Walter Murray Gibson (March 6, 1822 – January 21, 1888) was an American

adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

and a government minister in 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 islan ...

prior to the kingdom's 1887 constitution.

Early life

Gibson was generally thought to be born March 6, 1822, in the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, though he sometimes claimed to have been born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He spent his young adulthood in Anderson District,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. He was the captain of a ship and became involved in

gunrunning Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal trade of small arm ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

.Will Hoover
"Walter Murray Gibson"
''

Honolulu Advertiser ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and In ...

'', 2006-07-02 Later, he was jailed in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

on charges of fomenting rebellion, was sentenced to death, but managed to escape from Weltevreden Prison in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

. He claimed receiving a vision while in prison to "build up a kingdom in these isles, whose lines of power shall run around the earth." In 1859, he went to

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

and joined

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), persuading church president

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as chu ...

to allow him to establish a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into se ...

colony in the

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LDS Church colony

Gibson arrived 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 ...

in 1861, and founded a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

among members of the LDS Church who were already in the islands. He purchased land on the island of

Lanai Lanai ( haw, Lānai, , , also ,) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple pl ...

with funds from the colony in his own name, but was

excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

d after an investigation by the church regarding accusations of preaching false doctrine, maladministration of the colony, and

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

of church funds. The proceedings leading to his excommunication were initiated by letters from Jonathan Napela and other Native Hawaiian church leaders to church headquarters in Salt Lake City. Upon excommunication, he expelled those who did not support him from his colony and church and began angling for secular political office and power.

Political career

Hawaiian-Samoan meeting aboard Kaimiloa 1887

In 1873, Gibson started his own newspaper to extol his virtues in English and Hawaiian called the ''Nuhou''. He successfully ran for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in 1878 as a candidate of the King's Party, allying himself with

King Kalakaua King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

and portraying himself as the "voice of Hawaiians". In 1880 he bought the ''Pacific Commercial Advertiser'' (forerunner to the ''

''). In 1882, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then on June 30, 1886,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

of the

by King Kalākaua. He also served on various boards, as Attorney General, Minister of the Interior, and Secretary of War. He often held several cabinet positions simultaneously, and at one point, the cabinet consisted of only him and Minister of Finance John Mākini Kapena, resulting in newspapers labeling him the "Minister of Everything". Gibson was widely credited with encouraging Kalākaua to make rash political moves, which eventually led to the imposition of the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii. One of his bolder plans included an attempt to build a Pacific empire, which drew the ire of both the international and local Hawaiian communities. Sending the "homemade battleship"

Kaimiloa HHMS ''Kaimiloa'' was the first and only ship of the Hawaiian Royal Navy. The ship was formerly the ''Explorer'', a 170-ton schooner, built in England in 1871. ''Kaimiloa'' sailed from Hawaii to Samoa and other Pacific islands in 1887 in an effor ...

to Samoa in 1887 resulted in suspicions from the

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and embarrassment for the conduct of the crew.

Personal life

On July 10, 1838, the sixteen-year old Gibson married the twenty-year old Rachel Margaret Lewis (1818–1844), daughter of Jesse and Hannah Lewis. Prior to their marriage, Gibson had been a boarder with the Lewis's in their home in

Sandy Springs Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia and an inner ring suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's seventh-largest city. It is the site of several corporate headquarters, i ...

, outside of

Pendleton, South Carolina Pendleton is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,489 at the 2020 census. It is a sister city of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The Pendleton Historic District, consisting of the town and i ...

. They had three children: John Lewis (1838–1877), Henry (died 1893) and Tallulah (later changed to the Hawaiianized Talula, 1843–1903), who married Sheriff of Maui Frederick H. Hayselden. Rachel died in 1844, possibly from the cold conditions of the family's cabin floors or complications from her last pregnancy.

Death

Gibson's fortunes fell dramatically after being removed from power in 1887. He fled the islands for fear of his life and died penniless in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on January 21, 1888. His body was returned to Hawaii for a funeral and burial.

Legacy

According to

Samuel W. Taylor Samuel Woolley Taylor (February 5, 1907 – September 26, 1997) was an American novelist, scriptwriter, and historian. Biography Taylor was born in Provo, Utah to Janet "Nettie" Maria Woolley and John W. Taylor, the son of John Taylor, p ...

, Gibson was a brilliant, audacious imposter who manipulated the LDS Church and Brigham Young to his own advantage. Young named him as missionary-at-large to convert Japan and other Pacific islands. He had some success in Hawaii but was excommunicated by Young. He then turned to politics becoming Hawaii's chief minister. He plotted the revolution of 1887, but was overthrown and saved from execution by a British diplomat.Taylor, 1964.

In film

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...

played Gibson in the 1999 film '' Molokai: The Story of Father Damien''.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * Taylor, Samuel W. "Walter Murray Gibson: Great Mormon Rascal" ''American West'' (00031534). (1964) 1#2 pp 18–28.

External links

* * :"A List of All the Cabinet Ministers Who Have Held Office in the Hawaiian Kingdom" * :Includes a list of Attorneys General for the Kingdom of Hawaii, their salaries and budgets {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Walter M. 1822 births 1888 deaths 19th-century American politicians 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint leaders American Latter Day Saints American Mormon missionaries British Latter Day Saints Editors of Hawaii newspapers Exiles from Hawaii Founders of new religious movements Hawaiian Kingdom Attorneys General Hawaiian Kingdom Foreign Ministers Hawaiian Kingdom Interior Ministers Hawaiian Kingdom Latter Day Saints Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Latter Day Saint leaders Members of the Hawaii Board of Health Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council Mormon missionaries in Hawaii Mormonism and Pacific Islanders National Party (Hawaii) politicians People excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints