William Luther Moehonua

American politician

The Honourable

William Luther Moehonua

Photo of William Luther Moehonua, circa. 1878

Ministry of the Interior
In office
October 31, 1874 – December 5, 1876
Monarch| Kalākaua
Preceded by| William L. Green
Succeeded by| John Mott-Smith
Governor of Maui
In office
December 15, 1876 – September 8, 1878
Monarch| Kalākaua
Deputy| Abraham Fornander
Preceded by| John Mākini Kapena
Succeeded by| John Owen Dominis
Personal details
Born|

William Luther Kealiʻi Moehonua

(1824-05-05)May 5, 1824
Mokulēʻia, Waialua district, Kingdom of Hawaii
Died| September 8, 1878(1878-09-08) (aged 54)
Honolulu, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
Spouse(s)| Kaunuohua
Lucy Muolo
Kapeka Kahele
Occupation| Politician
Signature|

William Luther Kealiʻi Moehonua (1824–1878) was a native Hawaiian noble and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii.

## Life

[edit]

William Luther Moehonua was born May 5, 1824, in Mokulēʻia. His mother was Mary Napuaelua. There is some dispute about his father. Some sources give it as Keaweamahi.[1] Others say his father was ʻAikanaka (1790–1868), who had slept with his mother about the same time.[2] Around 1848 he married Kaunuohua, a noble who was attendant to King Kamehameha IV. On September 11, 1849 he married Lucy Muolo who died in 1865, and remarried to Kapeka Kahele in 1875. His probable half-sister Analea Keohokālole became a civil leader in her own right.[3]

His second wife Lucy Muolo Moehonua

On February 6, 1873 Moehonua was given the rank of Major in the royal guard of King Lunalilo. On September 10, 1873, Moehonua was put in command of ʻIolani Barracks after a mutiny against their Hungarian-born commander.[4] He was elected to the Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom of 1874 as a representative for Oʻahu island.[5]

Lunalilo died after reigning for only one year without naming an heir, so the legislature according to the constitution was to elect a new king. Moehonua and Samuel Gardner Wilder counted the ballots and announced the results. The winner was Kalākaua, who was probably a nephew since Kalākaua's grandfather ʻAikanaka was (probably) Moehonua's father. Moehonua was injured when his carriage was torn apart in the protests that followed, since Queen Emma of Hawaii was favored by the Hawaiian people.[6] On April 27, 1874 he was promoted to rank of Colonel. On October 31, 1874 he was appointed minister of the interior, until December 5, 1876 when he was replaced by John Mott-Smith. He became commissioner of the crown lands November 20, 1875.[5]

On December 15, 1876 Moehonua was appointed Royal Governor of Maui. On April 15, 1878 he was appointed to the upper House of Nobles of the legislature.[5] He died September 8, 1878.[7] He was replaced as Maui governor by John Owen Dominis, who was married to Lydia Kamakaeha, later Queen Liliʻuokalani. He was granted much land for his service, although some had to be sold to satisfy his debts by executor Charles T. Gulick.[8] He probably had at least one child: Kalākaua filed a lawsuit which reached the supreme court in 1883, claiming some land that G. W. Keaweamahi had inherited from Moehonua. The court ruled against the king.[9]

In her autobiography, Liliʻuokalani, who may have been unaware or indifferent, downplays his family background, not mentioning if they were related:

> He was a most estimable man, far superior to many of a corresponding rank, which was not of the highest; yet he was a good specimen of the Hawaiian race, of noble birth and patriotic sentiments.[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Edith Kawelohea, McKinzie; Ishmael W. Stagner, eds. (February 1986). Hawaiian genealogies: extracted from Hawaiian language newspaper s. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-0-939154-37-1. translation from Hawaiian language newspaper article "Ka Make Ana o ka Mea Hanohano William Lutera Moehonua", in Ka Elele Poakolu September 14, 1878
2. ^ Henry Soszynski. "Aikanaka". rootsweb on Ancestry.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
3. ^ "Keohokalole, A. office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
4. ^ Ralph Simpson Kuykendall (1953). Hawaiian Kingdom 1854-1874, twenty critical years. Vol. 2\. University of Hawaii Press. p. 260\. ISBN 978-0-87022-432-4. Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
5. ^ a b c "Moehonua, WIlliam Luther office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
6. ^ Jean Dabagh (1974). "King is Elected: One Hundred Years Ago". Hawaiian Journal of History. Vol. 8\. Hawaii Historical Society. pp. 76–89. hdl:10524/112.
7. ^ "William Luther Moehonua died Sept 8 1878". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
8. ^ "Administrator's Sale". The Hawaiian Gazette. Honolulu. March 3, 1880. p. 3\. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
9. ^ Hawaii Supreme Court (1883). "His Majesty Kalakaua and Her Majesty Kapiolani vs. G. W. Keaweamahi et al.". Reports of decisions rendered by the Supreme Court of the Hawaiian Islands. H.L. Sheldon. pp. 571–583.
10. ^ Liliʻuokalani (Queen of Hawaii) (1898) [1898]. Hawaii's story by Hawaii's queen, Liliuokalani. Lee and Shepard, reprinted by Kessinger Publishing. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-548-22265-2.

Government offices

Preceded by

William L. Green

|  Kingdom of Hawaii Minister of Interior
1874–1876  | Succeeded by

John Mott-Smith

Preceded by

John Mākini Kapena

|  Royal Governor of Maui
1876–1878  | Succeeded by

John Owen Dominis