Samuel Gardner Wilder (June 20, 1831 – July 28, 1888) was an American

shipping magnate A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

and politician who developed a major transportation company 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

Samuel Gardner Wilder was born June 20, 1831, in

Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,222 at the 2023 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and northwest of Boston. Bo ...

. His father was William Chauncey Wilder (1804–1858) and mother was Harriet Waters (died 1850). They moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

for a few years, and then to New York in 1840, and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1844. Part of 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 ...

, the family moved west in 1852. He worked for the

Adams Express Company Adams Funds, formerly Adams Express Company, is an investment company made up of Adams Diversified Equity Fund, Inc. (), a publicly traded diversified equity fund, and Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. (), formerly Petroleum & Resources Corp., a ...

which allowed him to travel to and from the coast of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. His first visit to the Hawaiian Islands was in 1856. He married Elizabeth Kinaʻu Judd (1831–1918), daughter of missionary doctor and politician Gerrit P. Judd September 29, 1857 in

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 ...

. She was namesake of the

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 ...

civil leader

Elizabeth Kīnau Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ( ...

, who was daughter of

Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...

Business

Wilder chartered the clipper ship ''White Swallow'' and returned in 1858. He took a load of

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

(bird excrement used as fertilizer) from

Jarvis Island Jarvis Island (; formerly known as Bunker Island or Bunker's Shoal) is an uninhabited coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands. It is an Territories of the United States#Unincorporated u ...

to New York City, which served as the couple's

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

voyage. He then started a

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 ...

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

with his father-in-law (now the

Kualoa Ranch Established in 1850, Kualoa is a private nature reserve and working cattle ranch, as well as a popular visitor attraction and filming location on the Windward and leeward, windward coast of Oahu, Oahu in Hawaii. It is about from Waikiki, and f ...

) in 1864. He sent for his brother, William Chauncey Wilder (1835–1901) who had served in the cavalry in 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 ...

. The plantation failed by 1868 and William returned to

Geneva, Illinois Geneva is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the far western side of the Chicago suburbs. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 21,393. Geneva is part of a Tri-Ci ...

. In 1870 other sugar planters had Wilder sent to China to bring back low-cost workers. He encountered resistance from the British administration in Hong Kong, and only 188 Chinese came as a result. In 1871 he took over the lumber business of James I. Dowsett. He also became agent for the government-owned

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

''Kilauea'', named for

Kīlauea Kīlauea ( , ) is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. It is located along the southeastern shore of Hawaii (island), Hawaii Island. The volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and grew above sea level about 100,000 years ...

volcano, which ran passenger service between the islands. In 1872 with C. H. Lewers, he established Wilder & Company for the shipping and related businesses. In 1873 his brother William brought out his wife and family to help in the shipping business. After 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 ...

, the sugar business boomed, and created demand to use steamships to move the raw sugar to the

port of Honolulu Honolulu Harbor, also called ''Kulolia'' and ''Ke Awa O Kou'' and the Port of Honolulu, is the principal seaport of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii in the United States. From the harbor, the City & County of Honolulu was developed and urbanized, ...

where it was taken to the sugar refinery in California owned by

Claus Spreckels Claus Spreckels (July 9, 1828 – December 26, 1908) was a German-born American industrialist in California and Hawaii, during the Kingdom of Hawaii, kingdom and Republic of Hawaii, republican periods of the islands' history. He founded or was i ...

, who invested in Wilder's company. In 1877 the government ordered a second steamer ''Likelike'' (named for Princess

Likelike Likelike (; Miriam Likelike Kekāuluohi Keahelapalapa Kapili; January 13, 1851February 2, 1887) was a princess of the Hawaiian Kingdom and member of the reigning House of Kalākaua. She was born in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, Oʻahu. Like ...

