Hawaii Provisional Government Cabinet (PP-28-7-012)

James Anderson King (December 4, 1832 – October 16, 1899) was a

ship's master The master, or sailing master, is a historical rank for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel. The rank can be equated to a professional seaman and specialist in navigation, rather than as a military ...

who became a politician of the

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii ( Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'') was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United State ...

Life

James Anderson King was born in

Bridge of Allan Bridge of Allan ( sco, Brig Allan, gd, Drochaid Ailein), also known colloquially as ''Bofa'', is a town in the Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on the A ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in December 4, 1832. He arrived in 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 island ...

during the 1860s, just after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and worked as

on merchant vessels. He sailed the ''Kona Packet'' on trading voyages to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and wes ...

, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. When

Samuel Gardner Wilder Samuel Gardner Wilder (June 20, 1831 – July 28, 1888) was an American shipping magnate and politician who developed a major transportation company in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life Samuel Gardner Wilder was born June 20, 1831, in Leominster, ...

arranged to buy the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

''Likelike'', King was put in charge. As Wilder grew his fleet, Captain King was made superintendent of all shipping operations. He married Charlotte Holmes Davis, daughter of

Robert Grimes Davis Robert Grimes Davis (May 10, 1819 – March 4, 1872) was an early lawyer and judge of the Kingdom of Hawaii who served many different posts for Hawaii and the Republic of Peru. He was also known as ''Lopaka'', the Hawaiian version of Robert. L ...

. She was the great-granddaughter of Oliver Holmes, an early settler and

Governor of Oahu The Governor of Oahu ( haw, Kiaaina o Oahu) was the royal governor or viceroy of the island of Oahu in the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Governor of Oahu resided at Honolulu and was usually a Hawaiian chief or prince and could even be a woman. The gover ...

, who had married into Hawaiian nobility. Her uncle

William Heath Davis William Heath "Kanaka" Davis, Jr. (1822 – 1909) was a merchant and trader in Alta California who helped to establish "New Town" (now Downtown San Diego) in San Diego, California. Life Davis was born in 1822 in Honolulu in the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

(1822–1909) moved to

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

in the 1830s. After the

overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety (Hawaii), Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign ...

, King was made minister of the interior for the

Provisional Government of Hawaii The Provisional Government of Hawaii (abbr.: P.G.; Hawaiian: ''Aupuni Kūikawā o Hawaiʻi'') was proclaimed after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893, by the 13-member Committee of Safety under the leadership of its ch ...

on January 17, 1893. He also served as minister of Interior of the

until his death. On June 3, 1896 he acted as minister of finance until the end of the month when he was replaced by

Henry E. Cooper Henry Ernest Cooper (August 28, 1857 – May 15, 1929) was an American people, American lawyer who moved to the Kingdom of Hawaii and became prominent in Hawaiian politics in the 1890s. He formally deposed Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii in 1893, h ...

. King died October 16, 1899, while trying to teach his six-year-old son how to swim in the ocean. He had an elaborate state funeral at

ʻIolani Palace The Iolani Palace ( haw, Hale Aliʻi ʻIolani) was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaii beginning with Kamehameha III under the Kamehameha Dynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under the Kalākaua Dyna ...

(then known as the executive building) with burial at

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 Cemete ...

with Masonic rituals of

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

on October 23, 1899. His son

Samuel Wilder King Samuel Wilder King (December 17, 1886March 24, 1959) was the eleventh Territorial Governor of Hawaii and served from 1953 to 1957. He was appointed to the office after the term of Oren E. Long. Previously, King served in the United States House ...

became governor of 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, James Anderson 1832 births 1899 deaths 19th-century Scottish people Republic of Hawaii politicians Republic of Hawaii Interior Ministers Republic of Hawaii Finance Ministers Burials at Oahu Cemetery People associated with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom