By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

The question in Our Honolulu last Sunday was: Did Mark Twain have a son in Hawai'i called Matthew Makalua who was sent to England as a student by King Kalakaua and who became the first Hawaiian to study Western medicine?

Dr. Ben Young has been researching this mystery for 25 years. He discovered that there are no Makaluas in the phone book. "Maka Lua" in Hawaiian means "Mark Twain." The famous author was in Hawai'i in the 1860s at the time Makalua was born.

A call came in from Punalu'u early Monday morning with new information. Roland Logan and his sister, May, who is the family historian, said Matthew Makalua Jr., the doctor, was their ancestor. He was the son of Matthew Makalua Sr. of Lahaina, a police magistrate and postmaster. Mark Twain was not involved.

The reason there are no Makaluas in Hawai'i is that Matthew Jr. was an only son. Because he stayed in England, the name died out in Hawai'i. His 'ohana, or extended family, was excited to hear about the England branch of the family and to learn where he is buried. They want to go and visit.

While the Mark Twain story didn't pan out, another one just as remarkable did — a tip that the Rev. William Kaina, former pastor of Kawaiaha'o Church, is the descendant of Lord Byron, the sea captain. I called to ask the Rev. Kaina if this is true. There was a silence on the line, then: "Yes, Lord Byron is my ancestor." Here's the story:

Lord George Byron, a cousin of the famed poet Lord George Gordon Byron, was captain of the British naval vessel, Blonde, that brought the bodies of Kamehameha II and his queen back from England in 1825 after they died there of measles. Byron was instructed to do what he could for the Hawaiian royal family.

Byron put the Blonde at the disposal of the ali'i for a voyage to the Big Island and a royal excursion to the volcano. A chief named Kala-niopu'u was in charge of the district of Puna. He had two chiefly daughters who, of course, insisted on joining the marvelous trip to the volcano.

Romance blossomed. One of the daughters got pregnant. However, Lord Byron had to return to England before the baby was born. His mother called him Kaina, a term of endearment like "Sonny Boy." He called himself Lord George Kaina when he grew up.

Lord George Kaina married and became a devout Christian. But like Sarah and Abraham in the Bible, the couple was without issue. Like Sarah, Mrs. Kaina gave her maid to her husband to have children. In this way, they had eight. Four more came along in the next generation. The Rev. Kaina is the oldest of 12. So there are plenty of Kainas running around.

The Kainas owned volcano land before it became a national park. The stone foundation of Lord George Kaina's pulu factory still can be found downslope of the Halema'uma'u fire pit.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.