Rooke House
Encyclopedia
Thomas Charles Byde Rooke (1806–1858) was an English physician who married into the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii
. He built a mansion called the Rooke House in Honolulu that became popular with political and social leaders of the Kingdom.
, Hertfordshire
, England
. His father was Thomas Rooke (1769–1814) and mother was Sarah Paillet Draper (died 1815).
He trained at St Bartholomew's Hospital
in London
and arrived in Honolulu about 1829 on an English whaling
ship. In 1830 he married Grace Kamaikui Young
(1808–1866). In 1844 he met Abraham Fornander
who worked for him surveying and supervising a coffee plantation
.
The house faced the Nuuanu Valley and with each of its two floors measuring approximately fifty by fifty feet (floor area of 5000 square feet (464.5 m²) or 460 square meters) was one of largest private homes in Honolulu at the time. It was used for medical practice, a large library, and for entertaining guests. It included a coach house and living quarters for kahu ("servants"). A wide veranda swept the front of the house, and four pillars supported the roof. The ground floor was Rooke's clinic and dispensary. The family lived upstairs, in a style redolent of a British manor house, with red Kashmir carpets, mahogany and dark oak furniture, and framed oil paintings. It was on the ma kai-Waikiki (southwest) corner of Beretania and Nuuanu Avenue and bordered by Fort Street and Chaplain Lane, 21°18′41"N 157°51′36"W. The one-and-a-half-acre parcel, called Kaopuana ("Raincloud"), was probably the gift of Kamehameha III
.
On December 16, 1835, Grace's father John Young
died, mostly likely in Rooke House, with the Young and Isaac Davis
family present. Dr. Rooke had been caring for the nonagenarian British sailor during his illness. Three weeks after the Young's death, a girl Emma
was born, the granddaughter of Young, daughter of Fanny Young
and the hānai (adoptive) daughter of the Rookes.
Much later, the house witnessed the death of two others of the Young family: James Kānehoa
, Grace Rooke's half-brother, and Kaōanaeha
, her mother.
Popularly known as "Rooke House", the residence was known throughout Honolulu for its hospitality. Grace Rooke, steeped in her mother's alii tradition of hookipa (hospitality), was a gracious hostess. Dr. Rooke, always elegantly attired, complemented his naturally shy wife with his open, gregarious, and forthright manner. Rooke House, for most of Emma's childhood, was a place of elaborate dinners, parties, teas and receptions. Visiting families included those of Abner Paki
, John Owen Dominis
, Captain John Paty and Skinner, and the King. This affirmed their high status in business and political circles.
Isabella Bird
, who visited Queen Emma in 1873, described as Rooke House as "the most English-looking house I have seen since I left home, except Bishopscourt
at Melbourne
." During the Royal Election of 1874 between Emma and David Kalakaua over who would succeed William Charles Lunalilo, Rooke House served as a gathering place for the supporters of Queen Emma, called Emmaites or Queenites. The residence was the scene of mass gatherings of Hawaiians and some British with chants celebrating Emma’s rightful claim to the throne.
During the 1900s it was a kindergarten named Queen Emma Hall in honor of the last owner of the house. Later the site of Rooke House was occupied by the Liberty Theater (which closed in 1980) and now it's a parking lot.
from 1851–1855, and in 1858 was appointed to the Privy Council.
He was a founding member of the first Hawaii Medical Association, along with Charles Guillou
, William Hillebrand
and Gerrit P. Judd
in 1856.
In 1856 his adoptive daughter became Queen Consort Emma when she married King Kamehameha IV
.
He brought two influences from his native land: Anglicanism
and Freemasonry
. He attended his adopted son-in-law Kamehameha IV's Freemason initiation ceremony in January 1857.
Rooke died November 28, 1858 and was buried in the cemetery on the Iolani Palace grounds. He was one of the only four Europeans allow to be buried and at the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
.
If Rooke had lived a few months longer, he would have seen the establishment of The Queen's Medical Center
. Although established through funds raised by Emma and Kamehameha IV, it was Rooke's teaching and accomplishment prior that led to its establishment. His medical instruments were donated to the hospital.
He owned some land in a part of Nuuanu valley called Waolani that came to ne known as "Rooke's Valley". Queen Emma built a summer home on it called Hānaiakamālama
which is now a museum.
A street was named Rooke Avenue for him in that area at 21°20′7"N 157°50′51"W.
Another part of the land became the Oahu Country Club golf
course.
He also owned some land on Kauai island.
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 built a mansion called the Rooke House in Honolulu that became popular with political and social leaders of the Kingdom.
Life
He was born on May 18, 1806 in BengeoBengeo
Bengeo is a parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is referenced in the Domesday Book, where it is called "Belingehou". It is situated on a rise between the River Beane and River Rib overlooking Hartham Common and the rest of the town of Hertford.-Name:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His father was Thomas Rooke (1769–1814) and mother was Sarah Paillet Draper (died 1815).
He trained at St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and arrived in Honolulu about 1829 on an English whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
ship. In 1830 he married Grace Kamaikui Young
Grace Kamaikui
Grace Kamaikui Young Rooke was a Hawaiian high chiefess who was daughter of the chief military advisor during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and adoptive mother of a future Queen consort.-Early Life and Marriage:...
(1808–1866). In 1844 he met Abraham Fornander
Abraham Fornander
Abraham Fornander was a Swedish-born emigrant who became an important Hawaiian journalist, judge, and ethnologist.-Early life and education:...
who worked for him surveying and supervising a coffee plantation
Coffee production in Hawaii
The only state in the United States of America able to grow coffee plants commercially is Hawaii. However, it is not the only coffee grown on U.S. soil; for example, Puerto Rico has had a coffee industry for some time, although it is not a state but a U.S. territory. Ramiro L...
.
Rooke House
Rooke built a house some time in the 1830s.The house faced the Nuuanu Valley and with each of its two floors measuring approximately fifty by fifty feet (floor area of 5000 square feet (464.5 m²) or 460 square meters) was one of largest private homes in Honolulu at the time. It was used for medical practice, a large library, and for entertaining guests. It included a coach house and living quarters for kahu ("servants"). A wide veranda swept the front of the house, and four pillars supported the roof. The ground floor was Rooke's clinic and dispensary. The family lived upstairs, in a style redolent of a British manor house, with red Kashmir carpets, mahogany and dark oak furniture, and framed oil paintings. It was on the ma kai-Waikiki (southwest) corner of Beretania and Nuuanu Avenue and bordered by Fort Street and Chaplain Lane, 21°18′41"N 157°51′36"W. The one-and-a-half-acre parcel, called Kaopuana ("Raincloud"), was probably the gift of 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...
.
On December 16, 1835, Grace's father John Young
John Young (Hawaii)
John Young was a British subject who became an important military advisor to Kamehameha I during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was left behind by Simon Metcalfe, captain of the American ship Eleanora, and along with a Welshmen Isaac Davis became a friend and advisor to Kamehameha...
died, mostly likely in Rooke House, with the Young and Isaac Davis
Isaac Davis (Hawaii)
Isaac Davis was a Welsh advisor to Kamehameha I and helped form the Kingdom of Hawaii. He arrived in Hawaii in 1790 as the sole survivor of the massacre of the crew of The Fair American. He along with John Young became friends and advisors to Kamehameha...
family present. Dr. Rooke had been caring for the nonagenarian British sailor during his illness. Three weeks after the Young's death, a girl 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....
was born, the granddaughter of Young, daughter of Fanny Young
Fanny Kekelaokalani
Fanny Kekuiapoiwa Kekelaokalani Young Lewis Naea , was a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and mother of a Queen consort.-Early life:...
and the hānai (adoptive) daughter of the Rookes.
Much later, the house witnessed the death of two others of the Young family: James Kānehoa
James Kanehoa
James Young Kānehoa was a member of the court of King Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III during the Kingdom of Hawaii. Sometimes he is confused with his half-brother John Kaleipaihala Young II known as Keoni Ana.-Life:...
, Grace Rooke's half-brother, and Kaōanaeha
Kaoanaeha
Kaōanaeha Mele or Mary Kuamoo Kaōanaeha was a Hawaiian high chiefess during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Parentage:She was born circa 1780...
, her mother.
