Keohokālole

Keohokālole was born at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in 1816. She was daughter of the High Chiefess Kamaeokalani and the High Chief ʻAikanaka. Through her father she was descended from Kame'eiamoku and Keawe-a-Heulu two of the four Kona chiefs that supported Kamehameha I.

Keohokālole

In 1833 she married Caesar Kapaʻakea, a chief of lesser rank and her first cousin. Their union produced more than ten children. They were among the few Hawaiian chiefs to have such a large family. Many nobles of their time died very young and issueless. Their children were: James, David, Lydia, Anna, Kaʻiminaʻauao, Miriam, and Leleiohoku. She inherited vast tracts of land from her paternal grandmother Keohohiwa and great uncle Naihe.[3] Like many of the high chiefs, she quickly found herself land rich but cash poor. The wealthiest chief was the monarch with landholding worth perhaps $1.3 billion in today's dollars. Unlike the monarch, the average high chief got an award, after taxes, of perhaps just a bit over $3.5 million. Keohokālole gained lands worth quite a bit more than the average chief. By the time of her death, only half the land she inherited from her father remained, which had to be divided by her four surviving children: David, William, Miriam and Lydia.[4] When David Kalākaua became king less than twenty years later he had no great personal wealth. His lack of money and his attempts at securing income commensurate with his view of his station caused his reign to be dogged by bribery and corruption scandals.[4]

She served as a member of the House of Nobles from 1841 to 1847, and on the King's Privy Council 1846 to 1847.[5] She died at Hilo, on April 5 or April 6, 1869.[6][7]

Initially buried in the Kawaiahaʻo Cemetery, her son Kalākaua had her remains removed to the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii on November 30, 1875.[8]^: 159[9]

There is a road named Ane Keohokālole highway near Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.[10]