Cumming's Ohana

The 2nd Generation 

     The second generation of the Cummings family is important genealogically because it defines the seven paths that lead us all to the one person that we are all related to, and that is Thomas Booth Cummings. Our patriarch had 8 children from 2 wives. All had children except his seventh offspring Parker Andrew Cummings. hence the 7 paths to the top of the triangle in Hawai'i. In this section we tell the story of the 2nd generation, their accomplishments, failures, marriages and migration, amongst other topics. listed below are the eight members of the Cummings second generation all born between 1849 and 1862 in the upcountry of Makawao, Maui, known as Hamakuapoko. This generation also broadened the foundation that was set by TB Cummings. Their lives were as diverse as this large family has become. We are a family that has had many triumphs and faced our fair share of tragedy as well. 

       TB Cummings life was defined by livestock, either as a wrangler or a teamster. The second generation was defined collectively as closely associated to the sugar industry. All TB Cummings sons and one of his son-in-laws all had associations with sugar companies, either on Kaua'i or Maui at one time or another. Most of them for long periods of time.  

• Caroline Cummings
• William Humphreys Cummings
• Thomas Booth Cummings
• Amy Ho'olai Cummings
• Jonah Booth Cummings
• Joseph Elijah Cummings
• Parker Andrew Cummings
• Hanah Rachael Cummings

     The term "second-generation" extends the concept of "first-generation" by one generation. As such, the term exhibits the same type of ambiguity as "first-generation," as well as additional ones. Like "first-generation immigrant," the term "second-generation" can refer to a member of either:

• the second generation of a family to inhabit,
• but the first to be natively born in, a country, or
• the second generation to be born in a country.
• In 19th century Hawaii the term 2nd generation was used to refer to the Hawaii-born children of foreign-born parents, or as was the case in our family, the Hawaii-born children of one foreign-born parent and one Hawaii-born parent. Which in turn refers to the first race born in Hawaii to Thomas Booth Cummings and [1] Mary Makaena and [2] Kahale Kamanoulu.

     I have always had a strong focus in the stories, reports and articles I have posted towards the second generation of our ohana. Given the time period of Thomas Booth Cummings arrival, which coincided with rapid changes in the social, economic, and political atmosphere of the Kingdom, set a strong atmosphere to indulge. Moreover, the second generation showed a propensity for expending their abilities and experience, in achieving success. Whether that success was measured monetarily or in longevity, it was attained across the board by all involved.

     We can measure the true talents of speculation, with W.H. Cummings uncanny ability of knowing when to invest in a commodity and when to remove himself from it. This natural insight is what enabled him to be involved in a variety of ventures. His life was short even for the times he lived. However, it was non-stop, whether filled with the excitement of success and power, or the disappointment of personal tragedy, W.H.’s brief 48 years was filled with premeditated movement, intended on producing a profit. In today’s world, WH would have relished in his frequent flyer miles. Until 1895 his endeavors kept him constantly on the move between islands. His life was never uneventful.

     There are several ways to measure longevity. Using a yard stick of dedication and faithfulness would produce a blueprint of Thomas Booth Cummings, the son who remained on Maui, becoming the most versatile employee that Wailuku Sugar Co had ever seen. Unlike his older brother, his life was predictable, a day to day existence that could easily be calculated. You knew where he was, or where he would be. You knew that those infamous luau’s that he loved to through for family occasions would always be the delight of Waikapu. What you did not know was that it would end so abruptly. At 52 years old he, as did his older brother, left before his time.

     If longevity is to be measured in time, then the rewards might be gained in wisdom and sustainability. The ability to sustain one’s self for ¾ of a century of work in the cane fields of 19th century Hawaii, requires both physical and mental strength. In the case of Jonah and Joseph Cummings the longevity which defined their life was tempered by the strongest sibling bond in the family. In calculating their lives in terms of place of residence, place of employment or, time and place of migration, where you find one, you'll find the other. This sequence of events continued for most of their lives. It was only broken for a brief period when Joseph and second wife Lily moved to Oahu.

     Amy Ho'olai Cummings died at 32 years of Hansen's disease. We do not know much about her, although we know very much about her husband John G.M. Sheldon. Hannah Rachel Cummings we know lived a long life that out lived her husband Henry Clay Kalua Sheldon. We can, if we so choose, make an assumption, that given the fact that Thomas Booth Cummings and Henry Lawrence Sheldon were good friends and traveling companions that arrived in Hawaii together, that the two marriages between the Cummings sisters and the Sheldon Brothers might have been arranged? With the new information we have attained that will be something to ponder for awhile.

     Sometimes in large families, there are individuals that fall through the cracks, or run under the radar. This is not to say that Parker Andrews Cummings was estranged from his family, it refers to the amount of published information that is obtainable for said person. We know little about his personal, although his employment history is well documented.

Caroline Cummings and Joaquin Antone Dutro

     Caroline and Joaquin were Maka'ainana (common Taro farmers) for 40 years in Kalua a part of Wailuku. They would have four children Manuel (1869-1928); Antone (1870-aft. 1940); Joaquin (1874-1897); Mary (1890-1970) Caroline Cummings was the first child of Thomas'. She never knew her biological mother Mary as she died a short time after giving birth to her daughter. Yet it was stated in a sermon given by the Reverend Jonathan S, Green that Mary did get to hold her baby girl for at least a little while before she passed on. The couple was well known in Wailuku and their funerals were well attended (Green, 1849).

     Joaquin Dutro did not arrive from the Azores in the traditional sense. Meaning he got to Hawaii 22 years before the first Portuguese contract worker stepped off the ship in 1878. It is believed he arrived from San Francisco after traversing the continent.

Sibling Comparisons

     In comparing life patterns between the three sons, it seems that one could assume that all three were of differing demeanor's. Each certainly lived different lives with different circumstances to which each had to deal. Manuel and Antone were forced to deal with sorrow in their personal lives and Joaquin would leave this earth before his time. Mary’s life we know little about.

• Manuel Dutro
• Antone Dutro
• Joaquin Antone Dutro Jr.
• Caroline Dutro

Notes on RP 7559

The original recipient of the patent was a Hawaiian named Hoaai who obtained it in 1881. Their were two distinctive parcels within the grant. Helu 3233: 1 and Helu 3233: 2. Some time between 1881 and 1906 Antone Joaquim Dutro acquired the parcels from Hoaai. On January 22, 1906  he sold part of helu 3233: 1 (3.1 acres) for $1,500.00 to a Frank Robello (Hawaiian Star, 1906). The following month on February 13, he transferred  helu 3233: 2 (1 acre) for one dollar to his son Manuel (Evening Star, 1906). The smaller 1 acre parcel remained in the family and was passed from Manuel to Antone and then to Sophie and Mary Dutro sometime around 1913 before Antone moved to Hanalei, Kaua'i. In 1913 Antone Joaquin Dutro transferred 1 acre of taro patch out of helu 3233: 1 to nephew William Dutro on December 2, 1912 for the fee of one dollar (Honolulu Star Bulletin, 1912).

