Photograph of Widemann and family, 1886 (left), and the Widemanns' Residence, Honolulu, 1900 (right).
Mary Kaumana Kealaimoku Widemann and her husband, H.A. Widemann. Kaumana is holding their daughter, Emma Kalanikaulelei'aiwinui a mamao Widemann & H.A. is holding their daughter, Martha Pilahiu’ilani Hakaukalalapuakea Kiha a Ki’ilani Widemann Berger.
Hermann Adam Widemann (December 24, 1822 – February 7, 1899) was a businessman from Germany who was a judge and member of the cabinet of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
After selling Grove Farm to its manager George Norton Wilcox[6] in 1865, he moved to Honolulu to work in the capital. On July 10, 1869, he was appointed to the kingdom's supreme court, despite never having any formal law school training.
On February 18, 1874, he was appointed to the cabinet as minister of the interior until May 28, 1874, as well as on the Privy Council, the board of education, commissioner of crown lands, president of the bureau of immigration, and board of health.[5]
In 1878 he started the Waianae Sugar Company in the Waiʻanae district of Oʻahu island.[7]
In 1879, H.A. Widemann (President), S. G. Wilder, (Vice President), and C.O. Berger founded the first telephone company in the Hawaiian Islands. It was incorporated under the name of "The Hawaiian Bell Telephone Co." and on December 30, 1880, began providing service to the City of Honolulu. It Started with thirty instruments in operation and would quickly grow.
Widemann and Berger would leave The Hawaiian Bell Telephone Co. to found The Mutual Telephone Co. in May 1883.[8] A charter was granted in August of the same year. A new plant was built and in March 1885 operation began with 100 subscribers. The installation of The Mutual Telephone Co.'s plant made Honolulu one of the first, if not the first, city in the world to have a dual telephone system.
The fight was on for ten years, until August 2, 1894, when the consolidation of the two companies was effected by The Mutual Telephone Co. acquiring the control of The Hawaiian Bell Telephone Co.[9]
On February 25, 1891, he was appointed as Minister of Finance to Queen Liliʻuokalani, but had to resign two weeks later on March 10. He was temporarily replaced by Samuel Parker, and then John Mott-Smith. After Mott-Smith was sent to Washington, D.C., to attempt to negotiate a trade treaty, Parker served again briefly until Widemann resumed his duties as minister of finance.
He also filled in briefly as Attorney General from July 27 to August 29, 1892.[5]
Widemann was interviewed by U.S. Commissioner James H. Blount in preparing his Blount Report on May 20, 1893.[10]
He was the first to experiment with the Guatemalan variety of coffea tree, which turned out to be well-adapted to higher elevations; it became the most popular variety through modern times.[11]
^Balch, J.A. (1912). Annual Report of the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce for the year ending August 16th, 1911 (1st ed.). Honolulu, The Hawaiian Gazette Co. Ltd. pp. 76, 77.