Amos Starr Cooke
Encyclopedia
Amos Starr Cooke was an educator and businessman in the Kingdom of Hawaii
. He was patriarch of a family that influenced Hawaii during the 20th century.
, December 1, 1810.
His father was Joseph Platt Cooke (1760–1841) and mother was Annis Starr (died 1813). His grandfather Joseph Platt Cooke
(1730–1816) served in the American Revolutionary War
.
Juliette Montague was born in Sunderland, Massachusetts
, March 10, 1812. Her father was Caleb Montague (1781–1825) and mother Martha Warner. They were married November 27, 1836.
and in less than a month in the 8th company from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
to Hawaii. They sailed from Boston
December 14, 1836 on the Mary Frazier and reached Honolulu on April 9, 1837.
The Cookes were put in charge of the Chiefs' Children's School. King Kamehameha III
selected as students those who would be eligible for the throne based on their family background. Instruction was in English, and all five of the next ruling monarchs were students at the school. A complex of buildings was built to house the Cookes and students in 1840 as it became a boarding school. In 1846 it was renamed the Royal School, and became funded by the government.
In 1849 Cooke worked for Samuel Northrop Castle who had been a ship-mate on the Mary Frazier as secular supply agent for the mission. As the American Board reduced funding for the Hawaii stations, he co-founded Castle & Cooke
as a private company in June 1851. Edward Griffin Beckwith (1826–1909) became the next principal of the Royal School, as it opened to students of all races.
The business started as a general store, and continued as supply agents to the mission. Their store house is part of the Mission Houses Museum
. Cooke made one trip to supply mission stations in the Marshall Islands
and Gilbert Islands
.
In 1858 Cooke became a partner in the Haikū Sugar Company
on the island of Maui
. During the American Civil War
in the 1860s, the company became an agent for selling sugar from the sugar plantations in Hawaii
to the western United States
. However, Cooke's health declined and he turned over his duties to Joseph Ballard Atherton who had started as a clerk in 1859.
Cooke died in Honolulu, March 20, 1871. The company went on to be one of the "Big Five
" corporations that dominated the economy of the Territory of Hawaii
. Their 7 children were:
His wife Juliette Cooke died on August 11, 1896.
Most of the family is buried at the Mission Houses Cemetery near Kawaiahaʻo Church.
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...
. He was patriarch of a family that influenced Hawaii during the 20th century.
Life
Amos Starr Cooke was born in Danbury, ConnecticutDanbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
, December 1, 1810.
His father was Joseph Platt Cooke (1760–1841) and mother was Annis Starr (died 1813). His grandfather Joseph Platt Cooke
Joseph Platt Cooke
Joseph Platt Cooke was an American military officer in the Revolutionary War, a Connecticut politician, and twice a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation. He was born in Stratford, Connecticut and graduated from Yale College in 1750...
(1730–1816) served in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.
Juliette Montague was born in Sunderland, Massachusetts
Sunderland, Massachusetts
Sunderland is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, part of the Pioneer Valley. The population was 3,777 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, March 10, 1812. Her father was Caleb Montague (1781–1825) and mother Martha Warner. They were married November 27, 1836.
and in less than a month in the 8th company from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
to Hawaii. They sailed from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
December 14, 1836 on the Mary Frazier and reached Honolulu on April 9, 1837.
The Cookes were put in charge of the Chiefs' Children's School. 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...
selected as students those who would be eligible for the throne based on their family background. Instruction was in English, and all five of the next ruling monarchs were students at the school. A complex of buildings was built to house the Cookes and students in 1840 as it became a boarding school. In 1846 it was renamed the Royal School, and became funded by the government.
In 1849 Cooke worked for Samuel Northrop Castle who had been a ship-mate on the Mary Frazier as secular supply agent for the mission. As the American Board reduced funding for the Hawaii stations, he co-founded Castle & Cooke
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...
as a private company in June 1851. Edward Griffin Beckwith (1826–1909) became the next principal of the Royal School, as it opened to students of all races.
The business started as a general store, and continued as supply agents to the mission. Their store house is part of the Mission Houses Museum
Mission Houses Museum
The Mission Houses Museum at 553 South King Street in Honolulu, Hawaii, was established in 1920 by the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society, a private, non-profit organization and genealogical society, on the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Christian missionaries in Hawaii...
. Cooke made one trip to supply mission stations in the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
and Gilbert Islands
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
.
In 1858 Cooke became a partner in the Haikū Sugar Company
Haiku Mill
The Haikū Sugar Mill was a processing factory for sugarcane from 1861 to 1879 on the island of Maui in Hawaii.-History:The northeastern coast of Maui had a small village named Hai kū which literally means "sharp break" in the Hawaiian language....