References

The Maui news. (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.), 24 March 1906. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. The Hawaiian star. (Honolulu [Oahu]), 13 Feb. 1906. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Evening bulletin. (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii), 01 March 1906. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Honolulu star-bulletin. (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii), 10 Jan. 1913. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

William Humphreys Cummings

     William Humphreys Cummings lived only 48 years, he died much before his time. However, he packed two lifetimes within those years. This must have been a very driven man, and as he can be described as an entrepreneur, he was so much more. His younger years were filled with a number of business ventures. Although he never seemed to lose the entrepreneurial spirit, his latter years were alsooccupied by public service, WH served as the representative of the 2nd district under the Queen from 1890-92. In 1892 he began serving as road supervisor for Honolulu, first under the Monarchy,then the Provincial Government, and finally the Terr. of Hawai'i. 

     From about 1883 until his death, WH was clearly in the spotlight of Hawaiian business, and politics. He was highly praised in newspaper articles for his dedication as a royalist and one who put the Hawaiian people's rights above all. Newspapers during his time in the government, are filled with articles detailing his motions for Hawaiian rights.

     Politics, business, both will always provide you with enemies, and WH was not immune. He had made a few over the years, but overall this mans life was filled with a positive will to achieve. Couple this drive with being an excellent speculator, and having the ability to know when to get in to a business venture, and when to withdraw, thus,  you have a recipe for success. 

     The reciprocity treaty with the United States did much to provide WH with an opportunity to establish himself. After time as a planter in Wailuku, the treaty offered the chance to, not only labor, but invest in the industry as well. This he did with the opening of the Reciprocity Sugar Co. of Hana, and taking the position of manager, as well as being the largest of its stockholders. From this time till 1898, his life was filled with land deals, business ventures and court cases. Not all ventures were successful. The Hawaii Banana Co. lasted all but one year. However, interestingly enough, it was a venture with all native investors, including two women, Mrs J.C. Kaaukai, and Mrs. Rachel Kekai.

     WH Cummings personal life bore its share of joy and sorrow. His first marriage to Kilauea Paiaulani on October 11, 1867, produced no children, however there seems that there was a relationship with a woman named Mahi that produced a son named John Humphreys Cummings born July 4, 1870. Kilauea died in 1876. There is no information of the fate of Mahi. 

     On October 25, 1877 WH Cummings married Clarissa Ekekela Maipinepine Jackson. It took place at Pookela Church and was administered by Rev. J.S. Green. The couple would go on to have nine children. Clarissa Cummings died June 18, 1895.

• William Campbell 1878-1934 
• Thomas Booth 1881-aft. 1912
• Clarissa Ekekela 1882-1943
• Esther H. 1883-1918
• Parker Edmund 1887-1952
• Jonah Booth 1889-1919
• Emily 1890-1890
• Edward 1891-1922
• Ernest 1883-1975

Their is no denying that WH Cummings was a man who wore many hats. "Entrepreneur" would do best to describe this man. However, one does not climb to such lofty heights without creating adversaries, and this he did at times.  

W.H. and W.H. Business Ventures

William Humphreys Cummings had a longtime friend and business partner by the name of William Henry Daniels, who was married to one of Clarissa Jackson’s relatives. They thrived within a mercantile business in Wailuku, Maui until its sale in 1887.Daniels also served in the legislature from 1886 to 1888. Their four main business ventures are listed below:

• The Kahoolawe Stock Ranch
• Thee Kaupo Stock Ranch
• W.H.Daniels and Company
• Wailuku Mercantile Business

An Account of the Ranches at Kahoolawe and Kaupo

In September of 1883, a correspondent for the Daily Bulletin, a Honolulu daily, visited the ranch on Kahoolawe and wrote an article for the paper. Here are some excerpts from the article which according to the Daily Bulletin, (1883). "Mr Cummings purchase of the lease was a blind adventure as he had never visited the island and knew nothing of it except for the representations of parties interested in negotiating for it." "On going ashore I found three very comfortable wooden houses and one grass house. Also from four to five hundred head of cattle, among which are three imported bulls of the short horned Durham breed, thirty head of horses and brood mares and an imported Hamiltonian stallion, all in good order.

On my return to Maui, I journeyed along the windward and stopped at Kaupo another fine stock ranch of 12,000 acres owned by Mr. Cummings and well stocked with cattle, mules and horses; he is also one of the largest planters for the Wailuku Sugar Co. and has large taro lands in Wailuku which yield him a nice income annually, and bid fair to make him one of the wealthiest half-whites in Hawaii" (p. 2).

       Early History.......As mentioned in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser, (1883)."On the 5th day of March 1883 a meeting of the stockholders of the Reciprocity Sugar Co. voted to accept a Charter of Incorporation, granted to them and their associates by the Minister of the Interior, by and with the consent of the King in Privy Counsel, under the corporate name and style of the Reciprocity Sugar Company, on the 7th day of February 1883, and that the corporation under the said charter elected the following officers"(p.7)

• John E. Bush........................President
• W.H.Cummings.....................Vice President & Manager
• C.L.Hopkins..........................Secretary
• C.P.Iaukea.............................Auditor

Board of Directors:

• John E.Bush
• W.H.Cummings
• J.Hayseldon
• C.L.Hopkins
• T.J.McCrosson

       According to the Pacific Commercial Advertiser, (1883)."Two and a half miles north of the Hana Post Office is the Reciprocity Sugar Co. Thirteen months ago this place was nothing but a wilderness of rocks and trees, but now there is a fine new mill, with all of the latest improvements, among which are three Jarvis furnaces, and a Babcock and Wilcox boiler, the only one in the Kingdom. There is also a large general store belonging to the Company that carries a $12,000 stock, and many other buildings and dwelling houses belonging to the plantation. Mr. W. H. Cummings, the manager, deserves great credit for the excellent and rapid work he has accomplished. The company started to plant cane in January 1883, and by April 1st had planted 114 acres. They will have 140 acres of cane to grind in March 1884, and expect to plant 200 acres of cane this year. The present crop it is estimated will yield from 300 to 400 tons. Their cane, which is long-jointed Lahains certainly looks fine. The water supply is from an unfailing source and is carried three miles from the Mokaenui Mountains, and supplies all the houses of the plantation. The lands require no irrigation. The mill is an eight ton one, and the building, which is in course of erection, is 120 feet long by 42 wide, with a downhill grade so that a pump will hardly be required. .The Company has gone to an expense of $4,000 to make their landing and wharf a good one. This enterprising company has already erected thirty-eight houses and are still building. The laborers, Madeira and St. Michael s Portuguese, also natives, have neat houses in separate quarters with eating and bath houses for each quarter. No expense has been spared to make their laborers comfortable. Mr. Cummings, inspects each room every week and a fine is imposed if the rooms are not kept neat and clean by the occupants. Though the work has been discouraging in some respects the land being covered by big guavas and stones, their labor will soon be repaid, and this once rough land proves to be rich soil. Mr. J. F. McCrosson has been engaged as engineer for the plantation. The stockholders have, in Mr. Cummings, an efficient, energetic manager who is also the Vice President of the corporation and the largest stockholder as well, and is thoroughly conversant with his businesses" (p. 6)

These next two articles from December of 1884 give us a look at situations incurred by WH Cummings as he managed the Reciprocity Sugar Company. These are interesting letters to the editor of the of the Pacific Commercial Advertiser  submitted for publishing  on Dec. 7, with rebuttal published on the 17th. The editorials contain contradicting recollections of the same incident. The first is from a “Hoaloha,” representing the Reciprocity Sugar Co. The second from the Mokae Sugar Co..

