GERRIT PARMELE JUDD

His early education was received at Clinton (New York) Grammar School, supplemented by private tutoring in the classics by Rev. Edwin W. Dwight. He attended Medical College, Fairfield, New York, raduating in 1825.

On September 20, 1827, Dr. Judd married Laura Fish at Clinton, New York. They became the parents of nine children: Gerrit Parmele, Jr., Elizabeth Kinau, Helen Seymour, Charles Hastings and Laura Fish, twins, Albert Francis, Allan Wilkes, Sybil Augusta, and Juliet Isabel.

Some six weeks after their marriage Dr. and Mrs. Judd sailed from Boston as members of the Third Missionary Company. They left on November 3, 1827, aboard the "Parthian" and arrived at Honolulu March 30, 1828, after a voyage of 148 days.

As surgeon and physician Dr. Judd served the American Board of Missions for 14 years until May, 1842, when he resigned to enter the service of King Kamehameha III. He played a prominent part in many history-making events as adviser to the King from 1842 to 1853, and, successively, occupied virtually every important government post. He began his service in 1842 by becoming translator and recorder for the government, as well as president of the Treasury Board.

When Lord Paulet of England took possession of the government in 1843, Dr. Judd, fearing the seizure of state papers, removed them from the government house and concealed them in the royal mausoleum. There at night, by the light of a ship's lantern, he secretly carried on government business. During this period Dr. Judd was appointed one of the Joint Commission to replace the King, but soon resigned when the Commission was bent on abrogating salutary laws restraining licentiousness and crime. Admiral Richard Thomas restored sovereignty to King Kamehameha on July 31, 1843, and the following November Dr. Judd was invited by his Majesty to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He became Minister of the Interior on March 3, 1845, and Minister of Finance on April 15, 1846.

Dr. Judd was the first to realize that the white people who made Hawaii their home must become subjects and supporters of the Hawaiian king if the Hawaiian state was to be saved from absorption by foreign powers. On March 9, 1844, Dr. Judd and John Richard, the King's Attorney General, were the first to forswear allegiance to their native lands and become Hawaiian subjects. The doctor's entire life was devoted to the creation of a strong constitutional government for Hawaii. From 1849-1850 Dr. Judd was sent on a diplomatic mission to negotiate treaties with France, England, Belgium, and the United States guaranteeing the independence of the Hawaiian Islands. Accompanying him were the two princes, Alexander and Lot, who later became Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.

When he entered the service of the government, he found it encumbered with debts and paying exorbitant interest. By a system of prudent economy he paid off these debts and established for the Hawaiian government an enviable financial reputation. It was Dr. Judd who represented the King and handled all of the money for the building of Kawaiahao church, aiding also in the planning of the structure and the supervision of its construction. Again it was he who conceived the idea of independent ownership of the land by the Hawaiian people and persuaded the King to make the great division of the lands. From 1843 to 1853 he sat in the legislature as a noble, and in 1858 and 1859 he served as a representative.

Because his efforts were all devoted to aiding the Hawaiian government Dr. Judd incurred the enmity of that faction who desired a weak government as an end toward annexation by the United States. The great smallpox epidemic in 1853 when some 3,000 natives died gave the doctors a chance for revenge. Although Dr. Judd and the Rev. Richard Armstrong worked valiantly to stem the tide they were picked as scapegoats and were even accused of introducing the disease. Using this as a lever, the opposing faction was able to force Dr. Judd's retirement from government service in September, 1853.

During the rest of his life he practiced medicine and engaged in plantation and other business ventures, except for the period when he served in the House of Representatives.

One of the founders of Punahou School in 1841, Dr. Judd personally supervised the erection of the first building and served as one of the first trustees. In 1856 he was one of the signers of the charter of incorporation for the Hawaii Medical Association. On July 17, 1860 the cornerstone of the Queen's Hospital was laid. The doctor's influence was felt in fulfilling this great need, and he served as one of the first trustees. From 1863 until his death he served as a member of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association board. A master of the Hawaiian language, he translated books on hygiene, the life of Abraham Lincoln, and assisted in the translations of the Bible. In 1870 he founded a medical school for native boys.

Dr. Judd died on July 12, 1873, in Honolulu at the age 70.

Aptly descriptive of his lifetime work, the epitaph on his tomb in Nuuanu Cemetery reads, "Hawaii's Friend".

See also Mamiya Medical Heritage Center online exhibit: Anatomia by Gerrit Parmele Judd, 1838

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