Translations:Maximilian Eckart (Da VII 12)/18/en
From Honolulu to Maui
Towards the end of the 1880s, the influence of the United States on Hawaii continued to grow, while that of the Hawaiian King was waning. The American sugar industry based in Hawaii gained influence and lobbied for annexation which led to civil war-like conflicts, a coup d’état and, eventually in 1898, the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. Unrest between royalists and followers of the annexation had already started at an early stage. Presumably, this is one of the reasons why the royalist Maximilian Eckart suddenly had to leave Honolulu in 1889. The family relocated to the island Maui. For a short time, Maximilian returned to work as a butcher, until he was able to open another jewelry store in the town Wailuku. For a while, he ran the business together with a French jeweler called Dorian who soon sold his part of the business as well as his residence to Maximilian.
The family stayed on Maui and rebuilt their existence during the following years. When Maximilian’s first daughters finished school, they were not allowed to train for a profession, but had to help their mother full time in the household instead. By 1908, the eldest four children were married and lived on their own, but still kept in close contact with their parents Maximilian and Maria. On March 8, 1908, their daughter Minette died of pneumonia at the age of only 22 years. On December 14 of that same year, Maria Louisa Eckart, née Campbell, died at the age of 46 years. Maximilian, who was already 66 years old at that time, closed his jewelry store and set up a small store in his house. With the help of his eldest daughters, he now mainly took care of the household and his five children who were still underage. The youngest daughter, Yette, had turned six years old in 1908. The number of people living in Maximilian’s house decreased over the years. In 1917, he sent Yette to an all-girls boarding school in Honolulu. He was then on his own and able to enjoy his retirement on his terrace, albeit for only a short time. Maximilian Eckart died on April 18, 1918, at the age of 76 years. He was buried next to his wife Maria and his daughter Minette at Iao Cemetery in Wailuku.[1][2]