Harvey Rexford Hitchcock (March 13, 1800 – August 25, 1855) was an early Protestant missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii from the United States. With his three sons, he and his wife started a family that would influence Hawaii's history. He had at least three namesakes in the subsequent generations.

Life

Harvey Rexford Hitchcock was born March 13, 1800, in

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...

. His father was David Hitchcock and mother was Sarah Swan. He was the oldest son of 11 children. 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 ...

in 1828, and Auburn Theological Seminary in 1831. His younger brother George B. Hitchcock (1812–1872) also became a minister, and was active in the American abolitionism movement known as the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. He married Rebecca Howard (1808–1890) on August 26, 1831, in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, th ...

, and sailed on November 26 to the Hawaiian Islands, as part 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 ...

. They arrived 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 ...

May 17, 1832. Also on this voyage were missionaries William P. Alexander,

David Belden Lyman David Belden Lyman (July 28, 1803 – October 4, 1884) was an early American missionary to Hawaii who opened a boarding school for Hawaiians. His wife Sarah Joiner Lyman (1805–1885) taught at the boarding school and kept an important journal. Th ...

, and

Lorenzo Lyons Lorenzo Lyons or "''Makua Laiana''" (April 18, 1807 – October 6, 1886) was an early missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was a songwriter who wrote the lyrics of "'' Hawaii Aloha''", which was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in ...

. His sister Elizabeth Hitchcock (1802–1857) arrived 3 years later and in 1836 married missionary printer Edmond Horton Rogers (1806–1853). They were assigned to start the first mission on the island of Molokai. He took a short scouting mission around the island in the summer of 1832, and in September held the first Christian service in the open air. By June 19, 1833, with the assistance of Lowell Smith (1802–189), a thatched hut was chartered as the first church in an area called Kaluaaha. ''Ka lua aha'' means "the gathering pit" in the Hawaiian language, the name of the '' ahupuaa'' (

ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporadicall ...

an land division) there. On December 6, 1835, a more permanent meeting house was dedicated with a stone base and wooden frame, about long by wide. From 1843 to 1847 they were assisted by Peter Johnson Gulick (1796–1877) and his wife. An even larger church building was dedicated April 3, 1844, for the growing congregation. This stone building with plaster finish was about long by wide with a gallery level above. Another home was built at a higher elevation called Maunaoluolu to escape the heat.

Death and legacy

The family traveled back to the United States for medical care in 1853, and returned on November 28, 1854. He died at the Kaluaaha home August 29, 1855, and is buried on the hillside overlooking the church. The church was restored and rededicated in 1917, but after suffering from termite damage on May 15, 1967, the steeple toppled and the church was in ruins for several decades. The small congregation maintains the site, and on September 27, 2009, had a rededication ceremony under a temporary corrugated metal roof. It is located at near the settlement known as Pukoo. Besides two daughters who died young in 1834 and 1838, they had three sons. David Howard Hitchcock, born May 29, 1832, married Almeda Eliza Widger (1828–1895) March 13, 1857, and had a son also named David Howard Hitchcock (1861–1943) who was a painter. David Howard Hitchcock Sr. was a lawyer who served in 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 Legisl ...

, and partnered with his daughter Almeda Eliza Hitchcock Moore (1863–1895) who was the first woman lawyer in Hawaii. He died December 12, 1899. Harvey Rexford Hitchcock, Jr. (generally known as H. Rexford Hitchcock) was born in 1835 and published a dictionary of the Hawaiian language while principal of

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 an effort to teach Hawaiians the English language. He married Alice Field Hardy (1854–1895) on May 30, 1877, was elected to 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 ...

of the Kingdom from 1862 through 1870. He died June 6, 1891. Edward Griffin Hitchcock was born January 20, 1837, married Mary Tenney Castle, daughter 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 ...

founder

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 "Northro ...

(1808–1894), and died October 9, 1898. Edward and Mary also named a son Harvey Rexford Hitchcock (1864–1931), who married Hannah Julia Meyer (1866–1912), daughter of German businessman Rudolph Wilhelm Meyer (1826–1897). Their son Harvey Rexford Hitchcock, Jr. (1891–1958) was on the

1913 College Football All-America Team The 1913 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans for the 1913 college football season. The only two selectors who have been recognized as "official" selectors by the National Col ...

from Harvard.

Family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchcock, Harvey Rexford 1800 births 1855 deaths People from Great Barrington, Massachusetts American Congregationalist missionaries Congregationalist missionaries in Hawaii Williams College alumni American expatriates in the Hawaiian Kingdom