Monday, October 22, 2012

A List of “New to Me” books for Hawaiian Genealogy Research


Some of these books I bought and read before the trip, and others I picked up at the Iolani Palace gift shop, the Bishop Museum gift shop, or at Na Mea Hawaii, the native bookstore at the Ward Warehouse Mall in Honolulu http://www.nativebookshawaii.com/   Most can probably be found at your local bookstore or online.  It is important to read books about the location you are visiting for genealogy research, whether it is a new town, new state or new country.   Even if you have been there before, there is always something new.

Hawaiian Journey: Images of Yesterday, by Joseph G. Mullins, Mutual Publishing, 1978

Illustrated Hawaiian Dictionary, by Kahikahealani Wight, Bess Press, Honolulu, 2009

Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Adventures, by Julia Flynn Siler, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2012

Oahu Revealed, by Andrew Doughty, Wizard Publications, Inc., 2010

The Queen and I:  A Story of Dispossessions and Reconnections in Hawai’I, by Sydney Lehua Iaukea, University of California Press, 2012

The Queen’s Songbook, by Her Majesty Queen Lili’uokalani, published by Hui Hanai, 1999 reprinted 2011

The Rise and Fall of the Hawaiian Kingdom: A Pictorial History, by Richard A. Wisniewski, Pacific Printing and Publishing, 1979

A new magazine I discovered six months before my trip:
Mana: The Hawaiian Magazine, published bimonthly by MANA Media LLC http://www.mymanamagazine.com/ and also on Facebook

For a listing of the books I read for my first Hawaiian research trip in 2010, please see this link: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/08/bibliography-for-my-hawaii-genealogy.html



While in Hawaii I asked about the newest books, and two cousins recommended The Queen and I.  It was written by a descendant of Curtis P. Iaukea, who was the chamberlain to Queen Liliuokalani.  I read it on the flight home, and it was an excellent book for understanding land rights in Hawaii.

I had heard about the new book Lost Kingdom, by Siler.  It was both applauded and panned by Hawaiian historians and genealogists.  Two Oahua friends, whose opinion I trust,  recommended it and I picked up a copy at Na Mea.  I haven't read it yet, but it is a landmark book about the illegal takeover of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

I also learned that Hawaii’s Story, by Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani now available in paperback will be republished as a hardcover book in 2013.   The original book was published by my cousin William Lee, and cousin to the Queen’s husband, John Owen Dominis.  Lee & Shepard Publishers of Boston printed the book in 1898.   Several members of my extended family have the original book.    I read some of the correspondence between William Lee and the Queen at the Hawaii State Archives, and I was thrilled that some of it mentioned relatives, including my 3x great grandmother!  Hawaii's Story is also available to read online at http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/liliuokalani/hawaii/hawaii.html 

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo


1 comment:

  1. I'm happy to hear they are republishing Hawaii's Story. I have a battered, falling apart 25 cents paperback I picked up at used book store. I'd rather have it in hardcover. I skimmed through the book The Queen and I and contacted the author, since her great grandfather or grandfather was Frederick H. Iaukea and my grandfather's sister married a Frederick H. Iaukea, I wanted to know if they were the same person. We still don't know for sure, but I'm just guessing my Frederick is her Frederick's nephew, based on dates.

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