Hermann Adam Widemann (December 24, 1822 – February 7, 1899) was a businessman from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

who was a judge and member of the cabinet 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 ...

Life

Widemann was born in

Hanover, Germany Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany a ...

on December 24, 1822. As a teenager he went to work on a

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

ship. He came to live in 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 ...

in 1846, after stopping in 1843. He came briefly to 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 ...

in 1849, but returned after his companion John von Pfister was murdered. He married a native Hawaiian Kaumana "Mary" Kapoli in 1854 and lived in Līhue. He became sheriff of the island of Kauai in 1854, was elected to the house of representatives in 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 Legislat ...

in 1855, and in 1863 appointed its circuit judge. He started one of the first

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 ...

plantations in Hawaii known as Grove Farm. 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 ...

he supported the Confederate States. After selling Grove Farm to its manager

George Norton Wilcox George Norton Wilcox (August 15, 1839 – January 21, 1933) was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii. Life George Norton Wilcox was born in Hilo August 15, 1839. His father was Abner Wilcox and mother was ...

in 1865, he moved to

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 work in the capital. On July 10, 1869 he was appointed to the kingdom's supreme court, despite never having any formal law school training. On February 18, 1874 he was appointed to the cabinet as minister of the interior until May 28, 1874, as well as on the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, the board of education, commissioner of

crown lands Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

, president of the bureau of immigration, and board of health. In 1878 he started the

Waianae Sugar Company The Waianae Sugar Company, founded in 1878, was the first major sugar plantation on Oahu, Hawaii. History In 1878, Judge Hermann Widemann planted his first crop in Wai'anae, eleven years before the creation of the Oahu Railway and Land Company ...

in the Waianae district of Oahu island. On February 25, 1891 he was appointed as Minister of Finance to

Queen Liliuokalani Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

, but had to resign two weeks later on March 10. He was temporarily replaced by Samuel Parker, and then

John Mott-Smith John Mott-Smith (November 25, 1824 – August 10, 1895) was the first dentist to set up a permanent practice in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was also a politician, newspaper editor, and diplomat. Life John Mott-Smith was born in New York City on No ...

. After Mott-Smith was sent to

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

to attempt to negotiate a trade treaty, Parker served again briefly until Widemann resumed his duties as minister of finance. He also filled in briefly as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

from July 27, 1892 to August 29, 1892. After the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Widemann was sent with Parker and

John Adams Cummins John Adams Kuakini Cummins (March 17, 1835 – March 21, 1913) was a member of the nobility of the Kingdom of Hawaii who became a wealthy businessman, and was involved in politics as the kingdom was overthrown. Life John Adams Kuakini Cummins w ...

, in an attempt to get international support for its restoration. He then continued to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

but was never successful. Widemann was interviewed by US Commissioner James H. Blount in preparing his

Blount Report The Blount Report is the popular name given to the part of the 1893 United States House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee Report regarding the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The report was conducted by U.S. Commissioner James ...

on May 20, 1893. He was the first to experiment with the ''Guatemalan'' variety of coffea tree, which turned out to be well-adapted to higher elevations; it became the most popular variety through modern times. He died February 7, 1899. After a funeral in the

Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace ( French: ''Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix''; Portuguese: ''Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Paz''; Hawaiian: ''Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui''; Latin: ''Basilicæ cathedralis Sanctæ Mariæ de Pa ...

, he was buried in Oahu Cemetery. He was survived by two sons and seven daughters. His daughter Wilhelmina Widemann organized the first

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

club in the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

in 1912. His son Carl Widemann married Helen Umiokalani Parker, daughter of Samuel Parker in July 1899. A street is named for him in Mākaha at .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widemann, Hermann Adam 1822 births 1899 deaths Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives Hawaiian Kingdom Interior Ministers Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles Hawaiian Kingdom Finance Ministers Hawaiian Kingdom Attorneys General Businesspeople from Hawaii German emigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom Justices of the Hawaii Supreme Court People associated with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom Members of the Hawaii Board of Education Members of the Hawaii Board of Health 19th-century American businesspeople

Life

See also

References