Background
William Little Lee was born at Sandy Hill, Washington County, New York.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
William Little Lee
Edit ProfileEducation
He graduated at Norwich University in 1842. Later he studied at Harvard Law School.
Career
Upon graduation Lee began the practice of law in Troy, New York. Indications of tuberculosis determined him to seek a more favorable climate, and in February 1846 he sailed from Newburyport in the brig Henry to begin life anew in the Oregon country. After rounding Cape Horn, the Henry touched at Honolulu on October 12, 1846, after a tempestuous voyage, said to be the slowest on record, and was laid up for extensive repairs.
The government of Hawaii had just passed from absolute despotism to limited monarchy, the first constitution having been granted in 1840, and the machinery of administration was being laboriously set up. There were as yet few residents competent to fill public office. It was only two years since the first lawyer had arrived in the kingdom, to be immediately appointed attorney-general, and he was still the only representative of his profession. Lee's legal training brought him to the notice of the authorities, and he made so favorable an impression that before the Henry's repairs were completed he was invited to remain in Hawaii as head of the judicial system. An act reorganizing the courts was to be considered at the next session of the legislature, and pending its passage Lee was appointed as one of the judges for the island of Oahu.
In 1847 he became chief justice of the newly created superior court of law and equity, which for practical purposes was the highest court in the kingdom, although the old supreme court consisting of the king and certain chiefs continued a nominal existence until 1852. He was also appointed to the privy council, of which he at once became one of the most influential members. He took a leading part in the action of the council which resulted in the "Great Mahele" of 1848, whereby feudal tenures were abolished and individual ownership of land was established. On request of the legislature he drafted a penal code which was enacted in 1850 and is the basis of Hawaiian criminal laws to this day.
In 1851 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, a position not then forbidden to judges, and served as speaker. The new constitution adopted in 1852 was drafted by a commission of which he was the ruling spirit, and upon its adoption he was appointed chief justice of what was now the supreme court in name as well as fact. A great epidemic of smallpox swept the islands in 1853. Lee worked to exhaustion, assisting in the care of the sick, and his own health was never restored. That he might secure medical advice, he accepted appointment in 1855 as minister to the United States, but returned to Honolulu before his death.
Achievements
Connections
In 1849 Lee was married on shipboard in Honolulu harbor to Catherine E. Newton of Albany, New York, following a romantic courtship which had begun before he left Troy. After his death, she married Edward Livingston Youmans, editor of Popular Science Monthly.
