William was the first child of John T. and Eliza C. (Godfrey) Freeman, who lived in Rockland, Maine, where John worked as a marine engineer & ship’s carpenter. They had five children, William Kellen Freeman, born in 1853, John Henry Freeman, born in 1858 and Anna B., born in 1863. Anna died at the age of 18 months. The 1880 census shows the family consisting of William K., born 1853, a sailor, living at home, Louise A., born 1863 and Carrie B., age 12, born 1868. Louise married Ernest Gray at Rockland on December 27, 1883.
The record for William Kellen Freeman shows he was born at Truro, Cape Cod, Mass. on December 29, 1853 and his mother’s name is shown as Eliza Godfrey. It is unknown whether the family was living in Truro at that time.
In 1865, the family lived on Atlantic Street in Rockland, Maine. Later, John and his wife lived at 3 Linden Street, Rockland. John died in 1897 and his widow lived on in Rockland until her death on June 24, 1917. Eliza was buried alongside her husband at Jameson’s Point in Rockland, now known as Seaview Cemetery. By 1877 John was a part time resident and probably an employee on Hurricane Island, just off the coast of Rockland, adjacent to Vinalhaven Island. At the turn of the century, just over 1,000 of the state's 3,500 granite workers lived in the "company town" on Hurricane Island. The island, its stores, houses and even its dance hall were all owned by the Hurricane Island Granite Company, run by retired Civil War General Davis Tillson. Tillson was a relentless taskmaster, and went so far as to fire any worker who got caught with alcohol in his possession. He ran such a "dry" island that workers used to row the nine miles to Rockland, the closest port town, for Saturday night "diversions."
Before the establishment of railroads in the northeast, the fastest and cheapest way to transport granite was by schooner, which explains why so many quarries are on islands. As railroads boomed and granite's popularity declined, the huge profits from island quarries dried up. When a barge loaded with six months' production of Hurricane granite sank in a 1914 storm, Tillson and his partners pulled out of the granite trade. The stone cutters and their families were cleared off the island nearly overnight, leaving many possessions behind as they scrambled for a ride to the mainland. The island was deserted for almost half a century.
William Kellen Freeman is shown in the Maine census of 1880 as living at home, in Rockland, employed as a sailor. By 1894, he was “Captain” William K. Freeman and he was living in Hawaii, a Territory at the time. His story is tantalizing.
The history of Hawaii describes some of his activities there. On board the Hawaiian steamer Iwalani, Captain William K. Freeman in command, an expedition arrived off Shark Bay on Necker Island on Sunday morning, May 27, 1894, at 11 a.m. and landed immediately. The landing party consisted of Captain King, Captain Freeman, Benjamin H. Norton and nine sailors. A flagpole was erected on Annexation Hill, the Hawaiian flag hoisted and Captain King read the annexation proclamation. In the course of their exploration of the island, the party found some stone images and noted the stone platforms with their rows of upright stones. Fragments exist today of six images which were collected during the four hours spent on the island. Copies of those photographs, taken at the time by B. H. Norton, engineer of the Iwalani, are now preserved in Bishop Museum. Iwalani was described as a 588-ton wooden hull screw steamer built by Dickie Brothers at San Francisco. She arrived at Honolulu on March 18, 1881 and continued in the inter-island trade past 1900.
From 1881 onward Iwalani was familiar on Inter-Island's Hamakua Coast route. Captain Thomas R. Foster was having a rival fleet of steamers built by Hall Brothers at Port Ludlow, Washington. His steamers were the James Makee (June, 1879), C. R. Bishop (1880) and Iwalani (March, 1881). On March 8, 1886, the steamer Iwalani took 77 Portuguese immigrants to Kauai.
In 1910, William Kellen Freeman was listed on the Honolulu, Hawaii census as a "steamship mariner" residing as a lodger at a boarding house on Hotel Street. The next person on the census is Jack Wagner, also a mariner identified as a steamship engineer.
