William Patterson Alexander (July 25, 1805 – August 13, 1884) was an American missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii. His family continued to influence the history of Hawaii.
They were sent on a scouting mission to the Marquesas Islands (at the time called "Washington Islands") with Reuben Tinker and Samuel Whitney. On July 2, 1833, they then traveled back to establish a Marquesas mission with Richard Armstrong, Benjamin W. Parker with their wives via Tahiti. However, they abandoned the Marquesas to European missionaries and arrived back in Honolulu on May 12, 1834.
The Alexanders were assigned to the mission at Waiʻoli 1834 until 1843.
Looking for a drier climate, they were transferred to Lahainaluna School in 1843. After the departure of founder Lorrin Andrews and death of Sheldon Dibble, he became principal until 1856.
He preferred to live at cooler, higher elevations, and often camped at what would become ʻUlupalakua Ranch.
Although the American Board was withdrawing support, he continued to assist efforts such as the Kaʻahumanu Church in Wailuku, Hawaii from November 1856 until 1882.
He and his wife traveled back to New Bedford by April 1858 on a fund-raising trip, and returned by December 1859. He helped unite Presbyterian and Congregational churches into the Hawaiian Evangelical Association.[2]
He died August 13, 1884, in Oakland, California, and was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery.[4]
Henry Martyn Alexander (1839–1910) married Eliza Yates Wight and then Ina B. Weist.
Mary Jane Alexander (1840–1913) of which not much is known.
Ann Elizabeth Alexander (1843–1940) married Charles Henry Dickey. Their son was architect Charles William Dickey, and daughter Belle Dickey married Pineapple planter James Drummond Dole.
Emily Whitney Alexander (1846–1943) married Henry Perrine Baldwin (co-founder of Alexander & Baldwin) in 1869.
^James McKinney Alexander (1888). Mission Life in Hawaii: Memoir of Rev. William P. Alexander. Harvard University. Pacific Press Publishing Company.
^Hawley, Emily Carrie (1922). The Introduction of Christianity Into the Hawaiian Islands: And the Development of These Islands Through the Agency of the Missionaries and Their Descendants, 1820-1920. Press of E.L. Hildreth.
^"Baldwin, David Dwight (1831-1912) on JSTOR". plants.jstor.org. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
^"Life of Agnes Alexander". bahai-library.com. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
^"Hawaii Cattlemen's Council - Henry "Harry" Alexander Baldwin". Hawaii Cattlemen's Council. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
Referencesedit
^James R. Davis. "Alexander Genealogical Query". Retrieved April 27, 2010.
^ abcJames McKinney Alexander (1888). Mission life in Hawaii: Memoir of Rev. William P. Alexander. Pacific Press Publishing Company.
^ abHawaiian Mission Children's Society (1901). Portraits of American Protestant missionaries to Hawaii. Honolulu: Hawaiian gazette company. p. 34.
^David Johnson (August 8, 2006). "Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Alameda County, CA". California Tombstone Project, US Genweb archives. Retrieved April 27, 2010.