Polynesians settled in the archipelago now known as Hawaii more than 1,000 years ago. Over the centuries, it has been a kingdom, a republic, a territory, and in 1959 it became the fiftieth state of the United States. Non-Hawaiians began to settle in Hawaii in the late eighteenth century. Today, it is both multi-cultural and ethnically diverse. The population’s ancestry can be traced to Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, Polynesia, and other Pacific Islands. Family history researchers will discover resources that are distinct to Hawaii including rich oral genealogies (moʻokūʻauhau), written records with name variants, and nuanced land records for this state-land-state. Research in Hawaii author Darcie Hind Posz, CG, FASG, offers genealogists a comprehensive guide to the uniquely rewarding experience of discovering ancestors from the Aloha State.
Research in Hawaii provides genealogists with detailed information about valuable resources and repositories, including:
- Archives, Libraries, and Societies both centrally located in Honolulu and on each island with resources specific to ethnicity, occupation, region, and time period. Especially helpful is a glossary of Hawaiian words for birth, marriage, death, male, female, etc. found in vital records.
- Atlases, Gazetteers, and Maps including the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association Plantation Archives, a pivotal resource that offers maps of plantations and camps where workers resided.
- Ethnic Records covering African American, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian (Kanaka Maoli), Japanese, Korean, Polynesian, and Portuguese. With more than a quarter of the population multiracial, the author notes that researchers should be prepared to follow several ethnic groups at once and should be aware of double names, reversed names, and other nuances.
- Land Records—all of which are at the state level, not Federal—including awards, land claims, and patents for formal land claims of both native people and foreigners.
- Military Records from the Kingdom of Hawaii Military and Navy Department records (1852-1891) to US military records from World War I through the Vietnam War.
- Oral Histories, the longest surviving method of transmission of historical accounts of lineage.
The author also includes discussions of
- Business and Organizational Records
- Cemetery, Census, and Court Records
- Immigration and Naturalization Records
- Institutional, Internment, and Incarceration Records
- Maritime Records
- Newspapers, Directories
- School, Tax, Vital Records, and more.
Author Darcie Hind Posz says of this guide, "Each repository and family history society in Hawaii is discussed and their wonderful resources. Also, new sections not seen in the RIS states series before: horticulture, natural disasters, and oral histories. A focus on Hawaii-specific records such as the Kingdom of Hawaii and Aliʻi (chiefs), the Kūʻē Petition (anti-Annexation), and land records."
Readers will find the website address, physical address, and telephone number for each repository. This book can be purchased as a PDF or paper copy at the NGS website.
Special Offer: Are you living in a community with a large Asian American or Pacific Islander population? Darcie Hind Posz, the author of Research in Hawaii will donate a copy to your local library. Email her at here.
