PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHERINE MCCORRISTON ROBERTS
Judge Edward McCorriston sits with granddaughter Catherine
on the steps of the Molokai courthouse in 1945.

A fair judge
who loved Molokai

My Irish grandfather, a
man of gentle wit, lives
on in faded print

READER REMEMBRANCE

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Catherine McCorriston Roberts / Special to the Star-Bulletin

I really don't remember him. All I have is a picture of him and myself sitting on the steps of the Molokai courthouse. I was five years old. A month later, on Dec. 26, 1945, he passed away.

The Second Circuit Court of the Territory of Hawaii adjourned to pay its respects to him. The mayor of Maui issued a resolution in memory of his passing.

His name was Edward McCorriston, affectionately known as Eddie. He was my grandfather.

In 1862, his father sailed from Ireland to the United States and eventually settled on the island of Molokai, where he was born on Feb. 19, 1872.

On Sept. 11, 1897, at the age of 25, he was among the thousands of people of Hawaii who had signed the petition against annexation.

He later became the judge of Molokai, a position he held well over 25 years.

He met his future bride through the late Dr. Homer Hayes and his wife, Flora Kaai Hayes. She had captured his heart, and although he was 22 years older, the age difference didn't matter to them. They settled on Molokai in the same house in Kamalo where he grew up, and there they raised their seven children.

All my life I had heard so many wonderful stories about this small balding man with the dark rimmed glasses. He was a fair and honest man in his courtroom, my grandmother would say. Whenever she talked about him, she would always reflect back to his Irish wit, which I think in her eyes, was one of his most lovable traits.

He was a kind and gentle man, always there to help the community of Molokai, always giving unselfishly of himself, she'd say. She said he loved Molokai very much. It was his roots, his foundation.

He is buried, alongside his bride, and his parents, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Kamalo, a quaint little rural church built by Father Damien.

I have many wonderful and interesting newspaper articles about him and his life as the judge of Molokai.

These articles tell of his unselfish deeds and everlasting love for Molokai and its people. These articles are my memories of my grandfather, the late Honorable Edward McCorriston.

Irish by the numbers The Census 2000 Supplementary Survey estimated there were 59,874 people in Hawaii who reported being of Irish ancestry. The Census 2000 Supplementary Survey is based on a large sampling of household populations, with a 90 percent certainty that the true number falls between the lower and upper bounds. In the case of Irish ancestry, the population estimate is within the bounds of 52,535 and 67,213.