Phillips
Stephen Henry Phillips
Stephen Henry Phillips was an American lawyer who served as the Attorney General of Massachusetts and the Kingdom of Hawaii and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and on King Kamehameha V's Privy Council.-Early life:...
) was appointed in September 1866.
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
visited the islands in 1866, and published several widely read letters to The Sacramento Union newspaper. Harris was one of Twain's favorite targets of ridicule, describing Harris:
His oratory is all show and pretense; he makes considerable noise and a great to do, and impresses his profoundest incoherencies with an impressive solemnity and ponderous windmill gesticulations with his flails.
On March 30, 1867 Harris was made an envoy to the US to help negotiate the treaty he had long advocated. He met former Civil War General Edward M. McCook
Edward M. McCook
Edward Moody McCook was a lawyer, politician, distinguished Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, American diplomat, and Governor of the Territory of Colorado. He was a member of the famed "Fighting McCook" family of Ohio...
who was the United States Minister to Hawaii
United States Minister to Hawaii
The Minister to Hawaii was an office of the United States Department of State to the Kingdom of Hawaii during the period of 1810 to 1898. Appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of Congress, the Minister to Hawaii was equivalent in rank to the present-day ambassador of the...
, in San Francisco. They drew up and signed a treaty on May 21, 1867. The ratification of this treaty by the Hawaii legislature was delayed because the presence of the American warship was seen as a show of force.
Harris in the meanwhile proceeded to Washington, DC where he found the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
did not have the two-thirds vote needed to ratify the treaty. Harris returned to Honolulu when congress recessed on in July, 1868.
On December 21, 1869, he was shuffled from minister of finance to minister of foreign affairs as Charles de Varigny
Charles de Varigny
Charles Victor Crosnier de Varigny was a French adventurer, diplomat, and writer.He was born November 25, 1829 in Versailles.He was educated at Lycée Bourbon. He came with his father to the California Gold Rush...
returned to France.
With the king's influence, he was an investor with fellow American politician John Mott-Smith
John Mott-Smith
John Mott-Smith was the first dentist to set up a permanent practice in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was also a politician, newspaper editor, and diplomat.-Life:John Mott-Smith was born in New York City November 13, 1824,...
in the first Hawaiian Hotel in 1872. The government issued bonds to finance its construction after Harris bought the land for the site. It was converted to a YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
in 1917. In 1926 the building was finally torn down, and it is now the site of the Hawaii State Art Museum
Hawaii State Art Museum
The No. 1 Capitol District Building, on the site of the former Armed Services YMCA Building, now houses the Hawaii State Art Museum and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.-History:...
.
On August 25, 1872 Harris was replaced as foreign minister.
On the death of Kamehameha V at the end of 1872 without naming an heir, the constitution specified an election of a new ruler by the legislature.
Harris backed David Kalākaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
, who lost the election.
The new liberal King Lunalilo
Lunalilo
Lunalilo, born William Charles Lunalilo , was king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 8, 1873 until February 3, 1874...
had no use for Harris in his cabinet, but died just a year later.
On February 18, 1874 King Kalākaua won the next election and appointed Harris to the supreme court of the Kingdom. In 1875 he was awarded the Royal Order of Kamehameha I
Royal Order of Kamehameha I (decoration)
The Royal Order of Kamehameha I was founded on 11 April 1865 by King Kamehameha V in memory of his grandfather King Kamehameha I and in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Kingdom of Hawaii. This Order was granted to both native Hawaiians and foreigners for distinguished...
and the Royal Order of Kalākaua decorations.
On February 1, 1877 he became chief justice of the supreme court when Elisha Hunt Allen
Elisha Hunt Allen
Elisha Hunt Allen was an American congressman, lawyer, diplomat, and judge and diplomat for the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:Elisha Hunt Allen was born January 28, 1804 in New Salem, Massachusetts. His father was Massachusetts minister, lawyer, and politician Samuel Clesson Allen and mother was Mary...
resigned as he was sent back to work out details of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
The Treaty of reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom was a free trade agreement signed and ratified in 1875 that is generally known as the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875....
.
Death and legacy
His first wife died in March 1870; they had a son Frank Hervey Harris (1845–1875) and a daughter Nannie Roberta Harris, who married John Dominis Brewer (1845–1879) in 1872 and after his death, David Rice of BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
Her first husband was a son of the namesake company C. Brewer & Co.
