Artist's conception of the Brick Palace from the Lahaina Restoration Foundation
Before the Battle of Nuuanu a number of foreigners were living on Oahu under the rule of Kalanikūpule. Among these settlers were Oliver Holmes, Shomisona, Mr. Lele, Mr. Mela [Miller] and Mr. Keakaʻeleʻele [Black Jack]. After Kamehameha I conquered Oahu they all pledged oaths to the new alii.[1] A letter from William Richards to Reverend Levi Chamberlain dated September 18, 1830, describes "Miller" as a Mason living in Lahaina. Richard also notes that "Miller" likes rum.[2]
Mela, along with Mr. Keka'ele'ele (Black Jack), possibly the first African American in Hawaii, built the Brick Palace for Kamehameha I's favorite wife, Kaʻahumanu.[1][3] The palace was the first western-style structure built in the Hawaiian Islands, serving as the first Royal Palace.[4] Located at Lahaina, Maui, the site became the seat of government and capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii until 1845.[5] William Richards would later receive the land the Brick Palace was built on.[2]
John Papa ʻĪʻī
Mela was the kahu (royal attendant) of John Papa ʻĪʻī, who writes of the occasion when, as a young boy who didn't wish to walk on a long journey, his attendants, either Mela or Kiwalao, scared him into walking by pointing to foreigners and telling the young boy; "Here come the haoles, who do not like children who cry too much".[6]
Family, descendants and legacy
Mela's English name was Alexander (Alika) Miller Sr.[7] Alexander wed or cohabitated with Kānekapōlei and had two children, a girl named Kahinu (w) and a son named Alika (Alexander) Mela (Miller) Jr.[2] While Mela was originally gifted with several lots of land from Kamehameha I, his son Alika had to relinquish all but one, Opaeula ahupuaa in Lahaina, Maui.[7]
Alika married Kanuha Kaialiilii, sister of Captain J.H. Mahiai, in 1855. Kanuha and Mahiai were two of 9 children of Kaialiilii and Poimoa.[2] Alika and Kanuha had eight children;[2]
Sarah Miller is said to have married or cohabitated with a Mr. Harvey Raymond but there was no issue from the union. Sarah did have 4 children with Charles Makee,[2] including a son named Charles Miller.[8] John Mahiʻai was hanai adopted by James Kāneakua.[9][10] He married twice. His first marriage produced no issue however, his second marriage to Lucy Kaʻumealani Cummings produced ten children.[10]
Key- Subjects with bold titles and blue bold box= Aliʻi line. Bold title and grey bolded box= Lower ranking Aliʻi line. Bold title and un-bolded box= European nobility. Regular name and box= makaʻāinana or untitled foreign subject.
^Hawaiian researcher Dorothy Barrère lists Kanekapolei as the wife of Mela (Miller) on page 458 of her book from the full Mahele land claim of Kanekapolei's son Alika Mela- LCA 8018.[α]
^Kaʻanoʻi Walk writes in an article for the Hawaiian Cultural Center: "..my great-grandfather John Mahiʻai Kāneakua was born in Honuaʻula, Maui to his loving parents Alexander P. Miller and Kanuha (Kaialiilii) Miller".[β]
^Kapuailohiawahine and her daughter Isabella, taught Hula in secret, hiding it after the ban by Kaʻahumanu.[γ]
^The son of Charles Makee (the son of James Makee, a wealthy sea Captain) Charles Miller was the son of "Sarah Miller, written as "S. Mila" on the marriage record".[δ]
^Hawaii State Archives lists Samuel Kaia Miller marrying Amoy Ai on 5-2-1903 in Honolulu, Hawaii.[ε]
^The Marriage certificate of Samuel and Daisy Amoe Ai lists Alika Miller and Kanuha as parents to Samuel, with Namakelele and Ai as parent to Daisy.[ζ]
^Daisy Amoe and Samuel Kalimahana Miller had 12 children and resided in Kalihi where Samuel worked as a painter.[η]
^In a press release from the Hula Preservation Society, they list Isabella Hale`ala Miller Desha as Nona Beamer's great grandmother.[θ]
^The Desha Genealogy lists William Francis Desha as the son of Isabella and George Desha.[ι]
^Hawaii Births and Christenings, 1852-1933. Milton Hoolulu Desha Beamer, 18 Oct 1903; citing Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii, reference p 36; FHL microfilm 1,031,747.[κ]
