William Drake Westervelt (December 26, 1849 – March 9, 1939) was the author of several books and magazines on Hawaiian history and legends. He drew upon the collections of David Malo, Samuel Kamakau, and Abraham Fornander to popularize Hawaiian folklore in his deals 'Legends of Maui' (1910), 'Legends of Old Honolulu' (1915), 'Legends of Gods and Ghost-Gods' (1915), 'Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes' (1916) and 'Hawaiian Historical Legends' (1923).
He was born in Oberlin, Ohio, and graduated from Oberlin College in 1871 with a B.A. degree, and from Oberlin Theological Seminary in 1874 with a B.D. degree. Pastor of churches in Cleveland, Ohio and Colorado, he settled in Hawaii in 1899, marrying a missionary descendant, Caroline Dickinson Castle (1859–1941). After the Hawaiian Historical Society was re-formed, he served as the Corresponding Secretary starting in 1908. He would later serve as treasurer and president.
Westervelt's interest in Hawaiian mythology was an avocation that led to numerous magazine and newspaper articles, many reprinted in his several collections. He is noted as one of Hawaii's foremost authorities on island folklore in the English language. His anthologies of Hawaiian myths, legends and folk tales are considered among the best of the English versions of a Hawaiian view of the sacred and profane.
Oberlin College bestowed an honorary Doctor of Divinity on Westervelt in 1926. He died at his Waikiki home in March 1939.
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Excerpt from the Forty-Eighth Annual REPORT of the Hawaiian Historical Society FOR THE YEAR 1939, Honolulu, Hawaii. Published June, 1940:
"We especially regret the passing of Dr. William D. Westervelt and Mr. Bruce Cartwright. Both of these were life members deeply interested in the objects and activities of the Society. Each had served as President and as Treasurer; the former also as Corresponding Secretary; and both on various committees. Both were valued contributors of historical papers and of additions to the library. Dr. Westervelt was long the representative of the Society on the Board of Trustees of the Library of Hawaii, and was succeeded in this capacity by Mr. Cartwright, who in turn is now succeeded by Mr. C. Bryant Cooper. Besides his wide and varied influential position in the community, Dr. Westervelt was the author of many books, including five volumes of Hawaiian legends of various classifications, and had before his death practically completed a volume on Kamehameha the Great. He also translated several books into the Hawaiian language.
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Full Title: 'The Vision Of Angels (Ben Israel's Story) And Other Poems".
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Star-Bulletin, LTD, Honolulu, 1937 (copyright).
7" X 5".
1st Edition, 1st Printing.
Signed by the author across the fff, "With the compliments of..."
Illustrated w/ tipped-in photograph of the author, dtd 1936.
Very Good(+) copy.
Dark blue embossed cloth, gold end-papers, gilt letters. Minor spine bumping/rubs, head & foot, corners - coloring of binding unaffected. Previous owner's neat book-plate is tipped-in just below the author's signature. Crisp white pages w/o markings. All gilt is bright. Securely bound with the original old-style four-cord binding still intact. Small book of poetry by author of 'Hawaiian Historical Legends', 'Legends Of Maui, A Demi-god of Polynesia', 'Legends Of Old Honolulu', 'Hawaiian Gods And Ghosts', and several other works. 24 pages (including short article "A Corruption Of The Hawaiian Language").
Product code: The Vision Of Angels, by W. D. Westervelt. Illustrated. Signed by the Author. deals 1st Edition.