Samuel Mills Damon
Samuel Mills Damon | |
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Henry E. Cooper | |
In office December 21, 1899 – June 14, 1900 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Honolulu | March 13, 1845
Died | July 1, 1924 | (aged 79)
Spouse | Harriet Melinda Baldwin |
Children | 4 |
Occupation | Businessman, Politician |
Signature | |
Hawaii's Big Five |
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Samuel Mills Damon (March 13, 1845 – July 1, 1924) was a businessman and politician in the
Life
Damon was born in Honolulu on March 13, 1845. His father was early missionary
He was educated at Punahou School from 1856 to 1863. On September 5, 1872, he married Harriet Melinda Baldwin (1846–1932), daughter of missionary Dwight Baldwin (1798–1886).[3]
Family and business
The Damons had four children: Samuel Edward Damon (born June 1, 1873), Mary Mills Damon (born November 23, 1877), Henry Fowler Damon (born January 16, 1883) and Douglas Wilfred Damon. His wife's brother Henry Perrine Baldwin (1842–1911) founded Alexander & Baldwin. This was one of the "Big Five" corporations that dominated the economy of territorial Hawaii.[4]
Damon started work as a clerk in the W. N. Ladd store in Honolulu, run by the son of the founder of ill-fated Ladd & Co. In 1871 he went to work for the bank of Charles Reed Bishop, the only one in the Hawaiian Islands at the time. By 1881 he became a full partner in Bishop's bank.[5] He invested in and served on the board of directors of sugarcane plantations and the Oahu Railway and Land Company, and was vice president of his brother-in-law's Hawaiian Sugar Company.[6]
In 1884, he inherited over 9,000 acres (3,600 ha) of the area known as Moanalua from Bernice Pauahi Bishop.[7] She was the wife of his business partner, and a Hawaiian princess who inherited the land from King Kamehameha I.[8] Damon was executor of Princess Pauahi's will, and trustee of the estate through 1916. Most of her land went to fund the Kamehameha Schools.[9] He successfully appealed a lawsuit to the supreme court to demand exclusive fishing rights to the area offshore of Moanalua.[10]
In an even more unusual case, Charles Brenig, who had come to Hawaii under the name Simeon Weibert, died and left much of his estate to Damon. The will was contested by Brenig's widow and son, but appeals were denied.[11]
When Bishop moved to San Francisco in 1893 Damon acquired all shares of the Bishop bank.[5] The bank later became the First Hawaiian Bank, and Damon's share was sold to BNP Paribas in 2001.[12]
Politics
On August 12, 1884, King
He kept on good terms with
After the
Legacy
His son Samuel Edward "Ned" Damon graduated from Punahou and then
After S. M. Damon died July 1, 1924, his estate (then estimated worth over US$250 million) was left in trust to his grandchildren. At one time it was the fourth largest private landowner in Hawaii. Son Henry Fowler Damon graduated from Yale; he married his brother Samuel's widow Gertrude, they had four children: Harriet Damon "Haku" Baldwin (1913–2003), Frances (Damon) Holt, Joan (Damon) Haig, and Henry E. Damon, and died December 19, 1926.[17] Douglas Wilfred Damon died September 21, 1936.[18]
The property became very valuable as Honolulu was developed in the 20th century. Parts of Moanalua became
The estate had about 20 beneficiaries with annual total income of over $34 million, as plans were made for its distribution.[21] However, only one grandchild, (Samuel Renny Damon) survived from his son Samuel, while four descended from son Henry. A lawsuit was filed (appealed to the Supreme Court of Hawaii) to determine how to divide the shares: equal shares for each great-grandchild, five shares for each grandchild, or half for each set of descendants by his two children. The 1914 will had almost no punctuation in its ten pages.[22] The
The estate had bought Kahuku Ranch on Hawaiʻi island for $1.3 million in 1958 from James W. Glover.[24] It is located on the southwest rift zone of Mauna Loa volcano, with headquarters at 19°3′17″N 155°41′29″W / 19.05472°N 155.69139°W.[25] The estate sold about 116,000 acres (47,000 ha) of the ranch in 2003 to the US Government (with financing from the
See also
- Sugar plantations in Hawaii
- List of Missionaries to Hawaii
- Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum
References
- ^ Hawaiian Mission Children's Society (1901). Portraits of American Protestant missionaries to Hawaii. Honolulu: Hawaiian gazette company. p. 79.
- Samuel Chenery Damon (1882). Damon memorial: or, Notices of three Damon families who came from old England to New England in the XVIIth century. Printed for A. F. Damon and the author. p. 107.
- ^ Charles Candee Baldwin (1881). The Baldwin genealogy from 1500 to 1881. O. Cleveland. p. 562.
- ^ Arthur Lyman Dean (1950). Alexander & Baldwin, Ltd. and the predecessor partnerships. Alexander & Baldwin.
- ^ a b George F. Nellist, ed. (1925). "Damon, Samuel Mills". The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders. Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
- ^ "Notice". The Hawaiian gazette. January 23, 1894. p. 2. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- University of Hawaii Press. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
- ^ Thomas George Thrum, ed. (1913). "Moanalua Horticultural Gardens". All about Hawaii: The recognized book of authentic information on Hawaii. Honolulu Star-Bulletin. pp. 75–84.
- ^ "First Trustees Appointed to Care for the Princess's Trust". Kamehameha Schools web site. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
- US Supreme Court (April 25, 1904). "Damon v. Hawaii". volume 194 case 154. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- ^ "Appeals to President:Relative of Testator Trys [sic] to Interest Roosevelt in Case of Hawaiian Estate of Late Charles Brenig of This City—Wants case Reopened". The Honolulu republican. December 19, 1901. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
- ^ Rick Daysog (April 11, 2004). "Damon Estate trustees gain millions from land sales". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
- ^ a b "Finance, Minister of, office record" (PDF). state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-548-22265-2.
- ^ "Damon, Samuel Mills office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
- ^ Bowdoin College. Brunswick. Me. Class of 1894 (1904). Decennial record. pp. 300–305.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Obituary record of graduates of Yale University. 1927. p. 190.
- ^ Hawaiian Mission Children's Society (1937). Annual report of the Hawaiian Mission Children's Society. Government Press.
- New York Times. November 27, 2003.
- Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
- Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
- ^ "Probate No. 6664: In the Matter of the Estate of Samuel M. Damon, Deceased". Supreme Court of the state of Hawaii. February 16, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
- ^ Audrey McAvoy. "Supreme Court won't hear Damon case". Associated Press. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-8248-2451-8.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kahuku Ranch
- New York Times. July 4, 2003. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- ^ "Kahuku Ranch". official web site. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
- ^ "Doyle New York 's auction of coins, medals and bank notes from the Estate of Samuel Mills Damon totals $3,884,000". Doyle New York web site. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
- Bernice P. Bishop Museum. 2007. Archived from the originalon October 27, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2010.