Who Were the Moorheads?

The Moorhead family of Honolulu (also: Moorehead, Morehead) was a small contingent of relatively unknown residents of the Hawaiian Islands originally from Ireland. The first known arrival of the Moorheads was in 1853; the final arrival was in 1862.

Despite their small numbers, the Moorheads of Ireland did have a greater connection to Hawaiʻi society and industry in the 19th and 20th centuries: they were the half-siblings, half-siblings’ spouses, and half-siblings’ children of John C. McColgan (1814-1890), a McCorriston cousin. Assuming that the sister of Hugh McCorriston (1805-1848) was the mother of both John C. McColgan and the Moorhead siblings, the Moorheads of Honolulu were also the cousins of the McCorristons of Molokai and the McCorristons of Honolulu.

A Brief Family Tree of the McCorristons, McColgans, & Moorheads

Image 1. The posited relationships among the McColgans, Moorheads, and McCorristons of Molokai and Honolulu. Via Ancestry.com.

The McCorristons of Molokai, the McCorristons of Honolulu, John C. McColgan and his descendants, and the Moorheads of Honolulu are likely descended from one McCorriston patriarch of County Londonderry, Ireland. The McCorristons of Molokai—which includes Hugh McCorriston (1836-1926) and his descendants and Daniel McCorriston (1840-1927) and his descendants—are, along with Edward McCorriston (-1872), the descendants of Hugh McCorriston (1805-1848), a son of the McCorriston patriarch. The McCorristons of Honolulu are descended from Daniel F. McCorriston (1845-1899), himself a son of a brother of Hugh McCorriston (1805-1848). John C. McColgan and the Moorheads of Honolulu are posited to be the children of an older sister of Hugh McCorriston (1805-1848). [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

This is conjecture, of course, as we do not yet know the parentage of John C. McColgan or the Moorheads of Ireland (and are shaky about the parentage of Daniel F. McCorriston (1845-1899)). Many of the familial relationships outlined here were gleaned from the obituary and will of John C. McColgan and are thus subject to error.

The Line of Descent from the McCorriston Patriarch of County Londonderry

However, if we’ve worked these relationships out properly, the line of descent is as follows:

The Confirmed Moorheads of Ireland

Of the named Moorheads living in the Hawaiian Islands near the turn of the 20th century, we’ve narrowed down the Moorheads of Ireland to a most likely four.

Robert T. Moorhead (1821-c.1903)

Robert T. Moorhead was the half-brother of John C. McColgan (1814-1890) and the full brother of Elizabeth Moorhead (1832-1901). He was born in February 1821 in Ireland, arrived in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1853, and died in about 1903 in the Hawaiian Islands. As far as we know, he never married. [5] [6] [7]

Robert was first recorded as living in Hawaiʻi in 1894, one year after the overthrow of the Kingdom. He, along with his sister Elizabeth, resided at 82 Judd St., near Nuʻuanu Ave.; he was a laborer with Lewers & Cooke, a lumber and building materials company. Robert was last recorded in the Hawaiian Islands in 1903. [7] [8]

Elizabeth Moorhead (1832-1901)

Elizabeth Moorhead was the half-sister of John C. McColgan and the full sister of Robert Moorhead. She was born in March 1832 in County Londonderry, Ireland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, arrived in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1857, and died May 14, 1901, in Honolulu, Oʻahu, Territory of Hawaiʻi. She never married. Elizabeth was first recorded as living in Hawaiʻi in 1894 and resided at 82 Judd St., near Nuʻuanu Ave., with her brother Robert. [5] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Margaret Ann Moorhead (1825-1904)

Margaret Ann Moorhead, née unknown, was the sister-in-law of John C. McColgan. She was born in about 1825 in Ireland, arrived in Honolulu on October 27, 1863, aboard the American barque Comet from San Francisco, and died on January 30, 1904. She was the mother of Elizabeth Moorhead (1858-1889) and at least one other child, and the grandmother of John Frederick Hansmann (1877-1922). [5] [13] [14] [15] [16]

