Charles Reed Bishop (January 25, 1822 – June 7, 1915) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Born in

Glens Falls Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls ref ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, and made his home there, marrying into the royal family of the kingdom. He served several monarchs in appointed positions in the kingdom, before its overthrow in 1893 by Americans from the United States and organization as 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 ...

. Bishop was one of the first trustees of and a major donor to the

Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal memb ...

, founded by his late wife's request to provide education to Hawaiian children. He founded Hawaii's first successful bank, now known as

First Hawaiian Bank First Hawaiian, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Its principal subsidiary, First Hawaiian Bank, founded in 1858, is Hawaii’s oldest and largest financial institution headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Fir ...

. Based on his business success, he also founded the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, named for his late wife.

Early life

On January 25, 1822, Charles Reed Bishop was born to Maria (Reed) and Samuel Bishop in

Glen Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,7 ...

. His father was a toll collector for ship traffic on the Hudson River near the town. Charles' mother Maria died two weeks after giving birth to her next son, Henry. Their father Samuel Bishop died when Charles was four, and the boy was taken in by his grandfather on his farm in Warrensburg and, by 15, was working for Nelson J. Warren in the town's largest store. Charles Bishop worked on his grandfather's farm, learning how to care for sheep, cattle, and horses. While living with his grandfather, Bishop was baptized in a Methodist church. Bishop spent his early years of education at a village school, and finished his formal schooling at 8th grade, as was customary for many boys in that period. Bishop was hired as a clerk and soon started working for Nelson J. Warren, who headed the largest mercantile company in Warrensburg. He befriended

William Little Lee William Little Lee (February 25, 1821 – May 28, 1857) was an American lawyer who became the first chief justice of the Supreme Court for the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life William Little Lee was born February 25, 1821 in Sandy Hill, New York. His fat ...

(1821–1857) from nearby Hudson Falls, then called Sandy Hill. Charles' paternal uncle Linus Bishop married Lee's sister Eliza. After attending

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 c ...

, Lee persuaded Bishop to go with him to the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

for new opportunities.

In Hawaii

William Little Lee and Charles Reed Bishop 1846

The two young men sailed for Oregon on the ''Henry'' out of New York City, leaving February 23, 1846. By October the ship had rounded

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

and needed to stop 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 isla ...

for provisions. At this time, the islands were still governed by the Kingdom of Hawaii, but numerous Americans were settling there for business opportunities and as missionaries. Lee was recruited to stay as the second western-trained lawyer 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 ...

; he was later appointed as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Bishop decided to stay as well. He soon was hired by some Americans to sort out the failed land deal of Ladd & Co., which was the first major formal law proceeding. He next worked for the U.S.

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 throu ...

. On February 27, 1849 Bishop became accepted as 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 islan ...

. He became an investor with Henry A. Peirce and Lee in a

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

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. Th ...

on the island of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest islan ...

, near where the Ladd company had been somewhat successful. From 1849 to 1853 he served as Collector General of Customs. He courted On Bernice Pauahi Pākī despite her resistance, and on June 4, 1850, he married, Bernice Pauahi Pākī of the royal House of Kamehameha, despite the objections of her parents. Their private ceremony in the Royal School was not attended by her family. Within a year her father

Pākī Abner Kuhoʻoheiheipahu Pākī (c. 1808–1855) was a Hawaiian high chief during the reign of King Kamehameha III, the father of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, founder of Kamehameha Schools. Early life and family According to Hawaiian tradition, he w ...

made peace with the marriage and invited the couple to live in the family estate called Haleakala. Bishop formed a partnership with William A. Aldrich, selling merchandise to be shipped to supply 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 f ...

. He became known as a trusted person with whom traders could deposit and exchange the various currencies in use at the time. In 1853 Bishop was elected as representative 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 Legisla ...

Bank

On August 17, 1858, Aldrich split off the shipping business. Bishop founded Bishop & Co. as the first chartered bank in the Kingdom. It is the second oldest bank west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. On its first day it took in $4784.25 in deposits. By 1878 it outgrew its basement room and expanded to a two-story building. This structure is designated as a contributing property to the Merchant Street Historic District, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1972. In 1895 Bishop sold the bank to Samuel Mills Damon (1841–1924), son of American missionary Samuel C. Damon (1815–1885). Over time the bank grew and in 1960 was renamed as

, formalizing its role in state history.

Service

Bishop served on the Privy Council for five Hawaiian monarchs from 1859–1891, and was appointed to the House of Nobles 1859–1886 by 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 ...

. From 1869 to 1891, he served as an appointee to the Board of Education. During the brief reign of King Lunalilo, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from January 10, 1873, to February 17, 1874. Bishop was one of the first trustees of and major donor to the

, founded at his late wife's bequest to provide education to Hawaiian children. He also was a founder of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, which he named after his late wife. Bishop hired William Tufts Brigham, whom he had met on a scientific visit in 1864 with Horace Mann Jr., to be the museum's first director. He also donated funds for buildings at the private

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 12th grade. Protestant missionaries establis ...

. Bishop was elected and served as president of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce 1883–1885 and 1888–1894. After the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, in 1893, Bishop left Hawaii in 1894 and settled in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He became vice-president of the

Bank of California The Bank of California was opened in San Francisco, California, on July 4, 1864, by William Chapman Ralston and Darius Ogden Mills. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and consid ...

, serving until his death on June 7, 1915. He stayed involved in his Hawaiian estate affairs from California. For example, he hired architects Clinton Briggs Ripley and Charles William Dickey to design a new building for the Bishop estate headquarters, and for Pauahi Hall on the Punahou School campus.

Death

Bishop died in 1915 at the age of 93 in

. His ashes were returned to Hawaii and interred next to his wife's remains at the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii. A major street cutting through Bishop property in

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the n ...

at was named Bishop.

References

External links

*
Charles Reed Bishop Biography and Timeline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Charles Reed 1822 births 1915 deaths Royalty of the Hawaiian Kingdom Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles Hawaiian Kingdom Foreign Ministers Burials at the Royal Mausoleum (Mauna ʻAla) Businesspeople from Honolulu Recipients of the Royal Order of Kalākaua Politicians from Glens Falls, New York 19th-century American businesspeople Hawaiian Kingdom businesspeople