Peter Cushman Jones (October 12, 1837 – April 23, 1922) was a businessman and politician during the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

Provisional Government of Hawaii The Provisional Government of Hawaii (abbr.: P.G.; Hawaiian language, 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 (Hawaii), Co ...

Republic of Hawaii The Republic of Hawaii (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'' epupəˈlikə o həˈvɐjʔi was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii, Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had Black Week (H ...

and

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 ...

. He founded the second bank 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 ...

Early life

Peter Cushman Jones was born December 10, 1837, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. His father was also named Peter Cushman Jones (1808–1885), and his mother was Jane MacIntosh Baldwin, whose grandfather Isaac Baldwin (1738–1775) died in the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...

. He traces his ancestry to several notable early Bostonians, including

Thomas Dudley Thomas Dudley (12 October 157631 July 1653) was a New England colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the tow ...

(1576–1653) and daughter

Anne Dudley Anne Jennifer Dudley (née Beckingham; born 7 May 1956) is an English composer, keyboardist, conductor and pop musician. She was the first BBC Concert Orchestra's Composer in Association in 2001. She has worked in the classical and pop genre ...

who married

Simon Bradstreet Simon Bradstreet (baptized March 18, 1603/4In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on March 25. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, dates between January and Ma ...

. He was fourth of nine children. He was educated at the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

in 1849. However, as he describes himself:

As a scholar I was extremely dull, I never remember having been at the head of my class at school but have many times been at the other end of the class, the "foot."

Although his parents expected him to attend

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, he transferred to a less disciplined school briefly and then took a job instead in April 1852 at age 14. He would never go back to school. In 1857 he decided to leave, and planned to go west to

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. His father objected, so instead he left in June 1857 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 ...

, since William Austin Whiting, the son of his employer, had been there. He arrived on October 2, 1857, with total assets of 16 cents. He found various jobs as clerk with former

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

ers in the islands. On May 12, 1862, he married Cornelia Hall (1842–1876), daughter of merchant Edwin O. Hall, and on February 27, 1864, he officially became a citizen of the

Business and politics

By 1866 he bought out a former employer and formed a partnership with C. L. Richards in a ship chandlery business. In January 1871 he became a partner with Henry A. P. Carter in C. Brewer & Co. which acted as agent for the growing number of

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. In December 1879, while Carter was away on a diplomatic mission, the other partner John D. Brewer died, making him effectively head of the business. In 1883 the company was formally incorporated with himself as president, including

Charles Reed Bishop Charles Reed Bishop (January 25, 1822 – June 7, 1915) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist in Hawaii. Born in Glens Falls, New York, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, and made his home there, marrying into th ...

as an investor. Bishop had founded the first bank in the Hawaiian Islands, called, appropriately, First Hawaiian Bank. Jones managed C. Brewer until July 1891. He returned with his family to Boston to visit relatives, and then came back to Honolulu in October 1892. On November 8, 1892

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 ...

appointed Jones minister of finance with George Norton Wilcox as interior minister. This cabinet served until January 12, 1893. A few days later the

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 ...

ended the monarchy. He was appointed to the Executive Council of the

, as its minister of finance on January 17, 1893, but served only until March 15. He founded the Hawaiian Safe Deposit and Investment company in 1892 with his son. By 1894 he became president of C. Brewer again until 1899. George R. Carter became manager of the business and it was later renamed the Hawaiian Trust Company. In December 1897 he officially chartered the

Bank of Hawaii The Bank of Hawaii Corporation (; abbreviated BOH) is an American regional commercial bank headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is Hawaii's second oldest bank and its largest locally owned bank in that the majority of the voting stockholders re ...

with

Charles Montague Cooke Charles Montague Cooke (May 6, 1849 – August 27, 1909) was a businessman during the Kingdom of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii, and Territory of Hawaii. Life Charles Montague Cooke was born May 6, 1849, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was Amos Star ...

, Joseph Ballard Atherton.

Philanthropy

Jones funded the Palama Chapel in the working-class neighborhood of

Kapālama Kapālama, now often called Pālama, is a neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. It is often combined with the adjacent Kalihi and referred to as a single entity, Kalihi–Pālama. History The name comes from ''ka pā lama'' in the Hawaiian languag ...

on June 2, 1896. After the January 1900

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

fire, the chapel provided health care for some of the people left homeless, but resources ran low by 1904. Doremus Scudder invited James Arthur Rath and Ragna Helsher Rath who arrived in 1905 and added social services to the center and called it Palama Settlement by September 1906. In 1902 Jones leased some land to English merchant Joseph W. Podmore, who built the Joseph W. Podmore Building and then sold the lease back to Jones. Jones donated both the land and building to the Hawaiian Evangelical Board on February 7, 1907, for their use until a permanent home was built for them in 1916.

Death and legacy

Jones died on April 23, 1922. 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 ...

. Son Edwin Austin Jones, was born May 11, 1863, married Belle Fuller on November 8, 1888, had four children, served as cashier of Bank of Hawaii, but died on July 10, 1898. He also had two daughters. Ada Jones was born October 28, 1869, married Alonzo Gartley on June 12, 1894, and had four children. Alice Hall Jones was born January 2, 1880, and married Abraham Lewis, Jr. on April 26, 1906.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Peter Cushman 1837 births 1922 deaths Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Hawaiian Kingdom Finance Ministers Republic of Hawaii Finance Ministers Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles 19th-century American businesspeople Independent (Kuokoa) Party politicians People associated with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom Hawaiian Kingdom businesspeople