The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-12-06
OLD TIMES
IN HAWAII
Deal OF kamehameha |.
With John Jacob
Astor.

When Kamehameha L went into the
BUSINESS of buying ships for the Sand
wien Islands mercantile marine he had
10 deal with no less a person than
John Jacob Astor, the founder of thar
iamlIy of money-makers. Archivarian
Lydecker, who is engaged in the pleas
ant task Of sorting over the old doom
ments of the Hawaiian government
from the time Kamehapeha I organ
1zed 1t until the present day. has come
across the original bill of sale, or at
least copy Of it, with the genuine
signatures of the seller and witnesses
attached.
The ship was the Albatross, and it
was sold through Captain Nathan Win
snip of Massachusetts. A bill of sale
from Nathan Winship to John Jacob
Aston and John Ebbets, signed in 1915
Shows that the two latter paid Captain
Winship $1,000 in specie for the vessel.
The description of the ship as given
In the bill of sale, and which is IA
copy Of the certificate issued at the
port of Boston and Charleston sets
forth that the Albatross has two decks.
two masts and is II feet inches long,
p feet L inch in breadth, and II feet
IL inch in depth; that she is of 165 tons
burden, with square stern and lack
ing gallery and figurehead. Her
registry was granted in 1909.
The bill of sale after the formal lam
guage of bargaining, etc, says that the
ship is now at anchor at Hanarooru,
Island of WnahOn oh TcIa dc,
This bill if sale bears the original sig
natures of Rd. Ebbet, Francisco de
Paula Marin (ancestor of Mrs E. S
Cunha), VIM Bush, Jr-, Danl. w.
Forest, Henry Gyzelwar, while Nathan
Winship signs as the seller.
The next page shows a bill Of sale
from John Ebbet to Kamehameha of
the ship Albatross for the consfdera-
ton of 400 picuis of sandalwood Ito
me in hand paid by His Owhyhean
Majesty Tamaahmaah,' and was sign
ed at "Hanarooru," October 10, 1916.
in the presence of Francisco de Paula
y Marin, George Beckley and VIM.
Bush, Jr., whose original signatures
adorn the interesting document These
gentlemen certify that these bills of
sale are true copies Of the original Gin
favor of His Owhyhean Majesty
btI L IdlciSCO uS L Y y
name is appearing frequently in many
of the documents unearthed by Mr.
Lydecker. The Don was one of the
original small farmers of the Hawaiian
Islands, coming here from one of the
Latin-American countries Harly in the
last century. He is referred to in
Alexander's history as having import
ed several things which gave start to
agricultural industry here. Most of the
letters to and from Don Francisco We're
found in the old Honolulu Fort in 1S47
and We're sorted and laid away with
care by DR.. Wyllie of that period. One
of the most interesting of the lot is
the original commission as captain
in the Hawaiian army issued by Gov
ernor Boki back in 1919. This was
proba bly, one of the first documented
commissions ever issued by the royal
house of Hawaii. 1t bears in one cor
ner a red wax seal, With the impress
sion of a Minerva-like head. AS there
were no ribbons here in those days,
the enterprising minister of State" of
that ante-nlissionary period used his
knife and made ribbons from pieces
of thin paper on which the wax was
dropped and stamped. The commission
reads:
.'To all persons be it known that We.
the Governor and chiefs of this island
of Woahoo, being fully authorized by
his Majesty. the King of the Sandwich
Islands, have and do hereby grant I'M
to Don Francisco de Paula Marin,
the honorary commission of Captain in
His Majesty's Arny's, with full priv
ilege of wearing the uniform and TO
receive the title, honors and dignitles
accordingly -.
ION account of the merits and mani
fold services of the aforesaid Don
Francisco de Paula Y Marin to these
islands:
And we hereby give notice to all
persons that they pay the said cap
tain Don Francisco de Paula V Marin,
the customary honors and respect as
a Captain in His Majesty's Army s
Tn virtue of the above commission we
have set our hands and the seal OF
state this 10th day of December, A. d.
1919. By Order of His Majesty.
"(Signed) BOhEh'
Governor
A letter to the Don written from
Brighton on July IS. 1885. by Captain
Nathan Winship, who it seems mad
kent up a correspondence with the Don
since 1916 and had also invested IN
some lands near Pearl Harbor, brings
- M the Don that