Paul Neumann (1839 – July 2, 1901) was a lawyer, politician, and diplomat in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

Background

Born and educated in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, Neumann and his twin brother Edward relocated to

in 1854. The brothers worked in the goldmines, where Paul broke his leg. Eventually, Edward relocated to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and Paul moved to San Francisco. He became a lawyer in

around 1864, and was elected to represent San Francisco for three terms in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

Hawaii

He worked for fellow-

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

Claus Spreckels Claus Spreckels (July 9, 1828 – December 26, 1908) was a German-born American industrialist in California and Hawaii, during the Kingdom of Hawaii, kingdom and Republic of Hawaii, republican periods of the islands' history. He founded or was i ...

(1828–1908), who maintained a monopoly of the refining of sugar from Hawaii in California. Neuman met Hawaiian royalty when they would come to California to be entertained by Spreckels. Neumann was the Republican Party of California's candidate for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in November 1882 for the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

district. However, he was attacked by the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' as being a "sugar coated candidate", claiming he's being used by Spreckels, and was defeated in the election. In 1883, Neumann came to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

to serve as legal counsel for Spreckels who was now the publisher of the ''

Honolulu Advertiser ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions. ''The ...

'' newspaper, first in the fall for a short visit. He was one of the first

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leaders in the Hawaiian Islands, although in later years he led a more secular life and did not raise his children in the Jewish faith. Being from Europe, Neumann was comfortable around a monarchy, and made friends with the other Europeans in the islands. King David Kalākaua and other members of the government depended on loans from Spreckels to support their lifestyles. Within days of returning, Neumann was admitted to the bar and appointed as

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and a member of Kalākaua's Privy Council on December 14, 1883. Walter M. Gibson had been acting as attorney general, even though he had no legal training. The cabinet stayed intact until June 30, 1886, when another combination (except Gibson) was brought in, probably at the suggestion of Spreckels. Neumann was sometimes attacked by the conservative press for his "

bohemianism Bohemianism is a social and cultural movement that has, at its core, a way of life away from society's conventional norms and expectations. The term originates from the French ''bohème'' and spread to the English-speaking world. It was used to ...

", including playing

Poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

with the king, which the missionaries thought was sinful. He had been president of the

Bohemian Club The Bohemian Club is a private club with two locations: a city clubhouse in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco, California, and the Bohemian Grove, a retreat north of the city in Sonoma County. Founded in 1872 from a regular meeting of jour ...

in San Francisco

Charles T. Gulick Charles Thomas Gulick (July 25, 1841 – November 7, 1897) was a Kingdom of Hawaiʻi politician and one of the few members of the various missionary families of the time to side with the monarchy in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1 ...

, although related to missionaries, also became a member of the Kalākaua cabinet as Minister of the Interior. In 1884 Neumann was appointed to the House of Nobles in the kingdom legislature, and the board of health. He served as envoy to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1884, and investigated forming a consular office in

in 1885. Under the new

1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii Events January * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti- rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the United States Navy to lease Pearl H ...

, the House of Nobles became an elected office, so he lost his seat, until winning the election of 1892 for one more session.

Queen Liliuokalani Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

appointed him attorney general again on August 29, but he resigned the next day after a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in the legislature, when his scheme for a state

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was heavily opposed in the legislature. On September 12 he was appointed again and served to November 1, 1892. Neumann became the private attorney of the queen after the

overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani that took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu. The coup was led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents (five Ame ...

in 1893. He was sent to

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

to protest the overthrow and plead for the restoration of the monarchy. After an editorial in the ''Advertiser'' offended him, Neumann (who had a wooden leg) attacked new editor Henry Northrop Castle (son of Samuel Northrup Castle) with his cane in December 1893. He defended Liliuokalani and other prisoners in a military tribunal following the failed 1895 rebellion against the

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'' epupəˈlikə o həˈvɐjʔi was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii, Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had Black Week (H ...

, where she was convicted of

misprision of treason Misprision of treason is an offence found in many common law jurisdictions around the world, having been inherited from English law. It is committed by someone who knows a treason is being or is about to be committed but does not report it to a p ...

. He advised Liliuokalani to issue a formal abdication, which she did, and the revolutionaries were pardoned. When a circuit judge position opened up, he was passed over for the much younger William Stanley. After the islands were annexed to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1898, he became more resigned to the situation, and applied to be the first attorney from Hawaii to practice before the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. He did think the Crown Lands of Hawaii had been seized illegally, a case that is still controversial. Although he had no government position, he was accepted in society enough to become toastmaster of the local

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

, and president of the Hawaii Bar Association. He represented many of the Chinese victims of the Great Honolulu Chinatown Fire of 1900. He died July 2, 1901. At his funeral he was called "one of the most brilliant men who ever set foot on Hawaiian soil". He was buried in

Oahu Cemetery The Oahu Cemetery is the resting place of many notable early residents of the Honolulu area. They range from missionaries and politicians to sports pioneers and philosophers. Over time it was expanded to become an area known as the Nuuanu Cemet ...

Personal life and death

His daughter Eva (1871–1921) married Alfred Fowler (1860–1933) and became a friend of

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

. Son Edouard Neumann graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

(nominated by California congressman

Julius Kahn Julius Kahn may refer to: *Julius Kahn (inventor) (1874–1942), engineer of reinforced concrete *Julius Kahn (congressman) (1861–1924), United States congressman {{Hndis, Kahn, Julius ...

), but was killed in a fire during target practice on the on April 13, 1904. Son Paul Neumann Jr. studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Neumann's wife Elisa also moved to London, as did daughter Lily Neumann who married Robert MacDonald Bird. Other daughters Anita A. Neumann married Herman T. Focke in Honolulu in 1895, and Inez Sophie Neumann married William F. C. Hasson in 1891 who moved to

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

. His wife Elisa went to

Acapulco, Mexico Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicircular bay, Acapulco has been a port since the ear ...

in 1908 to settle the estate of her mother and stepfather who had both died. On a steamer to San Francisco she died after jumping overboard.

References

Bibliography

External links