Interview Testimony
BY: Christine Hitt
Researching genealogy can be a long quiet process. It involves spending hours or days in libraries or among the many bookcases at the county courthouses. And, most times,the research is being done on ancestors who you and your parents have never met, and on ancestors that your grandparents only have vague recollections of what their own parents may have passed on to them. So, most times, what you know of your ancestors are what is left of their existence–federal and state records.
In 1911, the Certificate of Hawaiian Birth program was established to register all births that had occurred in Hawaii who were one years of age at that time, or older. People were born at home, so there was no documentation. The Territory of Hawaii asked that each person testify and produce witnesses to their birth in Hawaii and the testimony was transcribed into an interview format. As a genealogist, what I love about these records is that it brings life to the people you are researching and I have gotten every single one of them for my family that I can find. I even get copies of people that are related but not a direct ancestor, because there is still always a possibility that your ancestor was their witness or that they are mentioned in the testimony in some way.
They are a charming read while introducing you to some interesting facts. They also verify everything you have done in your own research and these interviews can be used as proof in verification of your Hawaiian blood quantum, which is more important today with Kamehameha Schools, DHHL and OHA.
More importantly, these interviews bring you back to your roots. Here are some excerpts of my great grandmother’s testimony, in “The Case of Hattie Kuoha Akee”:
Testimony of Applicant, conducted in English.
Your correct name?
Mrs. Hattie Haliaka Kuoha Akee
Where were you born?
Peahi, Maui
When?
June 17, 1900
Your father and mother were Maui people?
Mother from Waikapu and father from Kahakuloa
Was he pure Hawaiian?
Yes.
And, testimony from her witness, Rachel Kiakona.
Where were you born?
Waipio, Huelo, Maui
When were you born?
September 10, 1889
How long have you actually known Mrs. Akee?
I knew the mother very well before Hattie was born, and I taught the whole family at Halehaku School.
Do you remember the name of Hattie’s father?
Sam Kuoha
Hawaiian?
Yes. I think he attended Lahainaluna.
