Genealogy Research: Databases & State Agencies

What's included?

• Documents such as marriage licenses, death records, and burial registers scanned and uploaded by family members;
• Genealogies that do not have any documents attached may or may not necessarily be correct; it is dependent on who is the person that inputted the information and how much they know or don’t know.

Search Tips:

• Inputting an ‘ohana last name into the “First name” box will bring up different results than when inputted into the “Last name” box ::: Try both, it may lead to finding documents of the kupuna who had the name and that later became the ‘ohana name

How to Access:

• Available free through Hawaiʻi State Public Library System with a (free) public library card: visit HSPLS website for more info
• Or, purchase a yearly subscription to set-up an account.

FamilySearch.org is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the 'Mormon Church').

What's included?

Digitized documents, such as census records and “Grantor and Grantee Indexes”, which may be helpful in finding links between name variations and connections to kuleana land titles.

Examples of Hawai'i-specific collections you may want to look in:

• Hawaii, Births and Christenings (1852-1933)
• Hawaii, Marriages (1826-1922)
• Hawaii, Deaths and Burials (1862-1919)

Search tips

• Refer to “MyHeritage.com” section regarding census records TIP: refer to the following section heads regarding this: “Indices of Awards…” Kipuka Database State of Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances (BOC)

How to Access

• It is free to create an account. Still, many collections are available for free, without signing up for an account.

This site offers DNA test kits. DNA match results can help you to find extended family relations. ::: This can be useful in reaching out to extended family members in assisting to piece together gaps in one’s genealogy.

* Please be mindful of the complexities associated with DNA testing (see example of an article on this topic) and use your own discretion. There may be other companies offering DNA kits that better fit your needs - again, do your own research beforehand.

What's included?

• May include links to census records and images of one’s ancestors.

Search Tips:

• The census records primarily explain who was living in the same household and sometimes explains the relationship of members of the household to the “head” of the household, but not necessarily so ::: census records may help to inform additional context to family history, such as birth years.
• Genealogies that do not have a document attached may or may not necessarily be correct; it is dependent on who is the person that inputted the information and how much they know or don’t know.

How to Access:

• Requires fees. Visit myheritage.com for more information.

What's included?

• Hawaiian language newspapers that reference genealogy, birth dates, or death dates;
• Genealogy indexes with reference numbers to divorce records, marriages, death probates and minutes, and wills that hold genealogy information;
• Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) news articles that contain family reunion ads in English along with contact information **may be a way to find extended family that know more about your family genealogy**

Search Tips

• There are cases there are many kupuna in the 1800s that had the same name, yet may not be directly related — be sure that the document you are looking at is the correct one to whom you have ties to and is not someone else who also had the same name; family knowledge such as where one’s kupuna was born, resided, married, died, etc assist in distinguishing.
• Death probates, death minutes books, and wills may provide two or more generations of genealogy, alternative name spellings, and kuleana land references and heirship.
• Divorce records may have the marriage license as part of the divorce case.

How to Access

• Publicly available at https://www.papakilodatabase.com/

How to navigate this site

1. Visit https://www.papakilodatabase.com/
2. Type a kupuna name or family last name into the search bar and press “Search Papakilo”.
3. Within your search results, the “Newspapers” tab will include Hawaiian language newspapers and family reunion ads in English with contact information; “Genealogy Indexes (ULUK)” tab would hold references to divorce records, marriages, and death probates and minutes, and wills.
4. Search through the “Genealogy Indexes (ULUK) tab.
5. Listings of marriage reference are good for learning further family context, but marriage licenses may not necessarily be located.
6. Look at death probate, death minute books, or divorce record references;
7. Then use the reference information (Circuit court number, name, case number) to search for the documents as archived by the Hawaii State Archives and uploaded in their digital archives (see next section for navigation and tips for ordering certified copies of documents).

Shows Kuleana lands (Land Commission Award and Royal Patent) and Grant lands parcel, with a combination of the following kinds of linked documents:

• the Land Commission Award (LCA),
• Royal Patent (RP),
• Native Register,
• Native Testimony (Hawaiian language),
• Foreign Testimony (English language), and
• Survey Boundaries.

Search Tips

• In many cases (not all), a family last name may originally have been the name of a kupuna who received a kuleana land title. Land awards may be in a kupuna’s name but under a variant spelling; in which case, further research is often required to help connect the dots.
• The Native Testimony and/or Foreign Testimony in some cases have genealogy information. TIP: Due to difficulty in reading some of the script of the original documents, one can go onto google.com, and type the name of the kuleana land holder and the Land Commission Award number; typed transcriptions may sometimes appear on ulukau.org (“Ulukau: The Hawaiian Electronic Library”) or waihona.com (Waihona Aina), avakonohiki.org (Ava Konohiki) for easier legibility.