The name of her husband is unknown at this time; however, we believe he was a half-brother of John C. McColgan and a full brother of Robert and Elizabeth Moorhead. Margaret and her two children arrived in Honolulu aboard the same ship as Daniel McCorriston (1840-1927) and Daniel F. McCorriston (1845-1899), which leads us to believe that, if her husband traveled to Hawaiʻi, he arrived between 1849 and 1863. He died prior to 1898. [14] [17]

Upon Margaret’s death in 1904, she willed her estate to the following:

  • The Representative of the Roman Catholic Church in Hawaiʻi: $100 in cash

  • Margaret Elizabeth Hansmann (1902-1958) (“my Great Grand Daughter Margaret Elizabeth Hansmann, Daughter of my Grand Son John F. Hansmann”): the residue and remainder of her property of every nature, kind, and description [18]

Elizabeth Moorhead (1858-1889)

Elizabeth Moorhead, also known as “Eritabeka” and “Elikapeka,” was the daughter of Margaret Ann Moorhead (1825-1904). She was born on February 10, 1858, in Ireland, arrived in Honolulu on October 27, 1863, aboard the American barque Comet from San Francisco, married Charles George Hansmann (1849-1890) in Honolulu on January 9, 1877, and died aboard the steamer Mokoliʻi on August 30, 1889, while returning from a visit to Molokai. Elizabeth was the mother of John Frederick Hansmann (1877-1922). [14] [15] [16] [19] [20]

Unconfirmed Moorheads of Ireland

There were several Moorheads living in Honolulu in the 1870s that, while very likely descended from the McCorriston Patriarch of County Londonderry, cannot yet be solidly confirmed as such.

Daniel Moorhead

Daniel Moorhead was the father of Margaret Ann Moorhead (1859-1872) and the husband of Margaret Moorhead (née unknown). He may have been the husband of Margaret Ann Moorhead (1825-1904). [21]

Margaret Ann Moorhead (1859-1872)

Margaret Ann Moorhead was the daughter of Daniel and Margaret Moorhead. She was born on January 19, 1859, and died on February 11, 1872, in Honolulu, Oʻahu, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. She may have had more than one sibling and was the youngest child; she may have also been the daughter of Margaret Ann Moorhead (1825-1904). [21]

Other Moorheads

There were several other Moorheads living in Hawaiʻi around the same time as the Moorheads of Ireland. They are unlikely to be related as these Moorheads were natives of Anderson, South Carolina, and were related to Walter Murray Gibson (1822-1888), the one-time prime minister of the Hawaiian Islands. [22] [23]

Jesse J. Moorhead(c.1855-1891)

Jesse J. Moorhead, a nephew of Walter Murray Gibson, was born in about 1855, most likely in Anderson, South Carolina. He died in the Hawaiian Islands on November 17, 1891, of typho malarial fever. [22]

Augustus Gilkey (A.G.) Moorhead (1861-1933)

Augusts Gilkey Moorhead, the brother of Jesse J. Moorhead, was born on September 23, 1861, in Anderson County, South Carolina, and died in Anderson, South Carolina, on May 24, 1933. He lived on Lānaʻi and last appeared in the directories of the Hawaiian Islands in 1894. [24]

Questions & Answers

Although we’ve answered the central question of who the Moorheads were (answer: the cousins of the McCorristons of Molokai and the half-siblings and their relations of John C. McColgan), we haven’t answered much more beyond that basic answer. The questions of

  • Who was the common mother between John C. McColgan and the Moorheads?

  • Who was the unnamed Moorhead brother?

  • What was Margaret Ann Moorhead’s maiden name?

and others still remain. The answers to these questions likely begin with the Baptismal record of John C. McColgan, which will give us his parents’ first names. Then, we would need to locate the marriage record of this unnamed female McCorriston and her husband McColgan. Follow this with a marriage record of our unnamed female McCorriston and her second husband Moorhead, and we’ll have either confirmed or disproved some of the aforementioned theories. We would also likely benefit from a death record of the husband McColgan; my guess is that he died between 1814 and 1820, given that divorce wasn’t (and still isn’t) permitted in the Roman Catholic church.

Any Ideas?

Do you have any theories or ideas about the Moorheads of Ireland? If so, please drop a line to the editor at editor@themccorristonsofmolokai.org! (As a note, the editor isn’t great at returning emails, although she reads everything that comes through … eventually. Please keep sending notes!)

References:

  1. Lynn Kanani Daue, “Hugh McCorriston, 1836-1926,” The McCorristons of Molokai (blog), December 31, 2018, https://themccorristonsofmolokai.org/blog/hugh-mccorriston-1836-1926/

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

  3. Lynn Kanani Daue, “Edward McCorriston, -1872,” The McCorristons of Molokai (blog), January 7, 2019, https://themccorristonsofmolokai.org/blog/edward-mccorriston-1872

  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

  5. Lynn Kanani Daue, “John C. McColgan, 1814-1890,” The McCorristons of Molokai (blog), January 21, 2019, https://themccorristonsofmolokai.org/blog/john-c-mccolgan-1814-1890

  6. “1900 United States Federal Census,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 20 January 2020), search for Robert Morehead, residing on Oahu and born in 1821; Year: 1900; Census Place: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii Territory; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0014; FHL microfilm: 1241836

  7. F. M. Husted, comp., 1903-1904: Directory of City & County of Honolulu. Honolulu: Hawaiian Gazette Company, 1903, 291, http://hdl.handle.net/10524/19438

  8. F. M. Husted, comp., 1894-1895: Directory and Handbook of Honolulu and the Hawaiian Islands. San Francisco, 1892, 197, http://hdl.handle.net/10524/12276

  9. “1900 United States Federal Census,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 20 January 2020), search for Morehead, residing on Oahu and born in 1832; Year: 1900; Census Place: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii Territory; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0014; FHL microfilm: 1241836

  10. “News in a Nutshell.,” The Hawaiian Star, May 14, 1901, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19317483/death_notice_of_elizabeth_moorhead_1901/

  11. “Died.,” The Honolulu Advertiser, May 14, 1901, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24617236/death_of_elizabeth_morehead_moorhead/

  12. "Hawaii Deaths and Burials, 1862-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWZR-MTP : 16 January 2020), Elizabeth Morehead, 1901.

  13. “A Kamaaina Dies.,” The Honolulu Advertiser, January 31, 1904, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19105242/death_notice_of_margaret_morehead/

  14. “Hawaii, Passenger Lists, 1843-1898,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 20 January 2020), search for Mrs M Morehead, arrived 1863; Hawaii State Archives; Kekauluohi Building, Iolani Palace Grounds, 364 S. King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813; Series: Series 82

  15. “United States Marriages,” database, FindMyPast.com (http://findmypast.com : accessed 20 January 2020), search for J F Hansmann.

  16. “Married.,” The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, January 13, 1877, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27570276/charles_hansmann_marriage_to_elizabeth/

  17. F. M. Husted, comp., 1898: Husted's Directory and Handbook of Honolulu and the Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu; San Francisco: Hawaiian Gazette Company, 1898, 206, http://hdl.handle.net/10524/35849

  18. “Hawaii, Wills and Probate Records, 1822-1962,” database and digital images, Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com : accessed 20 January 2020), search for Margaret Morehead, probated 1902; Probate records, 1845-1900; indexes 1814-1917; Author: Hawaiian Islands. Circuit Court; Probate Place: Honolulu, Hawaii

  19. “United States Marriages,” database, FindMyPast.com (http://findmypast.com : accessed 20 January 2020), search for C G Hansmam.

  20. “Died.,” The Hawaiian Gazette, September 3, 1889, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24615079/death_of_mrs_l_hansmann_1889/

  21. “Died.,” The Hawaiian Gazette, February 14, 1872, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24621022/death_of_margaret_ann_morehead_1872/

  22. “Died.,” Evening Bulletin, November 23, 1891, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41374477/jesse_moorhead_death_1891/

  23. “The Last Sad Rites.,” The Honolulu Advertiser, February 20, 1888, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42285393/walter_gibson_last_rites_1888/

  24. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 20 January 2020), memorial page for Augustus Gilkey Moorhead (23 Sep 1861–24 May 1933), Find A Grave Memorial no. 53986782, citing Lebanon Baptist Church Cemetery, Lebanon, Anderson County, South Carolina, USA; Maintained by T.V.F.T.H. (contributor 46496806)