Robert Young (1796–c.1813) was a Hawaiian chief and the son of
John Young John Young may refer to:
Academics
* John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow
* John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...
, the British advisor of
Kamehameha the Great
Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. T ...
.
Early life
He was born February 14, 1796, the eldest son of John Young and his wife
Namokuelua. Robert's mother, the chiefess Namokuelua, was of Oahuan aristocracy, although not of high rank.
Even though he was his father's first son, Young was advanced in age, being over 48 while Robert's mother was 16 when he was born. Robert was the elder full brother of
James Kanehoa Young, and he was elder half-brother of
Fanny Kekelaokalani Young,
Grace Kamaikui Young,
John Kalaipaihala Young, and Jane Lahilahi Young, children of his father's second marriage to
Kaoanaeha Kaʻōanaʻeha Mele or Mary Kuamoʻo Kaʻōanaʻeha (c.1780–1850) was a Hawaiian high chiefess during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Parentage
She was born circa 1780
the daughter of High Chiefess Kalikoʻokalani. Genealogists disagre ...
. He was one year older than James, 8 years older than Fanny, 10 years older than Grace, 14 years older than John and 17 years older than Jane.
Education
In 1802, Robert and probably James were both sent abroad 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 ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
for a Western education. A letter in the Archives, dated in 1804, referring to Robert having been left at school in America, would indicate the event to have been an early politic step. It is dated at Canton, February 10, 1804, directed to John Young, and is as follows:
I have sent you by Mr. Davis 20 pieces of Blue Nankeens and two boxes of tea. I left your son Robert well in America about six months since; he is at school and behaves very well. I shall do everything for him that I promised you, you may depend on it. I am very fond of him, and shall take great care to make him a good man. Remember me to Stewart, Davis, and Holmes when you see them, and believe me,
::Your friend, JAMES MAGEE.[''Hawaiian Almanac and Annual for 1911'']
(1910) Thomas G. Thrum, Compiler and Publisher. p. 101
According to this letter, Robert could have only arrived in Boston, on October 1803. He made have started out from Hawaii in 1802, but the journey even by the standard of those days would not have taken more than 11 or 10 months.
Death
Robert joined the
American Navy at age 16 and served in the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
. Although he was half-
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
, he was captured by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and taken prisoner in the
Battle of Lake Champlain
The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final British invasion of the northern states of the United States during the War of 1812. An army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost and a naval squadr ...
. He was sent to the island of
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
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, where he became lost to history. Nothing definite was ever heard from him again.
One source states: ''It is said that he died early in his school career and was buried in the States, but no particulars can be gathered.''
See also
* List of kidnappings
*List of people who disappeared
Lists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated. Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ''in absentia''. Some of these people were possibly subjected to enfo ...
Family tree
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Robert
1796 births
1810s missing person cases
1813 deaths
American military personnel killed in the War of 1812
American military personnel of Native Hawaiian descent
Kidnapped American people
Military personnel missing in action
Missing person cases in North America
People from Hawaii (island)
Royalty of the Hawaiian Kingdom
United States Navy personnel of the War of 1812
War of 1812 prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom