Ambrose Kanoealiʻi or Ambrose Kanewaliʻi Hutchison ( – July 17, 1932) was a long-time
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
resident of the
Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement
Kalaupapa National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, on the island of Molokai. Coterminous with the boundaries of Kalawao County and primarily on Kalaupapa peninsula, it was established by ...
on the island of
Molokaʻi
Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length and width with a us ...
who resided there for fifty-three years from 1879 to his death in 1932. During his residence, he assumed a prominent leadership role in the patient community and served as ''luna'' or resident superintendent of Kalaupapa from 1884 to 1897.
Early life
Ambrose Hutchison was born in Honomāʻele,
Hāna,
Maui
The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
, in 1856, the son of
Ferdinand William Hutchison
Ferdinand William Hutchison ( – May 20, 1893) was a British physician and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii who became a cabinet minister to King Kamehameha V. He was president of the Board of Health from 1868 to 1873 and was instrumental in ...
and Maria or Malie Moa, a
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
woman. His father, originally from
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, was an influential politician during the reign of King
Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": i ...
and served as president of the Board of Health during the early development and management of the
Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement
Kalaupapa National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, on the island of Molokai. Coterminous with the boundaries of Kalawao County and primarily on Kalaupapa peninsula, it was established by ...
. His mother died when he was young and his father left Maui for
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 ...
to pursue a political career, leaving Ambrose and his siblings William and Christina in the care of their mother's relatives.
Hutchison was given at one month old to be raised by his mother's sister who was a ''
kahuna
''Kahuna'' is a Hawaiian language, Hawaiian word that refers to an expert in any field. Historically, it has been used to refer to doctors, surgeons and dentists, as well as priests, ministers, and sorcerers.
Background
A ''kahuna'' may be ver ...
'' known for herbal cures. He wrote, in later life, that he may have contracted
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
from a man "with large ears and bloated face, swollen hands and feet", who his aunt had treated. Another possible source was a vaccination using the lymph fluid from the arm of another boy. From an early age, Hutchison was sent to boarding school in Honolulu under the auspices of the
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
Archdeacon George Mason. At this time, the first symptoms of leprosy developed in 1868 when he was twelve years old and developed slowly until he became an adult.
His father and his sister Christina left Hawaii for
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 1875. Hutchison never mentioned his father by name in later life, possibly to shield him from the
stigma of being related to a leper.
Life at Kalaupapa
In December 1878, Hutchison was arrested for being a suspected leper and detained at Honolulu's Kalihi Hospital for examination. Hawaiian law required anyone suspected of contracting leprosy to report for medical examination or face arrest. On January 5, 1879, the diagnosed Hutchison was sent to the
leper settlement of
Kalaupapa
Kalaupapa () is a small unincorporated community on the island of Molokai, within Kalawao County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1866, during the reign of Kamehameha V, the Hawaii legislature passed a law that resulted in the designation ...
on the island of
Molokaʻi
Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length and width with a us ...
to be isolated with others with the disease. He worked as chief butcher and beef dispenser and head storekeeper of the Kalawao store until 1884 when he was appointed as resident superintendent succeeding
Clayton Strawn and
Rudolph Wilhelm Meyer
Rudolph Wilhelm Meyer (1826–1897) was a German who managed an early agricultural business in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Life
Rudolph Wilhelm Meyer was born on April 2, 1826, to Rudolph Heinrich Meyer and Christine Ludewike Sengevald. They lived in ...
. Hutchison became the first government appointed superintendent of Native Hawaiian descent. Although Hawaiians had held the positions as ''luna'' or resident superintendent prior to 1884, they were all subordinate to Meyer and not trusted with financial affairs. From 1884 to 1890, he served alone in this post with the continued support of Meyer. Between 1890 and 1892, he served as assistant superintendent with Maui sheriff Thomas Evans and Evans' successor William Tell, the former head of Honolulu police. After 1892, Hutchison was reappointed as acting superintendent, a position he held until replaced by Board of Health official C. B. Reynolds after the death of his main supporter Rudolph Meyer in 1897.
Hutchison was highly regarded by the Native Hawaiian patient community and the Board of Health in Honolulu. According to resident physician
Arthur Albert St. Mouritz, he "displayed marked ability and highly creditable administrative powers for a man so young." In 1898, Hutchison and his wife along with more than seven hundred people at Kalaupapa signed the famous
Kūʻē Petitions
The ' ( Hawaiian: "opposition") Petitions of 1897 were a protest against the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. Also referred to as the "monster petition". It was organized by Hui Aloha ʻĀina.
History
The majority of the population of t ...
against the annexation of Hawaii to the United States.
![Father Damien, photograph by William Brigham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Father_Damien%2C_photograph_by_William_Brigham.jpg)
During his residency on Kalaupapa, Hutchison worked with
Father Damien
Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster ( nl, Pater Damiaan or '; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacr ...
, whom he had met on his arrival in 1879, and became one of the closest friends of the Catholic priest.
Dr. Mouritz described the partnership of the two men and how they greeted new arrivals "steaming hot coffee and warm food". Their friendship lasted until the latter's death in 1889 and Hutchison was possibly one of the eight pallbearers at his funeral. Hutchison noted:
Around 1930, Hutchison started writing ''In Memory of Reverend Father Damien J. De Veuster and Other Priests Who Have Labored in the Leper Settlement of Kalawao, Molokaʻi, his personal account of Father Damien's work on the island and a memoir of his own fifty-three year of experience living on Kalaupapa. It was discovered unpublished at the time of his death. Hutchison died on July 17, 1932, at the age of seventy-six, from an attack of influenza pneumonia. After his death, the unfinished manuscript was sent to the
Sacred Hearts Archives in
Leuven
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
for storage. Portions of the memoirs, an unfinished will and his other writings are stored at the Hawaii State Archives. According to historian Anwei Skinsnes Law, "despite all his accomplishments and influence, Ambrose Hutchison had been largely left out of his own history."
Personal life
Hutchison married Mary Kaiakonui, a local resident of Kalaupapa, in 1881, in a ceremony blessed by Father Damien. According to historian John Tayman, Mary may have also contracted leprosy and they had a daughter who did not have the same infection as her parents. Other sources claimed they were childless. They lived at Hutchison's house, in a part of the settlement called
Makanalua
Makanalua (also Makanaloa) is an unincorporated community and ahupuaʻa in Kalawao County, Hawaii, United States. During the Great Māhele of 1848, the land was retained for Princess Kekauʻōnohi. The name means "double gift" in the Hawaiian lan ...
. Kaiakonui cared for her husband as his ''mea kōkua'' (caregiver) until her death on May 16, 1905, at the age of forty-seven. She was buried in the Catholic section of Papaloa Cemetery and a white bronze grave monument marks her final resting place. His brother's descendants believe that he could be buried next to his wife.
Members of his family were present at the 2009 canonization of Father Damien in Rome.
In his incomplete will, Hutchison expressed his love for his mother, his wife and the dwindling Hawaiian race:
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchison, Ambrose K.
1850s births
1932 deaths
Superintendents of Kalaupapa
Hawaiian Kingdom people
Native Hawaiian people
Hawaiian Kingdom people of Scottish descent
Deaths from influenza
Deaths from pneumonia in Hawaii
People from Kalawao County, Hawaii
Hawaiian Kingdom Roman Catholics