Statewide County HI Archives Biographies.....Damon, Samuel Mills March 13, 1845 - July 1, 1924 ************************************************ 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 31, 2009, 7:25 pm Source: The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders. Published by Honolulu Star Bulletin, Ltd., Territory of Hawaii, 1925. Author: Edited by George F. Nellist SAMUEL MILLS DAMON, Financial Genius. Pioneer banker, administrator of the finances of the kingdom of Hawaii, the Provisional government and the Republic, and a leader in railroad, plantation and business progress, was the late Samuel Mills Damon, one of the outstanding figures in Hawaii during the last half a century. Not only did Mr. Damon give his services unreservedly to the upbuilding of the commercial life of the islands, but he took an active part in governmental affairs throughout a long period of years. He is also honored as one of the men who had the foresight to see the necessity for the annexation of the islands by the United States, and to aid in laying the groundwork for it. It was he who went to Queen Liliuokalani during the revolution of 1893 and talked to her frankly, advising her to yield to the judgment of those who desired a constitutional government. In 1887, during the reign of King Kalakaua, Mr. Damon accepted the portfolio of minister of finance and for three separate incumbencies under the monarchy, the provisional government and the republic, he administered the financial affairs of Hawaii ably and wisely. As executive of the Hawaiian treasury, Mr. Damon was so conservative and so skillful in his handling of the finances that the government always had substantial resources on hand to meet any emergency. The Bishop Trust Co. and the Bank of Bishop & Co., Ltd., owe their present high position largely to the wisdom and courage of Samuel Mills Damon. He was one of the founders of the former concern and for many years headed the bank. He was noted for his generosity and his readiness to aid worthy business ventures. He advanced $100,000 of the first capital raised for the building of the Oahu Railway, and many other now well established concerns owe their start to the helping hand of Mr. Damon. Mr. Damon was a descendant of old missionary stock, his father having been Rev. Samuel Chenery Damon, D.D., for many years pastor of the old Bethel Church and founder of “The Field,” the oldest journal west of the Rocky Mountains. His mother was Mrs. Julia Mills Damon, head of the Strangers’ Friend Society, one of the leading charitable organizations in Honolulu in the old days. He was born in Honolulu on March 13, 1845, and received his education at Punahou School and Oahu College. His business career was begun in the store of W. N. Ladd & Co. In 1871 he went to the Bank of Bishop & Co., then the only banking concern in the islands, as a clerk. His talent for business and finance immediately asserted itself, and within a short time he was made a partner. When Charles R. Bishop, founder of the bank, departed for San Francisco shortly after the fall of the monarchy in 1893, Mr. Damon acquired his interest, thus becoming the chief owner and head of the institution. The sugar industry, just beginning to attain an important position in the commercial life of Hawaii, held great interest for this financier, and he became a director of many large plantations. Public affairs called him, and he served as a member of the privy council of the Kingdom from 1884 to 1889 an as minister of finance, 1889 to 1890, and 1893 to 1900, with brief intervals of retirement from public office. He also served two terms as minister of the interior and was a member of the advisory council of the Republic under President Dole. While minister of finance in 1897, Mr. Damon was sent to the Court of St. James, London, to represent former Queen Liliuokalani at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria of England. In 1899 he went to Italy on an important labor mission for Hawaii. His interest in educational matters was always of the keenest and he assisted in the establishment of concrete reforms in the financing of the educational bureau, beside serving as one of the trustees of Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s foundation and a director in the affairs of the Kamehameha Schools. Perhaps Mr. Damon’s most marked characteristic was his hospitality. He was the creator of the beautiful Moanalua Gardens, Honolulu showplace, where he personally received thousands of visitors during his lifetime, and which were dedicated to the use of the public at his death. In 1872 he married Harriet M. Baldwin of Lahaina. They had four children, Samuel Edward, Mary M., Henry F., and Douglas E. Damon. Mr. Damon was a member of the Society Beaux Arts, Paris; the Hawaiian Historical Society, Pacific Club of Honolulu, was decorated with the Order of the Golden reassure, Japan; and was a Knight in the Order of Christ, Portugal. He died July 1, 1924. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/bios/damon19bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/hifiles/ File size: 5.3 Kb