) from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. After one voyage, the government promptly sold it to Wilder. The ''Likelike'' was about 50% larger than the aged ''Kilauea'', which needed frequent repairs. Part of his agreement was to carry the mail on his ships. Over time more ships were added to his fleet, and railroads built to meet the ports. The Hawaiian Railroad was constructed from 1881 to 1883. It ran from plantations in the 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 ...

to a harbor he built at Māhukona. The company was incorporated as Wilder Steamship Company in 1883.

Politics

In 1868, Wilder was elected to the House of Representatives of 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 1874, 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 Kanaʻin ...

appointed him to the upper House of Nobles of the legislature. Lunalilo died after reigning only one year, so the first job of the 1874 legislature was to elect a new king; Wilder was selected to count and announce the votes. Wilder used his steamer to campaign for David

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...

, who won the election in the Legislative Assembly (and subsequently rewarded Wilder with honors), even though Queen Emma was more popular with the people. In 1878, Wilder established the first telephone line on Oahu, from his government office to his lumber business. Wilder was awarded the

Royal Order of Kalākaua The Royal Order of Kalākaua I (''Kalākaua I e Hookanaka'') was instituted on 28 September 1874 by King Kalākaua I to commemorate his accession to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi on 12 February 1874. Grades The Order was awarded in four g ...

and Royal Order of the Crown of Hawaii. On July 3, 1878, Kalākaua appointed him minister of the interior. He was considered the most powerful member of what was then called the "Wilder Cabinet". Although concerned with efficiency in administration and reducing government debt instead of ideology, one of his projects was to lay the cornerstone of a new royal residence,

ʻIolani Palace The Iolani Palace () was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi beginning with Kamehameha III under the Kamehameha Dynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under the Kalākaua Dynasty. It is located i ...

. On August 14, 1880, the king replaced all his ministers with a controversial and short-lived cabinet headed by

Celso Caesar Moreno Celso Caesar Moreno (1830 – March 12, 1901) was an adventurer and a controversial political figure on the world stage, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hawaii under Kalākaua. Born in Italy, he fought in the Crimean War and lived throughout ...

with John Edward Bush in the interior post. In 1887, Wilder was elected president of the legislature, although he would leave shortly. In

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 ...

, he met with diplomat Henry A. P. Carter (who had married Wilder's wife's sister) and US Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard. Wilder said he supported the monarchy, but was not sure it would last long, and that the US should negotiate for annexation. He traveled 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 ...

to raise money for a railroad venture from

Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

to the Hāmākua District of

Hawaii island Hawaii is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of ...

. However, news of the political crisis leading up to the

Bayonet Constitution The 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a legal document prepared by anti-monarchists to strip the absolute Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to a coalition of American, European and native Haw ...

discouraged investors. The new constitution made the upper house elective for the first time, and he won the 1888 election. He died July 28, 1888. 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 ...

Legacy

The Wilders' children were: #William Chauncey Wilder was born May 12, 1859, and died August 21, 1868. #Laura Reed Wilder was born October 17, 1861. On December 27, 1881, she married Charles Leslie Wight 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 ...

and had five children. #Gerrit Parmele Wilder was born November 5, 1863. He married Lillian Kimball at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

on November 7, 1887. After a few years in the family business, he became a

horticulturalist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

in 1898, going on expeditions and publishing several books on plants of the Pacific. He died September 28, 1935. #Samuel Gardner Wilder was born January 12, 1866. He married Molly Alatau Atkinson on July 20, 1896, and had four children. One of them was also named Samuel Gardner Wilder, born August 8, 1898. # James Austin "Kimo" Wilder was born May 22, 1868. He married Sarah Harnden on September 12, 1899, at

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

and had two children. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1893–1896. He became an artist and founded the first

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

troop in Hawaii with

D. Howard Hitchcock David Howard Hitchcock (May 15, 1861 – January 1, 1943) was an American painter of the Volcano School, known for his depictions of Hawaii. Life David Howard Hitchcock was born May 15, 1861, in Hilo, Hawaii. Since his father was also named Dav ...