On 6 May 1912, Captain Freeman married Emily Toomey. She was probably born in Hawaii in 1879 and was denoted on census records as of Caucasian-Hawaiian ancestry. Her father and mother were from England and Hawaii, respectively. She appears on the 1910 census of Hawaii in Honolulu as a lodger in the home of Julia Manini at 145 Kuyakini Road. Her landlady was a dressmaker but Emily is “unemployed.” She was 31 years old at the time of the marriage. Her father was William Dennis Toomey born in Connecticut in 1846. Other sources show he was born in New Jersey, England or Scotland. He is shown in the 1900 census of Hawaii. Toomey was living alone on Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. He was a planter and a landowner at Hana, Maui according to a Hawaii Directory of 1890. His father was from Connecticut, a veteran of the Civil War, who served in the 6th Connecticut Infantry from 1864 to 1865. Emily's mother was Mary Kahele, who was divorced from William at the time of her daughter's marriage.
There is no evidence that William and Emily Freeman had children, perhaps accounting for William's age at the time of their marriage in 1912.
The passenger list for a June 1920 crossing of the liner SS Matsonia from Hawaii to San Francisco includes the names of William and Emily Freeman of Honolulu. Emily is shown as age 40 and William as age 67. He is noted to have been born on “Cape Cod”. Emily died in 1923 in San Francisco.
(historical details courtesy of William M. Freeman, a great-grand nephew)
The record for William Kellen Freeman shows he was born at Truro, Cape Cod, Mass. on December 29, 1853 and his mother’s name is shown as Eliza Godfrey. It is unknown whether the family was living in Truro at that time.
In 1865, the family lived on Atlantic Street in Rockland, Maine. Later, John and his wife lived at 3 Linden Street, Rockland. John died in 1897 and his widow lived on in Rockland until her death on June 24, 1917. Eliza was buried alongside her husband at Jameson’s Point in Rockland, now known as Seaview Cemetery. By 1877 John was a part time resident and probably an employee on Hurricane Island, just off the coast of Rockland, adjacent to Vinalhaven Island. At the turn of the century, just over 1,000 of the state's 3,500 granite workers lived in the "company town" on Hurricane Island. The island, its stores, houses and even its dance hall were all owned by the Hurricane Island Granite Company, run by retired Civil War General Davis Tillson. Tillson was a relentless taskmaster, and went so far as to fire any worker who got caught with alcohol in his possession. He ran such a "dry" island that workers used to row the nine miles to Rockland, the closest port town, for Saturday night "diversions."
Before the establishment of railroads in the northeast, the fastest and cheapest way to transport granite was by schooner, which explains why so many quarries are on islands. As railroads boomed and granite's popularity declined, the huge profits from island quarries dried up. When a barge loaded with six months' production of Hurricane granite sank in a 1914 storm, Tillson and his partners pulled out of the granite trade. The stone cutters and their families were cleared off the island nearly overnight, leaving many possessions behind as they scrambled for a ride to the mainland. The island was deserted for almost half a century.
William Kellen Freeman is shown in the Maine census of 1880 as living at home, in Rockland, employed as a sailor. By 1894, he was “Captain” William K. Freeman and he was living in Hawaii, a Territory at the time. His story is tantalizing.
The history of Hawaii describes some of his activities there. On board the Hawaiian steamer Iwalani, Captain William K. Freeman in command, an expedition arrived off Shark Bay on Necker Island on Sunday morning, May 27, 1894, at 11 a.m. and landed immediately. The landing party consisted of Captain King, Captain Freeman, Benjamin H. Norton and nine sailors. A flagpole was erected on Annexation Hill, the Hawaiian flag hoisted and Captain King read the annexation proclamation. In the course of their exploration of the island, the party found some stone images and noted the stone platforms with their rows of upright stones. Fragments exist today of six images which were collected during the four hours spent on the island. Copies of those photographs, taken at the time by B. H. Norton, engineer of the Iwalani, are now preserved in Bishop Museum. Iwalani was described as a 588-ton wooden hull screw steamer built by Dickie Brothers at San Francisco. She arrived at Honolulu on March 18, 1881 and continued in the inter-island trade past 1900.
