Elisha Hunt Allen
Encyclopedia
Elisha Hunt Allen was an American
congressman, lawyer, diplomat, and judge and diplomat for the Kingdom of Hawaii
.
. His father was Massachusetts minister, lawyer, and politician Samuel Clesson Allen
(1772–1804) and mother was Mary Hunt. He attended New Salem Academy and graduated from Williams College
in 1823.
Allen was admitted to the bar
in 1825 and commenced practice in Brattleboro, Vermont
. In 1828 he married Sarah Elizabeth Fessenden. They had four children, but she died in 1845. In 1830 he moved to Bangor, Maine
and entered into practice with John Appleton (born 1804), who would subsequently become Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court. Appleton would also marry Allen's sister Sarah in 1834. Allen was a member of Bangor's first City Council, from 1834, and from 1835 to 1840 was a member of the Maine House of Representatives
, representing Bangor. He served as its Speaker in 1838. From 1841 until 1843, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a member of the Whig party
, but his district (Maine's 8th congressional district
) was eliminated before the next election based on census data. He ran in the 1842 election against Hannibal Hamlin
but was defeated.
Following this loss, Allen ran for the Maine Legislature once more, serving one term before moving from Bangor to Boston
in 1847 and being elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives
in 1849. From 1850 to 1853, he was United States Consul in Honolulu, Hawaii
under president Millard Fillmore
. He realized the potential for the Hawaiian Islands
to provide agricultural products to the growing number of people in the California Gold Rush
and tried to negotiate a trade treaty but failed. When he was replaced by an appointment from the Democratic Party
president Franklin Pierce
in August 1853, he decided to stay due to the severe shortage of legal professionals, and became a citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii
. Within weeks he was appointed Minister of Finance for King Kamehameha III
replacing Gerrit P. Judd
, and from 1854 to 1856 served in the House of Nobles
.
He openly advocated annexation of the islands by the United States, and opposed French and British influence. However, when King Kamehameha IV
(whose future wife had been adopted by British physician) came to the throne in 1855, the annexation idea was put on hold.
In June 1856 he sailed back to New England
and married Mary Harrod Hobbs (sometimes spelled Hobbes) in Philadelphia on March 11, 1857. Mary was daughter of another former Maine legislator Frederick Hobbs.
The couple returned to Honolulu, where from June 1857 through February 1877 Allen was Chief Justice of the Kingdom of Hawaii Supreme Court.
During Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma
's wedding in 1856, he offered his own wedding band to the king to allow the ceremony to continue. The Allen's first born son Frederick Hobbs (Hobbes) Allen was born ten days after Prince Albert Edward Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa
, and the two children became playmates. The prince died when he was only four years old. Frederick would serve as his father's secretary, graduate from Harvard Law School
in 1883, and become a law partner of his firm Adams & Allen in New York
.
In August 1864 he served as Chancellor for the coronation of King Kamehameha V
under the new 1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
. He was Minister Plenipotentiary
from the Kingdom of Hawaii to the United States
since 1856 until his sudden death. In 1864 he tried again to negotiate a trade treaty. During the American Civil War
sugar shipments from the American South were interrupted, increasing the demand from Hawaii. In 1867 he bought a sugarcane plantation
in an area called Princeville, Hawaii
after the young Prince brought up with his son. He negotiated for the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
which this time was signed by Ulysses S. Grant
. The treaty removed tariff
s but gave the U.S. the use of Pearl Harbor
, which was not a popular concession with native Hawaiians
. He left his son William Fessenden Allen
from his first marriage in charge of the plantation, and went to Washington, D.C.
to work out details of the trade agreement.
He returned briefly to Hawaii, but his two children from his second marriage were back in the United States, so he resigned his supreme court post and went back to Washington in February 1877. The plantation did not live up to his hopes. By 1879 it was losing money, in debt with a mortgage, and needed a new manager. He wondered if was doomed to a fate similar to the prince for which it was named. Finally the plantation paid dividents starting in 1882. Shortly before his seventy-ninth birthday, he died while attending a New Year's Day
diplomatic reception January 1, 1883 given by President Chester Arthur at the White House
. He is interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. Allen is one of six people known to have died inside the White House.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
congressman, lawyer, diplomat, and judge and diplomat for 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...
.
Life
Elisha Hunt Allen was born January 28, 1804 in New Salem, MassachusettsNew Salem, Massachusetts
New Salem is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 990 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
. His father was Massachusetts minister, lawyer, and politician Samuel Clesson Allen
Samuel Clesson Allen
Samuel Clesson Allen was a U.S. politician from Massachusetts during the first third of the 19th century. He began his career as a member of the Federalist Party, but later became a staunch supporter of Democratic presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.Allen was born in Bernardston,...
(1772–1804) and mother was Mary Hunt. He attended New Salem Academy and graduated from Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
in 1823.
Allen was admitted to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in 1825 and commenced practice in Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro, Vermont
Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire. The population was 12,046 at the 2010 census...
. In 1828 he married Sarah Elizabeth Fessenden. They had four children, but she died in 1845. In 1830 he moved to Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
and entered into practice with John Appleton (born 1804), who would subsequently become Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court. Appleton would also marry Allen's sister Sarah in 1834. Allen was a member of Bangor's first City Council, from 1834, and from 1835 to 1840 was a member of the Maine House of Representatives
Maine House of Representatives
The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state. Each voting member of the House represents around 8,450 citizens of the state...
, representing Bangor. He served as its Speaker in 1838. From 1841 until 1843, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a member of the Whig party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
, but his district (Maine's 8th congressional district
Maine's 8th congressional district
Maine's 8th congressional district is a former congressional district in Maine. It was created in 1833 and was eliminated in 1843. Its last congressman was Elisha Hunt Allen.-Representatives:-References:*...
) was eliminated before the next election based on census data. He ran in the 1842 election against Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin
Hannibal Hamlin was the 15th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War...
but was defeated.
Following this loss, Allen ran for the Maine Legislature once more, serving one term before moving from Bangor 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...
in 1847 and being elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
in 1849. From 1850 to 1853, he was United States Consul in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
under president Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
. He realized the potential for 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 provide agricultural products to the growing number of people in 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...
and tried to negotiate a trade treaty but failed. When he was replaced by an appointment from the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
president Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
in August 1853, he decided to stay due to the severe shortage of legal professionals, and became a 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...
. Within weeks he was appointed Minister of Finance for 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...
replacing Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit Parmele Judd was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii who later became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.- Life :...
, and from 1854 to 1856 served in the House of Nobles
Legislature 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...
.
He openly advocated annexation of the islands by the United States, and opposed French and British influence. However, when 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:...
(whose future wife had been adopted by British physician) came to the throne in 1855, the annexation idea was put on hold.
In June 1856 he sailed back to 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...
and married Mary Harrod Hobbs (sometimes spelled Hobbes) in Philadelphia on March 11, 1857. Mary was daughter of another former Maine legislator Frederick Hobbs.
The couple returned to Honolulu, where from June 1857 through February 1877 Allen was Chief Justice of the Kingdom of Hawaii Supreme Court.
During Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma
Queen Emma of Hawaii
Queen Consort Emma Kalanikaumakaamano Kaleleonālani Naea Rooke of Hawaii was queen consort of King Kamehameha IV from 1856 to his death in 1863. She ran for ruling monarch against King David Kalākaua but was defeated....
's wedding in 1856, he offered his own wedding band to the king to allow the ceremony to continue. The Allen's first born son Frederick Hobbs (Hobbes) Allen was born ten days after Prince Albert Edward Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa
Albert Kamehameha
Prince Albert Kamehameha, formally Albert Edward Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa a Kamehameha , was the only son of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, who during his short life was the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Hawaii...
, and the two children became playmates. The prince died when he was only four years old. Frederick would serve as his father's secretary, graduate from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1883, and become a law partner of his firm Adams & Allen in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
In August 1864 he served as Chancellor for the coronation of 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...
under the 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...
. He was Minister Plenipotentiary
Plenipotentiary
The word plenipotentiary has two meanings. As a noun, it refers to a person who has "full powers." In particular, the term commonly refers to a diplomat fully authorized to represent his government as a prerogative...
from the Kingdom of Hawaii to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since 1856 until his sudden death. In 1864 he tried again to negotiate a trade treaty. During 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...
sugar shipments from the American South were interrupted, increasing the demand from Hawaii. In 1867 he bought a sugarcane 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...
in an area called Princeville, Hawaii
Princeville, Hawaii
Princeville is a census-designated place on the north shore of the island of Kauai in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 1,698 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Princeville is located at ....
after the young Prince brought up with his son. He negotiated for 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....
which this time was signed by Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. The treaty removed tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s but gave the U.S. the use of Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, which was not a popular concession with native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
. He left his son William Fessenden Allen
William Fessenden Allen
William Fessenden Allen was an American businessman in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii.-Life:William Fessenden Allen was born December 19, 1831 in Bangor, Maine.His mother was Sarah Elizabeth Fessenden....
from his first marriage in charge of the plantation, and went to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to work out details of the trade agreement.
He returned briefly to Hawaii, but his two children from his second marriage were back in the United States, so he resigned his supreme court post and went back to Washington in February 1877. The plantation did not live up to his hopes. By 1879 it was losing money, in debt with a mortgage, and needed a new manager. He wondered if was doomed to a fate similar to the prince for which it was named. Finally the plantation paid dividents starting in 1882. Shortly before his seventy-ninth birthday, he died while attending a New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
diplomatic reception January 1, 1883 given by President Chester Arthur at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. He is interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. Allen is one of six people known to have died inside the White House.
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
Further reading
- History of Penobscot County, Maine (Cleveland, 1882), p. 211