One of the things that I ran into when I first started researching the McCorristons of Molokai was the fact that there were two Daniel McCorristons in Hawaiʻi at the same time.

One Daniel McCorriston was a sugar cane farmer on the Island of Molokai. The other Daniel McCorriston, his cousin, was a carpenter on the Island of Oʻahu. The families were reportedly close, which led to the conflation of some facts, both at the time and now.

For example: according to his death certificate and obituary, Daniel McCorriston of Honolulu was born in 1845 and died in 1899. However, his headstone reads that he was born in 1840, the year that Daniel McCorriston of Molokai was born.

What follows is my best attempt to tease out and separate the facts as they relate to each man.

Daniel of Molokai vs. Daniel of Honolulu

Over to You

Have you found yourself conflating Daniel McCorriston of Molokai, born 1840, and Daniel McCorriston of Honolulu, born 1845? Are there other facts that you’re unable to attribute to only one of these men? Leave a comment below, or drop a line to editor@themccorristonsofmolokai.org and we’ll continue untangling together!

1. Lynn Kanani Daue, “Daniel McCorriston, 1840-1927,” The McCorristons of Molokai (blog), December 17, 2018, https://themccorristonsofmolokai.org/blog/daniel-mccorriston-1840-1927.

2. “Daniel McCorriston Dead,” Evening Bulletin, June 24, 1899, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25856170/obituary_of_daniel_mccorriston/.

3. Marriage record of Daniel McCorriston and Anna McColgan, marriage record dated March 5, 1867, The Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaiʻi, Honolulu, HI.

4. Lynn Kanani Daue, “The McCorristons of Molokai and the McCorristons of Honolulu,” The McCorristons of Molokai (blog), February 11, 2019, https://themccorristonsofmolokai.org/blog/the-mccorristons-of-molokai-and-the-mccorristons-of-honolulu.