Statewide County HI Archives Biographies.....Castle, William Richards March 19, 1849 - ************************************************ 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 jessicanorr@gmail.com February 23, 2011, 4:23 pm Source: The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders, published by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin Ltd., Territory of Hawaii, 1925 Author: Edited by George F. Nellist WILLIAM RICHARDS CASTLE, Lawyer and Financier. Born in Honolulu, of the second generation of his family in Hawaii, William R. Castle for almost half a century has been a man of big achievements, in the practice of law, as a financial backer and builder of industries and, through many benefactions, a promoter of religious, educational and charitable work. The Castle family is an old one, both in Hawaii and New England. A descendant of Henry Castle, who came to Virginia from England in 1636 and removed to Connecticut in 1659, William R. Castle was born in Honolulu on March 19, 1849, the son of Samuel Northrup and Mary Ann (Tenney) Castle, who arrived in Honolulu April 9, 1837, members of the eighth company of missionaries. S. N. Castle was financial agent for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and was the founder of Castle & Cooke and one of the early industrial builders whose work made possible the Hawaii of today. William R. Castle was educated at Punahou School, Honolulu; Oberlin College, Ohio; Harvard Law School, and Columbia Law School, LL.B., 1873. Oberlin conferred an honorary A. M. degree upon him in 1887. After practicing law in New York City from 1874 until 1876, Mr. Castle returned to Honolulu and was appointed attorney general of the Kingdom, serving from February until November of 1876. He was a member of the legislature in 1878, 1886, 1887 and 1888, presiding as president the last two years. An influential advocate and supporter of the revolutionary movement which ended the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, Mr. Castle in that year rendered high service to his native islands and to the United States as one of the annexation commissioners to Washington, D.C., laying the framework for the later negotiations which made Hawaii an American Territory in 1898. He was Hawaiian minister to Washington in 1895, and president of the Board of Education, Republic of Hawaii, in 1896. For many years one of the most prominent lawyers in Hawaii, and with a notable record of public service, Mr. Castle’s energy and constructive foresight led him into many other activities which had an important bearing on the development of the islands in general and Honolulu in particular. In association with others, including his father, then lovingly known to thousands as “Father” Castle, Mr. Castle, with the broad vision to foresee its possibilities, financed and made possible the creation of Ewa plantation, a task which in the late 80’s and early 90’s strained the resources of those engaged on it almost to the breaking point. Ewa today is one of the finest and most profitable plantations in the Territory, and its establishment by Mr. Castle and his associates did much to bring the sugar industry to its present high level. Mr. Castle assisted largely in the promotion and starting of the Oahu Railway & Land Co. in 1888-89, in close association with the late B. F. Dillingham, and was the first president of the corporation, serving until 1903, when he was succeeded by Mr. Dillingham. With his brother, the late James B. Castle, Mr. Castle was a principal financial backer of the Honolulu Rapid Transit & Land Co., and an important factor in giving to Honolulu its electric street car service. He was president and a director of the corporation for a number of years. Promotion of this company, undertaken in the face of grave obstacles in 1898, came to fruition on Aug. 31, 1901, when the first electric car was placed in operation. A few years later Mr. Castle established, developed and financed another important public utility, the Honolulu Gas Co., and still remains its president. Mr. Castle is the president of the S. N. Castle and the Mary Castle Trust, the holding corporation of his mother’s estate, which liberally supports charitable, educational and religious works, in all of which Mr. Castle is deeply interested. In 1881 he became a trustee of Oahu College, holding that office for 45 years in succession to his father, who had been on the board since the establishment of the institution. Mr. Castle was one of the founders and continues to be one of the principal supporters of the Palama Settlement, which has named its new athletic grounds “Castle Field” in his honor. In virtual retirement for several years, Mr. Castle still maintains offices and directs a number of trust estates. He was senior member of the law firm of Castle & Hatch and Castle & Withington, in association with the late Francis M. Hatch and D. L. Withington, and the business is now carried on by the firm of Robertson & Castle, A. G. M Robertson and Alfred L. Castle, the latter a son of W. R. Castle. Mr. Castle is a member of the Hawaiian Bar Association, American Bar Association, National Municipal League, National Economic League, American Academy of Politics and Social Science and the University and Harvard clubs of Hawaii. He is a director of Castle & Cooke, Ltd., and a trustee of Palama Settlement, Central Union church and the Board of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association. He married Ida Beatrice Lowrey in Pittsfield, Mass., Oct. 12, 1875, and they have three children, William R. Castle, Jr., author and director of the Department of West European Affairs in the State Department of the United States government; Alfred L. Castle, prominent Honolulu lawyer and publicist, and Beatrice Castle. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/bios/castle226bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/hifiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb