Henry A. P. Carter
Encyclopedia
Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter also known as Henry Augustus Peirce Carter (1837–1891) was an American
businessman, politician, and diplomat in the Kingdom of Hawaii
.
. His father was Joseph Oliver Carter (1802–1850), and mother Hannah Trufant Lord (1809–1898). His father was a merchant ship captain, thought to be a descendant of the Thomas Carter family of Massachusetts
. Captain Carter left Boston
to engage in trade in the Pacific some time in the 1820s. After his 1833 wedding in Honolulu the Carters bought a house and started a family while Captain Carter continued sandalwood
trading voyages to China
.
Shortly after second son Henry was born they sailed to California
but returned in 1838.
In 1840 the family sailed to Boston via Tahiti
. The sons were left to attend school, while Captain Carter purchased his own ship and sailed back to Honolulu with his wife in 1841. However, the Carter ship business had several failures, and by 1849 the sons were sent back to Hawaii.
Captain Carter retired from the ship business and started a boarding house called the Mansion House, but he died August 1, 1850.
The children needed to support themselves, so a 12 year old Henry went to San Francisco to work in the California Gold Rush
.
He never attended high school. Some time later he returned to work in the Honolulu post office, and as a typesetter for the Honolulu Advertiser
newspaper.
When about 19 he became a clerk in C. Brewer & Co.
, a shipping business which was run earlier by Henry A. Peirce
, of whom he was probably a namesake. By 1862 he became a full partner in the business.
On February 27, 1862 he married Sybil Augusta Judd (1843–1904), daughter of missionary physician turned politician Gerrit P. Judd
.
They had seven children:
His nephew Alfred Wellington Carter
(1867–1949) managed the Parker Ranch
for many years.
His brother Joseph Oliver Carter (1835–1909) married Mary Ladd (1840–1908), daughter of the founder of early trading company Ladd & Co.
William Ladd (1807–1863).
and shipping it to the mainland where it was refined .
After two other partners retired, Carter owned two thirds of the firm.
In 1873, he advocated for a free trade treaty to reduce tariff
s instead of annexation by the United States
as advocated by others.
He was sent in October 1874 to Washington, DC to assist Elisha Hunt Allen
in negotiating what became the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
.
This included attending a state visit by King Kalākaua
to Ulysses S. Grant
at the White House
.
On his return to Hawaii, Eruopean countries were protesting the treaty, because it violated most favored nation clauses in their treaties.
On December 5, 1876 he was appointed minister of foreign affairs, and left his business again to travel to Great Britain
, France
, and Germany
in 1877.
He met personally with Otto von Bismarck
who was Foreign Minister of Prussia
at the time.
He resigned from the cabinet on March 1, 1878, and returned to managing the business at C. Brewer in 1879.
Soon he was called back into the government. On September 27, 1880 he was appointed minister of the interior for Kalākaua until December 4, 1881. In 1882 he was sent again to Europe, where he negotiated a treaty with Portugal
to allow immigration to Hawaii for labor on sugar plantations.
After Allen died at the White House, Carter became envoy to the US on February 9, 1883, and served until his death. In June 1884 he was president of a family reunion in Boston for his American cousins.
In January 1887 Carter was appointed US Minister from the Samoan Islands
by Malietoa Laupepa
, but he never presented those credentials. This was part of a failed plan by Walter M. Gibson
to form a pan-Pacific confederation. The resulting Samoan crisis
ended up in the partitioning of Samoa into German Samoa
in the west and American Samoa
in the east.
Also during this time, the free trade treaty was renewed, with a controversial clause that guaranteed the use of Pearl Harbor
as a US Navy base. This would prove very unpopular with many Hawaiians.
He coordinated another state visit between Queen Kapiolani
and Grover Cleveland
in May 1887.
He was also appointed to various boards and commissions during his government service.
The McKinley Tariff
act in 1891 removed the advantages given by earlier treaties, and the Hawaiian sugar industry suddenly became unprofitable. Carter scrambled to negotiate another treaty with Secretary of State James G. Blaine
. However, Kalākaua had died in January, and Queen Liliuokalani rejected the new treaty.
Carter became ill on a visit to Germany, and died November 1, 1891 at Everett House in New York
.
After a funeral in Washington, DC, he was buried in Oahu Cemetery
. He was survived by his mother, sometimes said to the first caucasian
woman to marry in Hawaii, who died January 29, 1898.
A modern historian said:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman, politician, and diplomat 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...
.
Family life
Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter was born August 7, 1837 in Honolulu, HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. His father was Joseph Oliver Carter (1802–1850), and mother Hannah Trufant Lord (1809–1898). His father was a merchant ship captain, thought to be a descendant of the Thomas Carter family of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Captain Carter left 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 engage in trade in the Pacific some time in the 1820s. After his 1833 wedding in Honolulu the Carters bought a house and started a family while Captain Carter continued sandalwood
Sandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
trading voyages to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Shortly after second son Henry was born they sailed to 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...
but returned in 1838.
In 1840 the family sailed to Boston via Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. The sons were left to attend school, while Captain Carter purchased his own ship and sailed back to Honolulu with his wife in 1841. However, the Carter ship business had several failures, and by 1849 the sons were sent back to Hawaii.
Captain Carter retired from the ship business and started a boarding house called the Mansion House, but he died August 1, 1850.
The children needed to support themselves, so a 12 year old Henry went to San Francisco to work 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...
.
He never attended high school. Some time later he returned to work in the Honolulu post office, and as a typesetter for the Honolulu Advertiser
Honolulu Advertiser
The Honolulu Advertiser was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions...
newspaper.
When about 19 he became a clerk in 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....
, a shipping business which was run earlier by Henry A. Peirce
Henry A. Peirce
Henry Augustus Peirce was an American businessman and diplomat. Some sources spell his last name as Pierce.-Early life and business:...
, of whom he was probably a namesake. By 1862 he became a full partner in the business.
On February 27, 1862 he married Sybil Augusta Judd (1843–1904), daughter of missionary physician turned politician 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 :...
.
They had seven children:
- Frances Isabelle Carter was born January 18, 1863. She moved to Massachusetts and married Frederic Morton Crehore (1858–1919) in 1897 .
- Charles Lunt Carter was born November 30, 1864 and married Mary Eliza Horton Scott in 1888. He died January 7, 1895 after being shot in the 1895 Counter-Revolution in Hawaii1895 Counter-Revolution in HawaiiThe 1895 Counter-revolution in Hawaii was a brief war from January 6 to January 9, 1895, that consisted of three battles on the island of Oahu, Hawaii...
. - George Robert CarterGeorge R. CarterGeorge Robert Carter was the second Territorial Governor of Hawaii, serving from 1903 to 1907.He was born December 28, 1866 in Honolulu. His mother was Sybil Augusta Judd , daughter of Gerrit P...
was born December 28, 1866, became Territorial Governor of HawaiiGovernor of HawaiiThe Governor of Hawaii is the chief executive of the state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state...
, and died February 11, 1933. - Agnes Carter was born October 15, 1869 and married John Randolf Galt in 1892.
- Sybil Augusta Carter was born February 16, 1873 and died July 12, 1874
- Cordelia Judd Carter was born May 18, 1876 and married Charles Atherton Hartwell, son of American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe 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...
General Alfred S. HartwellAlfred S. HartwellAlfred 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...
(1836–1912). She died February 21, 1921. - Joshua Dickson Carter was born February 8, 1880 and died young February 20, 1882.
His nephew 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:...
(1867–1949) managed the 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...
for many years.
His brother Joseph Oliver Carter (1835–1909) married Mary Ladd (1840–1908), daughter of the founder of early trading company Ladd & Co.
Ladd & Co.
Ladd & Company was an early business partnership in the Kingdom of Hawaii.Its founders were William Ladd , Peter Allen Brinsmade , and William Northey Hooper...
William Ladd (1807–1863).
Career
The American Civil War caused an increase in demand for sugar, and C. Brewer became involved in the business of agent, buying the raw product from sugarcane plantations in the Hawaiian IslandsSugar 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...
and shipping it to the mainland where it was refined .
After two other partners retired, Carter owned two thirds of the firm.
