William Owen Smith
Encyclopedia
William Owen Smith was a lawyer from a family of American missionaries who participated in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He served as attorney general
Attorney General of Hawaii
The Attorney General of Hawaii is the chief legal and law enforcement officer of Hawaii. In present-day statehood within the United States, he or she is appointed by the elected governor with the approval of the state senate and is responsible for a state department charged with advising the...

 for the entire duration of the provisional Government of Hawaii
Provisional Government of Hawaii
The Provisional Government of Hawaii abbreviated "P.G." was proclaimed on January 17, 1893 by the 13 member Committee of Safety under the leadership of Sanford B. Dole...

 and 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...

.

Life

Smith was born August 4, 1848 in Kōloa
Koloa, Hawaii
Kōloa is a census-designated place in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2000 census. Kōloa is often incorrectly translated as native duck, which is the correct translation for the similar-looking koloa . Kōloa has no known translation...

 on the island of Kauaʻi
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",...

.
His mother was Millicent Knapp (1816–1891). His father was physician James William Smith (1810–1887). His parents were in the tenth set of missionaries to Hawaii 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...

 who arrived in 1842.
His sister Charlotte Elizabeth "Lottie" Smith (1845–1896) married Alfred Stedman Hartwell
Alfred S. Hartwell
Alfred Stedman Hartwell was a lawyer and American Civil War soldier, who then had another career as cabinet minister and judge in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:Alfred Stedman Hartwell was born June 11, 1836 in South Natick, Massachusetts...

 (1836–1912), who was a former general in 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...

, on January 10, 1872.
His brother Jared Knapp Smith (1849–1897) became a physician and carried on his father's medical practice.
His sister Melicent Lena Smith (1854–1943) married William Waterhouse (1852–1942). Waterhouse served as mayor
Pasadena City Council
The Pasadena City Council is the governing body of the city of Pasadena, California. It meets regularly on Mondays at 8:00 PM, except on holidays or if decided by a special resolution not to meet....

 of Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

 1904–1906.

He attended Daniel Dole
Daniel Dole
Daniel Dole was a Protestant missionary educator from the United States to the Hawaiian Islands.-Life:Daniel Dole as born September 9, 1808 in Skowhegan, Maine...

's missionary school at Kōloa, 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...

 from 1863 to 1866, and then Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...

). On his return he worked as a clerk in his brother-in-law Hartwell's law office.
He served as sheriff on Kauaʻi in 1870 and then 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 1872 through 1874. While working at the court house in Lāhainā, on April 24, 1873 he planted a banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis
Ficus benghalensis
Ficus benghalensis, the banyan, is a large and extensive growing tree of the Indian subcontinent. Ficus benghalensis produces propagating roots which grow downwards as aerial roots. Once these roots reach the ground, they grow into woody trunks that can become indistinguishable from the main...

) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Christian missionaries on the island.

On March 23, 1876, he married Mary Abbey Hobron. They had five children: Clarence Hobron Smith, Ethel Frances Smith born November 17, 1879, Pauline Melicent Smith, Anna Katherine Smith, and Lorrin Knapp Smith.
He founded the law firm of Smith, Thurston & Kinney with Lorrin A. Thurston
Lorrin A. Thurston
Lorrin Andrews Thurston was a lawyer, politician, and businessman born and raised in the Kingdom of Hawaii. The grandson of two of the first Christian missionaries to Hawaii, Thurston played a prominent role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom that replaced Queen Liliuokalani with the...

 and William Ansel Kinney
William Ansel Kinney
William Ansel Kinney was a lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, through the Republic of Hawaii and into the Territory of Hawaii.-Family:William Ansel Kinney was born October 16, 1860 in Honolulu, Hawaii....

 in Honolulu in 1887.

Politics

He acted as deputy attorney general, and was elected as a representative from Maui 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...

 from 1878 to 1884. He helped draft the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii
The 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii was a legal document by anti-monarchists to strip the Hawaiian monarchy of much of its authority, initiating a transfer of power to American, European and native Hawaiian elites...

, which King Kalākaua
Kalakaua
Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...

 was forced to sign, giving it the name "Bayonet Constitution". His law partner Thurston then became minister in the new cabinet.
In the 1887 and 1888 sessions he was elected to the upper House of Nobles.
In 1892 he was elected as representative from Kauaʻi.

