Kamakau was born in
Mokulēia,
Waialua on the North Shore of the island of Oahu. He traveled to the island of
Maui and enrolled at
Lahainaluna Seminary in 1833, where he became a student of Reverend
Sheldon Dibble. Dibble instructed Kamakau and other students to collect and preserve information on the
Hawaiian culture,
language, and people. To further this goal, Kamakau helped form the first Hawaiian
historical society in 1841. According to Kamakau: A society was started at Lahainaluna according to the desire of the teachers. As the people of Alebione (
Albion) had their British history and read about the Saxons and William, so the Hawaiians should read their history...The King said he thought the history of all the islands should be preserved from first to last. Known as the Royal Hawaiian Historical Society, members included King
Kamehameha III,
John Young,
Timothy Haalilio,
David Malo,
Dwight Baldwin,
William Richards, Sheldon Dibble, Kamakau and others. Elected officials included president Kamehameha III, vice-president William Richards, secretary Sheldon Dibble, and treasurer Samuel Kamakau. Kamakau married S. Hainakolo and moved to his wife's hometown of
Kīpahulu. Their daughter, Kukelani Kaaapookalani, was born in December 1862, after which the couple moved to
Oahu. In 1860 Kamakau converted to Roman Catholicism from Congregational Protestantism. From 1866 to 1871, Kamakau wrote a series of newspaper articles about Hawaiian culture and history: "Ka Moolelo o Kamehameha I", a history of
Kamehameha I; "Ka Moolelo o Nā Kamehameha", a history of the
House of Kamehameha; and "Ka Moolelo Hawaii", a history of Hawaii. The articles were published in the Hawaiian language newspapers,
Ke Au Okoa and
Ka Nūpepa Kūokoa. Kamakau has served as a district judge in
Wailuku, Maui and was a legislator for the
Hawaiian Kingdom. He died at his home in
Honolulu on September 5, 1876, and was buried in the Maemae Chapel Cemetery in Nuuanu Valley. ==Legacy==