Kue: The Hui Aloha Aina Anti–Annexation Petitions 1897-1898
This petition was circulated throughout the Hawaiian Islands as a back lash to the over throw of the monarchy which led to the eventual annexation by the US. This was a process which began in 1893 and was formally completed in 1898. As far as the author knows, there is no given name index to this document so a visual scan was required. It was reported that there were in excess of 21,000 signatures, out of a population of less than 40,000. The following Lincoln signatures were found:
J G A Lincoln Age 32 N Kona Son of GW Lincoln
Geo Lincoln Age 57 N Kohala Son of Lorenzo Lincoln
Wm G Lincoln No age N Kohala Son of GW Lincoln
John N Lincoln Age 15 N Kohala Son of Ned “Neki” Lincoln
Ned Lincoln Age 39 N Kohala Sequential to the above signature-son of GW Lincoln
Mrs Lizzie Lincoln Age 39 N Kohala Wife of Ned “ Neki” Lincoln
Miss Hannah Lincoln Age 17 N Kohala Granddaughter of John Adams Lincoln
Mrs Kamako Lincoln Age 49 N Kohala Second wife of George John Lincoln
Mrs Lizzie Lincoln Age 22 N Kohala Duplicate–these last three names listed sequentially
Kawai W Lincoln Age 22 Honolulu Son of GW Lincoln
Ned Lincoln Age 18 Honolulu Son of Ned “Neki” Lincoln
Several comments are germane. It is highly likely that at least as many members of the Lincoln family signed the petition but are unidentifiable. Two reasons are prominent. Many people, men and women, signed with only their given name. Further, many women signed without using their given name (e.g. Mrs Kekuewa); therefore there was no way of knowing if this was Hannah Bell Lincoln or someone else. It can be safely assumed that not all Hawaiians had an opportunity to sign the petition. Also, many who were offered the chance, declined. It was also stated, that in many cases, the petition was misrepresented to induce signatures. L A Thurston, Hawaii's Interior Minister and a powerful pro annexationist, issued an extensive review/analysis of the petition's signatures and the following are some of his observations:
The petitions were separated by gender with roughly equal numbers for each.
A large number of signatures seemed to have been in the same handwriting.
Many full pages contained signatures of people with ages all listed by decades or even numbers.
In excess of 23% were minors, some less than 10 years of age.
Ages of youthful petitioners had been changed to a higher number.
While thorough, his report seems to be generally negative and disparaging.
Tables were included citing the specific pages that produced his reactions.
Updated 02/24/22