Hana, Maui, Dec.4, 1884.  

  Mr. Editor----Sir:

  Thinking that a correct report of the troubles between the two plantations here, viz, Mr. Unna's and Reciprocity Plantation. managed by Mr. Wm. H. Cummings, would possibly avoid any mistaken false reports. I write as follows: Before the division of the lands at Mokae, Mr. Cummings had planted a piece of cane on the mountain side, and the division included this piece; about four acres being allotted to Mr. Unna, Mr. Cummings having the right to take off the cane then growing, which he had planted. Nothing more was said about the matter until a week so ago, when the cane being ripe, a native was sent by Mr. Unna to take a survey of the piece. Mr. Cummings was not notified to cut the cane, and yesterday Mr. Unna sent laborers to cut, but they were prevented from doing so by Mr. Cummings, who said the cane belonged to him and he would cut it. This morning Mr. Cummings sent laborers to do this, and while employed they were surprised by the manager of Hana Plantation with a small army of a hundred men and several carts, who ordered them to stop work or they would have trouble. The Unna faction then commenced rapidly loading their carts with the cane already cut. Mr. Cummings was notified of the impending trouble, and immediately sent all his carts and men up to the field, and going up himself, met Captain Toomey (Mr. Unna's manager) who, with his men, were trying to stop the Reciprocity carts from getting to the field. Mr. Cummings told Capt. Toomey that he hoped there would be no trouble. That the affair could be settled in Court, but he could not allow his cane to be carted to Mr. Unna's mill. That he had not been notified to take the cane off; that the cane was his, and he had this privilege. The cane being four or five feet tall before the division was made. Capt. Toomey still refused to allow the carts to pass, and his own carts were by this time full. Mr. Cummings, seeing that it was a matter of give or take, ordered his boys to drive ahead, but avoid trouble or quarreling. At the same time Mr. Cummings men had reached the field, and while the Reciprocity carts were coming up the road they had dumped the Unna carts. Capt. Toomey being that he was outdone proposed a compromise, which consisted in Mr. Unna having the tops for seed and Mr. Cummings taking the cane to grind, these are the facts in the case, and no other trouble was had.

