This week’s theme for 52 Ancestors is heirloom. One item I would really like to have is the bango tags of my great great grandparents is their bango. Do you know what a bango is? No, it is not a drug reference and I didn’t misspell a musical instrument. The word comes from the Japanese…
Category: Hawaii Genealogy
Do You Know These Women from the Kilauea Sugar Plantation?
Years ago, a friend sent me this photograph. I honestly have no clue where the photograph originates from. But, it is a tribute to the forgotten history of the sugar plantation era. Women worked on the plantations alongside their male counterparts. Their labor made a major contribution to the sugar plantation era. The photograph is…
The Problem with Names Part 2: Latinization
For many early Portuguese immigrants to Hawaii, their main contact outside of the plantation was through the local Catholic Church. For many genealogists, church records may be the only way to identify links back to the “old country”. When researching, you must be aware of the many name variations or you may miss your ancestors….
SNGF: One of My Favorite Family Photos
This week Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge is tell everyone about a favorite family photo. I have so many, I don’t know where to start! I’ve decided to post this one. Well, it’s a painting rather than a photograph, but I’m going with it anyway. You’ll notice it is two photos, but it…
The Problem with Names Part 1: How’s that Spelled?
Many of the first wave of Portuguese immigrants carried very little if any documentation with them. They were most likely poor and illiterate. The people in Hawaiian taking information from these immigrants usually had no prior knowledge of the language. Portuguese enunciation was different from what they were used to. Also, the recorder wasn’t always…