You may advise us of errors or omissions via email (hihcgs@yahoo.com). Please do not submit research requests. Instead, contact one of the lookup volunteers at Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness or Books We Own.

Bishop Museum Library & Archives
1525 Bernice Street
P.O. Box 19000-A
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817-0916
Phone: (808)848-4148

HOURS: T, Th 1-4pm; Sat, except holiday weekends, 9am-12pm.

FUNCTION: The Bishop Museum Library is a private non-profit research library, dedicated to the collection and preservation of the records of the natural and cultural history of Hawaii and the Pacific region, and to the dissemination of information, the fostering of research and the support of Bishop Museum programs

SUBJECT AREAS: Cultural and natural history of Hawaii and the Pacific region. The collections include manuscripts and archives as well as published materials.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS: Fuller Collection of Pacific Books; Carter Collection of Hawaiiana; Hawaiian language newspapers; printed texts in Hawaiian and other Pacific island languages; manuscripts and archival materials; maps and nautical charts; aerial photographs of Pacific islands; early voyage and travel accounts.

In 1991, the "Visual Collection" was incorporated into the Archives. This collection includes art, photographs and motion picture film focusing on Hawaii and the South Pacific. The collection contains both cultural and natural history materials: Early case photographs (ambrotypes; daguerreotypes and tintypes); early voyage art; the Ray Jerome Baker collection; Bishop Museum staff photograph albums. The Visual Collection holdings include 700 16mm films, 100 8mm films; 45 videocassettes; 20,000 slides, 750,000 photographs; 3,300 artwork (flat).

HOLDINGS: 90,000 books; 1,700 magazine titles; 25,000 pamphlets; 1,500 microfiche; 1,000 microfilm reels; 20,000 maps, 70,000 aerial photos; manuscripts and archives

Hawaii State Archives
'Iolani Palace Grounds
364 S. King Street
Honolulu HI 96813
Phone: (808)586-0329

HOURS: M-F 9am-4pm. CLosed Sat, Sun, and state holidays.

FUNCTION: To collect all Hawaii public archives.

USE POLICY: Holdings available for use by all researchers. Use of some material may be subject to restrictions placed on them by statute or by the agency/donor. On-site use only.

SUBJECT AREAS: Government and history of Hawaii.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS: Monarchy, Republic, Territorial and State archives, 1790 to date; Hawaiian government publications and laws; Captain James Cook Memorial Collection; Hawaiian newspapers dating back to 1834; Passenger arrival records to 1900; Personal papers of Hawaiian monarchs and other prominent people of Hawaii; Photographs and maps relating to Hawaii.

PUBLICATIONS: Archives of Hawaii (1984); Searching genealogical records in Hawaii (1982); Procedures for patrons, Hawaii State Archives (1984); Guide to land records (1987).

HOLDINGS: 2,700 books; 60 magazine titles; 210 newspaper titles; 542 microfiche; 3,299 microfilm reels; federal archives and manuscripts.

Hawaii Chinese History Center
111 North King Street, Ste 307
Honolulu HI 96817
Phone: (808)521-5948

HOURS: T-F 10am-1pm

PURPOSE: To preserve the cultural heritage of the Chinese people in Hawaii through oral history recordings, collection of source material documents and artifacts, support of ethnic studies and the publication thereof, restoration of historical sites, and sponsorship of study groups on the Chinese heritage in Hawaii.

HOLDINGS: A beginning collection of books, periodicals, pamphlets, photographs, genealogies, documents and artifacts.

SUBJECTS:  Chinese societies, biographies of Chinese, current Chinese news, early Chinese immigration, geography of China, historic sites, Chinese Americans in U.S., esp. Hawaii.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS: Oral history and documents on the Chinese in Hawaii.

PUBLICATIONS: Guidelines on tape recording the history of the Chinese in Hawaii, maps, newsletter, occasional papers.

SERVICES: Reference service, newsletter to members, reading room, research consultation, slide lectures. Membership in this non-profit organization: $5 for individuals and institutions; $10 family; $25 Sustaining; and $500 Life.

Hawaiian Mission Children's Society Library
553 South King Street
Honolulu HI 96813
Phone: (808)447-3919

HOURS: T-F 10am-4pm

FUNCTION: To collect and preserve written and pictorial material from the missionary period of 19th-century Hawaii, and to make this material available for study and research.

USE POLICY: Unrestricted use of the general library collection. Unpublished papers may be studied by arrangement with the librarian. On-site use only.

SUBJECT AREAS: The general focus of the Library's collections is on the history of Hawai‘i from 1778 to 1900.

