George Norton Wilcox
Encyclopedia
George Norton Wilcox was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii
and Territory of Hawaii
.
His father was Abner Wilcox
(1808–1869) and mother was Lucy Eliza Hart (1814–1869). His parents were in the company of missionaries to Hawaii for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
, sailing in 1836. His parents taught at the Hilo Mission boarding school founded by David Belden Lyman
and his wife. He had one older brother and two younger ones born while at Hilo.
In 1846 the family moved to teach at a similar school at the Waioli Mission
near Hanalei, Hawaii
on the northern coast of the island of Kauai
. There he had four more brothers, although one died young.
He graduated from Punahou School
1850–1860, and worked for Samuel Garner Wilder
loading a shipload of guano
from Jarvis Island
. He then attended Yale
from 1860 to 1862 where he studied civil engineering
in the Sheffield Scientific School
.
When he returned, he and his younger brother Albert worked for Robert Crichton Wyllie
on his Princeville Plantation
. Albert would later buy the Princeville Plantation near Hanalei.
George leased and then bought Grove Farm
from Hermann A. Widemann
(1822–1899) starting in 1864.
Using his engineering training, he designed an irrigation system to bring water from the wet mountains to the sugarcane
fields, an idea later copied by many other planters. He continued to grow the farm, and invest in related enterprises, such as other plantations on other islands, a guano fertilizer company of his own, and the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company
.
In 1880 he was elected to the house of representatives of the legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
. When the upper house (known as the House of Nobles) became an elected body in 1887, he served in it from 1888 to 1892. He was appointed as Minister of the Interior from November 8, 1892 to January 13, 1893. A few days later the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii ended the monarchy.
The upper house of the legislature then became the senate of the Republic of Hawaii
where he was elected through 1898.
After World War I
, when the US Army Corps of Engineers proposed building a harbor on the island, Wilcox bought the entire bond issue to finance Nawiliwili Harbor.
He died January 21, 1933. Since he never married, his estate was left to his nephews. It was one of the largest estates in the territory at the time.
was born May 24, 1844, married Luahiwa, and then Emma Mahelona, became a wealthy plantation owner and politician, and died July 7, 1919.
Younger brother Samuel Whitney Wilcox was born September 19, 1847 at Waioli, married Emma Lyman (daughter of the Hilo missionaries), had six children, and died May 23, 1929.
Although Samuel's son's inherited the farm, his two daughters were Elsie Wilcox (1874–1954), who became the first female territorial senator of Hawaii, and Mabel Isabel Wilcox (1882–1978) who led the restoration of the Waioli and Grove Farm houses into museums.
Grove Farm was kept in the family until it was sold to Stephen McConnell Case
in 2000.
Wilcox Health
and Wilcox Memorial Hospital are named for his family; founder Mabel Wilcox was a nurse and commissioner of public health.
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 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...
.
Life
George Norton Wilcox was born in Hilo August 15, 1839.His father was Abner Wilcox
Abner Wilcox
Abner Wilcox was a missionary teacher from New England to the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:Abner Wilcox was born April 19, 1808 in Harwinton, Connecticut. His father was Aaron Wilcox and mother was Lois Phelps. He was fourth of nine children.On November 23, 1836 he married Lucy Eliza Hart who was born...
(1808–1869) and mother was Lucy Eliza Hart (1814–1869). His parents were in the company of missionaries to Hawaii for 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...
, sailing in 1836. His parents taught at the Hilo Mission boarding school founded by David Belden Lyman
David Belden Lyman
David Belden Lyman was an early American missionary to Hawaii who opened a boarding school for Hawaiians. His wife Sarah Joiner Lyman taught at the boarding school and kept an important journal. They had several notable descendants.-Family life:David Belden Lyman was born in on July 28, 1803 in...
and his wife. He had one older brother and two younger ones born while at Hilo.
In 1846 the family moved to teach at a similar school at the Waioli Mission
Waioli Mission District
The Waioli Mission District at Hanalei Bay, on Route 560 along the north shore of the island of Kauai, is the site of a historic mission. The first permanent missionaries to the area arrived in 1834, and the district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.-Description:Wai oli...
near Hanalei, Hawaii
Hanalei, Hawaii
Hanalei is a census-designated place in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 478 at the 2000 census. Hanalei means "lei making" in Hawaiian...
on the northern coast of the island of Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
. There he had four more brothers, although one died young.
