Resources1
This is an accumulation of what Iʻd like to consider starter research points for researching your ancestors who lived, worked, and played on the Big Island of Hawaii or in some cases anywhere in Hawaii. In Hawaii more so than most states, everyone is somehow connected to each other. For example, in 2006 I knew almost nothing about my paternal family. Amazingly I knew some of their names and approximately where they had lived on the Big Island. In the years since, Iʻve cobbled together a family picture that was totally different from the stories and rumors that I had grown up with. The researched story came with documentation.
In genealogy every bread crumb is worth investigating.
Images of Old Hawaii, Prominent People. People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.”
Men of Hawaii, Librar, Manoa, Hawaii, eVols.
Volume I, 1917, download pdf file.
Book Resources.
Hawaii: The Past, Present, and Future of Its Island-Kingdom. By Manley Hopkins. Published: London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1862.
Narrative of a Tour Through Hawaii, or Owhyhee. By William Ellis. Published: London, H. Fisher, Son, and P. Jackson, Third Edition, 1827.
The New Year's Eve Flood on Oahu, Hawaii, December 31, 1987 - January 1, 1988. By John A. Dracup.
Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula. By Nathaniel Bright Emerson. Published: 1909.
Evolution in Hawaii: A Supplement to Teaching Evolution and the Nature of Science. By Steve Olson.
Volcanic and Seismic Hazards on the Island of Hawaii. By Christina Heliker.
The U.S. Navy in Hawaii, 1826-1945: An Administrative History, by Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center, Washington D.C. Published: May 25 2001, adapted from Historical Section, Fourteenth Naval District. Administrative History of the Fourteenth Naval District and the Hawaiian Sea Frontier, Vol. 1, Hawaii, 1945.
The Hawaiian Archipelago. Six Months Among the Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, and Volcanoes of the Sandwich Islands. By Isabella Lucy Bird. Published: John Murray, London, 1875. Subjects: As it was in 1875, steamer ships, Hawaiian hotels, volcanos, royality, lepers, Hawaiian history and royality, animals and plants, natives and customs, housing, education, scenery, the different islands, and more, as told in a series of letters to the authors sister.
Report of the Royal Commission on the Development of the Resources of the Kingdom. By Hawaii Royal Commission on the Development of the Resources of the Kingdom. Published: Island of Hawaii, 1877. Subjects: The land and its people, and areas of Kohala, Waimea, Hamakua, Hilo, Puna & Kau. .
The Story of the Philippines and Our New Possessions, Including The Ladrones, Hawaii, Cuba and Porto Rico. By Murat Halstead. Published: H.L. Barber, Chicago, Ill., 1898. Subjects: Natural riches, industrial resources, statistics of productions, commerce and population; the laws, habits, customs, scenery and conditions of the Cuba of the East Indies and the Thousand Islands of The Archipelagoes of India and Hawaii, with episodes of their early history, personal character sketches of and interviews with Admiral Dewey, General Merritt, General Aguinaldo and the Archbishop of Manila.
Eruptions of Hawaiian Volcanoes: Past, Present, and Future. By Robert I. Tilling, Christina Heliker, and Thomas L. Wright. Published: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. First Printing, 1987.
The House of Pride and Other Tales of Hawaii. By Jack London. Published: The Macmillan Company, 1912. Subject: Fiction; The House of Pride, Koolau the Leper, Good-bye Jack, Aloha Oe, Chun Ah Chun, The Sheriff of Kona, and Jack London, by Himself from the 1919 Mills & Boon edition.
Newspaper Abstracts are also a great resource to find out what was happenig during the era when your ancestors were living.
Island of Hawaii Major Property Owners
This may help locate old plantations from census records since many of our ancestors worked there.
Maps from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, State of Hawaii
Lookups, Hawaii County, Hawaii
If you would like to volunteer, contact me.
Please give the source you will do lookups in and your name
and email address.
- If you haven't already, please go to the USGenWeb Copyrights FAQ Page and read it carefully before you request a lookup or volunteer to do lookups. This page has important information about copyright laws as they apply to the USGenWeb project.
- Potential volunteers are encouraged to review the explanations of copyright protection, especially the "fair use" provisions, available elsewhere on the Web.
Lookup Volunteers:
If you have any looks that you are able to do on a volunteer basis please let me know.
Additional links:
Hawaii County Microfilm
Hawaii County, Hawaii Records on Microfilm and can be ordered into Family History Libraries.