HOLDINGS: 12,000 printed volumes and over 300 linear feet of manuscript material, including:

• Correspondence of the New England Protestant missionaries living in Hawai‘i, including letters, journals and reports, personal as well as business, 1820 - 1880.
• Archives of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association, including individual church records and reports written by American protestant missionaries and Native Hawaiian pastors.
• Hawaiian-language books, including the earliest imprints in the language, 1822 - 1900.
• Micronesian and Marquesan language books and primary sources.
• Books on early voyages to Hawai‘i and the Pacific.
• Pictorial collections, including drawings, sketches, lithographs, photographs and copperplate engravings.
• Microfilm of missionary letters and journals

Central Union Church Archives
1660 South Beretania Street
Honolulu HI 96826
Phone: (808)941-0957
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HOURS: By appointment.

USE POLICY: Most of the resources held by Central Union Church are available to the public only through the church historians, Suzanne Case and Rosemary Eberhardt. You may reach Mrs. Case for a question or an appointment through the church office.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS: Central Union Church is the repository of all extant records of the Portuguese Evangelical Church, also known as Pilgrim Church, formed in the 1890s for Portuguese-speaking Protestants. That church rejoined Central Union in 1940. Holdings include parish records, burial records for internments in that portion of Makiki Cemetery owned and maintained by Central Union Church, a plot map of the cemetery, photos, documents, and other materials.

HOLDINGS:

• Central Union Church membership records 1887-present.
• Bound volumes of church bulletins, newsletters, trustee minutes, council minutes, preschool minutes, and annual reports.
• Sermons.
• Deeds, maps, blueprints, and architectural plans.
• Records of members, clergy, and staff.
• Records of the Portuguese Evangelical Church, Book 1, 1892-1917. All information is in the Portuguese language. Individual entries are in narrative form.
• Records of the Pilgrim [Portuguese] Church, Book 2, 1918-1936. Handwritten journal entries in the Portuguese language. Later minutes are in English and usually typewritten.
• Records of the Pilgrim Church, Book 3, 1925-1940. Member lists for 1925 and 1940; short list of members who joined between 11 April 1926 and 24 March 1939; record of deaths from 22 January 1928 to 25 December 1932; record of marriages from 20 May 1924 to 19 January 1930; record of baptisms from 25 April 1924 to 26 August 1924.
• Baptism Records, Portuguese Evangelical Church/Pilgrim Church. Contains about 325 names from 25 December 1892 to 24 April 1940.
• A Card Index of Parish Members. About 1910 to 1915, divided by members, baptisms, marriages, deaths, etc.
• 0-66 O. P. Soares, Portuguese Evangelical Church, 1910. This record is held by the Hawaii State Archives; Central Union has a photocopy. Soares was the minister in 1910.
• Holdings also inlcude photographs, guestbooks, books, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings.

Hawaiian Historical Society
560 Kawaiahao St.
Honolulu HI 96813
Phone: (808)537-6271

HOURS: T-F 10am-4pm

FUNCTION: To make available public research materials and information on the history of Hawaii and the Pacific.

USE POLICY: Unrestricted reference use. No circulation or interlibrary loan.

SUBJECT AREAS: History of Hawaii, Polynesia and the Pacific; including voyages and travels, biographies, social life and customs, native Hawaiians and immigrant groups.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS: Early voyages to Hawaii and the Pacific, 19th century Hawaiian newspapers, Hawaiian language publications, manuscripts, photographs.

PUBLICATIONS: The Hawaiian Journal of History (annual); Newsletter (quarterly); Annual Report; Indexes to the Journal; books on Hawaii's history. Publications catalog available on request.

HOLDINGS: 12,000 books and pamphlets, 35 linear feet of manuscripts.

Lyman Museum and Mission House Archives
276 Haili Street
Hilo HI 96720 (island of Hawaii)
Phone: (808)935-5021

HOURS: By appointment.

FUNCTION: Archives for Museum staff; access to the public by permission.

USE POLICY: By appointment, under supervision.

SUBJECT AREAS: Hawaiian history with emphasis on missionary years; geology; ethnic groups, as related to the Museum's exhibits.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS: Old New England newspapers with information on Hawaii; historical photographs; missionary correspondence (if on the big island); records of the Hilo boarding school, Hamakua Sugar Company, Kohala Sugar Company, and C. Brewer and Company.

HOLDINGS: 7,500 books; 10,000 photographs

Hawaii State Library
478 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
M, W: 10am-5pm; T, F, S: 9am-5pm; Th: 9am-8pm; Sun Closed

Hawaii and Pacific Section Phone: (808)586-3535

Language, Literature & History Section Phone: (808)586-3499