Overthrow

He was a member of the Committee of Safety
Committee of Safety (Hawaii)
The Committee of Safety, formally the Citizen's Committee of Public Safety, was a 13-member group of the Hawaiian League also known as the Annexation Club...

 that organized the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii on January 14, 1893. On January 17, he was appointed to the executive council (the new cabinet) of the Provisional Government of Hawaii
Provisional Government of Hawaii
The Provisional Government of Hawaii abbreviated "P.G." was proclaimed on January 17, 1893 by the 13 member Committee of Safety under the leadership of Sanford B. Dole...

 under president Sanford B. Dole
Sanford B. Dole
Sanford Ballard Dole was a lawyer and jurist in the Hawaiian Islands as a kingdom, protectorate, republic and territory...

, the son of his former teacher. Dole's stepmother, Charlotte Close Knapp (1813–1874), was widow of Smith's uncle Horton Owen Knapp (1813–1845), who had been a missionary teacher himself on Kauaʻi.
Smith served as Attorney General of Hawaii
Attorney General of Hawaii
The Attorney General of Hawaii is the chief legal and law enforcement officer of Hawaii. In present-day statehood within the United States, he or she is appointed by the elected governor with the approval of the state senate and is responsible for a state department charged with advising the...

 from the creation of provisional government through 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...

.
On December 18, 1895 he became a member of the board of health, and later its president. He had no formal training except for having a father and brother as practicing physicians.

Murder in the family

His brother Jared Knapp Smith was shot dead on September 24, 1897. It was suspected to be in retaliation for ordering patients suspected of leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...

 to have tests that might send them to exile in Kalaupapa. Similar tensions had ignited the Leper War on Kaua'i
Leper War on Kaua'i
The Leper War on Kauai also known as the Koolau Rebellion, Battle of Kalalau or the short name, the Leper War. Following the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the stricter government enforced the 1865 "Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy" carried out by Attorney General and President of the...

 four years earlier. His former law partner Kinney sailed to 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",...

 island and was appointed special prosecutor. A native Hawaiian suspect Kapea Kaahea was arrested, tried on November 13, 1897, and found guilty of murder in the first degree.

Instead of waiting for next scheduled term of the circuit court, a special session had been called. Honolulu English-language newspapers said "there seems no doubt of the guilt of the chief prisoner" even before the trial. The objections brought to the Supreme Court of Hawaii were quickly rejected on February 3, 1898. Kapea was hanged on April 11, 1898. The rushed nature of the prosecution was thought to be an attempt to show the United States that the government was in firm control. Only a few months later in July 1898, the Newlands Resolution
Newlands Resolution
The Newlands Resolution, was a joint resolution written by and named after United States Congressman Francis G. Newlands. It was an Act of Congress to annex the Republic of Hawaii and create the Territory of Hawaii....

 would annex the islands. Of the four executions for capital punishment between 1889 and 1903 in Hawaii, all four were of non-whites within a four month period.

Return to private practice

In August 1898 Smith offered to resign, but although now annexed, the old republic government continued to operate.
On March 20, 1899, Smith was replaced as attorney general by Henry Ernest Cooper and returned to private practice. Smith was elected to one term 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...

 senate from 1907 to 1909.

Smith was a trustee of the Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools
Kamehameha Schools , formerly called Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate , is a private co-educational college-preparatory institution that specializes in Native Hawaiian language and cultural education. It is located in Hawaii and operates three campuses: Kapālama , Pukalani , and Keaau...

, founded from the estate of Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Bernice Pauahi Bishop
Bernice Pauahi Bishop , born Bernice Pauahi Pākī, was a Hawaiian princess, philanthropist, alii, and direct descendant of the royal House of Kamehameha. She was the great-granddaughter of King Kamehameha I and last surviving heir...

, from 1884 to 1886 and from 1897 to 1929. He was a trustee of the Lunalilo
Lunalilo
Lunalilo, born William Charles Lunalilo , was king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 8, 1873 until February 3, 1874...

 Estate, the Alexander Young Estate and the Honolulu children's hospital. He was on the board of the Guardian Trust Company, Bishop Trust Company, Inter-Island Steam Navigation company and Alexander & Baldwin
Alexander & Baldwin
Following 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...

