First ladies of Hawaii

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The first lady or first gentleman of Hawaii is the spouse of the governor of Hawaii, an unpaid ceremonial position. Territorial spouses carved out their roles in varied ways, from traditional wives who raised the children and supported their husbands, to philanthropists and society hostesses. Perhaps the most personal insight into any of the spouses came from territorial governor Sanford B. Dole. Three years after the death of Anna Prentice Cate Dole, he published a small book, "for those who loved and still love Anna—my dear wife" detailing their courtship and marriage, her love of poetry, and the admiration the first governor of the Territory of Hawaii had for his wife.[1]

First Lady of Hawaii
Incumbent
Jaime Green
since December 5, 2022
Inaugural holderNancy Quinn
FormationAugust 21, 1959 (statehood)

Nancy Quinn bridged the change of history, as the wife of the last governor of the Territory of Hawaii and first governor of the State of Hawaii. She believed her position was to put family first, being her husband's support in a place and time when Hawaii had not yet worked out financial accommodations for care of the governor's family.[2] Beatrice Burns was a nurse and polio survivor; so far, the only governor's spouse of Hawaii who served her term while in a wheelchair. The agendas of the first spouses have evolved as the country's social history has. Jean Ariyoshi helped reforest Hawaii with "A Million Trees of Aloha." Lynne Waihee put children's literacy first on her agenda. Vicky Cayetano was a business owner before she married Governor Ben Cayetano. Through her business acumen, a trust fund was created to erect a new residence for Hawaii's governor.

First ladies of the Territory of Hawaii

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Name Image Birth–Death Term Governor Notes Ref(s)
Anna Prentice Cate Dole   (1843–1918) 1900–1903 Sanford B. Dole Native of Castine, Maine. President of the Hawaiian Humane Society. Chairman of the 1915 Peace Society. Supported the Temperance League and the Red Cross. Served as First Lady of the Provisional Government of Hawaii (Jan 1893 – July 1894) and the Republic of Hawaii (July 1894 – June 1900). [1][3]
Helen Strong Carter (1866–1945) 1903–1907 George R. Carter Native of Rochester, New York. Philanthropist focused primarily on child dental health and welfare. Donated the Strong-Carter Dental Clinic. In 1944, honored by 20,000 students in recognition of her work for Hawaii's children. Donated money for a mobile field kitchen to be used in England's World War II efforts. [4]
Mary Dillingham Frear   (1870–1951) 1907–1913 Walter F. Frear Born in Honolulu, descended from missionaries. Writer, poet, society hostess. Philanthropist, descendant of missionaries, heir to wealthy Dillingham fortune. Bequeathed her mansion to Punahou School. [5]
Vacant 1913–1918 Lucius E. Pinkham Pinkham never married [6][7]
Margaret Theresa Morgan McCarthy   (1865–1934) 1918–1921 Charles J. McCarthy Her parents were immigrants to Hawaii from Ireland. Tried to preserve historic artifacts in the Washington Place governor's residence. Prevented Hawaiian squatters from being evicted from the mansion's grounds. While her husband was governor, she opened the Donna Hotel and managed apartment buildings. [8][9]
Catharine McAlpine Farrington (1870–1953) 1921–1929 Wallace R. Farrington Born in San Francisco. Philanthropist, society hostess. President of the American Association of University Women. Trained as a teacher, she and Farrington began a shipboard romance en route to Honolulu, marrying a year later. [10]
Florence Bell Hackett Judd (1885–1974) 1929–1934 Lawrence M. Judd Born in Brooklyn, New York, moved to Hawaii in 1909. Her father was John Bell Hackett, her mother was Florence McKinstry Hackett. [11]
Vacant 1934–1942 Joseph Poindexter Poindexter was a widower. His wife Margaret Conger died in 1918. [12]
Cecile White Stainback (1892–1949) 1942–1951 Ingram Stainback Raised in Missouri and Oklahoma. Met her husband on a golf course in Hawaii. When asked if she had political aspirations, she dismissed the idea with, "Keeping a home for my husband is enough." Died in surgery to remove a brain tumor. [13]
Geneva Rule Long (1893–1985) 1951–1953 Oren E. Long A native of Knox County, Tennessee. Taught at President William McKinley High School [14]
Pauline Nawahineokalai Evans (1888–1977) 1953–1957 Samuel Wilder King Born in Lahaina, Maui. Vice president of Women's Congressional Club. Her mother Hana K. Evans was a lady in waiting to Liliuokalani. [15][16]
Nancy Quinn (1919–2004) 1957–1959 William F. Quinn Raised in St. Louis Missouri. [2]