Navigating Kīpuka Database:

1. Visit http://kipukadatabase.com/
2. Click on “Enter Kipuka:”
3. Type awardee name [possibly family last name(s)], or LCA number or RP number (as found in the Indices of Awards) into the search bar.
4. Press “Go” OR ‘magnifying glass’ icon.
5. Either click on highlighted blue parcels on the map and then click on the “Land Award” section in the small pop-up window OR click on ‘magnifying glass on globe icon’ under the “Land Awards” tab; ensure the name and numbers correspond to the correct one you are searching for.
6. Then click on “Link to Other Records” tab.

Ordering Certified Copies

For a fee, certified copies of the files listed under “linked documents” can be ordered in-person or via email from Hawaii State Archives – Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) at archives@hawaii.gov

When requesting by email, state “I would like to order certified copies of the [specify which document(s) here]” and copy-paste the website link that appears for “Links to Other Records” - doing so ensures that the archivist knows exactly what you want to order. If requesting many documents from the archives, request them all at one time rather than adding to your request list - this will help to avoid additional charges for shipping and handling as a ‘new order.’

Address: 364 S King Street Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (808)586-0329
Email: archives@hawaii.gov
Website: https://ags.hawaii.gov/archives/

For more research help resources, visit: https://ags.hawaii.gov/archives/about-us/genealogy-research-guide/

Digital Archives of Hawaii (Hawaii State Archives Digital Archives)

Note: This is a beta digital archives - some of the records may or may not have been digitized and on this website yet.

What's included?

• Microfilm catalogs of death probates/death minute books and divorce records.

How to navigate this site to view microfilm

1. Visit https://digitalarchives.hawaii.gov/
2. Click on “Browse” to be taken to the Browse Catalog.
3. Search for and click on the title “Judiciary”.
4. Search through the catalog corresponding to the specific reference information found on Papakilodatabase.com (refer to Papakilo Database section on this research guide). Depending on the catalog title, you may have to click on an option and look at the first microfilm box to see which case numbers are in that catalog. TIP: When choosing a catalog, right-click and open a new tab to avoid being sent back to the first page of the catalog if you were to click the back arrow.
5. Once reaching the microfilms of the desired catalog, use the second microfilm box to search for the file.
6. Either manually scroll through the entire microfilm OR use the page number box to jump around in the microfilm and scroll up or down until you find the correct case number.
7. Read through the document to ensure that is relevant to your ‘ohana. Sometimes there are multiple people by the same name, so it may not always be the kupuna you are looking for.
8. Save the catalog link and page number for easy reference later on!

Ordering Certified Copies

For a fee, certified copies of the files can be ordered in-person or via email from Hawaii State Archives – Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) at archives@hawaii.gov

• When ordering by email, state “I would like to order certified copies of the [specify which document(s) here]” and copy-paste the website link that appears for the catalog, provide the page number, the case number, and the name on the file :::: doing so ensures that the archivist knows exactly what you want to order!
• When requesting a certified copy of the file, specifically state “I would like the entire file.” Sometimes the document may have pages that may seem useless, however, without specifically stating that, you may run the risk of very important pages *accidentally* being left out in your order request —- important pages that could contain genealogy information, alternative spellings of names, kuleana land references, etc. — and thus, you would want to make an additional order request that would involve extra shipping and handling costs.

Address: 478 S King St , Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (808)586-3500
Website: https://www.librarieshawaii.org/

The Hawaii State Library may have birth records held in microfilms within the “Hawaiian Section” located in the back of the library; birth records on the microfilms help to indicate parents of the previous generation. TIP: If you happen to find a microfilm of a birth record, print and keep a copy; the information such as name spelling, birth date, and parents would be helpful when requesting a certified copy of a birth certificate from the Department of Health (DOH) Vital Records (please refer to the next section). *Free to look, costs to print*

This agency is where one can acquire certified copies of certain birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death records.

A request form is required for certified copies. Because the online request form does not include an option for the requestor to specify the relationship to generations prior to parents, use the following versions of the forms linked below as these allow you to handwrite in the relationship and provide evidence of that relationship.

For “reason for request” section, just write “need certified copy of my ancestor’s record”; These forms may also be used for requesting certain documents prior to 1920 and need to be mail in.

Request Forms:

• Birth certificate
• Marriage record
• Death record: Contact doh.issuancequery@doh.hawaii.gov and ask for the “Request for Certified Copy of Death Record Form for pre-1920 records” from the Office of Health Status Monitoring. The version current as of 7/8/2022 is attached below: