Grace Kamaikui
Encyclopedia
Grace Kamaikui Young Rooke (1808–1866) was a Hawaiian high chiefess who was daughter of the chief military advisor during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii
, and adoptive mother of a future Queen consort.
, in the Kohala District, on the Island of Hawaii
. Her father was John Young
, known as Olohana, the royal advisor of Kamehameha I
, from Lancashire
, England
. Her mother was High Chiefess Kaoanaeha
, the niece of Kamehameha I. She was probably named after John Young's mother from England. She was raised on her father's homestead on a barren hillside overlooking the Kawaihae Bay, on land Kamehameha had given to her father on the Island of Hawaii. It is now part of Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. She grew up with her two sisters, Fanny and Jane, and her brother, John
. Fanny was oldest, Grace was second, John was third, and Jane the youngest. She had two older half-brothers by her father's first marriage to Namokuelua: Robert
and James
. The siblings were hapa-haole or part Caucasian, but still considered to have royal status from their mother.
In her teenage years, probably in 1821, she married High Chief "George Cox" Kahekili Keeaumoku, the Governor of Maui. Cox was powerful Queen regent Kaahumanu's younger brother. He was about 20 years older, so she was left a young widow when Cox died at Honolulu, Oahu in 1823. She remarried Thomas Charles Byde Rooke (1806–1858), a British physician to king Kamehameha III
, in 1830. She was the only royal part-Hawaiian chiefess to marry a white man in her generation. Her sisters, Fanny and Jane, had married native Hawaiian nobles.
Both Rookes wanted a child but Grace was unable to give birth. She and Dr. Rooke decided upon hānai, adoption. Hānai was a common custom in native Hawaiian culture, even if both natural parents of the adopted child were still living, despite missionaries' stern opposition to "giving away" children. All classes, especially the royal family, practiced hānai. Adoption generally occurred in the same ohana
, or extended family. The Rookes, therefore, could choose between the children of Grace's sisters, Jane and Fanny. Why, in the end, they chose Fanny is unknown; it may have been because Fanny was a more serious stable person and a Christian, while Jane tended to be "clever as well as a little frivolous." Fanny and her husband George Naea consented, promising the child before its birth.
As soon as the baby was delivered, the Rookes "immediately" wrapped her in soft tapa cloth and took her to their home nearby, a two-storey, frame building on Union Street facing Fort Street in Honolulu. One should not take the word, "immediately", too literally, for it was customary to preserve the pike or umbilical cord
, to bathe the infant and perhaps oil it lightly, to wrap it snugly in its tapa-cloth receiving blanket, to allow the mother to nurse it, and then to perform the hānai ceremony. When a child was handed to the adoptive parents, the natural parents would seal the act with words "Nau ke keiki kukae a naau", meaning literally, "I give you this child intestines and all". (In Hawaiian tradition, the intestines were regarded as the seat of emotion, intelligence, and character.) The ceremony of hānai constituted a solemn promise that was as binding as any modern legal instrument: the Rookes did not sign a written deed of adoption until December 30, 1851, fifteen years after.
Their foster daughter was named Emma
, who took the surname of her foster parents, Rooke. Grace and her husband moved into their new spacious wood-frame mansion, Rooke House
, shortly after Emma's birth. While Dr. Rooke raised Emma with British customs, Grace raised her in Hawaiian ways. Emma learned about the world from her scholarly father, with the help of letters of advice from her paternal grandmother in England. The British did not spoil their children, while Hawaiians did, especially upper class children, so they compromised. Emma called Grace Kiawai. She grew up speaking both the Hawaiian language
and English language
fluetly. Emma began her formal education at the Chiefs' Children's School at five years of age.
After living in the Hawaiian Islands for nearly thirty years, the fifty-two-year-old Dr. Rooke died on November 28, 1858, at Kailua, Hawaii. Grace died July 26, 1866 and was buried in the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
known as Mauna Ala.
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
, and adoptive mother of a future Queen consort.
Early Life and Marriage
She was born in 1808, in KawaihaeKawaihae
Kawaihae is an unincorporated community on the west side of the island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii, north of Kailua-Kona. Its harbor includes a fuel depot, shipping terminal and military landing site. Outside of the man-made breakwall of the harbor is a popular surf spot and the Pua...
, in the Kohala District, on the Island of Hawaii
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
. Her father was John Young
John Young (Hawaii)
John Young was a British subject who became an important military advisor to Kamehameha I during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was left behind by Simon Metcalfe, captain of the American ship Eleanora, and along with a Welshmen Isaac Davis became a friend and advisor to Kamehameha...
, known as Olohana, the royal advisor of Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
, from Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her mother was High Chiefess Kaoanaeha
Kaoanaeha
Kaōanaeha Mele or Mary Kuamoo Kaōanaeha was a Hawaiian high chiefess during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Parentage:She was born circa 1780...
, the niece of Kamehameha I. She was probably named after John Young's mother from England. She was raised on her father's homestead on a barren hillside overlooking the Kawaihae Bay, on land Kamehameha had given to her father on the Island of Hawaii. It is now part of Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. She grew up with her two sisters, Fanny and Jane, and her brother, John
Keoni Ana
John Kaleipaihala Young II sometimes called Keoni Ana Opio was a politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, serving as Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Islands and Minister of Interior.-Early life:...
