Image courtesy of Meyer and Molokai, Charles S. Meyer, 1982
Anna McColgan (c. 1851-May 3, 1907) was the wife of Daniel McCorriston (1840-1927). She was a part-Hawaiian woman born in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi during the reign of Kamehameha III.
Anna, known as “Annie,” McColgan was born in about 1851 in the Hawaiian Islands. Her parents are unknown. [1] [9]
The family story claims alternately that Annie was a full-blooded Hawaiian woman or a part-Hawaiian woman. It also states that she was given in the Hawaiian tradition of hanai, or informal adoption, to another family. At present, these stories are unsubstantiated by official or published documentation. [2]
Annie was known as a generous and hospitable woman. Many visitors, including Robert Louis Stevenson and Saint Damien of Molokai, stopped at the McCorriston homestead while on the island. In one instance, Mr. F. Davey relates his experience with Annie’s kindness while on Molokai for a hunting trip:
On October 16 [1901] at 5 p.m., four of us, well primed for sport, embarked on the steamer Hawaii, bound for Molokai, with visions of droves of deer waiting to be shot by amateurs who could not hit a haystack at fifty yards. The good ship, under the guidance of Captain Bennett, arrived at Kamalo at daybreak. We landed without breakfast, and if it had not been for the kindness of Mrs. McCorriston, we should have gone with empty stomachs until late in the afternoon. [3]
In another instance, The Honolulu Advertiser reported that Annie lodged the wife and daughter of Captain Ritchie of the Loch Garve, a British ship that mistook Molokai for Oʻahu and wrecked off the coast of Kamalō. [4]
On March 5, 1867, Annie married Daniel McCorriston, an Irish immigrant who arrived in 1863. [9] They had ten children, eight of whom are known:
Daughter Margaret Ann McCorriston, known as “Maggie,” was born in Waiau, Oʻahu, on June 22, 1867, married Otto Samuel Meyer (1854-1931) on January 1, 1890, and died in Kalaʻe, Molokai, on October 25, 1963
Daughter Sarah Theresa McCorriston, known as “Sallie,” was born in Waiau, Oʻahu, on September 3, 1868, married Edward Vincent Dunn (1869-1938) on July 23, 1894, and died in Kula, Maui, on April 27, 1924
Son Edward C. McCorriston, known as “Eddie,” was born in Waiau, Oʻahu, on February 19, 1872, married Mary Kawaiulani Campbell, and died in Kamalō, Molokai, on November 26, 1945
Daughter Elizabeth McCorriston, known as “Lizzie,” was born in Kamalō, Molokai, on June 9, 1874, married Frank Hudson Foster (1869-1955) on March 21, 1900, and died in Honolulu, Oʻahu, on June 1, 1931
Son Hugh Patrick McCorriston was born on February 27, 1881, in Waiau, Oʻahu, and died on June 15, 1916, in San Francisco, California
Son Daniel F. McCorriston was born on April 3, 1884, in Waiau, Oʻahu, and died on May 15, 1900
Son John Samuel McCorriston, known as “Sam,” was born on April 14, 1888, in Waiau, Oʻahu, and died on September 24, 1923, in Kamalō, Molokai
Daughter Aileen Ann McCorriston, known as “Tutsie,” was born on July 1, 1900, in Waiau, Oʻahu, married Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping (1906-1993), and died on August 2, 1982
In 1873, the Daniel McCorristons moved to Molokai. Interestingly, although Annie is noted to have made her home on Molokai, she was often in Honolulu, and is recorded as living there in 1900 in the home of Daniel’s cousin, Elizabeth Moorhead (1832-1901). Many of her children were also born in Waiau, Oʻahu, after their move to the Friendly Isle. [1] [5]
Anna died at 12:45pm on May 3, 1907, in Honolulu, County of Oʻahu, Territory of Hawaii. Her funeral was at the Catholic cathedral of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Honolulu on May 5, 1907, and she is buried at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Kamalō, Molokai. [6] [7]
Updated April 28, 2019.
“1900 United States Federal Census,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 21 December 2018), search for Annie McCorriston, residing on Oahu and born in 1851; Year: 1900; Census Place: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii Territory; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0014; FHL microfilm: 1241836
Kaanga, R. (2015, September 17). Annie Nelson was a pure Hawaiian woman a [Note 2] Note posted to https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/collaborate/LZFQ-YC3
Dear said to be scarce on Molokai (1901, November 2), The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26407336/annie_nelson_kindness_to_visitors_1901/
Hope to save vessel (1907, March 8), The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26407637/annie_nelson_lodging_for_shipwrecked/
Local brevities (1896, January 29), The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26407674/annie_nelson_farewell_luau_1896/
Mrs. M’Corriston dead (1907, May 3), Evening Bulletin. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19524991/death_notice_of_mrs_dan_annie/
Local brevities (1907, May 5), The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26406987/annie_nelson_funeral_notice_1907/
Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 21 December 2018), memorial page for Annie McCorriston (1851–3 May 1907), Find A Grave Memorial no. 113442636, citing Saint Joseph Church Cemetery, Kamalo, Maui County, Hawaii, USA ; Maintained by Sherry SH (contributor 48127093)
The Office of the Chancellor & Diocesan Affairs. Marriage Record of Daniel McCorriston and Anna McColgan. (Honolulu, HI: Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii, 1867).
