Rudolph Wilhelm Meyer
Encyclopedia
Rudolph Wilhelm Meyer was a German
who managed an early agricultural business in the Kingdom of Hawaii
.
, about 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) northwest of Berlin
. Meyer graduated from the local Hochschule
(technical school) city as a civil engineer
specializing in hydraulics and survey work; and he became an employee of the Water Works Department of Hamburg. He left behind a sister named Bertha and two half brothers.
Because of an argument with his stepmother, he intended to join the California Gold Rush
in 1848, but was delayed on a stopover in Sydney, Australia, and again in Tahiti
. He landed at the port of Lahaina on the island of Maui
in the Kingdom of Hawaii
on January 20, 1850 on the British Brigantine Cheerful, along with three others: Theodore Christopher Heuch, age 20, a German carpenter, Fredrich Sockyer, age 25 a British grazier and also Edmund Sockyer, age 34, a British grazier. Rudolph Meyer listed his occupation as a surveyor
.
Meyer spoke German, French, and English and soon wrote and spoke the Hawaiian language
. He found his way to the island of Molokai
instead of continuing to California. On Molokai he met Reverend Harvey Rexford Hitchcock
, who accepted him as a house guest at his missionary station known as Kalua'aha on the east coast of Molokai. While living with Reverend Hitchcock he met High Chiefess Kalama Waha (1832–1899). She was a student of the Hitchcocks at the time. Kalama's father was Apahu Waha and her mother was Akela Hu'a. She was named after Kalama-A-Kuakini, an alii (member of the royal family) from Maui
related to High Chief Kalanimoku
. Kalama also had a sister, Maraea Apahu and two brothers, one named William and the other, Ka-Waha O Kalola. The two boys were interested in Christianity and became missionaries and went to Tahiti as young men to do missionary work. Meyer married Kalama Waha on March 20, 1851 when she was 18 years old. As a foreigner marrying a citizen of the kingdom of Hawaii, Meyer was required to post a $1000 bond before he could obtain permission to marry Kalama Dorcas Waha.
He also became a citizen of the kingdom on July 21, 1851.
Meyer and Kalama lived for a while with the Hitchcocks where they had their first child, Emma Amalia (Meyer) Duncan (November 20, 1851–August 5, 1932), and then they moved to another location in Kaluaaha. Sometime later he moved his family to Honolulu where he worked for Austin and Becker at an office located on Maunakea Street.
.
In 1866 he became the surveyor for the island, with the titles Commissioner of Fences and Road Supervisor.
About this time, the Kalaupapa peninsula
just to the north of the Meyer homestead and below a steep cliff, was converted into a leper colony
. He acted as supply agent to the colony, and liaison to the few healthy people willing to work there, such as Father Damien
(1840–1889).
Meyer and his sons established and grew a business. Crops included corn, wheat, Brynn, and beans as well as traditional Hawaiian taro
. After the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
removed tariff
s on sugar exports to the United States, he operated a sugar mill from 1876 to 1889. Since he did not have the large cash investments of planters on other islands, only about 30 acres (12.1 ha) of sugarcane
were cultivated, and the mill was built with older 1850s technology. The mill used animal power instead of steam. About 50 short tons (45.4 MT) of sugar were produced a year.
He was the first on Molokai to grow and mill sugar and coffee commercially and he exported these to Honolulu and California.
King Kamehameha V
hired the family to manage a vast ranch on the western end of the island called Molokai Ranch.
He operated a dairy which produced butter sold locally and sent to California.
His third daughter Hannah Julia Meyer (1866–1912), married another Harvey Rexford Hitchcock (1864–1931) who was son of Edward Griffin Hitchcock
(1837–1898), who in turn was son of the original missionary Harvey Rexford Hitchcock (1800–1855). They named their son (Meyer's grandson) Harvey Rexford Hitchcock, Jr.
His sugar mill has been restored into a museum, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii as site 79000762 on September 4, 1979. It is the only 19th century sugar mill in Hawaii with its original processing equipment in place.