                                                                                                                                                                       HOALOHA

Hana, Dec. 17, 1884. Mr. Editor--Sir: Your correspondent at Hana, calling himself Hoaloha, presents under date of 4th inst. what he calls a statement of facts in relation to what occurred here on the 4th inst. As there is always two aides to a story, you will please allow me to reply in your paper to Mr. Hoaloha, in order that the deficiencies in his letter may become clearer. Commencing at the commencement, I would inform you that at Mokae, Hana, there is a tract of land called the Ainahui, granted originally to eight natives. For a number of years I have held partly by lease, partly by purchase, , a little more than one and a half of said land. Tho remainder of the land is held by Mr. Hanuna for the benefit of the Mokae Sugar Company. Since 1878 about 20 or 25 acres of the best plough land was taken possession of by said Hanuna, whereas I had only about four acres under cultivation. As it became clear to me in 1883 that it would be impossible for me. to get a fair share of the land for cultivation without a division according to law, I wrote in August, 1883, to Mr. Hanuna, protesting against his further breaking up new land; and on the 20th August, 1883, 1 petitioned to the Honorable A. Fornander for a division of the hui land, having previously got consent thereto from the lessors. Through advertisements the owners of said land were notified to meet at Hana, by the Honorable Judge Fornander, on the 31st October, 1883. All parties interested were there represented, and nemine contradicente Judge Fornander proposed that Mr. Hanuna, President of Mokae Sugar Company, choose one commissioner to divide that ainahui, that I should choose another commissioner, whereupon the Judge appointed the third commissioner. This being done, the Honorable Judge instructed all parties interested in the land division not to plant on any new land on tho ainahui, until they knew from the decision of the Court whether such new land would belong to them or not. It would seem natural to expect that reasonable and fair-minded people would comply with such a plain and straightforward request, and that Mr. Hanuna, especially, would do so, as ho for a number of years has had the lion's share of the best land to cultivate there. But Mr. Hanuna did not think proper to follow the Judge's advice. During November and December following Hanuna and Cummings vision of the commissioners was rendered in Court at Hana on the 14th April, 1884. If then Mr. Hanuna had any claim to make or restoration regarding the cane planted on my land, why did he not make such claim then and there? He knew well the land that had fallen to my share; he knew that the land had been planted by his men under direction of Mr. W. H. Cummings pendent lite at a time that he had no right to plant tho cane. Doth Hanuna and Cummings went into this planting with their eyes open. Your correspondent, Hoaloha, says that Cummings had the right to take off the cane. which he had planted. I do not see where he got that right from. He might say, by and by, that he had a right to take off the rattoons also. If now any one of my friends should say to me that I wouldn't lose much if I had given up that cane, I will simply state what occurred here a short time ago. On a part of the kuleana, where Mr. Cummings lives.  I have for years past planted about one and a half acres with cane, by permission of a native, to whom I paid annually $2 for taxes on the land, but, it so happened that said native was not the owner of the land. Mr. Cummings goes to Hawaii and leases or buys the kuleana from the proper owners. On his return he tells me "that he will not bother me about my cane on the land." So I had it stripped, expecting to grind it with my other cane close by; but, behold, one fine day Mr. Cummings had the cane cut and carted to his mill without saying a word to me about it. In dealing with such men I prefer to give them all what they can claim, but only what is rightfully fair. Report by Mr Toomey: About 25 November I offered Cummings the cane if he would furnish plants. He was willing, but said: "If you cut the cane Hanuna will sue you." Wednesday, Dec. 3rd, two men went up to cut a lane through the Mokae cane. Hanuna came and stopped them, telling them that they had no business there. The two men came and told me so. Mr. Bille and I went up there in the afternoon, passed by Hanuna's house, and started cutting on the line without interruption from anybody. Thursday, Dec. 4th, sent a native luna and five men up to cut the Mokae cane for seed. A Portuguese crowd and two lunas from Reciprocity Sugar Company, (owned by WH Cummings), came up, surrounded my men, and one of the lunas fired off a revolver to scare my people away; 10 a.m. I came out there and all hands were cutting my people and their people. I sent for six mule carts and six bullock carts, and 17 men to cut the cane up for plants. I asked Joe Cummings what he was doing here on our land. He said he was cutting the cane belonging to Reciprocity Sugar Company on land belonging to them. Told him that the land did not belong to them, and I further told him that he had better take his men home. Told him also that he knew very well that the land was allotted to Mr. Unna by the division of the Commissioners and the Courts. Showed tho two overseers the boundary line; told Cummings to go down and ask his brother to come up so that he and I could settle the matter. He said he was instructed by Hanuna to cut the cane. 'He took his men (about 40) away and went makai. When they went off my mule carts arrived; the bullock carts I arranged on the road so as to block it. The same men that at first had been cutting cane came and joined in tho crowd with cane knives and hoes. Generals Hanuna and Kakaui of the cavalry force, and Road Supervisor Kawaiku, Colonel of the infantry were there. I asked Hanuna where he was going and he answered that he was going to cartthe cane away. I told him that I and Cummings settled, that thing the week before; but he still insisted to cross the road that did not belong to them and cart the cane away. I stopped them in a narrow place about 20 feet wide, and said that if they insisted on going up they would have to drive over me. Colonel Kawaiku, a Government official, began to excite the natives with words as "Drive ahead, boys; drive over that damned haole. Hit him with the whips, etc." Their point was to get up a general fight, and they allowed later that they came there for a fight if they could not get the cane. Kawaiku and Hanuna said, "Now is the time for haunaele. Then comes Quartermaster-General McCrosson (Engineer of the Reciprocity Sugar Co.) at the head of a small detachment of mule carts, singing out, "Drive ahead; drive over him." he tried to pass me, and I stopped him and asked him where he was going, he said, "he was going to cart that cane, by God." I told him that they were trespassing on land that did not belong to them, and that they had other roads to get to their as a white man, to mix himself up in such a crowd and come there to kill one man. He said they did not come to kill anybody, but to take the cane I told him it looked very much like coming to kill when 100 men came with cane-knives, hoes and other implements, and he (McCrosson), Hanuna, Kawaiku, and lunas exciting the men to drive over me. I further told them that if they wanted the cane they would have to sue for it. In the meantime the carts tried to get up; but I drove the leaders down so that their own carts blocked the road. They made the answer that they were ready to fight any time the Hana Plantation gang was willing. 1 told them we were not going to fight. I was alone, standing on the road, trying to reason with them, and my men were up in the field, and I, when I saw the crowd come, went down to tho road to meet them. Then comes Mr. W. H. Cummings, and he excited the men to drive over me, and I asked him if we two had not settled the matter before; but he did not answer,and seeing that his carts did not follow him, he went back. I cried to him that we too could settle tho matter without further bother. I told him again that if he would give me seed enough to plant a 10 acre parcel  he could take the cane, which he agreed to. I asked him for his writing to that effect; he asked me if his word wasn't good for it, and I said "No." McCrosson said he would be witness, but I told him that he had no business at all about this cane; that the only way to settle this was to take a business view of it, and that if he wanted to give me seed and keep the cane he would have to give his writing for it. Then we went home to Mr. Cumming's house, and he gave me his written agreement to let the Hana Plantation have, free of charge, seed enough to plant. their field, at Mokae. Our carts and men left the field. I made their men understand that they were doing wrong, and it was only because they were afraid of the law that they did not obey the order of their leaders "to drive over me." (Signed) D. Toomey P. S.-- When your correspondent, Hoaloha, offers jo give a statement of facts, it would look better if he did so over his own signature, rather than to hide himself under a non do plume. There are several facts that Hoaloha has omitted: First: To state that Cummings, with his crowd, came on my land, not only as trespasser, but also as rioters. Second: That the Cummings crowd did not find opposition from 100 men, but only from one cool and determined white man, Mr. Toomey, our assistant manager.who stood his ground to the last without budging, and with only bullock carts at his back to block the road. Third: That Mr. William Cummings in signing the agreement to furnish us plants free of expense did only what we demanded on November 25th or thereabouts; but that he in so doing decidedly showed the white feather. The manager of the Reciprocity Sugar Company, his lunas and followers are welcome to all the credit they can get out of this disgraceful affair. The anxiously awaiting stockholders in the Reciprocity Sugar Company would no doubt be more benefited had Mr. W. Cummings and his crowd stayed at home and kept their mill going, instead of engaging in a criminal attack upon their neighbors.

Respectfully Yours, A. Unna.

References The Daily bulletin. (Honolulu [Hawaii]), 06 Sept. 1883. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.       The Pacific commercial advertiser. (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands), 22 Sept. 1883. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Retrieved from.        http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015418/1883-09-22/ed-1/seq-1/ The Pacific commercial advertiser. (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands), 17 March 1883. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.        http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015418/1883-03-17/ed-1/seq-5/ The Pacific commercial advertiser. (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands), 09 Dec. 1884. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.    

His Years of Public Service

From 1890 to 1892 WH Cummings served in the House of Representatives under the court of Liliuokalani representing the 2nd District of Honolulu. There are many accounts of his political advances, too many to list. However, it must be said that he was a staunch supporter of the Queen, even after the Provisional Government overthrew the monarchy in early 1893. An an example of his loyalty towards the Queen, and his disdain for the PG was the fact that as Road Supervisor of Oahu, a position he held from 1894 to 1899, he refused to hire Portuguese citizens who were friendly to the PG. This must have took some doing since his position, was in fact, part of the Provisional Government.  

      Thomas Booth Cummings Jr. made an indelible mark on our Ohana. He did it with durability, endurance and perseverance. He gave our family the gift of commitment. There was never a more versatile employee at Wailuku Sugar Co. during Thomas’ 30 years of devoted loyalty.

      Thomas resided on Maui for his entire life. He lived with wife Amorette Etta Cummings [King] daughter of Capt. John King. Thomas and Amorette raised 10 children from their home in Waikapu. They were noted for having charming Luau’s with music that lasted well into the night. 

       Most notably their oldest son George Humphreys Cummings was a prominent athlete, who went on to star with the Maui Stars Baseball club and played many years around the turn of the century. He would be the first of several stellar ball players to come out of our family. He later served the people of Maui as a Deputy Sheriff for many years.

Versatility in Life      

      The respect given Thomas Cummings (1854-1906) on Maui, and in particular Wailuku, was rare and befitting, why? Because the man was clearly a pillar of his community. Aside from the charity events and social functions he and wifeAmorette attended he still found time to performed at every level of labor and management for the Wailuku Sugar Plantation over a span of almost 30 years. He was probably the most versatile employee that the plantation had at that time. Just overseeing his work history between 1877 and 1906 verifies his versatility

• 1877 to 1889: Cummings Thomas, division overseer Wailuku Sugar Co.
• 1890 to 1892: Cummings, Thomas division Superintendent Wailuku Sugar Co.
• 1892 to 1894: Cummings Thos, Overseer Carting and Fluming Wailuku Sugar Co
• 1894 to 1896: Cummings Thos, Overseer Wailuku Sugar Co,
• 1897 to 1903: Cummings Thomas, Irrigating Luna Wailuku Sugar Co
• 1904 to  1906 Head Luna

      Living in Waikapu, enabled Thomas and Ammorette to entertain and entertain they did. The Maui News is filled with accounts of either attending or hosting functions of all types. It seems that luau's were especially enjoyable to them. Below is an account of one of the luau's that the Cummings were to host, this one in 1901.

