George Charles Beckley

George Charles Beckley (March 5, 1787 – April 16, 1826) was an English captain, trader, and military adviser. He was one of the earliest foreigners to have a major impact in the Kingdom of Hawaii, where he eventually became a noble, and was one of the disputed creators of the Flag of Hawaii.

Life Beckley was born in England, possibly on March 5, 1787.

In 1801, Beckley arrived in Honolulu, in what was then known to him as the Sandwich Islands. He sold his ship to local chiefs and took up residence in the kingdom. During his early years in the islands, Beckley acted as a privateer; he waylaid ships on the high seas and sold many of them to King Kamehameha I, who was attempting to consolidate his control over the kingdom. The Englishman eventually rose to some prominence in the court of Kamehameha, and Beckley became one of the king’s foreign advisors. On the occasion of the birth of the Princess Nāhiʻenaʻena at Keauhou, Kona, Hawaii, in 1815, Beckley was made a high chief by Kamehameha I so that he might, with "impunity enter the sacred precincts of the grass house". Beckley "present[ed] the royal infant with a roll of China silk, after which he went outside and fired a salute of thirteen guns in her honor.".

American missionary Hiram Bingham I mentioned in his diary that an "Englishman Beckley" occupied a position of some importance on the islands. Russian explorer Otto von Kotzebue recorded his meeting with Beckley on the island of Oahu in his journal.

Creation of the Hawaiian flag

In 1801, the modern Union Jack replaced the former King James Union Jack. Inspired by the many British vessels that visited Hawaii, King Kamehameha commissioned a flag of his own. The exact designer of the flag is disputed between Captain Beckley and Alexander Adams, another of the British captains under Kamehameha's service.

Family and children In 1813, he married Elizabeth Ahia (1797–1854), a Hawaiian high chiefess. She was the daughter of Kahakuʻi-i-ka-waiea, high priest of the heiau of Puʻu o Maneʻo at Honokane, Kohala, and was granddaughter of Kahānui who with his twin sister Kahaʻopulani hid and reared Kamehameha during his infancy. When her father was charged with building Kamehameha's war canoes, Ahia served as the religious moa (mascot) for the blessing of the fleet. Known to be a haughty woman, she accompanied Beckley on his many trips to sea and dressed in both Spanish and Hawaiian fashions. She was required to "kolokolo" or crawl in the presence of her husband after Beckley's royal elevation in 1815. Their hapa-haole (part-Hawaiian) descendants were regarded as members of the aliʻi (noble) class during the Hawaiian monarchy. Beckley recorded the births of their six children in his family Episcopal prayer book:

William Charles Malulani Beckley (1814–1871), who was brought up alongside Kauikeaouli, the future Kamehameha III. His first wife was High Chiefess Ahuenaikamakahonu-i-kaiakekua Beckley, also known as Kamakahonu Wahine, a relative of Naihe and High Chiefess Kapiʻolani. After her death, he married Kahinu, daughter of Hoʻolulu. Their children included Frederick William Kahapula Beckley Sr., Maria Kahaʻawelani Beckley, and George Charles Moʻoheau Beckley. His third wife was Mary Ann Kameʻehiwa Tressilyan Beckley, considered "The Rose of the Pacific". Maria Kaiponui Kaipoliilii Beckley (1817–1887), also known as Maria Beckley Kamakahonu, who married High Chief Kamakahonu, chief of Kualoa, Oahu. They had a son, George Kekapalahaole II. Kamakahonu traveled to California during the California Gold Rush and died there, leaving Maria a widow. On her deathbed, Maria married Edmund (or Henry) Kistler, who reportedly induced her to transfer her property to him and, after her death, left for San Francisco with her possessions, including her father's diary and personal records. Nancy Luhana Beckley (1818–?), who married Ahia, a captain of King Kamehameha III's third guard. She died after the birth of their son Abraham Ahia. Mary Kekahimoku Kolimoalani Beckley (1820–1850), who married Abraham Henry Fayerweather. Their children included Julia Fayerweather Afong, William Malulani Fayerweather, Mary Jane Kekulani Fayerweather, and Hannah Fayerweather Bell. George Frederick Hoapili Beckley (1823–1868). Emmeline Maria Guadalupe Beckley (1825–1850), who was born at sea while the family was returning from Mexico to Hawaii. She was named in honor of Guadalupe Victoria by the Mexican president's daughter. She married American ship chandler George Ward Punchard (1816–1852) on July 23, 1842, and had descendants.