SPECIFIC HELP FOR DIFFERENT RACES
Because Hawaiian women married all nationalities, it is important to learn about special records that pertain only to certain races. The effort should be made to visit one of the community LDS (Mormon) Family History Centers. If possible, the one to use would be the Family History Center on Beckley Street in Kalihi, Honolulu. This library specializes in collecting records that will aid Native Hawaiians, and the staff is very helpful in guiding searchers to the records they need. One does not need to be Mormon to use these Family History Centers, and there will be people to help you translate Hawaiian documents.
The following are some suggestions for various races:
1. Chinese – Contact the Chinese Historical Society. It is a very active organization and can help with translations. Read Jean Ohai’s pamphlet, “Chinese Genealogy and Family Guide Book,” available at the Hawaii State Archives, the Hawaii and Pacific Section of the main Library, or may be for sale from the Chinese Historical Society. The Hawaii State Archives has many excellent records on Chinese immigrants such as Labor Permits, Permits for wife and children of an immigrant laborer, Permits for Hawaii born Chinese who wanted to visit China and then return. More Chinese Genealogy Research Help
2. Japanese – The key to Japanese research is finding the family Koseki which is the family registry that Japanese immigrants brought with them from their villages. The Japanese Consulate has an index to passenger lists from 1885 to 1910. The passenger lists are also at the Bishop Museum and the Hawaii State Archives. The Hawaii State Library has a microfilm copy of the card index of passenger lists found at the Hawaii State Archives. Researchers can call the Japanese Consulate with the family name, date of arrival and the name of the ship the ancestors came in and find out which part of Japan they came from. Also refer to the LDS (Mormon) research paper on dates records are available for Japanese research.
3. Filipino – The Hawaii Sugar Planters Association kept records on Filipino contract laborers between 1906 and 1941. These include the date of arrival, plantation assignments, family members and date of deportation. The LDS (Mormon) Family History Center in Kaneohe has an excellent three volume set on how to do research in the Philippines. This set is also found in the Hawaii and Pacific section at the Hawaii State Library.
 |
4. Portuguese – Contact the Portuguese Historical Society, it has Portuguese records to search. The Portuguese Historical Society provides Portuguese translators and holds workshops throughout the community. The office of the Consul for Portugal has passenger lists of Portuguese immigration from 1879 to 1913.
5.Tahitian, Maori, Samoan, Tongan – The best place to go for information on these races is the LDS (Mormon) Family History Center on campus at Brigham Young University, Laie. Because the college has students of these Polynesian races, there will be translators available, and people with knowledge of record searching in their countries. The LDS (Mormon) Family History Centers have research papers for these areas.
6. Caucasian – Most Caucasian immigrants to Hawaii were whalers, ship captains, merchants, and missionaries. Missionary records are found at the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Library. Merchants and other early arrivals are mentioned in early historical accounts found in the Hawaii State Archives and various libraries. For those interested in tracing these lines to the mainland or Europe, use the LDS (Mormon) Family History Center, use the DAR Library and the Genealogy Section of the Hawaii State Library. Many of the Caucasians who settled in the Hawaiian Islands had roots in the mainland eastern seashore states. The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library has a good collection of Colonial States records.
For whalers, ship captains and other seafaring men, try the usual sources as well as the Hawaii Maritime Library or the Lahaina Restoration Society. The Lahaina Restoration Society has the Pacific Manuscript Bureau Microfilm Collection which is 450 reels of film of ships’ Captains’ logs and journals. This collection is also found in the Hawaiian and Pacific Collection at the Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii. Hamilton Library has the index to this collection called, “Where the Whalers Went.”
