John Mahiʻai Kāneakua

The Honourable John Mahi'ai Kāneakua (born John Mahi'ai Miller, September 9, 1860 – January 26, 1936) was a noble of the non-ruling elite of the Kingdom of Hawaii, an attorney and politician. He was re-elected to the position of County Clerk of Kaua‘i for 28 years until his retirement at the age of 74.

The Honourable John Mahi'ai Kāneakua
County Clerk of Kaua‘i
In office 1906 – 1934 (at retirement)
Personal details
Born	John Mahi'ai Miller (1860-09-09)September 9, 1860 Honauaula, Maui, Hawaii
Died	January 26, 1936(1936-01-26) (aged 75) Kapaʻa, Kauaʻi, Hawaii
Resting place	Kapaa First Hawaiian Church Cemetery
Nationality	Kingdom of Hawaii United States
Political party	Republican
Children	2 adopted, 10 natural
Alma mater	Royal School (Hawaii)
Occupation	Clerk for Hawaiian Legislature, Attorney, Notary Public, Politician
Profession	Law

He opposed the provisional government/republic after overthrow by European Americans. He was elected during the territorial period. He supported Queen Lili‘uokalani after the overthrow in 1893 by actively participating in attempts to restore the monarchy.

He had attended the Royal School, graduating in 1877. He began practicing law in the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1886 and was a member of the Queen's OWN, (part of the volunteer military forces of the Kingdom) from 1886 to 1887.

Early life and education

He was born John Mahiai Miller in Honuaula, Maui to father, Alexander (Alika) P. Miller, son of Mela (Miller) and mother, Kapuailohiawahine Kanuha (Kaialiilii) Miller on October 9, 1860.^[1] Kapuailohiawahine Miller, a notable hakumele (Hawaiian for composer of music) and his sister Isabella Hale'ala Miller taught hula in secret when the dance was banned.^[2] He also had a brother, Samuel Kalimahana Miller, born in 1868.^[3] and other siblings. He would be hānai adopted by James Kāneakua^[4] who, it is believed, had no children of his own.^[5]

John attended the Royal school, graduating in 1877^[6] and then began studying law with Edward Preston, working as a clerk for the judge while Preston was still in the legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom in the House of Nobles.^[1] He was admitted to practice law within the Kingdom in 1884, a year before Preston would be named to the Supreme Court of Hawaii. Newspaper ads from the attorney were prevalent in Hawaii where he was considered well known.^[5]

Military service and organizations

The Kingdom of Hawaii's military was divided into several branches with one permanent King's Guard and several volunteer companies including the King's Own, The Queen's Own and the Prince's Own. John volunteered starting out as a Second Lieutenant of the Queen's Own on October 3, 1885 soon making First Lieutenant of Company A, and serving until 1887.^[7]

He helped found the Kamehameha Rifle Association with Robert W. Wilcox, Sam Nowlein, and S. K. Kane and was a member of numerous organizations and associations including the Royal Order of Kamehameha, Kauaʻi Chamber of Commerce, Republican Central Committee, Ka Hale of Nā Aliʻi o Hawaiʻi, and the Kauaʻi Historical Society. He was also a member of Hui Hawaiian Aloha ʻĀina, which opposed the annexation of Hawaii.^[5]

After overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom

 

Committee members, selected to present a memorial to U.S. Special Commissioner, James Blount. Kāneakua is seated on the bottom right

On January 17, 1893, the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in a coup d'état by a militia group known as the Citizen's Committee of Public Safety. As part of the response to the overthrow, the Hui Hawaiian Aloha ʻĀina (Hawaiian Patriotic League) formed a convention of delegates with petitions against annexation and created a committee of members, selected to present a memorial to U.S. Special Commissioner, James Blount during the investigation for what became Blount Report for then President, Grover Cleveland. Kāneakua's name appears last on the list of the 19 committee member signatures.^[6] Part of the document read:

Since the fate of our little kingdom and its inhabitants is in your hands, we do humbly pray that a speedy solution may be reached to avoid impending calamities, and so that we may once more enjoy the blessings of peace, prosperity, and a proper government.

— Statement of the Hui Hawaiian Aloha ʻĀina^[8]

Personal life, marriages and death

John married Esther Kamakolu in Kapaʻa, Kauaʻi on July 5, 1903. They adopted two children named Esther Nuihaku and James Neenee. After Esther's death, Kāneakua remarried again at age 64 to Lucy Kaʻumealani Cummings. This union produced 10 children.^[5]

Helped translate the Book of Mormon from English to ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1898 even though not of that faith.^[5]

Kāneakua's home was in Kapaʻa, Kauaʻi. Puaikaena and her husband granted John interest in land in Honomāʻele, Hāna, Maui by deed on May 30, 1900. On January 11, 1901, he was granted additional land in Waiakoa, Kula, Maui by Mrs. Inoaole Ahulii. John died in his home on the island of Kauaʻi on January 26, 1936.^[5]

