William Richards Castle (March 19, 1849 – June 5, 1935) was a lawyer and politician 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 island ...

and

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'') was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United State ...

Family

William Richards Castle was born in

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 ...

on March 19, 1849. His father was

Samuel Northrup Castle Samuel Northrup Castle (August 12, 1808 –July 14, 1894) was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life Samuel Northrup Castle was born August 12, 1808 in Cazenovia, New York. His middle name is sometimes spelled "Northrop" ...

(1808–1894), and mother was Mary Tenney Castle (1819–1907). He was a namesake of

William Richards William, Bill, or Billy Richards may refer to: Sportspeople * Dicky Richards (William Henry Matthews Richards, 1862–1903), South African cricketer * Billy Richards (footballer, born 1874) (1874–1926), West Bromwich Albion football player * B ...

(1793–1847) who drafted the first constitution of the kingdom. On October 12, 1875 he married Ida Beatrice Lowrey (1854–1926) on October 12, 1875 and had three children. His brothers George Parmele Castle (1851–1932) and

James Bicknell Castle James Bicknell Castle (November 27, 1855 – April 5, 1918) was a Honolulu businessman in times of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii. Life James Bicknell Castle was born November 27, 1855, in Honolulu. His father w ...

(1855–1918) became executives in the firm

Castle & Cooke Castle & Cooke, Inc., is a Los Angeles-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company at one time did most of its business in agriculture, including becoming, through mergers with the modern Dole F ...

which was co-founded by his father and

Amos Starr Cooke Amos Starr Cooke (December 1, 1810 – March 20, 1871) was an American educator and businessman in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was patriarch of a family that influenced Hawaii during the 20th century. Life Amos Starr Cooke was born in Danbury, Co ...

, and developed it into one of the "Big Five" corporations that dominated 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 ...

economy.

Career

He attended

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...

(then known as Oahu College) and then

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

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 ...

, earning an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree in 1873. He practised law for two years in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

before returning to Hawaii in 1876. He was officer and director of several corporations. After Richard H. Stanley died in office in 1875, he was appointed to be

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 ...

for King David Kalākaua from February to December 1876, when he was replaced by

Alfred S. Hartwell Alfred Stedman Hartwell (June 11, 1836 – August 30, 1912) was a lawyer and American Civil War soldier, who then had another career as cabinet minister and judge in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life Alfred Stedman Hartwell was born June 11, 18 ...

. He was elected to 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 the House of Representatives from 1878 to 1886, and House of Nobles from 1887 to 1888. Oberlin awarded him an honorary degree in 1887. He later became a member of Committee of Safety, and member of

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...

. After the

overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety (Hawaii), Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign ...

in 1893, he served on commissions to lobby for annexation by the

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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, was president of the Board of Education, and commissioner of public lands.

Death and legacy

He bequeathed a book fund at

Harvard College Library Harvard Library is the umbrella organization for Harvard University's libraries and services. It is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic library and largest private library in the world. Its collection ...

in his name, focusing specifically on South Seas literature. His ''Ex libris''

bookplate An ''Ex Libris'' (from ''ex-librīs'', ), also known as a bookplate (or book-plate, as it was commonly styled until the early 20th century), is a printed or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the front endpaper, to indicate ownership. ...

contains personal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and the Harvard College Shield. He died June 5, 1935 and was buried at the mission houses cemetery at Kawaiahao Church.

Children

His son Alfred Lowrey Castle (1884–1972) also graduated from Harvard in 1906 and Harvard Law School, and joined the family firm of Castle & Withington in 1908. He then started his own law firm of Robertson, Castle and Olsen. Alfred was director of

Alexander & Baldwin Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. is an American company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company currently operates businesses in real estate, land operations, and materials and construction. It was also the last ...

and elected to the Territorial legislature in 1911 and 1915-1918. He was a pitcher on the Harvard baseball team, and won 11 championships of the Hawaii Tennis Association. Alfred married Ethelinda Schaefer in 1908 and had a son Alfred Lowrey Castle Jr. and two other children. He was an active member of the

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineerin ...

since 1930. Castle's oldest son,

William Richards Castle, Jr. William Richards Castle Jr. (June 19, 1878 – October 13, 1963) was an American educator and diplomat. He rose rapidly to the highest levels of the United States Department of State and took a strong interest in Pacific issues, in part becau ...

was born June 19, 1878, became an educator, author and diplomat, and died October 14, 1963. His book ''Hawaii Past and Present,'' on the history and people of Hawaii, is dedicated to "My Father: Lifelong friend of the Hawaiian People; foremost among those who have laboured for the upbringing of the Islands—his unselfish devotion is the inspiration of his children." He also had a daughter Beatrice who was born July 30, 1888, married Burton Edgar Newcomb, and died June 8, 1931. A descendant directs a foundation in honor of the Castle family, and William Richards Castle was a founding trustee.

Family tree

References

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:Castle, William Richards 1849 births 1935 deaths Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Republic of Hawaii politicians Hawaiian Kingdom Attorneys General Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles Punahou School alumni Oberlin College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Sons of the American Revolution Independent (Kuokoa) Party politicians People from Honolulu People associated with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom