The first article on The McCorristons of Molokai, Daniel McCorriston, 1840-1927, was published on December 17, 2018, to little fanfare. Since then, our visitor base has grown by over 14,000% (!!), we’ve reached readers from all of the major English-speaking countries, and we’ve shared our little slice of Hawaiʻi with history buffs, extended family members, and a few unwitting people who stumbled onto our site by accident.
All in all, I’d say it’s been a great first year.
Curious about what’s been going on behind the scenes? Let me pull back the curtain a tad and share with you what your favorites have been in the last year.
(And remember to come back next week to find out all of the new things we’ve learned!)
Top 5 Articles from The McCorristons of Molokai from the First Year
1. A History of the McCorriston Family: Beginnings in Hawaiʻi
It seems fitting that the most popular article on The McCorristons of Molokai from our first year of publishing is about the beginnings of the family in Hawaiʻi. To sum: four McCorriston men—three of whom were brothers—came to Hawaiʻi at the behest of their cousin John McColgan to establish a large kamaʻāina family in the Kingdom.
2. Hugh McCorriston, 1836-1926
Tying with the article about his brother Dan, the profile of Hugh McCorriston (1836-1926) was the second-most popular article on The McCorristons of Molokai from our first year of publishing. Hugh arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1864 with his brother Edward McCorriston (-1872) and within a year was running a rice mill with his brother Dan. By the time of his death in 1926, he had run a sugar plantation and cattle farm, entertained visiting Europeans and royalty, and raised nine children with his wife Margaret Louise Gorman (1846-1932).
2. Daniel McCorriston, 1840-1927
During our first year, Dan McCorriston was equally as popular as his brother Hugh on The McCorristons of Molokai. Dan arrived in the Kingdom in 1863, several months ahead of his brother Hugh and Edward, and first established himself—and later, his family—in Waiawa, Oʻahu. He ran the sugar plantation and cattle farm with his brother Hugh; additionally, he served in a variety of public offices, including U.S. Postmaster for seven years.
4. A History of the McCorriston Family: Third Generations
Skipping over the second generations of the McCorriston family in Hawaiʻi, “A History of the McCorriston Family: Third Generations” was our fourth-most widely read article from our first year of publishing. This was particularly fortuitous, as many of the fourth generation of McCorristons are still alive and often send in valuable information and stories that would otherwise be lost.
5. John C. McColgan, 1814-1890
The profile of John C. McColgan (1814-1890) was a surprise hit among the readership of The McCorristons of Molokai during this first year. Or, maybe he was just a surprise—in every conversation with every family member from every generation that I’ve had this year, no one had heard of this man. This makes sense, as he died in the 1800s and most of his issue didn’t carry the surname McColgan. The most famous surname of the bunch? Kapahu, as in Kini Kapahu, the world-renown hula dancer and wife of Honolulu mayor John Henry Wilson.
What Brought You to The McCorristons of Molokai
1. “McColgan Plantation”
“McColgan Plantation” was the top Google search term that led visitors to The McCorristons of Molokai—and whether or not readers were looking for our website, they certainly found us! Two of the top three search results are directly from our website; the remaining three of the top five directly relate to The McCorristons of Molokai. My apologies if you reached us while looking for the McColgan home in Tennessee!
2. “Kamalo Hawaii Tourism”
Next on our list, we have people looking for tourism in Kamalō. There’s unfortunately not a lot of tourism information on this website, as the author has yet to visit the Friendly Isle herself! Our best recommendation is to visit the Molokai page at GoHawaii.com, the website run by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority: https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/molokai
3. “Visit Kamalo”
Much like above, readers landing at The McCorristons of Molokai via the phrase “Visit Kamalo” won’t find much helpful information. Please see above for our recommendation on how to find the best places to eat, stay, and play on Molokai!
4. “Annie Nelson”
This search term was funny to me: I sincerely thought some people were out there looking for our Annie Nelson—now better known to us as Anna McColgan—until I searched for her myself. To everyone who wants to know more about Willie Nelson’s wife Annie D’Angelo, here are 7 fast facts about her: https://countryfancast.com/willie-nelsons-spouse-annie-dangelo/
5. “Molokai Pronunciation” and “John McColgan”
Coming in as a tie for fifth place, “Molokai pronunciation” and “John McColgan” brought two very different crowds to The McCorristons of Molokai. Those looking for the pronunciation of Molokai were, arguably, looking for an authoritative answer on how to pronounce the island’s name; those looking for John McColgan were probably looking for either the director and producer of Riverdance fame or the highly talented animator responsible for Vox Media’s Netflix series “Explained.”
For the record, we use the pronunciation MOH-LOH-KĪ, not MOH-LOH-KAH-EE, for various reasons, the best of which is summed up in this video from Maui Now:
Want to be part of the magic?
Here are three ways to get involved with The McCorristons of Molokai:
Send in your tips and resources! The phone calls, emails, and articles that I’ve received this year have been absolutely invaluable in the overall direction of the writing on this website. Because of some of the resources you all have sent in, we now have greater clarity on the McCorriston family Y-DNA line, how some of the related surnames are connected, what Hugh and Dan were doing in Hawaiʻi, where the other North American McCorristons/McCorristins are located, and so much more! Please continue to drop comments or to email your information to editor@themccorristonsofmolokai.org—I look forward to hearing from you!
Write an article or two! I adore writing this website … and I’ve noticed that every once in a while, I need to take a break from publishing. Whether it’s for additional researching, travel, or just plain life, other obligations sometimes take over and we have a lull in new material. If you’d like to fill that void, or simply be part of the writing team, give me a shout at editor@themccorristonsofmolokai.org and let me know what you’d like to work on!
Keep reading and sharing! Despite not having a Facebook presence, we’ve gotten a lot of referral visits from the platform, which means only one thing: YOU have been sharing our articles with a wider audience. For that, THANK YOU—and please keep doing it! In fact, share this one via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Reddit using the Share link below.
Thank you all for everything you’ve done this year to make our online home great, and here’s to the next!