Friday, May 7, 2021

Mother's Day, 2021 - The Women in My Family

 On Sunday, May 9, 2021, Mother's Day will be celebrated.

I got to thinking about the women in my family, the mothers...and I wanted to acknowledge them this year.

Starting in the Chung-Hoon Family:

Mary Kuamo'o, my great grandmother.  She was born in 1800 and died in 1896.  She married Chung-Hoon, my great grandfather, who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1850 from China. She was the mother of my grandfather, William Chung-Hoon, Sr.

Alo K. Akina, my grandmother.  She was born in 1874 and died in 1935.  She married my grandfather, William Chung-Hoon, Sr.  She was mother to 3 daughters and 2 sons, one of them being my father.

Harriet Maiakaala, my great grandmother and mother of Alo K. Akina, my grandmother.  She was born in 1856 and died in 1893.  She married Goo Tuck Ching Akina who also arrived in the Hawaiian Islands from China.  She was mother to 6 children.

Hulihe'e Family:

Bernice Kealoha Hulihe'e Chung-Hoon, my mother.  She was born in 1914 and died in 2002.  She married my father, Ernest Ha'akua Chung-Hoon.  She was mother to 6 children, I am her 3rd child.

Kaliko Chun Tai Ah Tai, my great grandmother.  She was born in 1866 and died in 1923.  She was married to Poyga Kuapalulu Hulihe'e, my great grandfather.  She was mother to 4 children including my grandfather, David Hinai Hulihe'e.

Kalei Kauho'okahi Lolo, my 2nd great grandmother.  She was born in 1823 and died in 1900.  She was married to Kupapaulu Hulihe'e.  They were the parents of Poyga Kuapalulu Hulihe'e.  She was mother to 8 children.

Napia, my 3rd great grandmother.  She was the mother of Kalei Kauho'okahi Lolo.

Rubina Ake, my 4th great grandmother.  She died in 1899.  She was the mother of Napia.

Camara Family:

Evangeline Camara Hulihe'e aka Angeline Jacinth, my grandmother.  She was born in 1896 and died in 1990.  She was married to David Hinai Hulihe'e, my grandfather.  She was mother to 6 children, my mother being the oldest.

Maria Moniz, my great grandmother.  She was born in Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal and died in Kealia, Kaua'i, KOH.  She was married to August Jacinth Camara.  She was mother to 8 children.

Gertrude deJesus Sousa, my 2nd great grandmother.  She was born in 1852 and died in 1938.  She was married to Manuel Moniz of Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal.  They traveled to the Hawaiian Islands in the 1880's with two children.  Ten more children were born on the island of Kaua'i.

To complete the picture, I, Violet-Elizabeth Chung-Hoon Townsend, born 1942, am mother to Denise Noelani Bledsoe Lane, born 1969.  Denise's daughter is Rebekah-Elizabeth Noelani Lane Cross, born 1993.  Rebekah's daughter is Esther Hope Cross, born 2018.

A heartfelt Thank You to those mothers of my family who came before me.  Happy Mother's Day to my daughter and granddaughter...and someday my great granddaughter will follow.