C. Brewer & Co.
C. Brewer & Co., Ltd. was a Honolulu-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company did most of its business in agriculture....
Frank worked as tax collector and notary public
Notary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
on Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
,
until he purchased the sugar plantation
Sugar plantations in Hawaii
Sugarcane was introduced to Hawaii by its first inhabitants in approximately 600 AD and was observed by Captain Cook upon arrival in the islands in 1778. Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a...
at Ōōkala
'O'okala, Hawaii
Ōōkala is an unincorporated community on the island of Hawaii in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It lies along Hawaii Route 19 north of Hilo, the county seat of Hawaii County. Its elevation is 371 feet , and it is located at...
(later called the Kaiwiki Sugar Company) in 1869.
On May 1, 1879 he married Ella Fessenden Tiffany, daughter of his predecessor Elisha Hunt Allen.
He died in Honolulu on July 2, 1881, leaving a large estate. Although his health had been declining, he worked until the day before his death.
After an official state funeral in Saint Andrew's Cathedral
Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, Honolulu
The Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, also commonly known as St. Andrew's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church in the United States located in the State of Hawaii...
on July 5, he was buried in Oahu Cemetery
Oahu Cemetery
The Oahu Cemetery is the resting place of many notable early residents of the Honolulu area. They range from missionaries and politicians to sports pioneers and philosophers. Over time it was expanded to become an area known as the Nuuanu Cemetery....
.
Although often remembered outside of Hawaii by Twain's satiric attacks, at his death Harris was honored even by former political opponents such as William Richards Castle
William Richards Castle
William Richards Castle was a lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii.-Family:William Richards Castle was born in Honolulu March 19, 1849. His father was Samuel Northrup Castle , and mother was Mary Tenney . He was a namesake of William Richards who drafted the first...
, Alfred S. Hartwell
Alfred S. Hartwell
Alfred Stedman Hartwell was a lawyer and American Civil War soldier, who then had another career as cabinet minister and judge in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:Alfred Stedman Hartwell was born June 11, 1836 in South Natick, Massachusetts...
, and Albert Francis Judd
Albert Francis Judd
Albert Francis Judd was a judge of the Kingdom of Hawaii who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court through its transition into part of the United States.-Life:...
.
Some historians speculate that Harris was a model for the character from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
who becomes active in a medieval kingdom in Twain's novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled A Yankee in King Arthur's Court...
. However, in Harris' case, he fought to preserve the monarchy, not overthrow it.
Judd, who followed him as chief justice, said:
Much of what had been distrusted during the trying days of the Constitutional Convention of 1864, time has proved were plans laid more wisely than the actors knew, for the strengthening and centralizing of the authority of this Government, so essential to the security of life, liberty, and prosperity of this land.
Kahuku Ranch was bought by Alfred Wellington Carter
Alfred Wellington Carter
Alfred Wellington Carter was a lawyer and judge in the Republic of Hawaii and the Territory of Hawaii who managed the Parker Ranch.-Life:...
as part of Parker Ranch
Parker Ranch
Parker Ranch is a working cattle ranch on the Island of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii, now run by a charitable trust.-History:The ranch was founded in 1847 and is one of the oldest ranches in the United States, pre-dating many mainland ranches in Texas and other southwestern states by more than 30...
after the unsustainable harvest of pulu quickly collapsed. In the 1950s part of it became the enormous subdivision called Hawaiian Ocean View Estates
Hawaiian Ocean View, Hawaii
Hawaiian Ocean View is a census-designated place in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States located in the District of Kaū. It includes the subdivisions of Hawaiian Ocean View Estates , Hawaiian Ocean View Ranchos, Kahuku Country Gardens, Kula Kai View Estates, Kona Gardens, Keone's Ranchos, and...
. After becoming part of the Samuel Mills Damon
Samuel Mills Damon
Samuel Mills Damon was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, through the Republic of Hawaii and into the Territory of Hawaii.-Life:Samuel Mills Damon was born in Honolulu on March 13, 1845....
estate, another large section was sold to expand Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, is a United States National Park located in the U.S. State of Hawaii on the island of Hawaii. It encompasses two active volcanoes: Kīlauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world's most massive volcano...
in 2003, and some remains as a tourist accommodation.
See also
- Relations between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the United StatesRelations between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the United StatesKingdom of Hawaii – United States relations refers to the historical relationship between the independent Kingdom of Hawaii and the United States...
- List of bilateral treaties signed by the Kingdom of Hawaii