Lorenzo Lyons or "''Makua Laiana''" (April 18, 1807 – October 6, 1886) was an early missionary to 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 ...

. He was a songwriter who wrote the lyrics of "'' Hawaii Aloha''", which was inducted into the

Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame is an organization dedicated to recognizing the cultural importance of the music of Hawaii and hula. Established in 1994, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame promotes the appreciation and preservation of Hawaiian cultu ...

in 1998. Lyons spent the last 28 years of his life as postmaster in the district surrounding

Waimea, Hawaii County, Hawaii Waimea is a landlocked community in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. Waimea is the center for ranching activities and Cowboy#Hawai'i, ''paniolo'' culture. The name Waimea means ''reddish water.'' For statistical purposes, the United States ...

Early life

He was born in Colrain, Franklin County, Massachusetts, April 18, 1807. He graduated from

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

in 1827. Ordained as a Congregationalist minister at

Auburn Theological Seminary Auburn Theological Seminary, located in New York City, teaches students about progressive social issues by offering workshops, providing consulting, and conducting research on faith leadership development. The seminary was established in Auburn, ...

, September 20, 1831.

Missionary in Hawaii

He embarked from Boston, Massachusetts on November 26, 1831, on the ''Averick'' with his wife Betsy Curtis (1813–1837). Part of the fifth company from the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian mission, Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the l ...

, they arrived in the South Kohala district of the

island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...

on May 17, 1832. He spent the remainder of his life dedicated to the

native 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 Polynesian ...

. His Waimea parish eventually included the districts of Kohala and

Hāmākua Hāmākua is a district on the northeast coast of Hawaii's Big Island, administered by the County of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii. It is also the name given for the coastline in the region, the "Hāmākua Coast". Description Hāmākua's coast ...

, making it the largest mission station in Hawaii. During his tenure, Lyons was responsible for the erection of fourteen churches, such as Imiola Church where he is buried. He was district postmaster from 1858 until his death.

Songwriter

He was fluent in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

and composed many poems and hymns; his best known and beloved work is the hymn "'' Hawaii Aloha''" sung to the tune of "''I Left it All With Jesus''."

Family

Rev. Lyons died on October 6, 1886, and is buried at Imiola Church Cemetery in

. His first wife died in 1837, and he married Lucia G. Smith of Truxton, New York on July 14, 1838. Son Curtis Jere Lyons was born June 27, 1833, attended

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...

and graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in 1858. After attending

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

for two years, he returned to Hawaii and became a reporter. In 1868 and 1870 he was elected to 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 ...

, and married Julia E. Vernon on April 23, 1873. He died on September 24, 1914. Son Albert B. Lyons (1841-1926) was the founding secretary of the scientific section of the

American Pharmaceutical Association The American Pharmacists Association (APhA, previously known as the American Pharmaceutical Association), founded in 1852, is the first-established professional society of pharmacists in the United States. The association consists of more tha ...

Legacy

Samoan writer

John Kneubuhl John Alexander Kneubuhl (July 2, 1920 – February 20, 1992) was an American Samoan screenwriter, playwright and Polynesian historian. He wrote for American television series such as ''The Fugitive (1963 TV series), The Fugitive'', ''Gunsmoke'', ...

wrote a play based on his life titled "The Harp in the Willows" in 1946. It was one of the first published works to use

Hawaiian Creole English Hawaiian Pidgin (known formally in linguistics as Hawaiʻi Creole English or HCE and known locally as Pidgin) is an English-based creole language spoken in Hawaiʻi. An estimated 600,000 residents of Hawaii speak Hawaiian Pidgin natively and ...

(known outside of academic circles as "pidgin" or "pidgin English").John Kneubuhl, ''Think of a garden and other plays'', University of Hawaii Press, 1997, Page 254,

References