William Patterson Alexander (July 25, 1805 – August 13, 1884) was an American missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii. His family continued to influence the history of

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 state ...

Life

William Patterson Alexander was born in

Paris, Kentucky Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. Paris is the seat of its county and forms part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As ...

on July 25, 1805. His father was James Alexander (1770–1821) and mother was Mary Rose Depuy (1765–1841). He attended

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...

in Danville, Kentucky and then

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...

. He was a distant cousin of

Archibald Alexander Archibald Alexander (April 17, 1772 – October 22, 1851) was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He served for 9 years as the President of Hampden–Sydney College in Virginia and for 39 yea ...

, the founder of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

seminary. On October 25, 1831, he married Mary Ann McKinney, who was born January 5, 1810, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was ordained October 13, 1831. They sailed on the Whaleship ''Averick'', under Captain Swain, from New Bedford, Massachusetts, November 26, 1831, and arrived at

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 ...

, May 17, 1832. Alexanders and the rest of the fifth company from the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

arrived in April 1832 to the Hawaiian Islands. They were sent on a scouting mission to the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in ...

(at the time called "Washington Islands") with Reuben Tinker and Samuel Whitney. On July 2, 1833, they then traveled back to establish a Marquesas mission with Richard Armstrong, Benjamin W. Parker with their wives via

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

. However, they abandoned the Marquesas to European missionaries and arrived back in Honolulu on May 12, 1834. The Alexanders were assigned to the mission at Waioli 1834 until 1843. Looking for a drier climate, they were transferred to

Lahainaluna School Lahainaluna High School is a public high school with the grades 9-12 located in Lahaina (on the island of Maui). Lahainaluna High School is also a public boarding school. It was founded in 1831 as a Protestant missionary school, originally name ...

in 1843. After the departure of founder

Lorrin Andrews Lorrin Andrews (April 29, 1795 – September 29, 1868) was an early American missionary to Hawaii and judge. He opened the first post-secondary school for Hawaiians called Lahainaluna Seminary, prepared a Hawaiian dictionary and several works o ...

and death of

Sheldon Dibble Sheldon Dibble (January 26, 1809 – January 22, 1845) was a missionary to Hawaii who organized one of the first books on Hawaiian history, and inspired students to write more. Early life Dibble was born in Skaneateles, New York on January 26, 1 ...

, he became principal until 1856. He preferred to live at cooler, higher elevations, and often camped at what would become Ulupalakua Ranch. Although the American Board was withdrawing support, he continued to assist efforts such as the

Kaahumanu Church Kaahumanu Church is a church (building), Church in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. Upon visiting a religious service in Wailuku in 1832 by Jonathan Smith Green, Queen Ka'ahumanu requested that a more permanent church structure be named for her, but her r ...

Wailuku, Hawaii Wailuku is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 17,697 at the 2020 census. Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Iao Valley. In the early 20th cent ...

from November 1856 until 1882. He and his wife traveled back to New Bedford by April 1858 on a fund-raising trip, and returned by December 1859. He helped unite Presbyterian and Congregational churches into the Hawaiian Evangelical Association. He died August 13, 1884, in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, and was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery. The Alexanders had 9 children: #

William DeWitt Alexander William DeWitt Alexander (April 2, 1833 – February 21, 1913) was an educator, author and linguist in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii. He then constructed maps for the Territory of Hawaii. Early life Alexander was born in Honolulu ...

(1833–1913) married Abigail Charlotte Baldwin (1833–1913) in 1861. # James McKinney Alexander was born January 29, 1835. He graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

and Princeton Theological Seminary and died in 1911. #

Samuel Thomas Alexander Samuel Thomas Alexander (October 29, 1836 – September 10, 1904) co-founded a major agricultural and transportation business in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life In November 1831, the Reverend William Patterson Alexander (1805–1884) and Mary A ...

was born October 29, 1836, married Martha Eliza Cooke, daughter of

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 ...

, co-founder of

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 ...

on January 26, 1864. Samuel was a co-founder 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 ...

who died September 10, 1904. # Henry Martyn Alexander (1839–1910) married Eliza Yates Wight and then Ina B. Weist. # Mary Jane Alexander (1840–1913) of which not much is known. # Ann Elizabeth Alexander (1843–1940) married Charles Henry Dickey. Their son was architect

Charles William Dickey Charles William “C.W.” Dickey (6 July 1871 – 25 April 1942) was an American architect famous for developing a distinctive style of Hawaiian architecture. He was known not only for designing some of the most famous buildings in Hawaii— ...

, and daughter Belle Dickey married Pineapple planter

James Drummond Dole James Drummond Dole (September 27, 1877 – May 20, 1958), also known as the "Pineapple King", was an American industrialist who developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii. He established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (HAPCO) which was later r ...

. # Emily Whitney Alexander (1846–1943) married

Henry Perrine Baldwin Henry Perrine Baldwin (August 29, 1842 – July 8, 1911) was a businessman and politician on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. He supervised the construction of the East Maui Irrigation System and co-founded Alexander & Baldwin, one of the " Big Fiv ...

(co-founder of Alexander & Baldwin) in 1869. # Charles Hodge Alexander (1848–1885) married Helen Goodale Thurston (1860–1885), granddaughter of missionaries

Asa Thurston Asa Thurston (October 12, 1787 – March 11, 1868) was a Protestant missionary from the United States who was part of the first company of American Christian missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands with his wife Lucy Goodale Thurston. Asa Thurston ...

Lucy Goodale Thurston Lucy Goodale Thurston (October 29, 1795October 13, 1876) was a Protestant missionary and author. She was the wife of Asa Thurston and was one of the first American Christian missionaries to Hawaii. She is noted for her letters documenting her ...

, and

, and sister of Lorrin Andrews Thurston. # Ellen Charlotte Alexander (1852–1924) married Giulio Ferreri and moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The Baldwins were children of fellow missionary Dwight Baldwin. Mary Ann McKinney Alexander moved back to Maui and lived with family, where she died on June 29, 1888. A street was named for him in Honolulu at .

Life

Family tree

References

Further reading