Third Circuit Court (Hawaii) divorce packets 1-102, #1015645
Third Circuit Court (Hawaii) divorce packets 103-224, #1015646
Third Circuit Court (Hawaii) divorce packets 225-332, #1015647
Third Circuit Court (Hawaii) divorce packets 333-424, #1015648
Fourth Circuit Court (Hawaii) divorce packets 1-45 (case files), #1015649
Fourth Circuit Court (Hawaii) divorce packets 1-121 (old files), #1015650
Marriage register of Rev. Cowan, island of Hawaii, 1837-1879, #1014411
Marriage register of Rev. D. Baldwin, island of Hawaii, 1832-1835, #1014410
Record of members 1899-1916, #128853
Genealogies: Her Majesty Queen Kapiolani, Huhuailani's genealogy, A book of ancestors of David Malo Kahukula,Genealogy of Kumae, Genealogy of the Hawaii, Oahu and Kauai Alii, Mele for the Alii, 1866 #1014418
Genealogy of Keakealani, Kamalalawalu and Kalauopiilani of Hawaii written at Kahakuloa, Hawaii, February 14, 1881. #982162
Genealogy of Akima Waika Ah Hee, #1675265
Marriage Certificates folder H19-23 1850-1877; Marriage Certificates folder H27 1846-1849;
Marriage register of Charles Frederick Hart, island of Hawaii, 1863-1865, Register of marriages performed on the island of Hawaii, 1844-1865; #1014411
Marriage Certificates folder H31 1863 1878-1886, 1891-1892, 1898; Marriage Licenses, South Hilo District folder H32 1887-1900; Register of marriage performed by G. W. A. Hapai, island of Hawaii, 1887-1896, Register of marriages performed by Rev. O. H. Gulick, island of Hawaii, 1862-1869 ; #1014412
Marriage registers of Rev L Lyons, Island of Hawaii, 1833-1886, #1014410 and 1014412
Marriage Registers, Island of Hawaii, 1896-1903; #295832
Index to Marriage Registers1896-1909; #1205809
Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths 1841-1896; #1205690, #120691, #1208512, #295833, #295831, #295832, #1031144, #1014410; #1028270, #1028271
Register of Voters, 1887-1888; #1674473
Societies/Centers that may be of help in your Research
Filipino-American Historical Society of Hawaii
Filipino Digital Archives and History Center of Hawaii
560 Kawaiahao Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Phone: (808) 537-6271
Japan America Society of Hawaii
Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
PO Box 398Captain Cook, HI 96704Phone: (808) 323-3222FAX: (808) 323-2398Email: khs@konahistorical.org
National Association of Korean Americans
North Hawaii Education and Research Center
University of Hawaii at Hilo
200 W. Kawili St.
Hilo, HI 96720-4091
(808) 775-8890
FAX: (808) 775-1294
Email: nherc@hawaii.edu
United Chinese Society of Hawaii
42 North King St
Honolulu, HI
United Puerto Rican Association of Hawaii
1249 N School St,
Honolulu, HI 96817
Ph:(808) 847-2751
Government
State of Hawaii -- Vital Records
$10.00 for the first copy of each certificate, $4.00 for each additional copy of the same certificate ordered at the same time.
By Mail: State Department of Health
Office of Health Status Monitoring
Issuance/Vital Statistics Section
P.O. Box 3378
Honolulu, HI 96801
In Person: Walk-in service is available Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at
Room 103 (1st floor) of the Health Department building, 1250 Punchbowl Street (corner of Beretania and Punchbowl Streets)
- County of Hawaii
- Hawaii County Courthouse
25 Aupuni St., Room 209
Hilo, HI 96720-4252
Phone: (808) 961-8255
Libraries
- Bond Memorial Public Library
Kapaau, HI 96755 - Hilo Public Library
300 Waianuenue Ave
Hilo, HI 96720 - Holualoa Public Library
Holualoa, HI 96725 - Honokaa Public Library
45-3380 Mamane St (Bldg 3)
Honokaa, HI 96727 - Kailua-Kona Public Library
75-138 Hualalai Road
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 - Thelma Parker Memorial Public & School Library
67-1209 Mamalahoa Hwy
Hamuela HI 96743
Family History Centers
(These days and times may have changed, please check before you go)
- Hilo Hawaii
1373 Kilauea Avenue
Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii
Phone: (808) 935-0711
Hours: Tue 9am-12pm, 6pm-9pm; Wed-Thu 9am-9pm; Fri 9am-3pm
Closed: Last two weeks in December. - Honokaa Hawaii
Mamalahoa Hwy
Honokaa, Hawaii, Hawaii
Phone: (808) 775-7348
Hours: Tue 5pm-8pm; Wed 4pm-6pm - Ka'u Hawaii
Mamalahoa Hwy
Na'alehu, Hawaii, Hawaii
Phone: (808) 929-7123
Hours: Tue 10am-2pm - Keei Hawaii
S Kona Belt Rd
Captain Cook, Hawaii, Hawaii
Phone: (808) 328-8171
Hours: Tue 9am-12pm; Wed 6pm-8pm - Kohala Hawaii
55-524 Hawi Road
Hawi, Hawaii, Hawaii
Phone: (808) 889-5473
Hours: Tue-Wed 6:30-8pm; Thu 10am-12pm - Waimea Hawaii
Kapiolani Rd #5
Kamuela, Hawaii, Hawaii
Phone: (808) 885-4684
Hours: Mon-Wed, Fri-Sat 9am-12pm; Tue-Wed 6:30pm-8pm; Thu 8am-12pm