From 1881 onward Iwalani was familiar on Inter-Island's Hamakua Coast route. Captain Thomas R. Foster was having a rival fleet of steamers built by Hall Brothers at Port Ludlow, Washington. His steamers were the James Makee (June, 1879), C. R. Bishop (1880) and Iwalani (March, 1881). On March 8, 1886, the steamer Iwalani took 77 Portuguese immigrants to Kauai.
In 1910, William Kellen Freeman was listed on the Honolulu, Hawaii census as a "steamship mariner" residing as a lodger at a boarding house on Hotel Street. The next person on the census is Jack Wagner, also a mariner identified as a steamship engineer.
On 6 May 1912, Captain Freeman married Emily Toomey. She was probably born in Hawaii in 1879 and was denoted on census records as of Caucasian-Hawaiian ancestry. Her father and mother were from England and Hawaii, respectively. She appears on the 1910 census of Hawaii in Honolulu as a lodger in the home of Julia Manini at 145 Kuyakini Road. Her landlady was a dressmaker but Emily is “unemployed.” She was 31 years old at the time of the marriage. Her father was William Dennis Toomey born in Connecticut in 1846. Other sources show he was born in New Jersey, England or Scotland. He is shown in the 1900 census of Hawaii. Toomey was living alone on Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. He was a planter and a landowner at Hana, Maui according to a Hawaii Directory of 1890. His father was from Connecticut, a veteran of the Civil War, who served in the 6th Connecticut Infantry from 1864 to 1865. Emily's mother was Mary Kahele, who was divorced from William at the time of her daughter's marriage.
There is no evidence that William and Emily Freeman had children, perhaps accounting for William's age at the time of their marriage in 1912.
The passenger list for a June 1920 crossing of the liner SS Matsonia from Hawaii to San Francisco includes the names of William and Emily Freeman of Honolulu. Emily is shown as age 40 and William as age 67. He is noted to have been born on “Cape Cod”. Emily died in 1923 in San Francisco.
(historical details courtesy of William M. Freeman, a great-grand nephew)
William was the first child of John T. and Eliza C. (Godfrey) Freeman, who lived in Rockland, Maine, where John worked as a marine engineer & ship’s carpenter. They had five children, William Kellen Freeman, born in 1853, John Henry Freeman, born in 1858 and Anna B., born in 1863. Anna died at the age of 18 months. The 1880 census shows the family consisting of William K., born 1853, a sailor, living at home, Louise A., born 1863 and Carrie B., age 12, born 1868. Louise married Ernest Gray at Rockland on December 27, 1883.
The record for William Kellen Freeman shows he was born at Truro, Cape Cod, Mass. on December 29, 1853 and his mother’s name is shown as Eliza Godfrey. It is unknown whether the family was living in Truro at that time.
In 1865, the family lived on Atlantic Street in Rockland, Maine. Later, John and his wife lived at 3 Linden Street, Rockland. John died in 1897 and his widow lived on in Rockland until her death on June 24, 1917. Eliza was buried alongside her husband at Jameson’s Point in Rockland, now known as Seaview Cemetery. By 1877 John was a part time resident and probably an employee on Hurricane Island, just off the coast of Rockland, adjacent to Vinalhaven Island. At the turn of the century, just over 1,000 of the state's 3,500 granite workers lived in the "company town" on Hurricane Island. The island, its stores, houses and even its dance hall were all owned by the Hurricane Island Granite Company, run by retired Civil War General Davis Tillson. Tillson was a relentless taskmaster, and went so far as to fire any worker who got caught with alcohol in his possession. He ran such a "dry" island that workers used to row the nine miles to Rockland, the closest port town, for Saturday night "diversions."
Before the establishment of railroads in the northeast, the fastest and cheapest way to transport granite was by schooner, which explains why so many quarries are on islands. As railroads boomed and granite's popularity declined, the huge profits from island quarries dried up. When a barge loaded with six months' production of Hurricane granite sank in a 1914 storm, Tillson and his partners pulled out of the granite trade. The stone cutters and their families were cleared off the island nearly overnight, leaving many possessions behind as they scrambled for a ride to the mainland. The island was deserted for almost half a century.