. Fanny was oldest, Grace was second, John was third, and Jane the youngest. She had two older half-brothers by her father's first marriage to Namokuelua: Robert
Robert Young (Hawaii)
Robert Young was a Hawaiian chief and the son of John Young, the British advisor of Kamehameha the Great. Named after his paternal grandfather, Robert Young of Lancashire, England, he was probably called Lopaka by his mother and other Hawaiians.-Early life:He was born February 14, 1796, the eldest...
and James
James Kanehoa
James Young Kānehoa was a member of the court of King Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III during the Kingdom of Hawaii. Sometimes he is confused with his half-brother John Kaleipaihala Young II known as Keoni Ana.-Life:...
. The siblings were hapa-haole or part Caucasian, but still considered to have royal status from their mother.
In her teenage years, probably in 1821, she married High Chief "George Cox" Kahekili Keeaumoku, the Governor of Maui. Cox was powerful Queen regent Kaahumanu's younger brother. He was about 20 years older, so she was left a young widow when Cox died at Honolulu, Oahu in 1823. She remarried Thomas Charles Byde Rooke (1806–1858), a British physician to king Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III was the King of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalao i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.Under his...
, in 1830. She was the only royal part-Hawaiian chiefess to marry a white man in her generation. Her sisters, Fanny and Jane, had married native Hawaiian nobles.
Marriage to Rooke
Grace had a fair command of the English language and was acquainted with British ways. She probably felt socially equal, if not superior, to her husband for he had come from a family of commoners. Yet he was "a man of rare cultivation and refinement", with an outgoing and cheery disposition that complemented Grace's natural bashfulness. Rooke operated a dispensary in a one-story, part-adobe structure on Union Street in Honolulu. As one of the only three Western doctors in the Kingdom, he had more business than he could handle. The Rookes' connections with the royal court made them secure and comfortable.Both Rookes wanted a child but Grace was unable to give birth. She and Dr. Rooke decided upon hānai, adoption. Hānai was a common custom in native Hawaiian culture, even if both natural parents of the adopted child were still living, despite missionaries' stern opposition to "giving away" children. All classes, especially the royal family, practiced hānai. Adoption generally occurred in the same ohana
Ohana
Part of Hawaiian culture, ohana means family in an extended sense of the term, including blood-related, adoptive or intentional. It emphasizes that family are bound together and members must cooperate and remember one another...
, or extended family. The Rookes, therefore, could choose between the children of Grace's sisters, Jane and Fanny. Why, in the end, they chose Fanny is unknown; it may have been because Fanny was a more serious stable person and a Christian, while Jane tended to be "clever as well as a little frivolous." Fanny and her husband George Naea consented, promising the child before its birth.
As soon as the baby was delivered, the Rookes "immediately" wrapped her in soft tapa cloth and took her to their home nearby, a two-storey, frame building on Union Street facing Fort Street in Honolulu. One should not take the word, "immediately", too literally, for it was customary to preserve the pike or umbilical cord
Umbilical cord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta...
, to bathe the infant and perhaps oil it lightly, to wrap it snugly in its tapa-cloth receiving blanket, to allow the mother to nurse it, and then to perform the hānai ceremony. When a child was handed to the adoptive parents, the natural parents would seal the act with words "Nau ke keiki kukae a naau", meaning literally, "I give you this child intestines and all". (In Hawaiian tradition, the intestines were regarded as the seat of emotion, intelligence, and character.) The ceremony of hānai constituted a solemn promise that was as binding as any modern legal instrument: the Rookes did not sign a written deed of adoption until December 30, 1851, fifteen years after.
Their foster daughter was named Emma
Queen Emma of Hawaii
Queen Consort Emma Kalanikaumakaamano Kaleleonālani Naea Rooke of Hawaii was queen consort of King Kamehameha IV from 1856 to his death in 1863. She ran for ruling monarch against King David Kalākaua but was defeated....
, who took the surname of her foster parents, Rooke. Grace and her husband moved into their new spacious wood-frame mansion, Rooke House
Rooke House
Thomas Charles Byde Rooke was an English physician who married into the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He built a mansion called the Rooke House in Honolulu that became popular with political and social leaders of the Kingdom.-Life:...
, shortly after Emma's birth. While Dr. Rooke raised Emma with British customs, Grace raised her in Hawaiian ways. Emma learned about the world from her scholarly father, with the help of letters of advice from her paternal grandmother in England. The British did not spoil their children, while Hawaiians did, especially upper class children, so they compromised. Emma called Grace Kiawai. She grew up speaking both the Hawaiian language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
and English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
fluetly. Emma began her formal education at the Chiefs' Children's School at five years of age.
After living in the Hawaiian Islands for nearly thirty years, the fifty-two-year-old Dr. Rooke died on November 28, 1858, at Kailua, Hawaii. Grace died July 26, 1866 and was buried in the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii
The Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii, known as Mauna Ala in the Hawaiian language, is the final resting place of Hawaii's two prominent royal families: the Kamehameha Dynasty and the Kalākaua Dynasty.-Description:...
known as Mauna Ala.