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,...
. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in the 1860s, the company became an agent for selling sugar from the sugar plantations in Hawaii
Sugar plantations in Hawaii
Sugarcane 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...
to the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. However, Cooke's health declined and he turned over his duties to Joseph Ballard Atherton who had started as a clerk in 1859.
Cooke died in Honolulu, March 20, 1871. The company went on to be one of the "Big Five
Big Five (Hawaii)
The Big Five was the name given to a group of what started as sugarcane processing corporations that wielded considerable political power in the Territory of Hawaii during the early 20th century and leaned heavily towards the Hawaii Republican Party. The Big Five were Castle & Cooke, Alexander &...
" corporations that dominated the economy of the Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
. Their 7 children were:
- Joseph Platt Cooke was born June 15, 1838, married Harriet Emily Wilder (1842–1904), sister of Samuel Garner WilderSamuel Garner WilderSamuel Gardner Wilder was an American shipping magnate and politician who developed a major transportation company in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:Samuel Gardner Wilder was born June 20, 1831 in Leominster, Massachusetts....
, and died August 29, 1879. Their son also named Joseph Platt Cooke (1870–1918) married Maud Mansfield Baldwin (1872–1961), daughter of Henry Perrine BaldwinHenry Perrine BaldwinHenry Perrine Baldwin 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" corporations that dominated the economy of the Territory of Hawaii.-Life:Henry Perrine...
, co-founder of Alexander & BaldwinAlexander & BaldwinFollowing World War II, the company entered a new business: land development and real estate. The company formed a new subsidiary, the Kahului Development Co., to develop housing in the Kahului area. In the following years, the company became more involved in the development of its land and the...
. - Martha Eliza Cooke was born November 21, 1840, married Samuel Thomas AlexanderSamuel Thomas AlexanderSamuel Thomas Alexander co-founded a major agricultural and transportation business in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Early life:In November 1831, the Reverend William Patterson Alexander and Mary Ann McKinney Alexander arrived in April 1832 as missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands...
(1836–1904), the other co-founder of Alexander & Baldwin. She died July 6, 1918. - Juliette Montague Cooke was born August 21, 1843, married Joseph Ballard Atherton (1837–1903) in 1865 and died August 25, 1921. Their daughter Mary Atherton Richards (1869–1951) wrote several histories of the family.
- Mary Annis Cooke was born November 6, 1846, married Charles Turner (1845–1894), and died in 1920.
- Charles Montague CookeCharles Montague CookeCharles Montague Cooke was a businessman during the Kingdom of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii.-Life:Charles Montague Cooke was born May 6, 1849 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was Amos Starr Cooke co-founder of Castle & Cooke...
was born May 6, 1849 married Anna Charlotte RiceAnna Rice CookeAnna Rice Cooke was a patron of the arts and the founder of the Honolulu Academy of Arts.-Biography:Anna Charlotte Rice was born on September 5, 1853 into a prominent missionary family on Oahu, Hawaii. Her father was teacher William Harrison Rice , and her mother was Mary Sophia Hyde. Anna grew...
(1853–1934) on April 30, 1874. He became president of the Bank of HawaiiBank of HawaiiThe Bank of Hawaii Corporation is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is Hawaii's second oldest bank and its largest locally owned bank in that majority of the voting stockholders reside within the state...
and C. Brewer & Co.C. Brewer & Co.C. Brewer & Co., Ltd. was a Honolulu-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company did most of its business in agriculture....
Their children included scientist Charles Montague Cooke, Jr. (1874–1948) and businessman Clarence Hyde CookeClarence Hyde Cooke-Life:Clarence Cooke was born April 17, 1876 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was the second son of Charles Montague Cooke and Anna Rice Cooke, and grandson of New England Congregational missionaries to Hawaii Amos Starr Cooke and William Harrison Rice, and thus partial heir to the fortune of Castle &...
(1876–1944). Son George Paul Cooke married the granddaughter of missionary Gerrit P. JuddGerrit P. JuddGerrit Parmele Judd was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii who later became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.- Life :...
, and their son was musician Francis Judd CookeFrancis Judd CookeFrancis Judd Cooke was an American composer, organist, cellist, pianist, conductor, choir director, and professor.-Life:...
(1910–1995). He died in 1909. - Amos Francis "Frank" Cooke was born December 23, 1852, married Lilanet "Lulu" Lydgate (1856–1946) and died in 1931.
- Clarence Warren Cooke was born April 4, 1856 married Clara Lydia Moseley (1857–1941) and died March 4, 1880.
His wife Juliette Cooke died on August 11, 1896.
Most of the family is buried at the Mission Houses Cemetery near Kawaiahaʻo Church.