Amos Starr Cooke

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Amos Starr Cooke

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Danbury, Ct, United States
Death: March 20, 1871 (60)
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of Joseph Platt Cooke and Annis Cooke
Husband of Juliette Cooke
Father of Joseph Platt Cooke, IV; Martha Eliza Alexander; Juliette Montague Atherton; Mary Annis Cooke; Charles Montague Cooke, Sr. and 2 others

Occupation: educator, businessman
Managed by: Private User
Last Updated:

About Amos Starr Cooke

From the book Lost Kingdom by Julia Flynn Siler

Amos Starr Cooke- Amos and his wife, Juliette, were missionaries who ran the Chiefs' Children's School and taught Lili'u and other royal children there. After retiring in 1850, Amos went on to found Castle and Cooke, which became one of the "Big Five" sugar firms.

From Wikipedia: Amos Starr Cooke

Amos Starr Cooke (1810–1871) was an educator and businessman in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was patriarch of a family that influenced Hawaii during the 20th century.

Life

Amos Starr Cooke was born in Danbury, Connecticut, December 1, 1810. His father was Joseph Platt Cooke (1760–1841) and mother was Annis Starr (died 1813). His grandfather Joseph Platt Cooke (1730–1816) served in the American Revolutionary War. Juliette Montague was born in Sunderland, Massachusetts, March 10, 1812. Her father was Caleb Montague (1781–1825) and mother Martha Warner. They were married November 27, 1836. and in less than a month in the 8th company from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to Hawaii. They sailed from Boston December 14, 1836 on the Mary Frazier and reached Honolulu on April 9, 1837.

The Cookes were put in charge of the Chiefs' Children's School. King Kamehameha III selected as students those who would be eligible for the throne based on their family background. Instruction was in English, and all five of the next ruling monarchs were students at the school. A complex of buildings was built to house the Cookes and students in 1840 as it became a boarding school. In 1846 it was renamed the Royal School, and became funded by the government.

In 1849 Cooke worked for Samuel Northrop Castle who had been a ship-mate on the Mary Frazier as secular supply agent for the mission. As the American Board reduced funding for the Hawaii stations, he co-founded Castle & Cooke as a private company in June 1851. Edward Griffin Beckwith (1826–1909) became the next principal of the Royal School, as it opened to students of all races.

The business started as a general store, and continued as supply agents to the mission. Their store house is part of the Mission Houses Museum. Cooke made one trip to supply mission stations in the Marshall Islands and Gilbert Islands. In 1858 Cooke became a partner in the Haʻikū Sugar Company on the island of Maui. During the American Civil War in the 1860s, the company became an agent for selling sugar from the sugar plantations in Hawaii to the western United States. However, Cooke's health declined and he turned over his duties to Joseph Ballard Atherton who had started as a clerk in 1859.

Cooke died in Honolulu, March 20, 1871. The company went on to be one of the "Big Five" corporations that dominated the economy of the Territory of Hawaii. Their 7 children were:

1.Joseph Platt Cooke was born June 15, 1838, married Harriet Emily Wilder (1842–1904), sister of Samuel Garner Wilder, and died August 29, 1879. Their son also named Joseph Platt Cooke (1870–1918) married Maud Mansfield Baldwin (1872–1961), daughter of Henry Perrine Baldwin, co-founder of Alexander & Baldwin.

2.Martha Eliza Cooke was born November 21, 1840, married Samuel Thomas Alexander (1836–1904), the other co-founder of Alexander & Baldwin. She died July 6, 1918.

3.Juliette Montague Cooke was born August 21, 1843, married Joseph Ballard Atherton (1837–1903) in 1865 and died August 25, 1921. Their daughter Mary Atherton Richards (1869–1951) wrote several histories of the family.

4.Mary Annis Cooke was born November 6, 1846, married Charles Turner (1845–1894), and died in 1920.

5.Charles Montague Cooke was born May 6, 1849 married Anna Charlotte Rice (1853–1934) on April 30, 1874. He became president of the Bank of Hawaii and C. Brewer & Co. Their children included scientist Charles Montague Cooke, Jr. (1874–1948) and businessman Clarence Hyde Cooke (1876–1944). Son George Paul Cooke married the granddaughter of missionary Gerrit P. Judd, and their son was musician Francis Judd Cooke (1910–1995). He died in 1909.

6.Amos Francis "Frank" Cooke was born December 23, 1852, married Lilanet "Lulu" Lydgate (1856–1946) and died in 1931.

7.Clarence Warren Cooke was born April 4, 1856 married Clara Lydia Moseley (1857–1941) and died March 4, 1880.

His wife Juliette Cooke died on August 11, 1896. Most of the family is buried at the Mission Houses Cemetery near Kawaiahaʻo Church.

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Amos Starr Cooke's Timeline

1810
December 1, 1810
Danbury, Ct, United States
1838
June 15, 1838
1840
November 21, 1840
Honolulu, HI, United States
1843
August 21, 1843
Honolulu, HI, United States
1846
November 6, 1846
1849
May 6, 1849
Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States
1852
December 23, 1852
Honolulu, HI, United States
1856
April 4, 1856
Honolulu, HI, United States
1871
March 20, 1871
Age 60
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States