Samuel Northrup Castle (August 12, 1808 –July 14, 1894) was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Early life

Samuel Northrup Castle was born August 12, 1808 in Cazenovia, New York. His middle name is sometimes spelled "Northrop". His father was Samuel Castle (1770–1847) whose mother was Eunice Northrup (1743–1807), and his mother was Phoebe Parmelee. He married Angeline Lorraine Tenney (1810–1841). He became a bank teller in Cleveland, Ohio. On December 14, 1836 the Castles sailed from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

on the ''Mary Frazier''. Juliette Montague and

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, ...

were on the same ship, the eighth company of missionaries from the

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

which arrived on April 9, 1837.

Career

Upon arrival in Honolulu as a layman he soon started to manage the financial affairs of the

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, while his friend

and his wife opened the Royal School. He was assigned a house originally built for Reverend Ephriam Weston Clark near

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. Nati ...

. He lived there with his family the remainder of his life. Some of the houses in this complex (including the storehouse he managed) have been restored and became the Mission Houses Museum.

Founder of Castle and Cooke

In 1851 he resigned from the mission and founded the firm

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 ...

in partnership with

on June 2, 1851. Initially they ran a general store in Honolulu, and continued to help the missions with financial matters through the Hawaiian Evangelical Association. Agents were hired in New York and San Francisco.

Joseph Ballard Atherton Joseph Ballard Atherton (1837–1903) was a Honolulu businessman and a former president of Castle & Cooke. He was a member of the Annexation group, which overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was the founder of Honolulu YMCA. Atherton was a me ...

joined as clerk in 1858 and rose to become partner by 1865. During the 1860s Castle & Cooke expanded into the business of selling sugar from the growing number of sugarcane plantations in Hawaii, often investing in them as well. One of the first was Haʻikū Sugar Company on Maui. Haʻikū was later managed by children of missionaries

Henry Perrine Baldwin Henry Perrine Baldwin (August 29, 1842 – July 8, 1911) was a 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 " Big Five ...

and

Samuel T. Alexander Samuel Thomas Alexander (October 29, 1836 – September 10, 1904) co-founded a major agricultural and transportation business in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life In November 1831, the Reverend William Patterson Alexander (1805–1884) and Mary An ...

who formed their own partnership

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 ...

. These were two of the corporations known as the " Big Five who 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 Ap ...

through the 20th century. Missionary Elias Bond started a plantation in Kohala in 1862.

Appointment to the Privy Council

Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, st ...

appointed Castle to his Privy Council on December 7, 1863. 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 Legislat ...

in the House of Representatives in 1864. He served on the Privy Council through the reign of 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 Kanaʻina ...

, until February 23, 1874. King

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, ...

appointed him to the House of Nobles in the legislature from 1876 to 1880.

Other interests

He was a member of the board of trustees of Punahou School when it was incorporated on June 6, 1849. He served as treasurer for forty years. He was the only original trustee alive for the 50th anniversary celebration in 1891.

Family

His first wife Angeline Lorraine Tenney gave birth to a daughter, Mary Tenney Castle, on May 9, 1838. Angeline died less than 3 years later on March 5, 1841. Angeline Lorraine Tenney Castle

Mary Tenney Castle married

Edward Griffin Hitchcock Edward Griffin "Holy Terror" Hitchcock (January 20, 1837 – October 9, 1898) was a law enforcement officer in the Kingdom of Hawaii, who rose to the position of Marshal of the Republic of Hawaii. Life Edward Griffin Hitchcock was born January 2 ...

on April 11, 1862. Hitchcock was son of missionaries

Harvey Rexford Hitchcock Harvey Rexford Hitchcock (March 13, 1800 – August 25, 1855) was an early Protestant missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii from the United States. With his three sons, he and his wife started a family that would influence Hawaii's history. He ...

(1800–1855) and Rebecca Howard (1808–1890), born in

Lahaina Lahaina ( haw, Lāhainā) is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States and includes the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a resident population of 12,702. Laha ...

on Maui in 1837, served as Marshal of the Republic of Hawaii, and died October 9, 1898. Their grandson was all-American football player

Harvey Rexford Hitchcock, Jr. Harvey Rexford Hitchcock Jr. (November 9, 1891 – January 22, 1958) was on the 1913 College Football All-America Team. From an influential missionary family in the Hawaiian Islands, he was admitted to McLean Hospital during World War I, where he ...

He returned to the United States and married Mary Tenney (October 26, 1819 – March 13, 1907), the sister of Angeline, his first wife, on November 13, 1842 in West

Exeter, New York Exeter is a town in Otsego County, New York, United States. The town is located in the northern part of the county. The population was 987 at the 2010 census. It is named after the county town and cathedral city of Exeter in England. History ...

. They were both daughters of Levi Tenney (1781–1869) who served in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

and Mary Ann Kingsbury (1787–1853). He returned to Hawaii in March 1843 with his new wife. He had ten children with his second wife: # Samuel Castle died young October 27, 1843. # Charles Alfred Castle (December 16, 1844 – April 30, 1874) married Claire Eloise Coleman (1847–1917). # Harriet Angeline Castle (January 1, 1847 – 1924) married Charles Carson Coleman (1845–1935) on January 12, 1876. #

William Richards Castle William Richards Castle (March 19, 1849 – June 5, 1935) was a lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii. Family William Richards Castle was born in Honolulu on March 19, 1849. His father was Samuel Northrup Cas ...

was born March 19, 1849, became a lawyer and politician, and died June 5, 1935. His son William Richards Castle, Jr. was author and diplomat. # George Parmele Castle (April 29, 1851 – 1932) married distant cousin Ida Mary Tenney (1856–1944) on October 12, 1875 and had two daughters. # Albert Tyler Castle (December 5, 1853 – November 14, 1864) died before his 11th birthday. # James Bicknell Castle (November 27, 1855 – April 4, 1918) greatly expanded Castle & Cooke in the sugar and railroad industries.

James B. Castle High School James Bicknell Castle High School, more commonly James B. Castle High School or simply Castle High School, is a public coeducational high school located in Kāneohe CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii. The school serves grades 9 through 12 a ...

is named for him. He married Julia White and had son

Harold Kainalu Long Castle Harold Kainalu Long Castle (July 3, 1886 – August 19, 1967) was a landowner, real estate developer, and later philanthropist in Hawaii. Life Harold Kainalu Long Castle was born July 3, 1886, in Honolulu. Castle was the son of wealthy landowner ...

(1886–1967) who became a large land-owner and philanthropist, sponsoring the Castle Medical Center. # Caroline Dickinson Castle (March 15, 1859 – 1941) married author William Drake Westervelt (1849–1939). # Helen Kingsbury Castle (August 5, 1860 – 1929) married

George Herbert Mead George Herbert Mead (February 27, 1863 – April 26, 1931) was an American philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he was one of several distinguished pragmatists. He is regarded ...

in 1891. # Henry Northrup Castle (August 22, 1862 – January 30, 1895) married Frida Steckner (1869–1890) and then Mabel Rosamond Wing (1864–1950) and died in the wreck of the '' SS Elbe''. Henry introduced George Herbert Mead to his sister while the three were at Oberlin College.

Death and legacy

Castle died on July 14, 1894 in Honolulu. Atherton took over the helm of Castle and Cooke Most of the family is buried across the street from the homestead at Kawaiahaʻo Church. Mary Tenney Castle

The Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation was founded by the family. Mary Castle became known as "Mother Castle" because of her support for education. Many of the early grants were to schools based on the ideas of

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...

, who was a colleague of her son-in-law Mead. The Henry and Dorothy Castle Memorial

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

was established honoring her son and granddaughter in their former homestead. In 1940 the memorial funded a preschool teaching facility at the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. A more modern and larger house was built starting in 1898 in the Mānoa Valley at by the family. It was designed by architects

Clinton Briggs Ripley Clinton Briggs Ripley (February 13, 1849 – February 13, 1922) was an American architect active in Honolulu, Hawaii, from the 1890s until the 1920s. Ripley was born in Peru, Maine. In 1871, he began his career in Chattanooga, Tennessee, fo ...

and Charles William Dickey, with many additional buildings added through the years. Johnny Wilson was an Engineer for some of the walls. When Mary Castle died in 1907, the Mānoa house was converted into an orphanage. In 1924 some of the property became one of suburban Honolulu's first housing subdivisions, called Castle Terrace. Other parts of the property became the home of the Pan-Pacific Union, founded by

Alexander Hume Ford Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

. It was torn down in 1941. In 1907 a building built at Punahou School was named Castle Hall with funds from the estate. The original Castle Hall burned in 1911, and a new one was built in 1913. Originally used as a girls' dormitory, it was later converted into classrooms for fifth and sixth grades. Former President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

was a student in Castle Hall for his fifth grade.