Richard Henderson Trent

#1381, b. 14 September 1867, d. circa 10 April 1939
Father*William Clough Trent b. 15 Sep 1824, d. 22 Jul 1886
Mother*Mary Virgin Bonner b. 26 Dec 1830, d. 5 Feb 1888
     Richard Henderson Trent was born on 14 September 1867 Somerville, Tennessee.1 He was the son of William Clough Trent and Mary Virgin Bonner. Richard Henderson Trent died circa 10 April 1939, in Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, was cremated and buried Lot 18, Section 11, Oahu Cemetery, Honolulu Hawaii.

Richard H. Trent
Dies in Hospital

Kamaaina Held Many Executive Positions;
Services Will Be Held Wednesday Afternoon

     Richard H. Trent, one of Honolulu's best known residents and business executives, died in the Queens' hospital at 10:15 this morning after a brief illness.
     Active in the business life of Honolulu and the remainer of the territory, Mr. Trent was president of the First Federal Savings & Loan association of Hawaii and was 71 years old.
     Mr. Trent is survived by two sons and two daughters, Theodore F. Trent, treasurer of the First Federal of Hawaii; Robert R. Trent of Honoulu; Mrs. Karl Hoepfner of Wilmington, Del., and Miss Mary Belle Trent, a student at Stanford.
     He also is survived by two sisters, Mrs. John T. Gray and Mrs. Lucy T. Shelton, both of Honolulu.
     Services will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the First Methodist Episcopal church with the Rev. Clyde E. Boyer officiating. Flowers should be sent to the church. The ashes will be interred in the Nuuanu cemetery.
Arrangements are being handled by Borthwick's mortuary.
Mr. Trent was born September 14, 1867, in Somerville, Fayette county, Tenn. He was the son of William Cough and Mary Virgin (Bonner) Trent.
     He was educated in the public schools of his native state.

Was Oldtime Printer

     He served as a printer's apprentice for the Somerville Falcon, from 1880-1881. He was foreman of a newspaper mechanical department when he was 14 years old.
     From 1882 to 1883 he served with the S. C. Toof & Co. The next year he was manager and publisher of the Clarksdale Banner in Mississippi. Then from 1886-1894 he served as a bookkeeper and cashier in various mercantile establishemnts in Memphis, Tenn.
The next year he was a partner in the Joy, Trent & Co., merchandise brokers in Memphis.
     In 1900 Mr. Trent went to Los Angeles and was a bookkeeper for J.R. Newberry & Co., grocers.
     Leaving Los Angeles to come to Honolulu he first worked for a short time for the Evening Bulletin.

Headed Trent Trust

     His next position in Honolulu was as treasurer of the Henry Waterhouse Trust Co., from 1901 to 1904. He became president and manager of the Trent Trust Co., in 1904 and remained in that position until 1931.
     In 1934 Mr. Trent was made president and manager of the First Federal Saving and Loan association.
     Mr.Trent was the first treasurer of the city and county of Honolulu, serving from 1905 to 1910.
     Other positions he held were that of secretary and manager of the Mutual Building & Loan Society of Hawaii from 1904-1907; president of the Realty Auction Co., director of the Bank of Hawaii, member of the territorial public lands board from 1910 to 1914.

Special Wartime Work

     Outstanding in Mr. Trent's business and civic career was his service during and just after the World war.
     He was appointed special representative for Hawaii of the U. S. alien enemy property custodian, and was directly concerned with sequestering andliquidating under federal authority, the extensive property holdings of certain German residents.
     Out of this grew the "Hackfield case" with its wide ramifications and bitter court battles. Mr. Trent was at times under severe attack by opposing attorneys but his course and policies were finally upheld by the courts, and he emerged with his reputation as a patriotic American vindicated.

On Plans Commission

     He also was a member of the Honolulu city planning commission, 1929 to 1930; a member of the board of regents of the University of Hawaii, 1920 to 1922; a trustee of the Kamehameha schools and of the Bishop museum.
     Active in community and welfare work, Mr. Trent served as president of the Honoulu YMCA from 1912 to 1919. He was a trustee of the First Methodist Episcopal church and a 32nd degree Mason.
     From 1913 to 1914 he was president of the Honolulu Stock Exchange.

     Mr. Trent was a Democrat.2
     He was elected general agent of the Kilauea Volcano House, Ltd, where his first effort "will be to arrange a series of pleasant and attractive trips for persons desiring to visit the volcano at a minimum of expense. This continued for several years and by 1904, he also was involved with the Inter-Island Telegraph Company, developed the "Mutual Building and Loan Society." In 1905, he was patenting land, a difficult prospect as "freehold" land was rare in Hawaii. He was also the Oahu county treasurer in 1905. in 1901 corner Fort and Merchant Streets, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Last Edited=18 May 2022

Citations

  1. [S271] Ship Passenger List, online Ancestry.com, San Francisco Passenger Lists > 1929 > August > Ventura
    Honolulu to San Francisco 9 Aug 1929 28257. Hereinafter cited as Ship Passenger List.
  2. [S273] Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu, Hawaii, 11 apr 1939: p1.