Hawaiian Genealogy for beginners. #1

While genealogy will eventually help you understand your family history and even a little bit about yourself, genealogy is about your ancestors. Remember...most of them never knew you. Also, our own birth records are only a very small part of a much bigger picture. Having said that, all ohana genealogy "ends" with you and your own ohana. It is only part of the whole but you should have your own documents secured, copied and linked to your parents. That is how you discover how to go further. The goal is to have your parents birth and marriage records but also a list of their children, with at least your own birth record.

My mother was pretty adamant about my having all of my birth records. Mom even kept the card from my hospital ward room. Still have it. These things are not just records but, the card is a nice touch as much as a real source record. If you know who your grandparents were/are....even better. I didn't have that exact information until my dad became ill, only a few years before he passed. While dad was never very forthcoming about his family, even when his mother was visiting, my siblings and me did have a chance to see my uncle's start with genealogy. He didn't have much but he gave us all a 1977 sneak peak at something called the; "Internet" when Uncle James Miller hooked up his computer to our telephone to link to information in Hawaii. After dad had to have someone move into cook and clean for him, my sister Cheryl called me about a hand written document on brown paper, and signed by uncle James. It was a partial family tree, as far as Jams got before his and dad's mother passed in 1983. He even signed and dated it 1983, when he came to return their mother to the Big Island from Southern California. So always use anything left to you by your ohana. James got to my GGG grandparents on both sides of his mother's parentage. Still takes time to document with proper sources.

Beginning you own genealogy should start with you, your siblings, your parents and their parents. Look to you uncles and aunties and respect their wishes.