William Kellen Freeman is shown in the Maine census of 1880 as living at home, in Rockland, employed as a sailor. By 1894, he was “Captain” William K. Freeman and he was living in Hawaii, a Territory at the time. His story is tantalizing.
The history of Hawaii describes some of his activities there. On board the Hawaiian steamer Iwalani, Captain William K. Freeman in command, an expedition arrived off Shark Bay on Necker Island on Sunday morning, May 27, 1894, at 11 a.m. and landed immediately. The landing party consisted of Captain King, Captain Freeman, Benjamin H. Norton and nine sailors. A flagpole was erected on Annexation Hill, the Hawaiian flag hoisted and Captain King read the annexation proclamation. In the course of their exploration of the island, the party found some stone images and noted the stone platforms with their rows of upright stones. Fragments exist today of six images which were collected during the four hours spent on the island. Copies of those photographs, taken at the time by B. H. Norton, engineer of the Iwalani, are now preserved in Bishop Museum. Iwalani was described as a 588-ton wooden hull screw steamer built by Dickie Brothers at San Francisco. She arrived at Honolulu on March 18, 1881 and continued in the inter-island trade past 1900.
From 1881 onward Iwalani was familiar on Inter-Island's Hamakua Coast route. Captain Thomas R. Foster was having a rival fleet of steamers built by Hall Brothers at Port Ludlow, Washington. His steamers were the James Makee (June, 1879), C. R. Bishop (1880) and Iwalani (March, 1881). On March 8, 1886, the steamer Iwalani took 77 Portuguese immigrants to Kauai.
In 1910, William Kellen Freeman was listed on the Honolulu, Hawaii census as a "steamship mariner" residing as a lodger at a boarding house on Hotel Street. The next person on the census is Jack Wagner, also a mariner identified as a steamship engineer.
On 6 May 1912, Captain Freeman married Emily Toomey. She was probably born in Hawaii in 1879 and was denoted on census records as of Caucasian-Hawaiian ancestry. Her father and mother were from England and Hawaii, respectively. She appears on the 1910 census of Hawaii in Honolulu as a lodger in the home of Julia Manini at 145 Kuyakini Road. Her landlady was a dressmaker but Emily is “unemployed.” She was 31 years old at the time of the marriage. Her father was William Dennis Toomey born in Connecticut in 1846. Other sources show he was born in New Jersey, England or Scotland. He is shown in the 1900 census of Hawaii. Toomey was living alone on Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. He was a planter and a landowner at Hana, Maui according to a Hawaii Directory of 1890. His father was from Connecticut, a veteran of the Civil War, who served in the 6th Connecticut Infantry from 1864 to 1865. Emily's mother was Mary Kahele, who was divorced from William at the time of her daughter's marriage.
There is no evidence that William and Emily Freeman had children, perhaps accounting for William's age at the time of their marriage in 1912.
The passenger list for a June 1920 crossing of the liner SS Matsonia from Hawaii to San Francisco includes the names of William and Emily Freeman of Honolulu. Emily is shown as age 40 and William as age 67. He is noted to have been born on “Cape Cod”. Emily died in 1923 in San Francisco.
(historical details courtesy of William M. Freeman, a great-grand nephew)
The record for William Kellen Freeman shows he was born at Truro, Cape Cod, Mass. on December 29, 1853 and his mother’s name is shown as Eliza Godfrey. It is unknown whether the family was living in Truro at that time.
In 1865, the family lived on Atlantic Street in Rockland, Maine. Later, John and his wife lived at 3 Linden Street, Rockland. John died in 1897 and his widow lived on in Rockland until her death on June 24, 1917. Eliza was buried alongside her husband at Jameson’s Point in Rockland, now known as Seaview Cemetery. By 1877 John was a part time resident and probably an employee on Hurricane Island, just off the coast of Rockland, adjacent to Vinalhaven Island. At the turn of the century, just over 1,000 of the state's 3,500 granite workers lived in the "company town" on Hurricane Island. The island, its stores, houses and even its dance hall were all owned by the Hurricane Island Granite Company, run by retired Civil War General Davis Tillson. Tillson was a relentless taskmaster, and went so far as to fire any worker who got caught with alcohol in his possession. He ran such a "dry" island that workers used to row the nine miles to Rockland, the closest port town, for Saturday night "diversions."