      On Last Saturday evening a delightful luau was given at the residence of Mr. Thomas Cummings of Waikapu, in honor of his daughter, Mollie Cummings, and Charles E. King, who are spending their school vacation at Waikapu. A large number of guests, both from Waikapu and Wailuku, were in attendance, and they received a most hospitable welcome. It was a lovely moonlight evening, and the handsomely decorated lanai's were crowded with charmed listeners to songs and instrumental music. When supper was announced the dining room revealed a fairy-like scene of lights, flower and viands, mingled with the aromatic aroma of suckling pig roasted to a turn in ti leaves. Many toasts were said and sung, the bachelors taking the lead and toasting the joys of single blessedness, in which Mr. Lake acted as spokesman. The married men rallied at once and drank a rising toast to their wives, daughters and mothers present, the News man having been selected on account of his peculiarly elongated jaw, to speak for the Benedict's. More music succeeded the supper, after which good-nights were said and the guests dispersed (The Maui News, 1901).

Thomas Cummings life, seems from all accounts, to have been full and active, however, death was, once more, to take a second generation son of TB Cummings much sooner than need be. Thomas was barely in his 50's when he passed. His obituary entitled "Death Claims Wailuku's Oldest Head Luna" was printed in the Maui News on March 31, 1906. It stated:

     This time death claims as her victim one of our truest and best citizens, Thomas Cummings of Waikapu. Thomas Cummings for nearly thirty years in the employ of the plantation now known as the Wailuku Sugar Company died at his home on Sunday afternoon of heart disease and diabetes. He had been ill but a short time and his death came as a great shock to his many friends. He was taken to the Malutani Hospital but a short time ago and not until last Friday evening when it was learned that he would take no nourishment but insisted on going home It was  felt that he was seriously ill. . In spite of a down pouring rain he insisted on going home where he died a few hours afterward surrounded by his heart broken wife and children and some of his most intimate friends. Mr. Cummings was one of the best plantation men here and it will be difficult to find a man who so thoroughly understood his division and his laborers as he did. He was one of Maui's best citizens, and his death causes a void in that it will take time to fill. The funeral which was largely attended was held at his late residence and was conducted by Rev. W. Ault of the Episcopal Church the pall bearers were Judge A. N. Kepoikai, W. H. Corn well, T A. Lloyd, George Weight, W. T. Robinson and Edward Hart II. Practically every vehicle in town was in use and by actual count they numbered exactly the same as were used at the funeral of the late Mr. A. Enos. Services were conducted at the grave by the members of Haleakala Lodge K. of P. of which Mr. Cummings was a member. Flowers in great numbers and beautiful designs were brought by many friends as a token of their love of their departed friend. Mr. Cummings was born on Maui. He was fifty-two years of age. He leaves a wife and eleven children most of whom are young girls and all but one of whom was dependent upon him for support.(Coke, H.M.1906).

References

• Husted, F.M. (2014). 1880-1881: The Hawaiian Kingdom Statistical and Commercial Directory and                                     Tourist's Guide Retrieved from,   http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/ 
• Husted, F.M. (2014). 1884-1885: Husted's Directory of Honolulu and the Hawaiian Territory.                                             Retrieved from, http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/
•  
• Husted, F.M. (2014). 1888: Husted's Directory of Honolulu and the Hawaiian Territory.                                                     Retrieved from, http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/
•  
• Husted, F.M. (2014). 1890: Husted's Directory of Honolulu and the Hawaiian Territory.                                                     Retrieved from, http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/
•  
• Coke, H.M. (1906). The Maui news, Death claims Wailuku's oldest head Luna,                                                                       Retrieved from. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
•  
• The Maui News, (1901). A charming luau, Retrieved from, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

     Amy Hoolai Cummings was the first to leave Makawao. On May 30, 1870, a Monday evening, the Reverend H.H. Parker performed the marriage of Amy and John Graves Mundon Sheldon at the heralded Fort Street Church. It was a marriage that would last almost eighteen years, ending with Amy's tragic defeat from Hansen's disease on January 1, 1888. They had 9 children between 1870 and 1885. She was married to a very public figure. John Sheldon was a journalist in the tradition of his father Henry C. Sheldon. There is very little that we know of Amy's private life as there has been next to nothing written of her. However, there is a testimony given by her husband John Sheldon, also known as Kahikina Kelekona, on April 4, 1892 attesting to the care she was given during the last few years of her life. 

     From Honolulu April 4, 1892: 

      I hereby attest, I am the one whose name appears below; in order to verify the miraculous works of Mr. Marcus W. Lowell, and so that the public knows, he treated my wife in 1886 after she contracted the disease known as the sickness that separates families [ma'i hookaawale ohana]; he treated her and she got much better than with the doctors who treated her. She suffered for ten years from this sickness, and within a month, Mr. Lowell saved her because of his aloha he had for my wife during that time.

                                                                                                                      .....John Kahikini Kelekona

       John Sheldon was a gifted and talented man. He was certainly another reason why we should be proud and amazed by the legacies left to us by our ancestors. As a journalist he was second to none. As a writer he had the talent to weave a story and keep his audience engaged. His highly popular book "The biography of Joseph Nawahi" was proof of that. Yet, if you would like to read a fascinating story, Sheldon's "Jack Koolau the Leper Bandit" is a must read. It is the true story of Jack Koolau, who along with his wife and son hid from the authorities for three years in Kalalau Valley on the Island of Kaua'i, rather than get shipped from his family to Kalapapa. However rewarding his talents were with the written word, Sheldon's first true love was contained in the mele's that he had composed since he was a child on the Kona coast of Hawai'i. So talented was John that a young Princess by the name of Liliokalani had taken notice and in turn became good friends over the next fifteen years. When she ascended the throne John sat in her cabinet as composer and advisor. So dedicated to his Queen was John, that at the overthrow in 1893, John stood by her side and as a result was put on house arrest. Upon his release John Sheldon never stopped his torrid denouncement of what was perceived as an illegal takeover of the Hawaiian government and used his influence as editor and chief of the daily Hawai'i Holomua to remind the United States Government of that fact with his ramp-id editorials. John Sheldon died on March 27, 1914 in Honolulu of hemorrhage after several years of poor health. At the time of his death he was one of the oldest printers in Hawai'i. Being proficient in both the English and Hawaiian languages he was frequently employed as an interpreter in the courts and elsewhere. His book "The Biography of Joseph Nawahi" is still required reading in many Hawaiian history courses. Sheldon died in 1914.

