Editing Palmyra Atoll (section)

=== Annexation by the Kingdom of Hawaii (1862) ===
On February 26, 1862, King [[Kamehameha IV]] of [[Kingdom of Hawaii|Hawaii]] commissioned Captain Zenas Bent and Johnson Beswick Wilkinson, both Hawaiian citizens, to take possession of the atoll. On April 15, 1862, it was formally annexed to the Kingdom of Hawaii, while Bent and Wilkinson became joint owners.<ref name="DOI OIA">{{cite web |url=https://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/palmyraatoll |title=Palmyra Atoll |website=Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs |access-date=2025-01-20}}</ref>

Over the next century, ownership passed through various hands. Bent sold his rights to Wilkinson on December 25, 1862. Palmyra later passed to Kalama Wilkinson (Johnson's widow). In 1885, it was divided among her four heirs,<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Estate of Kalama |reporter=Probate |court=Circuit Court, Honolulu |date=1878–1885}}</ref> two of whom sold their rights to William Luther Wilcox who, in turn, sold them to the Pacific Navigation Company. In 1897, this company was liquidated, and its interests were sold first to [[William Ansel Kinney]] and then to Fred Wundenberg, all residents of Honolulu.<ref name="Evening Bulletin">{{Cite news|title=Palmyra Island|newspaper=The Evening Bulletin|location=Honolulu|date=August 14, 1897|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016413/1897-08-14/ed-1/seq-5/;words=Palmyra|access-date=August 20, 2010}}</ref>

A further Wilkinson heir left her share to her son William Ringer Sr., who also bought his great-uncle's share, giving Ringer a one-third undivided share as a [[tenant in common]].<ref name="cooper">{{cite news|title=Contest Cooper's Claim to Palmyra|newspaper=The Hawaiian Gazette|location=Honolulu|date=May 3, 1912|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025121/1912-05-03/ed-1/seq-1/|access-date=August 20, 2010}}</ref>

Separately, in 1889, Commander Nichols of {{HMS|Cormorant|1877|6}} claimed Palmyra for the [[United Kingdom]], unaware of Hawaii's prior claim.<ref>{{cite news|title=Has Prior Claim: Palmyra Claimed by Kamehameha|newspaper=The Hawaiian Gazette|location=Honolulu|date=August 13, 1897|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025121/1897-08-13/ed-1/seq-4/;words=Palmyra|access-date=August 20, 2010}}</ref>