John Kalili (c. 1814 – April 3, 1855) was a judge and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii.

John Kalili
Member of the Kingdom of Hawaii
House of Representatives
In office
1851–1852
MonarchKamehameha III
Personal details
Bornc. 1814
DiedApril 3, 1855 (aged 41)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Resting placeKawaiahaʻo Church
NationalityKingdom of Hawaii
RelativesJoshua Kekaulahao (cousin)
Alma materLahainaluna Seminary
OccupationJudge, Politician

Life edit

Nothing much is known about Kalili's early life, although roster of the Lahainalunla School indicate he came from Honolulu, Oʻahu. He was a cousin of Joshua Kekaulahao.[1] Kalili was one of the first generation of Hawaiians to receive a western education by the American missionaries who arrived in Hawaii in 1820. In 1836, he began his education at Lahainaluna Seminary with Kekaulahao and graduated after four years of education in 1840. Some of his classmates beside his cousin Kekaulahao included writer S. N. Haleole, historian Samuel Kamakau and future royal governor of Hawaii Island, George Luther Kapeau, although only Kekaulahao was in his same class of 1836.[2] In 1847, he was registered as the owner of the Hawaiian sloop Waiahao.[3][4]

On January 27, 1848, the Governor of Oʻahu Mataio Kekūanaōʻa appointed John Kalili and Simon P. Kalama as the two circuit judges of the island of Oʻahu. Kalama was charged with Honolulu while Kalili was charged with the district of Koʻolau in the eastern section of the island.[5][6][7] Kalili would also serve as a legislator from 1851 to 1852 as a member of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Hawaiian legislature.[8][9][10] American lawyer Charles Coffin Harris ran as his opponent for the candiicay in the district of Palikolau in 1852 and lost.[11] In the 1852 legislative session, John Kalili served as the chairman of the Committee on Election.[12]

While still in office as judge, Kalili died in Honolulu on April 3, 1855, at the age of forty-one.[7][13] His cousin Joshua Kekaulahao was appointed to replace him as the circuit judge of Oʻahu, although he himself would die in 1856.[14] In 1858, the remains of Kalili, Joshua Kekaulahao and four members of Kekaulahao's family were buried in the cemetery of the Kawaiahaʻo Church in a ceremony which included the use of Niʻihau mats as burial goods.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "They Are Passing Away". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. December 16, 1858.
  2. ^ "Papa Inoa O Ke Kula Nui O Lahainaluna". Ka Hae Hawaii. May 19, 1858.
  3. ^ "Home Office Statistics List of Hawaiian Vessels, December 31, 1847". The Polynesian. January 1, 1848.
  4. ^ "Hawaiian Registered Vessels". The Polynesian. January 30, 1847.
  5. ^ Osorio 2002, pp. 72.
  6. ^ "Appointments – By the Governor of Oahu". The Polynesian. January 29, 1855.
  7. ^ a b Lydecker & Thayer 1916, p. 21.
  8. ^ "Kalili, J. office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  9. ^ Osorio 2002, pp. 69.
  10. ^ Hawaii & Lydecker 1918, pp. 32–35.
  11. ^ "Candidate For Representatives". The Polynesian. January 3, 1852.
  12. ^ "Committee on Election". The Polynesian. April 17, 1852.
  13. ^ "Died". The Polynesian. April 7, 1855.
  14. ^ "Appointment". The Polynesian. April 28, 1855.

Bibliography edit