Statewide County HI Archives Biographies.....McGrew, John Strayer December 23, 1825 - November 17, 1911
************************************************
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 October 7, 2009, 1:56 pm

Source: The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders. Published by The Honolulu Star Bulletin, Territory of Hawaii, 1925.
Author: Edited by George F. Nellist

JOHN STRAYER MCGREW, “Father of Annexation.” A name that will stand out 
prominently in Hawaiian history as long as history endures, is that of Dr. 
John S. McGrew, famous physician and esteemed citizen of the old Hawaii, whose 
long activities in promotion of a political union between the islands and the 
United States won him the title of “The Father of Annexation.”
  Dr. McGrew is believed to have been the first proponent of the proposition 
that Hawaii should be American, the first man to realize that under the 
American flag the islands and their people would find their greatest 
opportunity and the fullest realization of their destiny.
  “Annexation” McGrew, he was called by King Kalakaua, who, although naturally 
enough opposed to Dr. McGrew’s political program, often expressed his 
admiration for the doctor’s sincerity and honesty of purpose. Dr. McGrew was 
an earnest advocate of annexation long before the Hawaiian monarchy was 
destroyed by revolution, and not for an instant did he waver from his purpose.
  When annexation finally became an accomplished fact in 1898, five years 
after the revolution, Dr. McGrew was hailed as “The Father of Annexation,” 
just as Judge Sanford B. Dole, president of the Republic of Hawaii and first 
governor of the American Territory, became known in later years as “The Grand 
Old Man of Hawaii.” Two heroic figures in the evolution of Hawaii were Dole 
and McGrew.
  Immediately after the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in 1893, Dr. McGrew 
was named by the “Annexation Club” as honorary editor of the Hawaiian Star. 
Selecting the late Walter G. Smith as acting editor, Dr. McGrew vigorously 
advocated the cause of annexation through the columns of the newspaper. 
  During this period his life was threatened but he kept up the fight until it 
was won and the American flag flew over the Islands he loved.
  Born at Lancaster, Ohio, December 23, 1825, Dr. McGrew was educated in that 
state, removing at an early age with his family to Cincinnati, where his 
father founded the Cincinnati Enquirer. He received his medical training at 
the Ohio Medical College, graduating in 1847. During the Civil War, Dr. McGrew 
served as surgeon of the United States Volunteers. He held the rank of 
lieutenant colonel under Generals McClellan, Sherman and Grant. One of Dr. 
McGrew’s appointments as army surgeon is still preserved in Honolulu and bears 
the signature of Abraham Lincoln.
  At the close of the war, Dr. McGrew married Pauline Gillet at Washington, 
D.C., and the couple started on a world tour which brought them to Hawaii in 
1866, where Dr. McGrew abandoned the tour and decided to enter medical 
practice in Honolulu.
  For many years he was in charge of the Marine Hospital. He served as the 
first president of the Honolulu Medical Society. Maintaining the practice of 
his profession at a high standard, he amassed a considerable fortune, 
acquiring real estate and stock in growing business concerns.
  Dr. McGrew was a member of the commission which cooperated with Generals 
Alexander and Schofield in making a survey for an American naval base at Pearl 
Harbor, as provided for by the Reciprocity Treaty. He assisted in making plans 
for the coaling station and lived to see a portion of the harbor improvements 
completed.
  Upon their arrival in Hawaii, Dr. and Mrs. McGrew became established in a 
homestead located on the present site of the Alexander Young Hotel. Their home 
became a Honolulu landmark and was a famous social center of the city. Dr. 
McGrew was widely known for his hospitality, entertaining visitors from all 
parts of the world. Kate Field, the noted woman writer, died at the McGrew 
home while making a tour of Hawaii. The old mansion was built in the 40’s by 
Dr. R. A. S. Wood and was owned at the time of Dr. McGrew’s arrival in Hawaii 
by General McCook, one of the “Fighting McCook’s” of Civil War fame. Dr. 
McGrew and family later purchased the J. F. Hackfeld home at Lunalilo and 
Emerson Streets, where Dr. McGrew died November 17, 1911. Mrs. McGrew died in 
Honolulu the following year. 
  Dr. McGrew is survived by two children by his second marriage. A daughter, 
Mrs. Charles Bryant Cooper, wife of Dr. C. B. Cooper, lives in Honolulu. A 
son, J. Tarn McGrew, is living in Paris. Louis McGrew, a son by a first 
marriage, died in 1906.


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/bios/mcgrew51bs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/hifiles/

File size: 5.0 Kb