First ladies of the State of Hawaii

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Name Image Birth–Death Term begins Term ends Governor Notes Ref(s)
Nancy Quinn (1919–2004) August 21, 1959 December 3, 1962 William F. Quinn [2]
Beatrice Burns   (1906–1988) December 3, 1962 December 2, 1974 John A. Burns Restored the governor's Washington Place residence [17]
Jean Ariyoshi   (born 1934) December 2, 1974 December 1, 1986 George Ariyoshi "A Million Trees of Aloha" reforestation program. [18]
Lynne Waihee   (born 1946) December 1, 1986 December 5, 1994 John D. Waihee III Read To Me Program; children's literacy [19]
Lorraine Cayetano December 2, 1994 1996 Ben Cayetano Governor Cayetano and his first wife, Lorraine Cayetano, had separated in 1991, though they remained married during the first two years of his governorship. The marriage ended in divorce in 1996. They remain the only Governor and First Lady of Hawaii to divorce while in office. [20]
Position vacant 1996 May 5, 1997 Ben Cayetano Cayetano divorced in 1996. No acting First Lady until his marriage to Vicky Cayetano in 1997. [20]
Vicky Cayetano   (born 1956) May 5, 1997 December 2, 2002 Ben Cayetano Vicky Tiu Cayetano married Governor Ben Cayetano on May 5, 1997, to become Hawaii's First Lady.[20] Cayetano, a businesswoman, created the Washington Place Foundation to raise funds to build a new residence for the state's governor. [21]
Position vacant December 2, 2002 December 6, 2010 Linda Lingle Lingle was divorced prior to the governorship. [22]
Nancie Caraway   (born 1942) December 6, 2010 December 1, 2014 Neil Abercrombie Feminist author; human rights [23]
Dawn Ige   (born 1958) December 1, 2014 December 5, 2022 David Ige Led restoration of Washington Place for 175th Anniversary, launched Jump Start Breakfast program at the public schools and the Ohana Readers program to promote childhood literacy. [24][25]
Jaime Green   (born 1977) December 5, 2022 Present Josh Green

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Dole 1921.
  2. ^ a b c Hurley, Timothy (July 3, 2014). "Nancy Quinn: 1919–2014". Honolulu Star Advertiser. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "Mrs. Sanford B. Dole is Dead After Long Illness". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . August 30, 1918. p. 6, col. 4. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  4. ^ "Mrs. Carter, Ex-Governor's Widow Dies". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . May 28, 1945. p. 1, col. 4. Retrieved December 8, 2017.; "Mrs. H. S. Carter Dies on Coast". Honolulu Advertiser – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . May 29, 1945. p. 5, col. 3. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "Mrs. W. Frear, Kamaaina, Dies Here at 80". Honolulu Advertiser – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . January 18, 1951. p. 1, col. 5. Retrieved December 8, 2017.; "Hawaii Has Lost a Notable woman". Honolulu Advertiser – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . January 18, 1951. p. 8, col. 1. Retrieved December 8, 2017.; "Frear Bequeaths Mansion to Punahou". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . February 2, 1951. p. 8, col. 1. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  6. ^ "Governor Pinkham As He Is Viewed By The Citizens". Newspapers.com. No. Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . November 29, 1913. p. 8. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  7. ^ "Obituary for Lucius E. Pinkham (Aged 73)". The San Francisco Examiner. November 3, 1922. p. 8. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  8. ^ "Death Calls Margaret McCarthy". Honolulu Advertiser – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . March 19, 1934. p. 1, col. 4. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  9. ^ McCarthy 1921, p. 194.
  10. ^ "Mrs. Wallace R. Farrington Dies After Long, Useful Life". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . January 1, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved December 8, 2017.; "Mrs. Farrington Dies". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . January 1, 1953. p. 5. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  11. ^ "The Present First Lady of Hawaii Looks To Experience of Happiness". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . July 6, 1929. p. 4, col. 4. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  12. ^ "Ex-Governor Poindexter Dies at 82". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . December 3, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  13. ^ "Mrs. Stainback Dies In Missouri After Surgery". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . October 12, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  14. ^ "Geneva Long, Widow of 10th Governor, Dies". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . May 30, 1985. p. D8. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  15. ^ "News in a Nutshell". The Hawaiian Star – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . March 19, 1912. p. 8, col. 1. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  16. ^ "First Lady of Territory, Pauline King, Dead at 88". The Honolulu Advertiser – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . February 23, 1977. p. 3. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  17. ^ Paddleford, Clementine (May 28, 1965). "Mrs. John A. Burns Has 12-Hour-A-Day Job". The Honolulu Advertiser – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . p. 47. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  18. ^ "Project Goal Is a Million Trees in '85". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . January 11, 1985. p. 11. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  19. ^ Altonn, Helen (November 30, 1994). "Outgoing first lady looks to life out of the spotlight". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . p. A1. Retrieved December 8, 2017.; Altonn, Helen (November 30, 1994). "She leaves top record as volunteer". Honolulu Star-Bulletin – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . p. A4. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  20. ^ a b c Yuen, Mike (1997-05-06). "Cayetano, bride met during workout". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  21. ^ "Vicky Cayetano". The Honolulu Advertiser – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . May 3, 1998. p. F1. Retrieved December 8, 2017.; "Vicky Cayetano: A year in the limelight". The Honolulu Advertiser – via Newspapers.com (subscription required) . May 3, 1998. p. F10. Retrieved December 8, 2017.; Leidermann, Mike (January 5, 2001). "Washington: first lady's plan would build a new home". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. A6. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  22. ^ Johnston, Robert D. "Linda Lingle | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  23. ^ "Mānoa: Globalization Research Center receives three-year grant to establish a Hawaii anti-trafficking task force | University of Hawaii News". University of Hawaii News. October 18, 2005. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  24. ^ "David Y. Ige | Meet the First Lady". governor.hawaii.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  25. ^ Infante, Esme (28 Nov 2022). "First lady Dawn Amano-Ige's work is not done". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 24 June 2023.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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