Capt. John Owen Dominis I, Father of HRH John Owen Dominis II Prince-Consort of Hawai'i

His baptism / birth record: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-899X-FWGW?i=50&wc=...

He was born on date 15 March 1792 on island Rab, Croatia, baptized on date 25 March 1792, and his born and baptized name is Girolamo Vincenzo Ignazio (on italian), Jerolim Vicenzo Ignacij (on croation), John (Gerolamo) Dominis.

Lost at sea on voyage on the "William Neilson" which departed Honolulu 15 August 1846 for China.

The following is NOT PROVEN. http://www.croatians.com/HAWAII-DOMINIS%20GOSPODNETICH.htm

See: http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10524/409/JL..., For an investigation by Dr Ante Kovacevic, which describes John Dominis in a Seaman's Protection Certificate issued 28 October 1825 in the District of Boston and Charleston. John is 28 years of age, 5 feet 9 and 3/4 inches tall, of dark complexion. It also states he is from Trieste, Italy, and acquired US citizenship by naturalisation. His initial application for naturalisation of 1 February 1823, states he was born in Trieste AD 1796, and his petition for citizenship of 19 May 1825 was signed.

DOMINIS-GOSPODNETICH, JOHN Sea Captain-Salmon Trade-First Peaches One of the most interesting Croatian sailors in America was John Dominis, who became master of an American ship plying between Boston and the Pacific and who brought to Massachusetts the first cargo of salmon from the Columbia River. Very little is known of his early life or first connections. According to Professor Samuel Eliot Morison, Dominis worked his way up from the forecastle of Josiah Marshall's ships to a master's commission. Captain Dominis' adventurous life had really begun after his settlement in Boston, Massachusetts. It is there that he started his maritime career on the brig "Owyhyee" (this is the old spelling of the word Hawaii), owned by the firm of Josiah Marshall. He married Mary Jones, a "'pretty girl" from Boston, on October 9, 1824, with the blessing of Josiah Marshall. According to the information supplied by an article published in Schenectady Gazette On August 27, 1832, the couple first moved to Schenectady, New York, Where John Owen Dominis was born on March 10, 1831 at 26 Front Street. His middle name Owen was for his maternal granddfather, Owen Jones, a distinguished Boston citizen. The fact that the bark on which the captain and his family arrived in Honolulu on April 23, 1837 was named "Jones" could further indicate his close ties with his father-in-law, who probably financed the long, costly journey to Hawaii from the Eastern United States. John Dominis decided to move his trade operations to Honolulu, already well-known to him from numerous previous visits. As a definite sign of his intentions to stay in the dynamic mid-Pacific kingdom, he came with his wife, Mary Jones, and their six-year old son, John Owen - the future husband of the tragic and colorful Queen Liliuokalani. During the period of 1842 to 1846 the captain built in the heart of Honolulu a beautiful, stately-looking mansion, later called Washington Place in honor of George Washington, which subsequently became the residence of Hawaii's governors. His wife resided in Honolulu with his son, John 0. Dominis, who later became governor of one of the islands and married Princess Lydia, who in 1891 became Queen Liliuokalani. One of the early records we have of Dominis is that he was second mate and sail mate on the "Paragon" which sailed from Boston to Honolulu in 1823. On January 21, 1827, Dominis was again at Honolulu, as captain of the brig "Owhyhee" and ready to sail for the Northwest Coast by way of Alaska where he was to collect all the skins he could find. Those skins Dominis later sold in China where he bought goods for the Boston market. On February 10, 1827, Dominis was at Hanegas Harbor, not very far from the present Juneau, and on June 4, 1827, he entered the mouth of the Columbia River. Sixteen days later he was at San Francisco and in November at the port of Canton, China. On May 12, 1828, he was back at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. In July, 1828, Dominis was off again for the Northwest Coast where he arrived seven months later and where he spent about a year, with the exception of a brief visit to the Straits of Juan de Fuca for the purpose of obtaining 300 beavers. It was in the spring of 1830 that Dominis hit upon an idea which was to bring fortunes to Massachusetts merchants. Why not cure fresh Columbia salmon, after the Boston style, and sell it in the New England market? Dominis asked himself. The fish cost practically nothing, transportation was no additional expense, and the experiment was worth trying. And try he did. After a side trip to Honolulu to visit his wife and chiland after trading in other Pacific islands, Captain Dominis returned to Boston with a cargo of sixty-three barrels of Columbia River salmon on April 15,1831. The experiment at first did not seem successful, for the United States Government taxed it as a foreign importation, the fish was not of the best quality and the sale at retail was not easy to work out. Yet, as Prof. Morison points out, "that very autumn the brig Sultana left Boston for the Columbia with 1000 empty salmon barrels and in 1834 Nathaniel J. Wyeth made salmon fishing one of the principal objects of his Oregon expedition. "We may then conclude," adds Prof. Morison, "that the Owhyhee's cargo was not an isolated and insignificant venture, but the beginning of a trade in salted salmon between the Columbia River and the Eastern United States; and we may safely name Captain John Dominis the pioneer in a business that under changing methods and means of transportation has grown steady in volume and in value." Dominis we learn from Bancroft, was the first man to plant peach trees in Oregon which he brought from the Island of Juan Fernandez. From California he brought to the Northwest a fine lot of sheep for breeding purposes. Dominis in later years was master of other ships, like the "Joseph Peabody" which traded in Alaska in 1836 and the "Bolivar Liberator" which in 1834 was engaged in hunting sea-otters along the coast of southern Oregon and Northern California. In 1835, Bancroft tells us, Dominis "placing at defiance both English and Russians opened up the trade along the coast, exchanging rum for furs." Captain Dominis thus was one of the pioneers who by drawing other American traders and settlers to the Northwest coast helped to create the "Oregon Question." Captain Dominis had left Honolulu on August 15, 1846, aboard the brig "William Neilson" for China to assist the new United States Commissioner in Honolulu, George Brown, to establish closer relations between the United States and China; both men perished in the sea withour any trace. Captain Dominis unexpected death provoked some speculation about his allegedly violent death; and Queen Liliuokalani, many decades after his death, maintained that he had been strangled in his bed and thrown overboard."

