David Malo Lived From 1793 to 1853,

David Malo lived from 1793 to 1853, and was among the first Hawaiians to become an ordained Christian minister and found a church (Espiritu). He was born in Keauhou, to Ao'ao and Heone Malo, and grew up in a time when Kamehameha I had united the islands (Espiritu). They were a single kingdom, instead of separate as they are now. Malo had a good association with the chief Kuakini, and he worked as a court genealogist and oral historian during a time when great change was taking place in the islands (Dibble). Kuakini was a brother of the queen Ka'ahumanu (Dibble). Early on in his life, Malo married A'alailoa (Espiritu). She was a widow and significantly older than Malo when they married, and when she later died in 1822 they were still without children (Dibble). The following year, Malo decided to move to Lahaina, which was located on Maui (Dibble). There, he studied under Reverend William Richards, where he learned to read and write in Hawaiian and English (Espiritu). He then converted to Christianity and was baptized.

He got married again to a woman named Pahia, who changed her name to Bathsheba since she wanted to take a Christian name (Dibble). She died a few years later, still without giving Malo any children (Dibble). He was alone again, but made the best of what he had available to him at the time. He was in the first class of the Lahainaluna School when Lorrin Andrews founded it, and later began serving there as school master after being involved with the school for a number of years and remaining committed to everything it taught (Espiritu). He found another woman to marry. Her name was Lepeka, and she took the Christian name of Rebecca (Espiritu). They had one daughter who he named A'alailoa after his original wife (Espiritu). She later married and had a daughter, giving Malo a grandchild. Malo was ordained as a Christian minister and moved to Kalepolepo, which was a seaside village in the south and west of Maui (Dibble). He lived there until his death in 1853.

During his lifetime, Malo did many things that contributed to Hawaiian culture and life. For example, he composed a poem in honor of Queen Ka'ahumanu when she died in 1832, and also helped to translate a number of Bible books into the Hawaiian language so more people on the islands could read them (Espiritu). Around 1835, he also began writing notes on the cultural history and religion of Hawaii, in conjunction with instructor Sheldon Dibble and other members of the school (Dibble). That led to a book being published in Hawaiian in 1838 (Dibble). He also worked to help found the first Hawaiian Historical Society in 1841, but the group that created it eventually disbanded (Dibble). Another society was then founded under the same name in 1892 (Dibble). The year of 1841 was a busy time for Malo, when he was elected by the House of Representatives of the Kingdom as a representative from Maui (Espiritu). More stories were also being added to his book, and 1858 saw a second edition published (Espiritu).