Albert Spencer Wilcox
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Albert Spencer Wilcox (May 24, 1844 – July 7, 1919) was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii. He developed several sugar plantations in Hawaii, and became a large landholder.


Early life

Albert Spencer Wilcox was born in Hilo, Hawaii, on May 24, 1844. His father was Abner Wilcox (1808–1869) and mother was Lucy Eliza Hart (1814–1869). His parents were in the eighth company of missionaries to Hawaii for the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...
. His parents taught at the Hilo Mission boarding school founded by
David Belden Lyman David Belden Lyman (July 28, 1803 – October 4, 1884) was an early American missionary to Hawaii who opened a boarding school for Hawaiians. His wife Sarah Joiner Lyman (1805–1885) taught at the boarding school and kept an important journal. Th ...
and his wife. He had three older brothers born while at Hilo. In 1846 the family moved to teach at a similar school at the Waioli Mission near
Hanalei, Hawaii Hanalei is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was estimated at 299 as of 2019. ''Hanalei'' means " lei making" in Hawaiian. Alternatively, the name ''Hanalei'' also means "crescent bay" and may ...
, on the northern coast of the island of Kauai. There he had four more brothers, although one died young. In 1851 he sailed to
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
with his father for surgery to fix a birth defect in his foot. He was educated at his parents' school and Punahou School in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
from 1858 to 1862. He worked with his older brother George Norton Wilcox (1839–1933) on the Princeville plantation owned by
Robert Crichton Wyllie Robert Crichton Wyllie (October 13, 1798 – October 19, 1865) was a Scottish physician and businessman. He served for twenty years as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life Wyllie was born October 13, 1798, in an area c ...
in the 1860s while living at Waioli.


Business

Wilcox started a small plantation in Waipā Valley but it failed by 1876.
Paul Isenberg Paul Isenberg (April 15, 1837 – January 16, 1903) was a German businessman who developed the sugarcane business in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life Paul Heinrich Friedrich Carl Isenberg was born April 15, 1837, in Dransfeld, Kingdom of Hanover, G ...
installed a sugar mill at Hanamāʻulu in 1877 and hired Wilcox to be its manager. He continued to run the plantation for over two decades. With a reliable source of irrigation, and the
Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 The Treaty of reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom ( Hawaiian: ''Kuʻikahi Pānaʻi Like'') was a free trade agreement signed and ratified in 1875 that is generally known as the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875. T ...
removing sugar
tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and pol ...
s to the US, he became wealthy. He invested in a mill in the remote western area of Kekaha, to process the sugar grown by
Valdemar Knudsen Valdemar Emil Knudsen (August 5, 1819 – January 5, 1898) was a sugarcane plantation pioneer on west Kauai, Hawaii. Background Valdemar Emil Knudsen was born in Kristiansand, in Vest-Agder county, Norway. He was college-trained in botany and ...
in the 1880s. On February 7, 1883, he incorporated the
Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company was headquartered in Honolulu and ran steamship passenger and cargo service between the Hawaiian Islands from 1883 until 1947. Inter-Island constructed the Kona Inn in 1928, the first hotel in Kona on the Big ...
and served as a director. By 1895 he was able to buy Princeville and turn it into a ranch. He also invested in real estate in Honolulu.


Politics

Wilcox was elected as a representative from Kauai to the
legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom () was the bicameral (later unicameral) legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term Legisl ...
from 1887 through 1892. He was involved in drafting the
1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii The 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a legal document prepared by anti-monarchists to strip the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to American, European and native Hawaiian elites. It became ...
, and its forceful imposition which put his brother George into the cabinet of King
Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, ...
. On January 14, 1893, he was appointed to the Committee of Safety but resigned at the first meeting to return and take care of business on Kauai. Some of his neighbors from Kauai such as
William Owen Smith William Owen Smith (August 4, 1848 – April 13, 1929) was a lawyer from a family of American missionaries who participated in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was attorney general for the entire duration of the Provisional Governmen ...
and
Sanford B. Dole Sanford Ballard Dole (April 23, 1844 – June 9, 1926) was a lawyer and jurist from the Hawaiian Islands. He lived through the periods when Hawaii was a kingdom, protectorate, republic, and territory. A descendant of the American missionary ...
played major roles in the
overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents and six non-abori ...
.


Later life and legacy

Wilcox married Mary Luahiwa, but they divorced. On June 7, 1898, he married Emma Kauikeolani Napoleon Mahelona (1862–1931), and retired to an estate called Kilohana in Puhi, Hawaii, at . His stepdaughter Ethel Kulamanu Mahelona married his nephew Gaylord Parke Wilcox (1881–1970) and inherited Kilohana. It is the site of one of the heritage railways in Kauai. He built a beach house in Hanalei at directly on the shore of
Hanalei Bay Hanalei Bay is the largest bay on the north shore of Kauaʻi island in Hawaii. The town of Hanalei is at the midpoint of the bay. Geography Hanalei Bay consists of nearly of beach, surrounded by mountains. In the summer, the bay offers excel ...
near the Hanalei Pier. It was built as a complex of main house, three garages, a boathouse, and separate cottages for gardener, caretaker, and other servants. It later was consolidated into a sprawling single story building with six bedrooms and six bathrooms, with a few remaining cottages. The beach house was added to the
National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii This is a list of properties and historic districts in Hawaii listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More than 340 listings appear on all but one of Hawaii's main islands (Niihau being the exception) and the Northwestern Islands, a ...
on July 30, 1993, as Albert Spencer Wilcox Beach House. The Hanalei Land Company, which Wilcox formed in 1903, restored the house and rents it to visitors as accommodations or events such as weddings. It has been kept in the Wilcox family for six generations. The Albert Spencer Wilcox Building in Lihue, Hawaii, is also listed on the National Register. In 1908 he and his wife sponsored the Kauikeolani Children's Hospital in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
. It became part of the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children in 1978. In 1917 he donated funds for a hospital named for his stepson Samuel Mahelona, who had died from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
on October 20, 1912. It is the oldest hospital on Kauai. Allen Clessen Mahelona was another stepson. Wilcox died July 7, 1919. In 1922 his widow donated funds for the Albert Spencer Wilcox Building designed by
Hart Wood Hart Wood (1880–1957) was an American architect who flourished during the "Golden Age" of Hawaiian architecture. He was one of the principal proponents of a distinctive "Hawaiian style" of architecture appropriate to the local environment and r ...
to be the first public library on Kauai. It now houses the Kauai Museum.


Family tree


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, Albert Spencer 1844 births 1919 deaths Businesspeople from Hawaii Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives 19th-century American businesspeople