Lorenzo Lyons - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lorenzo Lyons or "Makua Laiana" was born in Colrain

Colrain, Massachusetts

Colrain is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,813 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :Colrain was first settled in 1735 as "Boston Township No...

, Franklin County

Franklin County, Massachusetts

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 71,535 people, 29,466 households, and 18,416 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 31,939 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...

, Massachusetts, April 18, 1807. He graduated from Union College

Union College

Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...

in 1827. Ordained as a Congregationalist

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

minister at Auburn Theological Seminary

Auburn Theological Seminary

Auburn Theological Seminary was founded in 1818. Auburn Theological Seminary focuses on religious leadership development, movement-building, and research. Auburn is based in New York City and exists in covenant with the Presbyterian Church ....

, September 20, 1831, he embarked from Boston, Massachusetts on November 26, 1831, on the Averick with his wife Betsy Curtis (1813–1837). Part of the fifth 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...

, they arrived in the South Kohala

Kohala, Hawaii

district of 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...

on May 17, 1832.
He spent the remainder of his life dedicated to the native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians

Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...

.
He was fluent in 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 composed many poems and hymns; his best known and beloved work is the hymn "Hawaii Aloha" sung to the tune of "I Left it All With Jesus." His Waimea parish eventually included the districts of Kohala and Hāmākua

Hamakua

, making it the largest mission station in Hawaii.
His first wife died in 1837, and he married Lucia G. Smith of Truxton, New York on July 14, 1838.
During his tenure, Lyons was responsible for the erection of fourteen churches, such as Imiola Church

Imiola Church

Imiola Church is a historic wood structure in Waimea, on the Island of Hawaii, coordinates .-History:The church was designed by its first pastor, Lorenzo Lyons....

where he is buried. He was district postmaster from 1858 until his death in 1886.

Son Curtis Jere Lyons was born June 27, 1833, attended 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...

and graduated from Williams College

Williams College

Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...

in 1858. After attending Union Theological Seminary

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...

for two years, he returned to Hawaii and became a newspaper writer. In 1868 and 1870 he was elected to 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...

, and married Julia E. Vernon on April 23, 1873. He died on September 24, 1914.

Samoan writer John Kneubuhl

John Kneubuhl

John Kneubuhl was an American Samoan screenwriter, playwright and Polynesian historian. He wrote for American television series such as The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, Star Trek, The Invaders and Hawaii Five-O...

wrote a play based on his life titled "The Harp in the Willows" in 1946. It was one of the first published works to use Hawaiian Creole English (known as "Pidgin").

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