A Correction to the Page on Lanihau and Haumalu

[Starr]

Hi, This is my first time on the website. I have a correction to recommend for you. I was looking at the page which discussed Lanihau and Haumalu, both homes having been used on location for Magnum PI shows. In any event, you say that Atherton Richards, who sold Lanihau to Wallace Alexander, was the grandson of William Richards. That is incorrect. Atherton Richards was my great Uncle, my grandmother's brother. His great grandparents were Amos Starr and Juliette Montague Cooke, who were missionaries. His grandfather was Joseph Ballard Atherton, and his parents were Theodore and Mary Atherton Richards. Theodore Richards was the first Principal of the Kamehameha Boys School. (We are not related to William Richards.)

Many mahalos if you could get this corrected! Aloha, Starr

[Brian]

Thank's for the correction Starr, very interesting info. Welcome to the Forum.

_________________
Sneakers Higgins!!

[Starr]

Thanks for getting Uncle Atherton's ancestry corrected! Aloha, Starr

[J.J. Walters]

Hello, Starr. Thanks for the correction.

Forum member rubber chicken created that page. I'll let him know about it.

Thanks

_________________
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

[rubber chicken]

Hi Starr, I'm glad to be able to speak with a relative of Atherton Richards. Please excuse me for not responding more quickly.

Thank you very much for the family history. I'll be glad to add it to the page in some way, either by quoting what you've written or by linking to this forum thread.

However, is it possible that in addition to Atherton Richards' grandfather on his mother's side being Joseph Ballard Atherton, as you state, that his grandfather on his father's side was the "pioneer missionary" William Richards?

Initially I couldn't remember why I stated that William Richards was Atherton Richards' grandfather, but while creating the page I tried to be very careful about accurately representing what I did and did not know, so I thought I must have been convinced well enough at the time that the statement was true. On the Lanihau & Haumalu page the name Atherton Richards is linked to this article written by The Waimea Gazette, (concerning the history of the Kahua Ranch on the Big Island). In the seventh paragraph on that page it says "Atherton Richards, grandson of pioneer missionary William Richards ...". I can only assume that the article is correct, and so this is why I stated that (one of) Atherton's grandfather(s) was William Richards.

Combined with the information you've given, it would seem to make sense that a partial family tree of Atherton Richards would be like this:

---Mother's side:
grandfather Joseph Ballard Atherton ---> mother Mary Atherton (Richards) ---> Atherton Richards (whose first name apparently comes from his mother's maiden name)

---Father's side:
grandfather William Richards ---> father Theodore Richards ---> Atherton Richards

What are your thoughts on this?

[Starr]

Hi rubber chicken,

Atherton Richards grandfather on his father's side was Joseph H. Richards. Theodore Richards (Atherton's father) grew up in upstate New York. While he was at a summer camp in the Adirondacks, he met Samuel Chapman Armstrong (another missionary descendant) who encouraged him to go out to Hawaii and apply for a job at Kamehameha Schools. Theodore did so, founded the glee club at Kamehameha Schools , and became the first Principal of the Boys School,when it was at the Bishop Museum.

In any event, we are not related to William Richards, and the Waimea Gazette was not correct.

Mahalo, Starr