John Mott-Smith (November 25, 1824 – August 10, 1895) was the first dentist to set up a permanent practice in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was also a politician, newspaper editor, and diplomat.

Life

John Mott-Smith was born in New York City on November 13, 1824. His father was also named John Mott Smith (1795–1832), generally spelled without the hyphen, and mother was Amanda Day. His father had trained as a physician, but became a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister instead, and was Principal of Wesleyan Seminary in New York in 1820. In 1826 the family moved to

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

with the school, and then in 1832 to Middletown, Connecticut where his father became a professor of classical languages at the new

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

. His father died in 1832 and was one of the first burials in the university cemetery. Subsequently, having attended Wesleyan, the young Mott-Smith borrowed a book from a friend who was attending dental school and passed the exams to set up a practice in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. He moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as part of the California Gold Rush in 1849 and practised dentistry there for two years. He sailed to Hawaii in early 1851. He was only the third Western-trained dentist in the Hawaiian Islands and the first to set up a permanent practice. Two others, M. B. Stevens and George Colburn left after brief stays in the previous two years. For about 15 years he did most of the dental work 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 ...

. He shared an office building with physician

William Hillebrand Wilhelm or William Hillebrand (November 13, 1821 – July 13, 1886) was a German physician. He practiced medicine in several different countries, including for over 20 years in the Hawaiian islands. In 1850, Hillebrand lived at what is now Fost ...

. In 1853 he had his first taste of politics when he was elected to the House of Representatives 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 ...

In 1866 Mott-Smith gave up his dental practice to John Morgan Whitney, the first in Hawaii to actually graduate from a dental school. He became editor of the newspaper ''Hawaiian Gazette''. He used the paper to defend the monarchy, which gained him favor with King Kamehameha V, who made it the official government publication. He returned to the legislature in 1866, and was elected Vice President of it in 1867. In 1868 he was sent to Washington, D.C., to help

Elisha Hunt Allen Elisha Hunt Allen (January 28, 1804 – January 1, 1883) was an American congressman, lawyer and diplomat, and judge and diplomat for the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life Elisha Hunt Allen was born January 28, 1804, in New Salem, Massachusetts ...

negotiate a trade treaty, but was not successful. On December 21, 1869 he returned and was appointed to the powerful post of Minister of Finance in the cabinet. He served until August 25, 1872. With the king's influence, he was an investor with fellow American politician Charles Coffin Harris in the first Hawaiian Hotel. The government issued bonds to finance its construction. After Kamehameha V's death at the end of 1872, Mott-Smith was out of political power and resumed practising dentistry while he was on the Board of Education until 1874. After the liberal King

Lunalilo Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later. Born to Kekāuluohi and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina, ...

died and King

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, ...

was elected in 1874, monarchists were back in political favor. On December 4, 1876 Mott-Smith was appointed Minister of Interior, serving until July 3, 1878. From 1876 through 1886 he served in the upper House of Nobles in the kingdom legislature when he was not traveling. It was widely suspected that Kalākaua's replacement of his cabinet was influenced by

Claus Spreckels Adolph Claus J. Spreckels (July 9, 1828 – December 26, 1908) (his last name has also been misspelled as Spreckles) was a major industrialist in Hawai'i during the kingdom, republican and territorial periods of the islands' history. He also i ...

, who refinanced the King's debts the night before, in order to secure water rights for his sugarcane

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

on Maui. Since the bachelor Lunalilo left no heirs, Mott-Smith was appointed to the first board of trustees of the Lunalilo Trust. In 1884 he was put in charge of the Hawaii exhibits at the

World Cotton Centennial The World Cotton Centennial (also known as the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition) was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States in 1884. At a time when nearly one third of all cotton produced in the United Sta ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. He returned and was appointed Minister of Finance by Queen

Liliʻuokalani Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Haw ...

on July 28, 1891. However, by October 17, 1891 he resigned and was sent back to Washington. Samuel Parker acted as finance minister both before and after him. His hope was to negotiate a replacement for the

Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 The Treaty of reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom ( Hawaiian: ''Kuʻikahi Pānaʻi Like'') was a free trade agreement signed and ratified in 1875 that is generally known as the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875. T ...

, but he was recalled after the 1893

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, composed of seven foreign residents and six non-abori ...

. His position was just below the

diplomatic rank Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

of 21st-century ambassador. He retired to Honolulu where he died August 10, 1895 after an illness of several weeks. After a funeral at the Sain Andrew Cathedral 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 Cemete ...

Family and legacy

In 1859 he married Ellen Dominis Paty. They had seven children. Son Ernest Augustus Mott-Smith was born May 12, 1873 went to Harvard Law School briefly, married Anna Elizabeth Paty in 1896 and became active in politics. He practised law, and served on various government boards 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 ...

, such as the Board of Health from 1901–1925, and territorial secretary from 1907–1914. Other sons were Harold Meade Mott-Smith and Morton Churchill Mott-Smith. Daughters were Martha Paty Smith, Myra Harris Smith who married Reverend James B. Thomas, Ida Campbell Smith who married Robert Morss Lovett in Chicago, and May Henderson Smith. He left a substantial estate after investing in sugar plantations in Hawaii which his newspaper had earlier promoted. A Mott-Smith building and Mott-Smith drive in

Makiki Makiki is an area of Honolulu, Hawaii, located northeast of downtown Honolulu, stretching east to west from Punahou Street to Pensacola Street and north to south from Round Top Drive/Makiki Heights Drive to Lunalilo Freeway. Punchbowl, an extin ...

at are named for him. The three-story brick building built in 1897 at the corner of Hotel and Fort Streets (the site of his former office, later known as The Hub) contained the second electric elevator in Hawaii.

Life

Family and legacy

See also

References

Further reading