, another artist who married Wilder's cousin. He wrote and played a scoutmaster in the 1917 film ''Knights of the Square Table''. His daughter Kinaʻu Wilder (1902–1992) married Charles B. McVay III and had son

Kimo Wilder McVay James “Kimo” Wilder McVay (September 16, 1927 – June 29, 2001) was an American musician turned talent manager, who successfully promoted Hawaiian entertainment acts. McVay promoted and managed acts such as teenage heartthrob Robin Luke, Don ...

(1927–2001), who managed

Don Ho Donald Tai Loy Ho (; August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer, and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the 1966 album of the same name. Early life, family and education Ho ...

when he popularized the song ''

Tiny Bubbles "Tiny Bubbles" is a song written by Leon Pober and performed by Don Ho. It comes from the album of the same name. The single peaked at #57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #14 on the Easy Listening charts in March 1967. By 1968, "Tiny Bubbles" ...

''. #Helen Kinaʻu Wilder was born November 27, 1869, and married Horace Joseph Craft on May 16, 1899, but they divorced in 1903. She helped re-establish the

Hawaiian Humane Society The Hawaiian Humane Society is a private nonprofit organization and open admission animal shelter in the Mōʻiliʻili neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.. Its founding mission was to help animals, as well as at-risk children and unwed moth ...

in 1897. Another younger brother, John Knight Wilder (1833–1905) came out to Hawaii, as well as two younger sisters. On May 17, 1864, John married Caroline Crowningburg, who was related to royalty of

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. Sister Mary Caroline Wilder (1836–1915) married P. P. Shepard. In 1870, sister Harriet Emily Wilder (1842–1904) married Joseph Platt Cooke (1869–1904), great-grandson of Joseph Platt Cooke (1730–1816) and son of

Castle & Cooke Castle & Cooke, Inc., is a Los Angeles-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company at one time did most of its business in agriculture, including becoming, through mergers with the modern Dole F ...

founder

Amos Starr Cooke Amos Starr Cooke (December 1, 1810 – March 20, 1871) was an American educator and businessman in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was patriarch of a family that influenced Hawaii during the 20th century. Life Amos Starr Cooke was born in Danbury, Co ...

(1810–1871). Their son, also named Joseph Platt Cooke (1870–1918), married Maud Mansfield Baldwin (1872–1961), daughter of

Henry Perrine Baldwin Henry Perrine Baldwin (August 29, 1842 – July 8, 1911) was an American businessman and politician on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. He supervised the construction of the East Maui Irrigation System and co-founded Alexander & Baldwin, one of the " ...

, co-founder of

Alexander & Baldwin Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. is an American company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company currently operates businesses in real estate, land operations, and materials and construction. It was also the last ...

. This connected the extended family to several of the " Big Five" corporations that dominated the economy of 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 the 20th century. His sister-in-law's son George R. Carter (1866–1933) was the second Territorial Governor. The Wilder Steamship Company merged into the

Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company was headquartered in Honolulu and ran steamship passenger and cargo service between the Hawaiian Islands from 1883 until 1947. Inter-Island constructed the Kona Inn in 1928, the first hotel in Kona on the Bi ...

in 1905. The company started the first scheduled commercial airplane service in 1929 as Inter-Island Airways, and became

Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. ( ) is a commercial U.S. airline headquartered in Honolulu, and a subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group. It is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the island state of Hawaiʻi, and the tenth largest ...

in 1941. James A. King, who started as master of Wilder's ships and became superintendent of the Wilder shipping business, named a son

Samuel Wilder King Samuel Wilder King (December 17, 1886March 24, 1959) was the eleventh Territorial Governor of Hawaii and served from 1953 to 1957. He was appointed to the office after the term of Oren E. Long. Previously, King served in the United States Hous ...

, who became Governor of the Territory of Hawaii. Wilder Avenue which runs past the

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 ...

at in the Makiki neighborhood of Honolulu was named for him.

References

External links