It is located on Hawaii Route 470, at 21°9′39"N 157°0′32"W.
In the 1999 film Molokai: The Story of Father Damien
, the role of Meyer was played by Kris Kristofferson
. A nearby reservoir at 21°9′51"N 156°58′53"W is called Meyer Lake after the family.
They Meyer estate still owns land on the island, although some has been converted into a forest reserve after litigation.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
who managed an early agricultural business in the Kingdom of Hawaii
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...
.
Life
Rudolph Wilhelm Meyer was born on April 2, 1826 to Rudolph Heinrich Meyer and Christine Ludewike Sengevald. They lived in the Hanse district of Hamburg, Germany on the estuary of the Elbe River in Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, about 250 kilometres (155.3 mi) northwest of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Meyer graduated from the local Hochschule
Hochschule
Hochschule is a German term with two meanings.The literal meaning of the word Hochschule is “high school” which is not appropriate as a translation.- Generic term :...
(technical school) city as a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
specializing in hydraulics and survey work; and he became an employee of the Water Works Department of Hamburg. He left behind a sister named Bertha and two half brothers.
Because of an argument with his stepmother, he intended to join the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
in 1848, but was delayed on a stopover in Sydney, Australia, and again in Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. He landed at the port of Lahaina on the island of Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
in the Kingdom of Hawaii
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...
on January 20, 1850 on the British Brigantine Cheerful, along with three others: Theodore Christopher Heuch, age 20, a German carpenter, Fredrich Sockyer, age 25 a British grazier and also Edmund Sockyer, age 34, a British grazier. Rudolph Meyer listed his occupation as a surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
.
Meyer spoke German, French, and English and soon wrote and spoke 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...
. He found his way to the island of Molokai
Molokai
Molokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...
instead of continuing to California. On Molokai he met Reverend Harvey Rexford Hitchcock
Harvey Rexford Hitchcock
Harvey Rexford Hitchcock 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 had at least three namesakes in the subsequent generations.-Life:Harvey Rexford Hitchcock was...
, who accepted him as a house guest at his missionary station known as Kalua'aha on the east coast of Molokai. While living with Reverend Hitchcock he met High Chiefess Kalama Waha (1832–1899). She was a student of the Hitchcocks at the time. Kalama's father was Apahu Waha and her mother was Akela Hu'a. She was named after Kalama-A-Kuakini, an alii (member of the royal family) from Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
related to High Chief Kalanimoku
Kalanimoku
William Pitt Kalanimoku was a High Chief who functioned similar to a prime minister of the Hawaiian Kingdom during the reigns of Kamehameha I, Kamehameha II and the beginning of the reign of Kamehameha III. He was called The Iron Cable of Hawaii because of his abilities.-Life:Kalanimoku was born ...
. Kalama also had a sister, Maraea Apahu and two brothers, one named William and the other, Ka-Waha O Kalola. The two boys were interested in Christianity and became missionaries and went to Tahiti as young men to do missionary work. Meyer married Kalama Waha on March 20, 1851 when she was 18 years old. As a foreigner marrying a citizen of the kingdom of Hawaii, Meyer was required to post a $1000 bond before he could obtain permission to marry Kalama Dorcas Waha.
He also became a citizen of the kingdom on July 21, 1851.
Meyer and Kalama lived for a while with the Hitchcocks where they had their first child, Emma Amalia (Meyer) Duncan (November 20, 1851–August 5, 1932), and then they moved to another location in Kaluaaha. Sometime later he moved his family to Honolulu where he worked for Austin and Becker at an office located on Maunakea Street.
The family business
Meyer returned to Molokai in 1853 to establish a family homestead in the remote north central area known as Kalae which means "the clearness" in the Hawaiian languageHawaiian 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...
.
In 1866 he became the surveyor for the island, with the titles Commissioner of Fences and Road Supervisor.
