John Kalili ( – April 3, 1855) was a judge and politician in the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian:

ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi Latin epsilon or open E (majuscule: Ɛ, minuscule: ɛ) is a letter of the extended Latin alphabet, based on the lowercase of the Greek letter epsilon (ε). It was introduced in the 16th century by Gian Giorgio Trissino to represent the pronunc ...

, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

Life

Nothing much is known about Kalili's early life, although roster of the Lahainalunla School indicate he came from

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 ...

Oʻahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. He was a cousin of Joshua Kekaulahao. Kalili was one of the first generation of

Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was settled at least 800 years ago by Polynesians ...

to receive a western education by the

American missionaries American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

who arrived in Hawaii in 1820. In 1836, he began his education at Lahainaluna Seminary with Kekaulahao and graduated after four years of education in 1840. Some of his classmates beside his cousin Kekaulahao included writer S. N. Haleole, historian

Samuel Kamakau Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau (October 29, 1815 – September 5, 1876) was a Hawaiian historian and scholar. His work appeared in local newspapers and was later compiled into books, becoming an invaluable resource on the Hawaiian people, Hawaiian ...

and future royal governor of Hawaii Island,

George Luther Kapeau George Luther Kapeau (died 1860) was a noble and statesman in the Kingdom of Hawaii who was one of the first generation of native Hawaiians to receive a Western education at the missionary founded Lahainaluna School. Despite his obscure family ...

, although only Kekaulahao was in his same class of 1836. In 1847, he was registered as the owner of the Hawaiian sloop ''Waiahao''. On January 27, 1848, the Governor of Oʻahu Mataio Kekūanaōʻa appointed John Kalili and Simon P. Kalama as the two circuit judges of the island of Oʻahu. Kalama was charged with Honolulu while Kalili was charged with the district of Koʻolau in the eastern section of the island. Kalili would also serve as a legislator from 1851 to 1852 as a member of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Hawaiian legislature. American lawyer Charles Coffin Harris ran as his opponent for the candiicay in the district of Palikolau in 1852 and lost. In the 1852 legislative session, John Kalili served as the chairman of the Committee on Election. While still in office as judge, Kalili died in Honolulu on April 3, 1855, at the age of forty-one. His cousin Joshua Kekaulahao was appointed to replace him as the circuit judge of Oʻahu, although he himself would die in 1856. In 1858, the remains of Kalili, Joshua Kekaulahao and four members of Kekaulahao's family were buried in the cemetery of the

Kawaiahaʻo Church Kawaiahaʻo Church is a historic Congregational church located in Downtown Honolulu on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu. The church, along with the Mission Houses, comprise the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site, which was designated a U.S. Nat ...

in a ceremony which included the use of

Niʻihau Niihau (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the seventh largest island in Hawaii and the westernmost of the main islands. It is southwest of Kauai, Kauai across the Channels of the Hawaiian Islands#Kaulakahi Channel, Ka ...

mats as burial goods.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalili, John 1810s births 1855 deaths Native Hawaiian people Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives Hawaiian Kingdom judges Lahainaluna School alumni Burials at Kawaiahaʻo Church