Popularly known as "Rooke House", the residence was known throughout Honolulu for its hospitality. Grace Rooke, steeped in her mother's alii tradition of hookipa (hospitality), was a gracious hostess. Dr. Rooke, always elegantly attired, complemented his naturally shy wife with his open, gregarious, and forthright manner. Rooke House, for most of Emma's childhood, was a place of elaborate dinners, parties, teas and receptions. Visiting families included those of Abner Paki
Abner Paki
Abner Kuhooheiheipahu Pākī was a Hawaiian high chief during the reign of King Kamehameha III, the father of Bernice Pauahi Pākī, founder of Kamehameha Schools.-Early life:He was born about 1808 on the island of Molokai...
, John Owen Dominis
John Owen Dominis
John Owen Dominis was an American-born statesman. He became Prince Consort of the Kingdom of Hawaii upon his marriage to the last reigning monarch, Queen Liliuokalani...
, Captain John Paty and Skinner, and the King. This affirmed their high status in business and political circles.
Isabella Bird
Isabella Bird
Isabella Lucy Bird was a nineteenth-century English explorer, writer, and a natural historian.-Early life:Bird was born in Boroughbridge in 1831 and grew up in Tattenhall, Cheshire...
, who visited Queen Emma in 1873, described as Rooke House as "the most English-looking house I have seen since I left home, except Bishopscourt
Bishopscourt
Bishopscourt can relate to:*Bishopscourt, a southern suburb of Cape Town, South Africa*Bishopscourt, a gothic architecture building in East Melbourne, Victoria*Bishopscourt, a historic house in Sydney, Australia....
at Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
." During the Royal Election of 1874 between Emma and David Kalakaua over who would succeed William Charles Lunalilo, Rooke House served as a gathering place for the supporters of Queen Emma, called Emmaites or Queenites. The residence was the scene of mass gatherings of Hawaiians and some British with chants celebrating Emma’s rightful claim to the throne.
During the 1900s it was a kindergarten named Queen Emma Hall in honor of the last owner of the house. Later the site of Rooke House was occupied by the Liberty Theater (which closed in 1980) and now it's a parking lot.
Later life
Rooke served as a representative to 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...
from 1851–1855, and in 1858 was appointed to the Privy Council.
He was a founding member of the first Hawaii Medical Association, along with Charles Guillou
Charles Guillou
Charles Fleury Bien-aimé Guilloû was an American military physician. He served on a major exploring expedition that included both scientific discoveries and controversy, and two historic diplomatic missions...
, William Hillebrand
William Hillebrand
William Hillebrand was a German physician. He traveled the world, including over 20 years in the Hawaiian islands. In 1850, Hillebrand lived at what is now Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu. He also became known as a botanist.-Life and career:...
and 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 :...
in 1856.
In 1856 his adoptive daughter became Queen Consort Emma when she married 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:...
.
He brought two influences from his native land: Anglicanism
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
and Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. He attended his adopted son-in-law Kamehameha IV's Freemason initiation ceremony in January 1857.
Rooke died November 28, 1858 and was buried in the cemetery on the Iolani Palace grounds. He was one of the only four Europeans allow to be buried and at the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
The Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii, known as Mauna Ala in the Hawaiian language, is the final resting place of Hawaii's two prominent royal families: the Kamehameha Dynasty and the Kalākaua Dynasty.-Description:...
.
If Rooke had lived a few months longer, he would have seen the establishment of The Queen's Medical Center
The Queen's Medical Center
The Queen's Medical Center, originally called Queen's Hospital is an acute private non-profit hospital in downtown Honolulu founded in 1859 by Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV.-Description:...
. Although established through funds raised by Emma and Kamehameha IV, it was Rooke's teaching and accomplishment prior that led to its establishment. His medical instruments were donated to the hospital.
He owned some land in a part of Nuuanu valley called Waolani that came to ne known as "Rooke's Valley". Queen Emma built a summer home on it called Hānaiakamālama
Hanaiakamalama
Hānaiakamalama , or Queen Emma Summer Palace, served as a retreat for Queen Emma of Hawaii from 1857 to 1885, as well as for her husband King Kamehameha IV, and their son, Prince Albert Edward. It is a now a historic landmark, museum, and tourist site located at 2913 Pali Highway, less than a...
which is now a museum.
A street was named Rooke Avenue for him in that area at 21°20′7"N 157°50′51"W.
Another part of the land became the Oahu Country Club golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course.
He also owned some land on Kauai island.