John Coffin Jones Jr.

John Coffin Jones Jr. (1796–1861) was the first United States Consular Agent to the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Life

John Coffin Jones Jr. was born in 1796 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was John Coffin Jones Sr. (1750–1829), Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.[1]

Jones worked for Marshall and Wildes of Boston before he was appointed as the first Consul to Hawaii on September 19, 1820.[2]He was considered an advocate for commercial interests in Hawaii, and was often in conflict with missionary elements in the island.[3] His career was full of turmoil and complaint, and had limited support or instruction from Washington, D.C.[4]

Jones married Hannah Holmes Davis in 1823, and they had three children: Robert Grimes Davis, who became a Hawaiian politician and judge, William Heath Davis, who became an early settler of San Diego, California, and a daughter, Elizabeth.[5] He also married Lahilahi Marín, daughter of Don Francisco de Paula Marín, Jones and Marin had three children: John (Huanu) Coffin Jones III, Rosalie, and Francis.[6]

In 1838, Jones brought a woman to Hawaii with him after a business trip in California and introduced her as his wife. Davis then divorced him, after which King Kamehameha III refused to acknowledge him as the Consul from the United States.[3]

Last years/death

In 1838 he moved to Santa Barbara, California and married Manuela Carrillo. John Coffin Jones Jr. died December 24, 1861.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Gast, Ross H. Contentious Consul: A Biography of John Coffin Jones, First United States Consular Agent at Hawaii. Dawson's Book Shop (1976). 087093175X
  2. ↑ Hackler, Rhoda E. A. (1969). "The Voice of Commerce" (PDF). Hawaiian Journal of History. 3: 42–47.
  3. 1 2 Lightner, Richard, Hawaiian History: An Annotated Bibliography, p. 71 (2004) Praeger/Greenwood; ISBN 0-313-28233-1
  4. ↑ Johnson, Donald D. and Best, Gary D., The United States in the Pacific: Private Interests and Public Policies, 1784-1899, p. 59, Praeger Publishers; ISBN 0-275-95055-7
  5. ↑ Andrew F. Rolle (1956). An American in California: the biography of William Heath Davis, 1822-1909. Huntington Library.
  6. ↑ "Land Commission Award 2938 (Heirs of Lahilahi Marin)" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-04-04.

Further reading

  • Gast, Ross H. Contentious consul: A biography of John Coffin Jones, first United States consular agent at Hawaii, Dawson's Book Shop (1976), ISBN 0-87093-175-X
  • Darlene E. Kelley (August 10, 2008). "Keepers Of The Culture, A Study In Time Of The Hawaiian Islands". US genweb archives. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
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