Haʻalilio was born early in the 19th century, probably 1808. He was the son Koeleele (or Koelele), and his wife Kipa, in some accounts Eseta (Esther) Kipa. He was of the aliʻi class or Hawaiian nobility. He was included in the first English school set up by
Hiram Bingham I in
Honolulu around April 1821. In 1823
William Richards joined the mission, and became a teacher and friend for the rest of his life. After learning of the death of King
Kamehameha II in 1825, Haʻalilio was selected to be the royal secretary of King
Kamehameha III.
Jean Baptiste Rives who had served as Kamehameha II's secretary had been accused of mismanagement of funds and never returned to Hawaii. He took the Christian name Timothy, which was "Timoteo" in the
Hawaiian language spelling. On June 7, 1826, he married Hana Hopua (Hannah Hooper), the daughter of an American father, Hopua and Polunu. The couple had no children and his wife outlived him and inherited some lands in the
Great Mahele in 1848. In 1831 the
Lahainaluna School was founded, and he continued his education there. In July 1839 he was offered as a hostage during the
French Incident. Captain
Cyrille Pierre Théodore Laplace described him as: The king's secretary and one of his favorites was a handsome young man of frank, pleasant countenance and good manners; he wore European dress and spoke English quite well. He was a member of the hulumanu (bird feathers), a group of often flamboyant favorites of King
Kamehameha III that originally included Kamehamea IIIʻs aikāne (intimate friend)
Kaomi Moe In the
1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii, he was included in the first members of the
House of Nobles. Haʻalilio was a founding member of the first Hawaiian Historical Society in 1841. On April 8, 1842, he was appointed as the first diplomat of the kingdom, envoy to the United States, France and Great Britain. Richards would assist him as advisor and translator. In May he was appointed to a treasury board, along with
John Papa ʻĪʻī and
Gerrit P. Judd. Haʻalilio and Richards left on July 18, 1842, for their diplomatic mission. Instead of sailing via
Cape Horn, they went through
Mexico and over land. They took a steamer to Washington, D.C. December 5. After a week waiting to see
Daniel Webster who was the
U.S. Secretary of State, they had their appointment on December 7. By December 19, 1842, they had verbal assurance of U.S. recognition, but no formal treaty. An incident occurred on board the steamboat
Globe, in which Haʻalilio was mistaken for Richards' slave. They tried purchasing two tickets for breakfast but instead were given one and a half, one for Richards and the half for his servant. Even after Richards explained to the captain that he was Haʻalilio's servant and that he was an ambassador from the "King of the Sandwich Islands" to the President, the captain refused to allow any "colored man" to sit at the table. They next sailed to England. They returned to America, and visited the new Secretary of State
John C. Calhoun who was invited to also sign the agreement, but said he would wait for a treaty that could be ratified by the Senate. They left
Boston November 18, 1844, on the ship
Montreal, but Haʻalilio's health declined, and he died December 3, 1844, off the coast of New York. He probably had been suffering from
tuberculosis through the long northern winters. Richards brought his body back on March 21, 1845, to Honolulu. A funeral was held March 26, and a memorial was held in the legislature at its next session. Bingham offered this praise: Haalilio was a man of intelligence, of good judgement, of pleasing manners, and respectable business habits. ...few public officers possess integrity more trustworthy. == Family tree ==