Family tree

v t e Beamer, Desha, Kāneakua, Miller family tree

Key- Subjects with bold titles and blue bold box= Aliʻi line. Bold title and grey bolded box= Lower ranking Aliʻi line. Bold title and un-bolded box= European nobility. Regular name and box= makaʻāinana or untitled foreign subject. Mela (Miller) Kānekapōlei^[i] Kaialii Poimoa Kilinahe Lama (w) Alexander P. Miller Jr. (Alika Mela)^[ii] Kapuailohia Wahine Kanuha Kaialiilii.^[iii] Ai Namakalele Charles Makee^[iv] Sarah Kaʻili Miller John Mahiʻai Miller/Kaneakua (Oct. 9, 1860-Jan. 26, 1936) County Clerk of Kaua‘i Hui Hawaiian Aloha ʻĀina Lucy Kaʻumealani Cummings Samuel Kalimahana Kaialiilii Miller.^[v]^[vi] (1868-Nov. 24, 1933) Daisy Amoe Ai^[vii] George Langhern Desha Isabella Haleʻala Kaʻili Miller^[viii]^[ix] (1865-Feb. 28, 1949) Noa Miller Charles Miller Sakichi Hayashi Annie Maikaʻi Miller Charles Hoolulu Siemsen Peter Carl Beamer Helen Kapuailohia Desha (Sept. 8, 1882–Sept. 25, 1952) David Lester Desha James Waichiro Miller Milton Hoʻolulu Beamer (October 18, 1903^[x] - ) Kaaloehukaiopuaena Copp Francis Kealiʻinohopono Beamer Louise Leiomälama Harriet Kekahiliokalani Beamer Peter Carl Kaleikaʻapunihonua Beamer Jr. Helen Elizabeth Kawohikukapulani Beamer Mahi Beamer Odell Steppe Winona Beamer Keola Beamer Kapono Beamer Notes: Hawaiian researcher Dorothy Barrère lists Kanekapolei as the wife of Mela (Miller) on page 458 of her book from the full Mahele land claim of Kanekapolei's son Alika Mela- LCA 8018.^[α] Kaʻanoʻi Walk writes in an article for the Hawaiian Cultural Center: "..my great-grandfather John Mahiʻai Kāneakua was born in Honuaʻula, Maui to his loving parents Alexander P. Miller and Kanuha (Kaialiilii) Miller".^[β] Kapuailohiawahine and her daughter Isabella, taught Hula in secret, hiding it after the ban by Kaʻahumanu.^[γ] The son of Charles Makee (the son of James Makee, a wealthy sea Captain) Charles Miller was the son of "Sarah Miller, written as "S. Mila" on the marriage record".^[δ] Hawaii State Archives lists Samuel Kaia Miller marrying Amoy Ai on 5-2-1903 in Honolulu, Hawaii.^[ε] The Marriage certificate of Samuel and Daisy Amoe Ai lists Alika Miller and Kanuha as parents to Samuel, with Namakelele and Ai as parent to Daisy.^[ζ] Daisy Amoe and Samuel Kalimahana Miller had 12 children and resided in Kalihi where Samuel worked as a painter.^[η] In a press release from the Hula Preservation Society, they list Isabella Hale`ala Miller Desha as Nona Beamer's great grandmother.^[θ] The Desha Genealogy lists William Francis Desha as the son of Isabella and George Desha.^[ι] Hawaii Births and Christenings, 1852-1933. Milton Hoolulu Desha Beamer, 18 Oct 1903; citing Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii, reference p 36; FHL microfilm 1,031,747.^[κ] Barrère, D.B. (1994). The King's Mahele: The Awardees and Their Lands. D.B. Barrère. OCLC 31886789. Walk, Kaʻanoʻi. "Kāneakua, John Mahiʻai". Hawaiian Cultural Center. Kamehameha Schools. Retrieved 27 December 2014. Barbara Bennett Peterson (1984). Notable Women of Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8248-0820-4. Chinese America, History and Perspectives. Chinese Historical Society of America. 1988. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-9614198-1-3. "MARRIAGES: Oahu (1832-1910)". Hawaiian Genealogy indexes. Hawaiʻi State Archives. Retrieved 27 December 2014. State of Hawaii Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring, Certificate of Marriage, May 2, 1903 "No Race Suicide Here". The Garden Island. December 17, 1918. Retrieved 14 May 2014. "Hula Preservation". Hula Preservation Society. Hula Preservation Society. Retrieved 27 December 2014. DeWitt Collier Nogues (1983). Desha genealogy: a survey. ATEX Austin Inc. p. 212. Births, Kaʻanoʻi. "Milton Hoolulu Desha Beamer". Family Search. Retrieved 4 September 2015.

References

1. John William Siddall (1917). Men of Hawaii: Being a Biographical Reference Library, Complete and Authentic, of the Men of Note and Substantial Achievement in the Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. pp. 159, 162. OCLC 656828381.
2. "pg composer B". Retrieved December 5, 2014.
3. State of Hawaii Department of Health, Office of Health Status Monitoring, Certificate of Marriage, May 2, 1903
4. "May 1, 1900, Page 3 The Independent" (PDF). Obituary. The Independent. May 1, 1900. p. 3. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
5. Walk, Kaʻanoʻi (September 2013). "Kāneakua, John Mahiʻai". Ka‘iwakīloumoku Virtual Archive. Kamehameha Schools. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
6. Soboleski, Hank (Aug 10, 2013). "John Mahiai Kaneakua". The Garden Island. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
7. Nellist, George F. M. (1925). The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders. Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Ltd.
8. United States. Department of State (1895). Foreign Relations of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 913.