Elisha Hunt Allen
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Elisha Hunt Allen (January 28, 1804 – January 1, 1883) was an American congressman, lawyer and diplomat, and judge and diplomat for the
Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...
.


Early life

Elisha Hunt Allen was born January 28, 1804, in New Salem, Massachusetts. His father was Massachusetts minister, lawyer, and politician
Samuel Clesson Allen Samuel Clesson Allen (January 5, 1772 – February 8, 1842) 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 ...
(1772–1842) and mother was Mary (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Hunt) Allen (1774–1833). He attended
New Salem Academy New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
and graduated from
Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
in 1823.


Career

Allen was admitted to the
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in 1825 and commenced practice in
Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...
. In 1830 he moved to
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...
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 The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...
, representing Bangor. He served as its Speaker in 1838. From 1841 until 1843, he served in the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
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 Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republican ...
but was defeated. Following this loss, Allen ran for the Maine Legislature once more, serving one term before moving from Bangor 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 ...
in 1847 and being elected to the
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 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
in 1849.


Kingdom of Hawaii

From 1850 to 1853, he was United States
Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
in
Honolulu, Hawaii 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 o ...
under president
Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...
. He realized the potential for the
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
to provide agricultural products to the growing number of people in the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
and tried to negotiate a trade treaty but failed. When he was replaced by an appointment from the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
president
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...
in August 1853, he decided to stay due to the severe shortage of legal professionals, and became a citizen of the
Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...
. Within weeks he was appointed Minister of Finance for King
Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K ...
replacing
Gerrit P. Judd Gerrit Parmele Judd (April 23, 1803 – July 12, 1873) was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii who later renounced his American citizenship and became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III. He ...
, 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 Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title ''Ke Aliʻi ...
(who was considered pro-British) came to the throne in 1855, the annexation idea was put on hold. 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. In June 1856, Allen sailed back to
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
and remarried in Philadelphia. The newly married couple returned to Honolulu, where from June 1857 through February 1877, Allen was chief justice of the Kingdom of Hawaii Supreme Court. The Allens' first-born son,
Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...
, 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.


Minister to the United States

From 1856 until his death in 1883, Allen served as Minister
Plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...
from the Kingdom of Hawaii to the United States. In August 1864, he served as Chancellor for the coronation 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 ...
under the new
1864 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song " ...
. In 1864, he tried again to negotiate a trade treaty. During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
sugar shipments from the American South were interrupted, increasing the demand from Hawaii. In 1867, he bought a
sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
in an area called
Princeville, Hawaii Princeville is a unincorporated area mostly consisting of master-planned homes and condos on the north shore of the island of Kauai in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 2,158 at the 2010 census, up from 1,698 at the 2000 cen ...
after the young Prince brought up with his son. He negotiated for 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 ...
which this time was signed by
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
. The treaty removed
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 poli ...
s but gave the U.S. the use of
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
, which was not a popular concession with
native Hawaiians 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 ...
. 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 it was doomed to a fate similar to the prince for which it was named. Finally the plantation paid dividends starting in 1882.


Personal life and death

In 1828, he married Sarah Elizabeth Fessenden, the daughter of William Fessenden and niece of author
Thomas Green Fessenden Thomas Green Fessenden (April 22, 1771 – November 11, 1837) was an American author and editor who worked in England and the United States. Biography Born and raised on the family farm in Walpole, New Hampshire as oldest of nine children, Fessen ...
. They had four children before her death in 1845, including: * Ellen Fessenden Allen (1831–1881), who married George Tiffany. After his death, she married Henry Adams Patterson, and, thirdly, Charles Coffin Harris (1822–1881), her father's successor as Chief Justice and Chancellor. * William Fessenden Allen (1831–1906), who married Cordelia Church Bishop (1837–1912), cousin of banker
Charles Reed Bishop Charles Reed Bishop (January 25, 1822 – June 7, 1915) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist in Hawaii. Born in Glens Falls, New York, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, and made his home there, marrying into the ...
. William also served as Collector-General of the port of Honolulu. * Elisha Hunt Allen Jr. (1836–1906), who served as Hawaiian consul in New York and who married Julia Anne Herrick (1839–1913). * Sarah Fessenden Allen (1837–1901), who married Dr. William Palmer Wesselhoeft (1835–1909), one of the founders of the
Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital was a homeopathic institution in Boston, Massachusetts, at which the first successful kidney removal in New England was performed. Established by an act of the Massachusetts legislature in 1855, the hospital ope ...
. In June 1856, he sailed back to
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
and married Mary Harrod Hobbs (b. 1808) (sometimes spelled Hobbes) in Philadelphia on March 11, 1857. Mary was daughter of another former Maine legislator Frederick Hobbs. Together, they were the parents of two children, including: * Frederick Hobbes Allen (1858–1937), who served as his father's secretary, graduated from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
in 1883, and become a law partner of his firm Adams & Allen in New York. * Mary Allen He died from a heart attack at the White House New Year's Reception for the Washington Diplomatic Corps given by president
Chester Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th U.S. vice president, vice president un ...
at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
on January 1, 1883, shortly before his 79th birthday. Allen is one of ten people known to have died inside the White House. He is interred in
Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
.


See also

* Relations between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the United States *
List of bilateral treaties signed by the Kingdom of Hawaii Many bilateral treaties were signed by the Hawaiian Kingdom. Under Kamehameha III * United States of America, December 23, 1826 (Treaty) * United Kingdom, November 13, 1836 (Lord E. Russell's Treaty) * France, July 17, 1839 (Captain LaPlace's Con ...


References


Further reading

* *''History of Penobscot County, Maine'' (Cleveland, 1882), p. 211 *


External links

*
Elisha Hunt Allen papers, 1849-1934
The Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Elisha Hunt 1804 births 1883 deaths People from New Salem, Massachusetts American people of English descent Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine Ambassadors of the United States to Hawaii Hawaiian Kingdom Finance Ministers Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles Chancellors of the Hawaiian Kingdom Chief justices of the Hawaiian Kingdom Ambassadors of the Hawaiian Kingdom Speakers of the Maine House of Representatives Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Bangor City Council members People from Brattleboro, Vermont Williams College alumni Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery