Emerson, Nathaniel Bright, 1839-1915

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Nathaniel Bright Emerson, born in Waialua, Oahu, on July 1, 1839, was the son of Reverend John Smith Emerson and Ursula Sophia Newell Emerson, missionaries who came to Hawaii in 1832. After completing his education at Punahou, Emerson left Hawaii and moved to the United States to attend Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. In September 1862, he enlisted in the First Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. His regiment was involved in several major battles including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and several skirmishes of the Wilderness Campaign; he was wounded at both Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville and spent several months in army hospitals. In May 1864 he was mustered out of the army and returned to college. Emerson studied medicine at Harvard and at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. He graduated with his medical degree in 1869 and remained in New York City where he had his own medical practice.

In 1878, at the invitation of S. G. Wilder, Hawaiian Minister of Interior and president of the Hawaiian Board of Health, Emerson returned to Hawaii to work at Kalaupapa, a leper colony on the island of Molokai. In 1885, Nathaniel married Dr. Sarah Eliza Pierce, one of the first female doctors in Hawaii; they had one child, Arthur Webster Emerson, who was born in 1887. Besides having his own medical practice in Honolulu, Emerson also held several offices in Hawaii including vaccinating officer for Oahu, president of the Board of Health, and prison physician, a position he held until his death. Emerson was a member of several groups including the Hawaiian Historical Society, the Polynesian Society, the American Social Science Association, the American Neurologists' Association and he was also a trustee of Oahu College for seventeen years.

Emerson, having grown up in Hawaii, became fascinated by Hawaiian history, the language, the folklore and the culture and was one of the more notable Hawaiian ethnographers and historians of his time. Emerson wrote several monographs, articles and speeches regarding Hawaiian ethnology, history and culture. His research culminated in four published works: a translation of Davida Malo's Moolelo Hawaii (Hawaiian Antiquities); an address to the Hawaiian Historical Society entitled The Long Voyages of the Ancient Hawaiians (which was published by the Hawaiian Gazette); Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula, published by the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology; and Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth from Hawaii. Emerson died while on a sea voyage with his son in July 1915, at the age of 76.

From the description of Papers of Nathaniel Bright Emerson, 1766-1944 (bulk 1860-1915). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122570654

Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Alexander family. family
associatedWith Alexander, Samuel T. person
associatedWith Alexander, W. D. (William De Witt), 1833-1913. person
associatedWith American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. corporateBody
associatedWith Bishop, Sereno Edwards, 1827-1909. person
associatedWith Castle, William R. (William Richards), 1878-1963. person
associatedWith Coan, T. M. (Titus Munson), 1836-1921. person
associatedWith Cooke, Charles Montague, b. 1849. person
associatedWith Crown, Samuel. person
associatedWith Damien, Father, Saint, 1840-1889. person
associatedWith Dutton, Joseph, 1843-1931. person
associatedWith Emerson, Arthur Webster. person
associatedWith Emerson, John Smith, 1800-1867. person
associatedWith Emerson, J. S. (Joseph S.) person
correspondedWith Emerson, Nathaniel Bright, 1766-1944 person
correspondedWith Emerson, Nathaniel Bright, 1766-1944 person
associatedWith Emerson, Oliver Pomeroy, 1845- person
associatedWith Emerson, Sarah Eliza Pierce, 1855-1938. person
associatedWith Emerson, Ursula Sophia Newell, 1806-1888. person
associatedWith Farrington, Wallace Rider. person
associatedWith Fornander, Abraham, 1812-1887. person
associatedWith Gibson, Walter Murray. person
associatedWith Hawaiian Club (Boston, Mass.) corporateBody
associatedWith Hawaiian Mission Children's Society. corporateBody
associatedWith Hawaii. Board of Health. corporateBody
associatedWith Hodge, Frederick Webb, 1864-1956. person
associatedWith Holmes, William Henry, 1846-1933. person
associatedWith Ii, John Papa, 1800-1870. person
associatedWith Judd, A. F. (Albert Francis), 1874-1939. person
associatedWith Kamakau, Samuel Manaiakalani, 1815-1876. person
associatedWith Kekela, James Hunnewell, 1824-1904. person
associatedWith Lane, Lot. person
associatedWith Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii, 1838-1917. person
associatedWith Malo, Davida, 1795-1853. person
associatedWith Pinkham, L. E. (Lucius Eugene), 1850-1922. person
associatedWith Richards, William, 1793-1847. person
associatedWith Rood, Ogden N. (Ogden Nicholas), 1831-1902. person
associatedWith Rowell, William E. person
associatedWith Smith, S. Percy (Stephenson Percy), 1840-1922. person
associatedWith Smith, William O. (William Owen), b. 1848. person
associatedWith Soper, John H. person
associatedWith Stevens, John L. person
associatedWith Thurston, Lorrin A. (Lorrin Andrews), 1858-1931. person
associatedWith United States. Army. Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1st. corporateBody
associatedWith Wilcox, George Norton. person
associatedWith Wilcox, R. W. (Robert William), 1855-1903. person
associatedWith Wilder, Samuel Gardner. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Hawaii State Capitol (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Hawaiian Islands
Molokai (Hawaii)
Kalaupapa (Hawaii)
Kauai (Hawaii)
Maui (Hawaii)
Hilo (Hawaii)
Hawaii
Polynesia
United States
New York (N.Y.)
Oahu (Hawaii)
Subject
Antietam, Battle of, Md., 1862
Canoes and canoeing
Chancellorsville, Battle of, Chancellorsville, Va., 1863
Chinese
Ethnology
Folklore
Fredericksburg, Battle of, Fredericksburg, Va., 1862
Hawaiian language
Hawaiian literature
Hawaiian literature
Hawaiian mythology
Hawaiian poetry
Hawaiians
Hawaiians
Hula (Dance)
Japanese
Legends
Leprosy
Material culture
Mental illness
Missionaries
Pele (Hawaiian deity)
Physicians
Public health
Scholars
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1839-07-01

Death 1915-07-16

Birth 1839

Death 1915

Americans

Hawaiian,

English

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