Hermann Adam Widemann (December 24, 1822 – February 7, 1899) was a German-born American businessman, judge and politician.

Life

Widemann was born in

Hanover, Germany Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest in northern Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Breme ...

on December 24, 1822. As a teenager, he went to work on a

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

ship. He came to live in 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 ...

in 1846, after stopping in 1843. He came briefly to the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

in 1849, but returned after his companion John von Pfister was murdered. He married a

native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

Kaumana "Mary" Kealaimoku in 1854 and lived in Līhue. He became sheriff of the island of Kauai in 1854, 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 Legi ...

in 1855, and in 1863 appointed its circuit judge. He started one of the first

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantations in Hawaii known as Grove Farm. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

he supported the Confederate States. After leasing Grove Farm to its manager

George Norton Wilcox George Norton Wilcox (August 15, 1839 – January 21, 1933) was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii. Life George Norton Wilcox was born in Hilo August 15, 1839. His father was Abner Wilcox and mother wa ...

in 1865, he moved to

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

to work in the capital. On July 10, 1869, he was appointed to the kingdom's supreme court, despite never having any formal law school training. On February 18, 1874, he was appointed to the cabinet as minister of the interior until May 28, 1874, as well as on the Privy Council, the board of education, commissioner of

crown lands Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

, president of the bureau of immigration, and board of health. In 1878, he started the Waianae Sugar Company in the

Waianae Waianae () is a census-designated place (CDP) in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 13,614. Its name means "waters of the mullet". Its etymology is shared with the far norther ...

district of Oahu island. In 1879, H.A. Widemann (President), S. G. Wilder, (Vice President), and C. O. Berger founded the first telephone company in the Hawaiian Islands. It was incorporated under the name of "The Hawaiian Bell Telephone Co." and on December 30, 1880, began providing service to the City of Honolulu. It Started with thirty instruments in operation and would quickly grow. Widemann and Berger would leave The Hawaiian Bell Telephone Co. to found The Mutual Telephone Co. in May 1883. A charter was granted in August of the same year. A new plant was built and in March 1885 operation began with 100 subscribers. The installation of The Mutual Telephone Co.'s plant made Honolulu one of the first, if not the first, city in the world to have a dual telephone system. The fight was on for ten years, until August 2, 1894, when the consolidation of the two companies was effected by The Mutual Telephone Co. acquiring the control of The Hawaiian Bell Telephone Co. On February 25, 1891, he was appointed as Minister of Finance to

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 ...

, but had to resign two weeks later on March 10. He was temporarily replaced by Samuel Parker, and then

John Mott-Smith 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 No ...

. After Mott-Smith was sent to

Washington, D.C. 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. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to attempt to negotiate a trade treaty, Parker served again briefly until Widemann resumed his duties as minister of finance. He also filled in briefly 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 ...

from July 27 to August 29, 1892. After the 1893

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 ...

, Widemann was sent with Parker and

John Adams Cummins John Adams Kuakini Cummins (March 17, 1835 – March 21, 1913) was a member of the nobility of the Kingdom of Hawaii who became a wealthy businessman, and was involved in politics as the kingdom was overthrown. Life John Adams Kuakini Cummins ...

to Washington in an attempt to get international support for its restoration. He then continued to

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 ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

but was never successful. Widemann was interviewed by U.S. Commissioner James H. Blount in preparing his

Blount Report The Blount Report is the popular name given to the part of the 1893 United States House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee Report regarding the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The report is formally titled "Affairs in Hawaii," and ...

on May 20, 1893. He was the first to experiment with the ''Guatemalan'' variety of

coffea ''Coffea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. ''Coffea'' species are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. The seeds of some species, called coffee beans, are used to flavor variou ...

tree, which turned out to be well-adapted to higher elevations; it became the most popular variety through modern times. He died February 7, 1899. After a funeral in the

Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is the mother church and cathedral of the Diocese of Honolulu. History Groundbreaking The first Catholic missionaries to Hawaii, three priests of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and M ...

, 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 ...

. He was survived by two sons and seven daughters. His daughter Wilhelmina Widemann organized the first

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

club in the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

in 1912. His son Carl Widemann married Helen Umiokalani Parker, daughter of Samuel Parker, in July 1899. A street is named for him in Mākaha at .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widemann, Hermann Adam 1822 births 1899 deaths Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives Hawaiian Kingdom interior ministers Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles Hawaiian Kingdom finance ministers Hawaiian Kingdom attorneys general Businesspeople from Hawaii German emigrants Immigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom Justices of the Supreme Court of Hawaii People associated with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom Members of the Hawaii Board of Education Members of the Hawaii Board of Health 19th-century American businesspeople

Life

See also

References