Record Atlas
5 eras · 1795–2026 · 3 places

Hawaii — Kingdom, Republic, Territory and State

Honolulu, Hilo, Lahaina, Kauai, Maui, Molokai. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
1795–1840 Kingdom of Hawaii — absolute monarchy FamilySearch

Kamehameha I established the kingdom in 1795 and Kauai and Niihau joined in 1810, so the unification is dated 1795 or 1810 depending on the source. The monarchy was absolute until the constitution of 1840.
1840–1893 Kingdom of Hawaii — constitutional monarchy FamilySearch

The Great Mahele of 1848 divided the land; each claim was either awarded a Land Commission Award or not, and the awards often name parents, siblings and spouses. The Hawaii State Archives holds marriage records from 1826 and birth and death records from 1853, which are incomplete before 1896.
1893–1898 Overthrow of the monarchy and the Republic of Hawaii FamilySearch

The monarchy was overthrown on January 17, 1893 by the Committee of Safety, backed by U.S. forces. The Republic of Hawaii was established in 1894 and lasted until 1898.
1898–1959 Annexation and Territory of Hawaii FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA) · Chronicling America

The Newlands Resolution was signed on July 7, 1898 and annexation took effect on August 12, 1898. The Hawaiian Organic Act of April 30, 1900 organised the Territory, and martial law was in force from 1941 to 1944.
1959–2026 United States — State of Hawaii FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA) · Chronicling America

Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state on August 21, 1959.

The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.

See the whole span, 1795–2026, on the map →

The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.

3 places on this ground

1742 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

…and 1682 more.

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