NOTES The Dominis-Gospodnetich Clan moved to Venice from Pucisce, island of Brac, Croatia at the fall of Venice in 1797. Dominis is the clan name of Gospodnetich. Church birth records on Brac of Dominis confirm this.

PRINCE CONSORT HAVAJA, article by Vinko Ribarić, from SUŠAČKA REVIJA broj 65 - SEE and Read a full article about all members of family, writen on croation.

JOHN (GEROLAMO) DOMINIS (1792. – 1846.)

Note: He is not was born in Trieste, he was born on island Rab in Croatia

Kapetan John Gerolamo Dominis, vojni bjegunac, kasnije bogat poslovni čovjek, nestao na Pacifiku

Zahvaljujući posjedovanju genealoškog stabla obitelji De Dominis s Raba, kao i mnogih pratećih povijesnih isprava, podataka te usmenih izjava nekih još živih, pa makar i daljnjih, potomaka te obitelji, bilo je moguće sa sigurnošću odrediti relevantne podatke porijekla kapetana John (Gerolama) Dominisa, oca Johna Owena. Prema tom autentičnom genealoškom stablu obitelji De Dominis s Raba kapetan John (Gerolamo) Dominis rođen je 15. ožujka 1792. u Rabu, kao Gerolamo De Dominis, od oca Vincenza De Dominis, rođenog 14. studenog 1769. u Rabu i majke Galzigna Agnese Dominis, rođene 30. lipnja 1771. također u Rabu.

Kapetan John (Gerolamo) De Dominis prvorođeno je dijete od desetero djece iz tog braka.

Kao grofovski sin odlazi u mornaricu Austrijske Monarhije,gdje služi kao pomorski oficir. Kao sposoban mladi oficir, širih pogleda na svijet, a limitiran strogom vojničkom subordinacijom, bježi iz mornarice te se u Trstu ukrcava na jedrenjak koji ga odvozi u Ameriku, gdje se godine 1819. iskrcava na američko tlo. I otada, tj. od momenta njegova iskrcavanja na američko tlo,počinje problem dokazivanja njegovog porijekla. Zašto? Zato što je bio vojni bjegunac. Kao mornarički oficir on vrlo dobro znade koje konzekvence slijede ako ga uhvate njegovi potencijalni progonitelji. Uvjeren da će biti potrage za njime, poduzima sve mjere predostrožnosti da zametne tragove za sobom. Stoga se ne registrira se pri ulasku u Ameriku. U tome mu je pomogla i činjenica da su se službene registracije počele provoditi tek od 1820. godine. Druga mjera opreza – odmah po stupanju na američko tlo ukrcava se na jedrenjak kako bi bio što dalje od mogućih progonitelja, što neuhvatljiviji. Iako pomorski oficir, on se na brzinu ukrcava kao običan mornar, deck boy, samo da bude što sigurniji od progonitelja. Tumarajući po oceanima i raznim morima svijeta, već za nekoliko godina postaje kapetanom - zapovjednikom jedrenjaka, budući da je poznavao navigaciju, brod i more.

Ploveći Tihim oceanom često je jedrenjakom svraćao na Havaje, radi potrebnih popravaka jedrenjaka kao i radi popune zaliha vode i živežnih namirnica.

Ukrcavši se na jedrenjak mijenja ime Gerolamo u ime John, a ne u Gerolamo, američku inačicu tog imena - Jeremy. Dokazuje se kao sposoban kapetan jedrenjaka i kao sposoban trgovac. Dobro zarađuje za vlasnike jedrenjaka kao i za sebe. Bogati se snažno i kontinuirano. Nakon četiri godine tako uspješnog poslovanja i bogaćenja, ženi se u Bostonu (USA) 9. listopada 1824. s Mary Jones. No, za ženidbu u Americi potrebni su mu dokumenti koje nije posjedovao, a morao ih je dati Specijalnom kotarskom sudu u Bostonu. Na tom sudu 1. veljače 1823. godine daje netočne podatke o sebi, opet zbog zavaravanja mogućih progonitelja.