.
Despite his role in the overthrow, deposed Queen Liliuokalani selected him to be a founding trustee of her own estate when she made her will in December 1909.
Her personal assets were left in a trust to benefit orphans.

On November 30, 1915, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaole
Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole
Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaole Piikoi was a prince of the reigning House of Kalākaua when the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown by international businessmen in 1893...

 challenged the will in court, saying she was "of weakened mind" under the influence of the trustees. This was known as case 23 Haw. 457 in the Supreme Court of Hawaii. The feisty queen demanded a public hearing of her sanity in February 1916. The firm, now Smith, Warren & Sutton, successfully defended Liliuokalani.
His law partners at the time were Louis J. Warren and Edwin White Sutton.
Liliuokalani's charity still operates today.

Legacy

His daughter Ethel Frances Smith (1879–1967) married Henry Alexander Baldwin
Henry Alexander Baldwin
Henry Alexander Baldwin or Harry Alexander Baldwin was a sugarcane plantation manager, and politician who served as Congressional Delegate to the United States House of Representatives representing the Territory of Hawaii...

, known as "Harry" Baldwin who briefly became the congressional delegate for Hawaii
Hawaii Territory's At-large congressional district
Hawaii Territory's At-large congressional district was the congressional district for the Territory of Hawaii, which was established by the Newlands Resolution of 1898....

.
Daughter Anna Katherine Smith (1888–1960) married Harry's brother Samuel Alexander Baldwin (1885–1950) and lived on Maui.
The father of his two sons-in-law was Henry Perrine Baldwin
Henry Perrine Baldwin
Henry 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...

, founder of Alexander & Baldwin.
Clarence Hobron Smith married Margherita Adele Browning May 7, 1908 in New York. They then moved to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.
Youngest son Lorrin Knapp Smith was born October 10, 1890, married Sila Pratt (1890–1952), became a ranch manager on Maui, and died October 27, 1930.
The Maui branches of the family are buried in the cemetery at Makawao Union Church
Makawao Union Church
Makawao Union Church is a church near Makawao on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It was founded by New England missionary Jonathan Smith Green during the Kingdom of Hawaii. The third historic structure used by the congregation was designed by noted local architect C.W. Dickey and dedicated in 1917 as...

.
His niece Madeline Perry Hartwell married Albert Francis Judd, Jr., son of Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court Albert Francis Judd
Albert Francis Judd
Albert Francis Judd was a judge of the Kingdom of Hawaii who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court through its transition into part of the United States.-Life:...

 on July 21, 1899.
His ties to the oligarchy known as 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 &...

" that dominated the island economy led the opposition press to call him "King Bill the First". They described him using a mix of stereotypes:
He was narrow-minded as a New Englander, domineering as a Russian Czar, yet suave as a Frenchman. He was obstinate as a Scotchman, generous as a Southerner, and at times vicious as an Indian. But he was withal the hardest working official we have ever heard of—next to the Devil.


In 1926 he was appointed to help organize the public archives of Hawaii.
He donated many of his papers to the collection, including drafts of the 1887 constitution.

Smith died April 13, 1929 in his home in the Nuuanu Valley near Honolulu from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

.
After a number of partner changes, his law firm survives as Case Lombardi & Pettit.
Partner Daniel H. Case is the father of Steve 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...

 and uncle of Congressman Ed Case
Ed Case
Edward Espenett "Ed" Case is a Democratic politician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives. Case, a Blue Dog Democrat, first came to prominence in Hawaii as majority leader of the Hawaii State Legislature and for his campaign for Governor of Hawaii in 2002...

.
Case was lawyer for 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....

, when it was bought by his son.
It includes the area where Smith grew up. Other notable members of the firm through the years included Cyrus Nils Tavares
Cyrus Nils Tavares
Cyrus Nils Tavares was an American lawyer and judge. He served as judge on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii....

, Alan Cooke Kay
Alan Cooke Kay
Alan Cooke Kay is an American lawyer and judge. He serves as judge on the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii.-Life:...

, and W. F.L. Stanley
William Stanley (Hawaii)
William Frederick L. Stanley was an Irish lawyer who served as judge of the Republic of Hawaii.-Life:Stanley was born in Dublin, Ireland in March 1872. His father was James Charles Stanley and mother was Catherine Lucas. After common school education in Dover, England and Dublin, he studied at...

.
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