In 1873, he advocated for a free trade treaty to reduce 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 instead of annexation by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as advocated by others.
He was sent in October 1874 to Washington, DC to assist 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...
in negotiating what became 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....
.
This included attending a state visit by King 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...
to 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...
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...
.
On his return to Hawaii, Eruopean countries were protesting the treaty, because it violated most favored nation clauses in their treaties.
On December 5, 1876 he was appointed minister of foreign affairs, and left his business again to travel to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1877.
He met personally with Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
who was Foreign Minister of Prussia
Foreign Minister of Prussia
This page lists Foreign Ministers of Prussia. See also Foreign Minister of Germany and Prime Minister of Prussia. After the creation of the German Empire in 1871, the Imperial Chancellor was normally also Foreign Minister of Prussia...
at the time.
He resigned from the cabinet on March 1, 1878, and returned to managing the business at C. Brewer in 1879.
Soon he was called back into the government. On September 27, 1880 he was appointed minister of the interior for Kalākaua until December 4, 1881. In 1882 he was sent again to Europe, where he negotiated a treaty with Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
to allow immigration to Hawaii for labor on sugar plantations.
After Allen died at the White House, Carter became envoy to the US on February 9, 1883, and served until his death. In June 1884 he was president of a family reunion in Boston for his American cousins.
In January 1887 Carter was appointed US Minister from the Samoan Islands
Samoan Islands
The Samoan Islands or Samoa Islands is an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and the wider region of Oceania...
by Malietoa Laupepa
Malietoa Laupepa
Susuga Malietoa Laupepa was the ruler of Samoa in the late 19th century.-Personal life: Laupepa was born in 1841 in Sapapali'i, Savaii, Samoa. His father was King Malietoa Moli and mother was Fa’alaituio Fuatino Su’a. He was raised in Malie, received a religious education at Malua Seminary and...
, but he never presented those credentials. This was part of a failed plan by Walter M. Gibson
Walter M. Gibson
Walter Murray Gibson was an American adventurer and a government minister in the Kingdom of Hawaii prior to the kingdom's 1887 constitution.-Life:...
to form a pan-Pacific confederation. The resulting Samoan crisis
Samoan crisis
The Samoan Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, Germany and Great Britain from 1887–1889 over control of the Samoan Islands during the Samoan Civil War. At the height of the confrontation three American warships, Vandalia, USS Trenton and USS Nipsic were wrecked along with the...
ended up in the partitioning of Samoa into German Samoa
German Samoa
German Samoa was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1914, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the independent state Samoa, formerly Western Samoa...
in the west and American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
in the east.
Also during this time, the free trade treaty was renewed, with a controversial clause that guaranteed 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...
as a US Navy base. This would prove very unpopular with many Hawaiians.
He coordinated another state visit between Queen Kapiolani
Queen Kapiolani
Queen Kapiolani formally Esther Kapiolani or Esther Kapiolani Napelakapuokakae, was married to King David Kalākaua and reigned as Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:...
and Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
in May 1887.
He was also appointed to various boards and commissions during his government service.
The McKinley Tariff
McKinley Tariff
The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act framed by Representative William McKinley that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fifty percent, an act designed to protect domestic industries from foreign competition...
act in 1891 removed the advantages given by earlier treaties, and the Hawaiian sugar industry suddenly became unprofitable. Carter scrambled to negotiate another treaty with Secretary of State James G. Blaine
James G. Blaine
James Gillespie Blaine was a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State...
. However, Kalākaua had died in January, and Queen Liliuokalani rejected the new treaty.
Carter became ill on a visit to Germany, and died November 1, 1891 at Everett House 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...
.
After a funeral in Washington, DC, 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....
. He was survived by his mother, sometimes said to the first caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
woman to marry in Hawaii, who died January 29, 1898.
A modern historian said:
Henry Alpheus Peirce Carter was probably the ablest diplomat ever to serve the Hawaiian kingdom. ... He was a man of great energy, of positive views and facility in the expression of them, with a self-confident and forceful manner that sometimes antagonized those who disagreed with him. From 1875 until his death he spent most of his time abroad, as a diplomatic representative of the Hawaiian kingdom in the United States and Europe, where he became a familiar and much respected figure.
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