In the Hawaiian daily newspaper Kuakoa this obituary was listed.

     At nine o’clock in the morning of this past Friday, the life breath of John Kahikina Kelekona left forever at his home; he was a very famous historian, and an old newspaperman in this town in years past, and his famous works will become an unforgettable monument to him.

     He left behind many children, six daughters and two sons. The girls are: Mrs. I. Cockett; Mrs. J. R. Francis; Mrs. Ernest Kaai; Mrs. Joseph Namea; Mrs. M. Dutro, of Wailuku, Maui; Miss Emma Sheldon; and the boys are: D. K. Sheldon and Henry Sheldon, who work as clerks on inter-island steamships.

     He left also two brothers [hoahanau]: William J. Sheldon, one of the esteemed members of the legislature some sessions ago, and Lawrence K. Sheldon who is with the law enforcement office in Honolulu.

     Kahikina Kelekona was born in Kona, Hawaii, on the 11th of June, 1844, and when he was but a school child, he came to live here in Honolulu. For a time his father, Henry L. Sheldon, was an owner and an early editor of the Bulletin Newspaper. He was an interpreter for the courts for some time and interpreter for the number of sessions of the legislature. Kahikina Kelekona wrote a book on the story of Koolau, the fierce one of the jagged cliffs of Kalalau, and also the book on the story of Joseph Nawahi of Hilo, in Hawaiian. This past Sunday, it is said, that there was a service over his earthly body at the crematorium in Maemae, and his ashes were buried at the cemetery in Nuuanu.

John Graves Mundon Sheldon......Kahikini Kelekona

Most widely held works by J. G. M Sheldon The Biography of Joseph K. Nawahi

Main Author: Sheldon, John G.M., 1844-1914 Publisher: Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society c1988

Description: ix, 491 p.: ill., ports. ; 29 cm.

Personal Name(s): Nogelmeier, Marvin Puakea; Hawaiian Historical Society

Personal Subject(s): Nawahi, Joseph Kahooluhi, 1842-1896

 Translation of: Ka buke moolelo o hon. Joseph K. Nawahi. - Honolulu: Bulletin Pub. Co., 1908

Translated from the Hawaiian with an introduction by Marvin Puakea Nogelmeier

Items Available (Archives Use Only): Call Number: B N3S 1988 Location: Dewey Library

Notes: Joseph Nāwahī was born January 13, 1842 at Kaimū, in the Puna district of Hawaiʻi Island. His parents were Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu and Keaweolalo. As a young man, he was educated in Protestant mission schools such as the Hilo Boarding School, the Royal School, and Lāhaināluna School. He later became a member of the Hawaiian legislature, serving for 20 years (1872–1892), and was a member of the cabinet of Queen Liliʻuokalani, serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1892 and was vice president, later elected president of the Liberal Party. He was one of the electors who made Lunalilo king in 1873. He was also one of the six electors that voted for Queen Emma in 1874 and was affiliated with the Queen Emma Party that followed the Queen's defeat in the election. He was also the President of the Hawaiian Patriotic League and opposed the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

      Nāwahī operated Ke Aloha Aina, a Hawaiian language newspaper. In December 1894, a search warrant was served on his Kapālama home looking for "sundry arms and ammunition." Although nothing was found, Nāwahī was arrested for treason and bail was set at 10,000 dollars. He spent nearly three months in jail until being bailed out and it is believed that this is where he caught the tuberculosis that would later take his life.

The True Story of Kaluaikoolau as told by His Wife Piilani, 1906

Main Author: Sheldon, John G.M. 1844-1914

Translated from the Hawaiian Language by Frances N. Frazier

Published in The Hawaiian Journal of History (1987 v.21, p.1-41)

Notes: The story of Kaluaikoolau (who is also referred to as “Kauai” and “Kaluai”) has been

told by several well-known authors over the years. C.B. Hofgaard’s “The Story of

Piilani” was presented to the Kauai Historical Society in 1916 – Hofgaard had hunted,

fished and been a paniolo with Kaluaikoolau; this paper was later published in KHS’s

Kaua’i Historical Society Accession no. 2004.029

Processed in 2007 by Robert D. Stevens

Technical support by Rhea Palma

      Jonah Booth Cummings was the first kapuna that I was ever told about outside of my first cousins, Aunts, Uncles or Grandparents. My Uncle Joseph H. Cummings Jr. "Uncle Junior" first told me of this happy go lucky ladies man that was my gr.Grandfather. Outside of Jonah, Sarah Kuhaulua and Thomas Booth Cummings I really knew very little about the Cummings family until around 1999. My Mother had returned from a Cummings reunion on Kauai and she brought back a thick blue rectangular book with an English shield on the front and the words CUMMINGS HAWAIIAN GENEALOGY. It was amazing at first glance how big this family was. My second thoughts were about the possibility that there might be hundreds of stories contained between the lines of names and dates.

MOKAE, MAUI, 1890

      You might ask, why Kaupo, the family was always anchored in east Maui. Well during most of the 1880’s WH Cummings ran cattle at a 12,000 acre spread in Kaupo (Mokae) as well as 30,000 acres on Kahoolawe. Both Joseph and Jonah worked for WH either at the Reciprocity Plantation in Hana or the ranch in Kaupo for most of that decade.

      In this story the year 1890 becomes a pivotal point in Jonah’s life. We all at times have to deal with the results of our decisions, the good ones are easy to deal with, and the bad ones not so much. Jonah was entering a period where lust would begin to overshadow his good judgment. Moreover key decisions would be on the horizon for Jonah as Joseph was making a run for the Makee plantation on Kaua’i. Brother in Law Henry Sheldon had already made the journey to Kealia with his family.  In Mokae with a new baby what would be his decision? From the standpoint of the relationship that existed between Jonah and Joseph I can understand how this was a difficult one Jonah, despite his newly formed family. Of the eight siblings in the 2nd generation no siblings were even remotely close to one another as were these two brothers. This is a fact that bares years of proof, especially when considering that in over 70 years these two brothers worked and played side by side for all except maybe the last five.

      Well KauaI calls and off he went on WH Cummings steamer the JH Black. The garden isle awaited as did an unaware lovely 18 year old beauty from Moloaʻa named Sarah Kela Naimu Kuhaulua, my great grandmother. A woman on Kaua’i  and another 200 miles away on Maui. For a man who loved to love women these were parameters that he could embrace, or so it seemed in some morphed way. And these were the strictures that would play out for the next 3 years as he skirted the garden isle for the valley isle and no one was the wiser until 1893.   

