Statewide County HI Archives Biographies.....ADAMS, ALEXANDER 1780 - December 27, 1870 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/hi/hifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: J Orr orr@hawaii.com August 9, 2009, 5:49 am Source: The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders. Published by Honolulu Star Bulletin, Ltd., Territory of Hawaii, 1925. Author: Edited by George F. Nellist . Builders of Hawaii Page 51, 53 ALEXANDER ADAMS, Pioneer Navigator. Intimate friend and confidential advisor of Kamehameha the Great, founder of the Kamehameha dynasty in Hawaii and who entrusted to him the command if the king’s fleet, Captain Alexander Adams, the first regular pilot for the port of Honolulu, was one of the most picturesque figures of that colorful epoch in Hawaiian history when a pagan monarch ruled the islands in semi-barbaric splendor. For some thirty years Captain Adams and his family were close to the reigning house, and in recognition of his services to the crown he and his heirs were granted a perpetual land holding by King Kamehameha I and his queen, Kaahumanu, of more than 2,000 acres, extending from the mountains to the sea and embracing that portion of Oahu known as Niu, near Honolulu. Much of this land was valuable, and with it were granted fully and freely fish and water rights, all other rights, and the country home of the king and queen. To this day the land grant is held intact by Mrs. Charles Lucas, a granddaughter of Captain Adams. Captain Adams, who had sailed the seas from the time he was a lad of 12, endeared himself to Kamehameha I in many ways. He it was who took the king in the brig “Kaahumanu,” of 260 tons, sixteen guns and a crew of forty-eight men to Atooi, Kauai, to assist in expelling the Russians from that island. The Russians had previously been ousted from Oahu through influence brought to bear upon them by Captain Adams and others close to the monarch. The Kauai voyage was made by the captain as an incident of a trip to Canton, China, where he took a cargo of sandalwood for the king. Captain Adams is said to have inspired the designing of he Hawaiian flag, when he refused to fly the British colors at the masthead of the “Kaahumanu,” and suggested to Kamehameha that the kingdom should have its own individual ensign. Although claims have been put forth by others as to the designing of the flag, and historians have differed on the relative merits of such claims, descendants of Captain Adams are confident that he did actually place the British Union Jack in the upper left hand corner of the Hawaiian flag. The story goes that Kamehameha I laid out the field of the flag with its eight stripes, representing the eight inhabited islands of Hawaii. “Now, what shall I use for a head?” he is supposed to have asked his followers. Various suggestions were made, including that the royal insignia or the crown be used. None met with the monarch’s approval, and he declared that he would wait for the return of “my Haole” (Captain Adams) from a sea trip before hoisting the new flag of the country. Upon Captain Adams’ return, it is asserted, he took the eight stripes and laid thereon the Union Jack as a head for the Hawaiian flag, and the national emblem was competed. On a later voyage to China with a cargo of sandalwood, the new Hawaiian flag flying at the masthead of his ship, Captain Adams then raised the Union Jack, port officials accepted explanations and the ship entered the harbor. Before leaving Hong Kong, Captain Adams presented the Hawaiian flag to the Chinese government as a token of good will and friendship. Captain Alexander Adams was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, in 1780. For four years, from the time he was 12 until he passed his sixteenth birthday, he served as an apprentice on the brig “Zephyr,” belonging to Husson & Co., of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He made two voyages to Calcutta a little later, became second mate and served in that capacity for eight years on the “Lancaster.” In 1807 he was drafted into naval service on the “Elizabeth” and served on the coasts of Spain and Portugal until 1810. In the latter year he arrived in Hawaii on the American ship “Albatross” of Boston. War came between the United States and Great Britain, and, refusing to serve any longer under the American flag, Captain Adams took up his residence ashore and became a friend of John Young, the favorite and advisor of Kamehameha I. Shortly thereafter the king’s little fleet was placed under Captain Adams’ command, which during one period of the sandalwood trade consisted of nine square-rigged vessels and fifteen smaller craft. When the first missionaries from New England arrived in Hawaii in 1820 they were met by a group of the king’s followers, including Captain Adams. The monarch was much averse to allowing the missionaries to land, but was finally persuaded to do so by Captain Adams and John Young. Captain Adams remained in command of the royal fleet until Kamehameha II sailed for England in 1823, when the captain was asked to stay in Hawaii, assist the governor and act as pilot for the port of Honolulu. This post Captain Adams held for nearly thirty years. In the latter years of his life he retired to him home at Kalihi, Honolulu, and cultivated fruit. He married three times, two of his wives being the Harbottle sisters, who were reared by Queen Kaahumanu and were favorites at court. According to his own personal account of his life, recorded in a diary now in possession of the Lucas family, Captain Adams was the father of fifteen children, eight of whom were by his third wife. Among his children were Mrs. George Gray, Mrs. William Auld, William and Isaac Adams, Mrs. C. Phelps and Mrs. Andrew Bannister. The latter was the mother of Mrs. Charles Lucas, who now lives upon the Adams estate at Niu. Captain Adams died Dec. 27, 1870, when more than ninety years of age. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/bios/adams2bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/hifiles/ File size: 6.2 Kb