Before the establishment of railroads in the northeast, the fastest and cheapest way to transport granite was by schooner, which explains why so many quarries are on islands. As railroads boomed and granite's popularity declined, the huge profits from island quarries dried up. When a barge loaded with six months' production of Hurricane granite sank in a 1914 storm, Tillson and his partners pulled out of the granite trade. The stone cutters and their families were cleared off the island nearly overnight, leaving many possessions behind as they scrambled for a ride to the mainland. The island was deserted for almost half a century.
William Kellen Freeman is shown in the Maine census of 1880 as living at home, in Rockland, employed as a sailor. By 1894, he was “Captain” William K. Freeman and he was living in Hawaii, a Territory at the time. His story is tantalizing.
The history of Hawaii describes some of his activities there. On board the Hawaiian steamer Iwalani, Captain William K. Freeman in command, an expedition arrived off Shark Bay on Necker Island on Sunday morning, May 27, 1894, at 11 a.m. and landed immediately. The landing party consisted of Captain King, Captain Freeman, Benjamin H. Norton and nine sailors. A flagpole was erected on Annexation Hill, the Hawaiian flag hoisted and Captain King read the annexation proclamation. In the course of their exploration of the island, the party found some stone images and noted the stone platforms with their rows of upright stones. Fragments exist today of six images which were collected during the four hours spent on the island. Copies of those photographs, taken at the time by B. H. Norton, engineer of the Iwalani, are now preserved in Bishop Museum. Iwalani was described as a 588-ton wooden hull screw steamer built by Dickie Brothers at San Francisco. She arrived at Honolulu on March 18, 1881 and continued in the inter-island trade past 1900.
From 1881 onward Iwalani was familiar on Inter-Island's Hamakua Coast route. Captain Thomas R. Foster was having a rival fleet of steamers built by Hall Brothers at Port Ludlow, Washington. His steamers were the James Makee (June, 1879), C. R. Bishop (1880) and Iwalani (March, 1881). On March 8, 1886, the steamer Iwalani took 77 Portuguese immigrants to Kauai.
In 1910, William Kellen Freeman was listed on the Honolulu, Hawaii census as a "steamship mariner" residing as a lodger at a boarding house on Hotel Street. The next person on the census is Jack Wagner, also a mariner identified as a steamship engineer.
On 6 May 1912, Captain Freeman married Emily Toomey. She was probably born in Hawaii in 1879 and was denoted on census records as of Caucasian-Hawaiian ancestry. Her father and mother were from England and Hawaii, respectively. She appears on the 1910 census of Hawaii in Honolulu as a lodger in the home of Julia Manini at 145 Kuyakini Road. Her landlady was a dressmaker but Emily is “unemployed.” She was 31 years old at the time of the marriage. Her father was William Dennis Toomey born in Connecticut in 1846. Other sources show he was born in New Jersey, England or Scotland. He is shown in the 1900 census of Hawaii. Toomey was living alone on Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. He was a planter and a landowner at Hana, Maui according to a Hawaii Directory of 1890. His father was from Connecticut, a veteran of the Civil War, who served in the 6th Connecticut Infantry from 1864 to 1865. Emily's mother was Mary Kahele, who was divorced from William at the time of her daughter's marriage.
There is no evidence that William and Emily Freeman had children, perhaps accounting for William's age at the time of their marriage in 1912.
The passenger list for a June 1920 crossing of the liner SS Matsonia from Hawaii to San Francisco includes the names of William and Emily Freeman of Honolulu. Emily is shown as age 40 and William as age 67. He is noted to have been born on “Cape Cod”. Emily died in 1923 in San Francisco.
(historical details courtesy of William M. Freeman, a great-grand nephew)
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