      On February 26, 1893 Maraea Makahio delivered her second child, a girl they named Annie Koiliaaloha Makahio Cummings. It was a time for celebration in Kaupo and things were looking optimistic for all involved except Jonah Cummings. Those bad decisions were stacking up fast on Jonah. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself on Kaua’i  and it resulted in Sarah giving birth to Lucy Kaumealani Cummings almost seven months earlier on Aug. 2 1892. He had indeed backed himself into a very narrow corner and any decision he made would never compensate all involved.

      All we have is the research, such as the yearly directories that we can use to track peoples movements 125 years ago. Well those tools have told us that Jonah Cummings left Maui for Kaua’i sometime after February 1893 and never went back. His desertion did not make Annie or Maria any less of a Cummings, but I do know, and I will explain later how, that the bitterness was carried especially by Annie and her descendants for a very long time.

      Maria would go on to marry Albert Maunahina Bush (1886-1955) from a prominent family in Honolulu on October 30, 1911. They would have eight children Louis, Angeline, Albert, Lionel, William, Patrick, John Pau, and Annie. These 8 siblings would go on to form the base of the Bush family within our umbrella of families.

      Annie would marry John N. Makahio around 1914. They would have 2 biological children between them Henrietta in 1917 and Charlotte in 1918. They would hānai 2 children Edward Napuunoa and Charlotte Makanoa who Annie adopted a year after John died in 1920.

      Annie would then marry Charles McGurn (1895- 1953), around 1921 and they would produce 4 boys and 3 girls, Alvina, Charles M.  Ruby, Charles A. Albert, William and Clothilde.

      Annie would die in 1935, at that point her husband Charles A. McGurn would then marry Annies daughter Charlotte K. Makahio from her first marriage around 1936. They would have 4 children, Peter, Lee, Mavis and Andrew who married Ruth Han and was part of our Ohana up in the Costa Mesa area for many years. Their kids Lee, Andrea and Junior were long time cousins up in the mainland.

RANCHING IN KAUPO, RECIPROCITY IN HANA AND MAKEE ULUPALAKUA

      Jonah along with his brother Joseph put in stints at WH Cummings ranch in Kaupo in the early 1880's. Jonah also worked for James Makee at his Rose Ranch Plantation in Ulupalakua. In 1884 when WH started the Reciprocity Sugar Co. in Hana, Jonah wound up working as an Overseer until 1889. In 1890 he started the year as a laborer for his brother Thomas at Wailuku Sugar Company. By the end of that year he had made the decision to migrate to Kauai

THE MAKEE SUGAR COMPANY ON THE KEALIA PLANTATION

          The Makee Sugar Company had begun in 1877 as a co-op of 12 individuals, each having an equal stake and responsible for all the planting and other laborious chores needed to grow sugar cane. The group was quite successful as they flourished for the first four years. However after 1881 the members became disheartened and discouraged, had all drifted away, and their property and leasehold rights, etc., had passed into the hands of Col. ZS Spaulding, the successor and son in law to Capt. James Makee, who had died in 1879.[17] Spalding was the one that coined the title Makee Sugar Co. at Kealia Plantation. Until that time it was simply referred to as the Kapaa and Kealia plantation as the company ran two mills one in each location.

KAWAIHAU

      Jonah was employed as a Luna from 1890 until 1894 at Makee Sugar Co. The family had taken up residence in Kawaihau in the camp south of the Kapa'a stream. This is the area that all of our family would settle in for at least the first ten years that they lived on Kauai. This included Joseph and Phoebe Cummings and their five children, Henry and Hannah Rachael Cummings Sheldon and their five children and Jonah and Sarah.

Land Holdings

      Jonah had (2) pieces of property one in the Kapaa Homesteads, Grant 7848, Lot 128 27.94 Acres. The second one was beach front in the Town of Kapaa Grant 5939 totaling .17 acres.

1895 to 1931

      At the start of 1895 Jonah was now a fisherman in Kilauea he continued fishing through 1896. By 1898 Jonah had returned to Makee Sugar Co. as  Luna and it is there that he remained until 1924. Jonah gave 32 years of service to Makee Sugar Co. Jonah worked as a laborer from 1925 until 1928 and then there is no record of employment. Jonah Booth Cummings died 19 Aug. 1931 in Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii.

Biological Success

   If we were to judge success biologically as is done with all other species on earth we would find Joseph Elijah Cummings at the top of the list. Joseph fathered 20 children by two wives. Phoebe Miner and Lily Kealoha He fathered children till the age of 58. 

The Closest of Siblings

     Of the second generation, there were no closer siblings then Joseph Elijah Cummings and his older brother by one year Jonah.  Up until 1908 we find them working side by side in Kaupo for Brother WH Cummings at his cattle ranch, in Ulupalakua for Jas. Makee’s Rose Plantation, in Hana for WH Cummings Reciprocity Sugar Co. and in Kealia for Makee Sugar Co. In 1907 or 1908 Joseph moves with second wife Lily Kealoha to Oahu where he works with the Oahu Dept. of Roads as a Luna and the Kahuku Sugar Plantation as an Overseer until 1914. We show no employment record after 1914 for Joseph.  We know that Joseph’s youngest child, Joseph K. was born in Laie, Oahu in 1916. We know that Joseph and Lily were living in Laie in 1920, (1920 Federal Census).  So if we assume that Lily, who died in 1928, did so on Oahu then we must conclude that Joseph returned to Kawaihau after her death as he is listed as residing there in the 1930 Census with son Joseph K. So after 50 years of working and living together, Joseph and Jonah were then separated for about twenty years before he returned to Kauai in 1928. Was there friction between them? This is a question that will probably never be answered. However there is one clue to the reasoning behind the move to Oahu. Their primary residence for the first 8 years on Oahu was Laie. Which means there was a good chance Lily was of the Mormon faith. Did Joseph convert? We have no proof one way or the other.  

     It seems a little ironic that the brothers of this generation who did more of the physical work that is required, even by a Luna or Foreman, in the sugar industry, would live lives that extended much longer than their counter parts. Joseph was an industrious no nonsense worker from the start. He first learned this work ethic while toiling at his brother Williams ranch in Kaupo. From the cattle ranch he went directly to work with Williams connections along with Jonah Booth for the Reciprocity Sugar Co. in Hana. When William relinquished his shares in the company Joseph and Jonah went to work for Capt. James Makee, a long time friend of their fathers, at his plantation in Ulupalakua. In 1889 Joseph would migrate along with brother Jonah and brother in law Henry Sheldon to Kawaihau on Kauai.

Migration to Kaua'i

      Henry and Hannah Sheldon would be the first to migrate to Kaua'i from Maui. Henry would take a job as Blacksmith for the Makee Plantation. Henry Clay Kalua Sheldon and Hannah Rachael Keahelani Cummings would have six children. Not a high number by Cummings standards. However, out of this clutch of offspring would emerge two fine teachers, an excellent blacksmith to carry on the family tradition, who in turn would marry a school teacher, who possessed one of the finest singing voices to come out of our ohana. Hannah Emma Ho'olai Sheldon carried the Hawaiian name of her Aunt Amy Ho'olai, who would succumb to disease, less than six years after Hannah's birth. Angeline "Daisy" Kahaumealani Sheldon would never know her Aunty Amy. She entered the world almost two years after her death. Henry Thomas Kamanoulu Kamalu Sheldon could be considered the flagship between the Cummings and Sheldon families. Henry carried the names of two prominent ancestors, one from each side of his kapuna. Kahalepua'aoka'okeali'i Kamanoulu was Henry's grandmother on his mothers side. Kamalu was a name handed down for generations on his fathers side. 