About this time, the Kalaupapa peninsula
Kalaupapa, Hawaii
Kalaupapa is a small unincorporated community on the island of Molokai in the U.S. state of Hawaii, within Kalawao County.The village is located on the Kalaupapa peninsula at the base of the highest sea cliffs in the world, dropping about into the Pacific Ocean.- Volcanic origin :Kalaupapa...
just to the north of the Meyer homestead and below a steep cliff, was converted into a leper colony
Leper colony
A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
. He acted as supply agent to the colony, and liaison to the few healthy people willing to work there, such as Father Damien
Father Damien
Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. , born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order...
(1840–1889).
Meyer and his sons established and grew a business. Crops included corn, wheat, Brynn, and beans as well as traditional Hawaiian taro
Taro
Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
. After the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
Reciprocity Treaty of 1875
The Treaty of reciprocity between the United States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom was a free trade agreement signed and ratified in 1875 that is generally known as the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875....
removed tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s on sugar exports to the United States, he operated a sugar mill from 1876 to 1889. Since he did not have the large cash investments of planters on other islands, only about 30 acres (12.1 ha) of sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
were cultivated, and the mill was built with older 1850s technology. The mill used animal power instead of steam. About 50 short tons (45.4 MT) of sugar were produced a year.
He was the first on Molokai to grow and mill sugar and coffee commercially and he exported these to Honolulu and California.
King Kamehameha V
Kamehameha V
aloghaKamehameha V , born as Lot Kapuāiwa, reigned as monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipa`a": immovable, firm, steadfast or determined; he worked diligently for his people and kingdom and was described as the last great traditional chief...
hired the family to manage a vast ranch on the western end of the island called Molokai Ranch.
He operated a dairy which produced butter sold locally and sent to California.
Legacy
They Meyers had six sons and five daughters. The oldest son Otto Samuel Meyer was born on March 2, 1854, and married Maggie Ann McCorriston in December 1889. He served as accountant of the business, took over leadership after his father died in 1897, and died February 26, 1931. His sixth child, daughter Bertha Amalia Meyer was born December 9, 1860 and died young May 7, 1866. His tenth child, also named Bertha Amalia, was born June 20, 1868, married Authur Aubrey, and died April 15, 1965.His third daughter Hannah Julia Meyer (1866–1912), married another Harvey Rexford Hitchcock (1864–1931) who was son of Edward Griffin Hitchcock
Edward Griffin Hitchcock
Edward Griffin "Holy Terror" Hitchcock was a law enforcement officer in the Kingdom of Hawaii, who rose to the position of Marshal of the Republic of Hawaii.-Life:...
(1837–1898), who in turn was son of the original missionary Harvey Rexford Hitchcock (1800–1855). They named their son (Meyer's grandson) Harvey Rexford Hitchcock, Jr.
Harvey Rexford Hitchcock, Jr.
Harvey Rexford Hitchcock, Jr. was on the 1913 College Football All-America Team. From an influential missionary family in the Hawaiian Islands, he went insane during World War I.-Biography:...
His sugar mill has been restored into a museum, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii as site 79000762 on September 4, 1979. It is the only 19th century sugar mill in Hawaii with its original processing equipment in place.
It is located on Hawaii Route 470, at 21°9′39"N 157°0′32"W.
In the 1999 film Molokai: The Story of Father Damien
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien is a 1999 biopic of Father Damien, who was a Belgian priest working at the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement on the Hawaiian island of Molokai...
, the role of Meyer was played by Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
. A nearby reservoir at 21°9′51"N 156°58′53"W is called Meyer Lake after the family.
They Meyer estate still owns land on the island, although some has been converted into a forest reserve after litigation.
See also
- Sugar plantations in HawaiiSugar plantations in HawaiiSugarcane was introduced to Hawaii by its first inhabitants in approximately 600 AD and was observed by Captain Cook upon arrival in the islands in 1778. Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a...
- Coffee production in HawaiiCoffee production in HawaiiThe only state in the United States of America able to grow coffee plants commercially is Hawaii. However, it is not the only coffee grown on U.S. soil; for example, Puerto Rico has had a coffee industry for some time, although it is not a state but a U.S. territory. Ramiro L...
- Hawaii Hitchcock family tree