He graduated from Punahou School
Punahou School
Punahou School, once known as Oahu College, is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school located in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu in the U.S. State of Hawaii...
1850–1860, and worked for Samuel Garner Wilder
Samuel Garner Wilder
Samuel 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....
loading a shipload of guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
from Jarvis Island
Jarvis Island
Jarvis Island is an uninhabited 4.5 square kilometer coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean at , about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands...
. He then attended Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
from 1860 to 1862 where he studied civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
in the Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School
Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, the railroad executive. The school was...
.
When he returned, he and his younger brother Albert worked for Robert Crichton Wyllie
Robert Crichton Wyllie
Robert Crichton Wyllie was a Scottish physician and businessman. He also served two decades as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Early life:...
on his Princeville Plantation
Princeville, Hawaii
Princeville is a census-designated place on the north shore of the island of Kauai in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 1,698 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Princeville is located at ....
. Albert would later buy the Princeville Plantation near Hanalei.
George leased and then bought Grove Farm
Grove Farm (Lihue, Hawaii)
-History:German immigrant Hermann A. Widemann started one of the first sugar plantations in Hawaii known as Grove Farm in 1854.During the American Civil War, the demand for Hawaii sugar grew, but Widemann supported the Confederate States....
from Hermann A. Widemann
Hermann A. Widemann
Hermann Adam Widemann was a businessman from Germany who was a judge and member of the cabinet of the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:Hermann Adam Widemann was born in Hanover, Germany on December 24, 1822.As a teenager he went to work on a whaling ship...
(1822–1899) starting in 1864.
Using his engineering training, he designed an irrigation system to bring water from the wet mountains to the 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...
fields, an idea later copied by many other planters. He continued to grow the farm, and invest in related enterprises, such as other plantations on other islands, a guano fertilizer company of his own, and the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company
Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company
Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company was the company headquartered in Honolulu that ran steam boat service between Hawaiian cities from 1883 until 1947. On January 30, 1929 company founded the subsidiary company Inter-Island Airways that was later renamed to Hawaiian Airlines...
.
In 1880 he was elected to the house of representatives of the legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom was the bicameral legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term "Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom", and the first to subject the monarch to...
. When the upper house (known as the House of Nobles) became an elected body in 1887, he served in it from 1888 to 1892. He was appointed as Minister of the Interior from November 8, 1892 to January 13, 1893. A few days later the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii ended the monarchy.
The upper house of the legislature then became the senate of the Republic of Hawaii
Republic of Hawaii
The Republic of Hawaii was the formal name of the government that controlled Hawaii from 1894 to 1898 when it was run as a republic. The republic period occurred between the administration of the Provisional Government of Hawaii which ended on July 4, 1894 and the adoption of the Newlands...
where he was elected through 1898.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, when the US Army Corps of Engineers proposed building a harbor on the island, Wilcox bought the entire bond issue to finance Nawiliwili Harbor.
He died January 21, 1933. Since he never married, his estate was left to his nephews. It was one of the largest estates in the territory at the time.
Family and legacy
Older brother Albert Spencer WilcoxAlbert Spencer Wilcox
Albert Spencer Wilcox was a businessman and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii. He developed several sugar plantations in Hawaii, and became a large landholder.-Early life:...
was born May 24, 1844, married Luahiwa, and then Emma Mahelona, became a wealthy plantation owner and politician, and died July 7, 1919.
Younger brother Samuel Whitney Wilcox was born September 19, 1847 at Waioli, married Emma Lyman (daughter of the Hilo missionaries), had six children, and died May 23, 1929.
Although Samuel's son's inherited the farm, his two daughters were Elsie Wilcox (1874–1954), who became the first female territorial senator of Hawaii, and Mabel Isabel Wilcox (1882–1978) who led the restoration of the Waioli and Grove Farm houses into museums.
Grove Farm was kept in the family until it was sold to Stephen McConnell Case
Steve Case
Stephen McConnell "Steve" Case is an American businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online . Since his retirement as chairman of AOL Time Warner in 2003, he has gone on to build a variety of new businesses through his investment...
in 2000.
Wilcox Health
Wilcox Health
Wilcox Health is part of Hawaii Pacific Health's network. One of Kauai island's two hospitals, Wilcox Memorial Hospital provides Kauai residents with an imaging center, emergency room, and surgical center.-History:...
and Wilcox Memorial Hospital are named for his family; founder Mabel Wilcox was a nurse and commissioner of public health.