John Coffin Jones, Jr.

John Coffin Jones, Jr. (1796–1861) was the first United States Consular Agent to the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Life

John Coffin Jones Jr. was born in 1796 in Massachusetts. His father was John Coffin Jones, Sr. (1750–1829), Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.[1]

He was appointed as the first Consul to Hawaii in 1820. He was considered an advocate for commercial interests in Hawaii, and was often in conflict with missionary elements in the island.[2] His career was full of turmoil and complaint, and had limited support or instruction from Washington, D.C.[3]

Although he was married to Hannah Holmes Davis (died 1848) in 1823, he also had three children by Lahilahi Marín (died 1844), daughter of Don Francisco de Paula Marín: John (Huanu) Coffin Jones III (died 1863), Rosalie, and Francis (died young).[4] Hannah Holmes was mother of Robert Grimes Davis, who became a Hawaiian politician and judge, and William Heath Davis, who became an early settler of San Diego, California.[5] Jones and Holmes had a daughter, Elizabeth Jones (1830–March 13, 1852), who married John H. Brown (on April 14, 1848); the couple had a son, Robert Davis Brown.[6][7]

Last years/death

In 1838 he moved to Santa Barbara, California and married Manuela Carrillo. John Coffin Jones Jr. died December 24, 1861.

See also

References

  1. Gast, Ross H. Contentious Consul: A Biography of John Coffin Jones, First United States Consular Agent at Hawaii. Dawson's Book Shop (1976).
  2. Lightner, Richard, Hawaiian History: An Annotated Bibliography, p. 71 (2004) Praeger/Greenwood; ISBN 0-313-28233-1
  3. Johnson, Donald D. and Best, Gary D., The United States in the Pacific: Private Interests and Public Policies, 1784-1899, p. 59, Praeger Publishers; ISBN 0-275-95055-7
  4. "Land Commission Award 2938 (Heirs of Lahilahi Marin)" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  5. Andrew F. Rolle (1956). An American in California: the biography of William Heath Davis, 1822-1909. Huntington Library.
  6. Profile, chroniclingamerica.loc.gov; accessed September 6, 2015.
  7. Profile, ulukau.org; accessed September 6, 2015.

Further reading

External links

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