 While in Hawaiʻi , Pitman and his older sister Mary attended Mrs. Wetmore 's children 's school in Hilo . The school was located at the <unk> ' residence on Church Street . <unk> by Lucy Sheldon Taylor Wetmore , the wife of American missionary doctor and government physician Charles <unk> Wetmore , the two elder Pitman children received their education in English rather than Hawaiian . This was unusual since Hawaiian was the official language of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi , and all other schools in Hilo were conducted in the Hawaiian language . Mrs. Wetmore taught the children reading , writing , spelling , arithmetic and singing , while also reinforcing the curriculum with a strong adherence to the principles of the Protestant faith . Like the Pitman siblings , many of their classmates were also of half @-@ Hawaiian ( hapa @-@ <unk> ) descent with a majority of them being Chinese @-@ Hawaiians ( hapa @-@ <unk> ) . 
