Alexander Young

Who was Alexander Young?

Alexander Young was born December 14, 1833 in Blackburn, Scotland. He started as a mechanical engineering and machinist apprentice for Alexander Chaplin & Co., in Glasgow, and then Anderson & Co. in London. He married Ruth Pearce in early 1860 and traveled to Vancouver Island on August 26, 1860 to construct a sawmill. After a few years the two traveled to Hawaii in February 1865. They had a total of nine surviving children.

Young had operated a small foundry and machine shop in Hilo, Hawaii with William Lidgate, and business expanded with the growth of sugarcane plantations. He moved to Honolulu around 1869 and bought out Thomas Hughes' share of the Honolulu Iron Works. In 1875 Theophilus Harris Davies refinanced the Honolulu Iron Works and hired Young as manager. The two then organized the Waiakea Mill Company. Around 1900 he formed the von Hamm-Young Company. Principals were Young’s son Archibald Alfred Young and son-in-law Conrad Carl von Hamm. An early project was the Alexander Young Hotel.

In 1887 he became a citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and from 1887-1892 served in the House of Nobles.