Na tom sudu izjavljuje sljedeće:

• Da je rođen 1796. godine - netočno!
• da je rođen u Trstu - netočno!
• da je njegovo ime John - netočno!
• da mu je tada 27 godina - netočno!
• da je došao u Boston (USA) 1819. godine - točno!
• da je u Boston došao iz Trsta - točno!
• da želi postati građaninom USA
• da se odriče vjernosti Franju II. - austrijskom caru.

Preciznim istraživanjima u Trstu, kroz crkvene knjige,knjige rođenih, knjige umrlih, knjige ženidbi, knjige patricija Trsta i grofova Trsta, kroz knjige telefonskih imenika Trsta te izjave specijalnih povjesničara Trsta, ustanovljeno je da da u Trstu nema niti jednog imena - prezimena Dominis! Jednako tako ustanovilo se da niti u cjeloj Italiji nema ni jednog prezimena Dominis do tog vremena, tj. do prve polovine 19. stoljeća. Danas ima nekoliko obitelji Dominis u Italiji, koje su potomci Dominisa s Raba i Gospodnetića Dominisa iz Dalmacije. Riječ je o svega četiri obitelji!

Kapetan John (Gerolamo) Dominis oženio se 1824. godine u Bostonu, uz blagoslov svog poslodavca - vlasnika jedrenjaka na kojima je plovio kao zapovjednik jedrenjaka. Nedugo iza ženidbe u Bostonu,odakle mu je supruga Mary Jones, koja potječe iz bogate i veoma ugledne bostonske obitelji, John (Gerolamo) seli u mjestance Shoenectady u državi New York. Iz braka kapetana Johna i Mary Jones rođeno je troje djece.Najprije dvije djevojčice,i to: Mary Elisabeth (1825. - 1838.) i Frances Ann (1829. – 1842.)

Obje djevojčice umrle su u trinaestim godinama života i pokopane su na mjesnom groblju Vale u Shoenectady, što se može vidjeti na nadgrobnim pločama na tom groblju.

Treće njihovo dijete, John Owen, rođen je 1832. godine u Shyoenectadyju, New York. Poradi gubitka dviju djevojčica, zbog ekonomskih razloga, a prema nekim autorima i zbog političkih razloga/kao straha pred progoniteljima, kapetan John (Gerolamo) sa svojom obitelji seli na Havaje 1837. godine. Tada je malom John Owenu tek pet godina. Nastanjuju se za stalno u Honoluluu. Tih godina, trgujući, kapetan John (Gerolamo) postaje vlasnikom svog jedrenjaka ,ali radi i kao predstavnik drugih pomorskih kompanija u Honolulu kao i lokalnoj Administraciji Honolulua. Inteligentan i sposoban, patentirao je svoj izum pod nazivom: 0 ODREĐIVANJU TONAŽE JEDRENJAKA. Diploma tog patenta nalazi se u Povijesnom Arhivu u Honoluluu. Kapetan John (Gerolamo) je također otkrio novo otočje u Pacifiku, koje je nazvao MARSHALLSKI OTOCI prema prezimenu svog dobrotvora Joshija Marshalla, koji ga je odmah ukrcao na svoj jedrenjak čim je stupio na tlo Amerike.

Kapetan John (Gerolamo) Dominis, uspješan i bogat poslovan čovjek, omogućava svom sinu Johnu Owenu najbolje školovanje. Godine 1842. započinje graditi svoju prelijepu palaču, na jednoj od najljepših lokacija u Honoluluu. Palača je građena u kolonijalno - mediteranskom stilu.U tu divnu palaču se sa svojom obitelji uselio 1846. godine. Samo nekoliko mjeseci po useljenju nestao je na Pacifiku, zajedno s brodom na kojem je bio putnik, a ne kapetan – zapovjednik. Nikada se nije saznalo kako je taj brod stradao zajedno s ljudima na njemu.

U cijeloj ovoj priči oko Gerolama De Dominisa, tj. kapetana Johna (Gerolama) Dominisa, provijava nešto interesantno,tipično za vojnog bjegunca.To je zanimljiva činjenica da on od trenutka bijega iz austrijske mornarice 1819. godine, pa sve do svog nestanka na pacifiku 1846. godine, nikome i nikada nije otkrio svoj pravi identitet. Nikome nije govorio tko je on i kojeg je porijekla. Samo je to otkrio svojoj supruzi i sinu Johnu, ali dok je sin John bio još mali. Toliko se plašio svojih progonitelja, da se nije javljao ni svojoj rodbini na Rabu. Iako su brodovi austrijske mornarice plovili i do Havaja, do Honolulua.