Louisa P. Sheldon (Hoa'ai)

From the newspaper The Garden Island depicting the voice of Louisa Sheldon.

•       "Promptly at 8 o'clock Mrs. Keliinoi struck the opening chords of "Kapiolani", (dedicated to the Halau itself), and the show was on. When Mrs. Sheldon, who sang the solo, broke forth in the alluring strains of the first verse, there fell a sudden hush, and when the crash of the chorus came in, the audience were at one with the singers, and the success of the undertaking was assured. In this song as well as in the solo she sang later, Mrs. Sheldon completely captivated her hearers; she also gave a demonstration of the range of her voice, for she reached high b-flat apparently without effort."
•       Louisa K. Hoa'ai became the wife Henry T. Sheldon oldest child of Henry Clay Kalua Sheldon and Hannah R. Cummings. Louisa was a member of a choral group with the Women's Auxiliary part of the Lihue Union Church. She did many benefits for social issues. One of the causes that she partook was the initial benefit for the building of the Samuel Mahelona hospital in Lihue, Kaua'i, which opened in 1917. The benefit, not only featured Louisa, but her daughters Daisy and Hannah who carried their mothers gene for voice, as well. Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital is now 101 years old.

Some Interesting Facts

       When Hannah Cummings married Henry Sheldon on January 6, 1880 in Honolulu, it was the first of four times in our family that two Cummings sisters would marry to brothers. John Sheldon had married sister Amy almost a decade earlier. Jack and valentine Dutro would go on to marry Elsie and Rachel Freeman early on in the 20th century. Wilhelmina and Joanne Cummings would marry David and John Kaui around the 1920's and Josephine and Geraldine Cummings would marry half brothers Wallace Raines and Rudy Newtson in the early 1950's.

      The Sheldon's were an exceptionally talented group, yet despair did not evade them as two of their children would die much before their time. George Washington Sheldon died just a couple of months shy of his eighth birthday on Dec. 9, 1891.  Harriet Kuhilani Miller [Sheldon] passed 4 months short of her 20th birthday on July 18, 1906.

Henry Clay Kalua Sheldon

      Henry Clay Kalua Sheldon worked as a blacksmith just about his entire life. He started out at Capt. Jas. Makee's Rose Ranch in Ulupalakua around 1870. Twenty years later he was at the Makee Sugar Co. on the Kealia Plantation working for Z. Spaulding. For a short while during the 1890's he harnessed for the Kilauea Plantation. In 1908 Henry began work for Lihue Plantation, which had taken over operations of the Makee Sugar Co. By 1910 Lihue Plantation had bought the controlling interest in Makee and the Kealia plantation was then apart of Lihue Plantations expansion. Henry worked for L.P. until 1929. Henry Sheldon was also part of our family's rich baseball history between 1890 and 1930. Henry managed and coached many of the Makee baseball club teams in to his late 60's. He managed the Makee team in 1922 that took the inter-island tournament riding the arm of pitcher Jonah Booth Cummings Jr. Henry Sheldon died April 22, 1931 just 39 days short of his 80th birthday. All told Henry Sheldon worked 60 years as a blacksmith during the height of the Sugar era in the 19th century.  Henry was not the shinning opulent star that some of our other ancestors were, yet the contributions that his family made to our history is unmatched.

Parker Andrew Cummings (1862-1919)

      Parker Andrew Cummings (1862-1919), the youngest son of TB Cummings might also be considered a gage on his father’s life, at least in the later years. He was the last to leave the nest, so to speak, and was engaged, employment wise with his father until TB’s death around the first part of the decade of the 1890’s. It would appear, from all accounts that all of TB Cummings sons were adept wranglers, who worked well with stock.
      The first description of Parker’s employment comes from the 1880 Directory of Hawai’i where he is listed, along with his father, as an express man at 93 Market St. Wailuku, Maui. At a business known as the “Kahului and Naalaea Express Company” that offered ladies’ and gentleman’s saddle horses, as well as express baggage wagons. Here he worked as a teamster.
Parker seems to have worked for the express company through the 1880’s at various positions. He is listed as a Hackman (driver/teamster) in Wailuku in the 1888 Directory of Hawaii along with brother Joseph for the express company. It was during this time that TB Cummings became the freight agent for the steamships Maaleae Bay and Drayman, probably working out of the same office on Market street.
      In 1890 Parker is listed as still working in Wailuku as a teamster, it is probably the last year that he worked along side his father. It is believed that TB cummings died between 1890 to 1892.
In 1894 we find that parker cummings has left the express business, we suspect at the death of his father and is now listed in the directory of that year as a jailer in Wailuku, Maui. Along with brother Thomas and sister Caroline, they are the only ones left on Maui from the family’s 2nd generation.
      Parker, in 1896, changes employment and is now working as a luna for the Wailuku Sugar Company alongside his brother Thomas who is head of the irrigation department. By 1902 Parker is still at Wailuku Sugar Co. and is now residing in Waihee, Maui. In 1906 Parker has now moved back to Wailuku and is still employed as a luna for Wailuku Sugar Co.
It seems that Parker, sometime between 1906 and 1910, becomes the last of the 2nd generation to leave Maui. He is now employed by the road department on Oahu as a luna. This is the same department that was headed by his oldest brother William H. Cummings for nearly ten years until his resignation, due to his health in 1899. Could this have been a factor in his obtaining employment at the road department? There is no definitive way to tell, however, WH cummings did cast a wide shadow.
We find Parker Cummings still employed by the road department on Oahu as a foreman in 1913. His residence is listed on 12th ave. near Diamond Head ave. Currently, brother Joseph E. Cummings, who had moved from Kealia on Kauai to Laie on Oahu is also employed by the road department.
      It was during this time in Honolulu that Parker would marry Hoopii Malaea from Honolulu. It is not known whether the couple divorced, however, on December 18, 1915, Hoopii Cummings died and Parker was not listed amongst her heirs. She left two land grants LCA’s 5105 at Anahola and 7583 at Kawaihau on Kaua’I (Garden Island, 1916). There were no children born to this marriage. The following year on July 15, 1916 Parker A. Cummings wed Lihau Louisa Kaiwi. The service was performed by Reverend J. Kekipi of the Hoomana Naauao church. The service was witnessed by Horace N. Crabbe and A.I. Bright (Honolulu star-bulletin, 1916).
      It is believed that Parker a. Cummings died sometime in 1919. He was the only one of the second generation that did not produce any offspring.