Hawaii Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

 * 1500s-1900s All U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s at Ancestry; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Hawaii; Also at MyHeritage; index only ($)
 * 1843-1900 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1895-1956 United States, Border Crossings from Canada, 1895-1956 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Hawaii
 * 1895-1964 All U.S., Border Crossings from Mexico to U.S., 1895-1964 at Ancestry; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Hawaii
 * 1900-1952 Index to Passengers Arriving at Honolulu, Hawaii, 1900-1952 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1900-1952 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1900-1953 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images; Also at FindMyPast — index & images ($); MyHeritage — index & images ($)
 * 1900-1959 Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1912-1946 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images


 * 1941-1948 Hawaii, Passenger Lists, 1941-1948 at Ancestry; index & images ($)
 * 1942-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1947-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild at MyHeritage; index only ($)

Cultural Groups

 * 1852-1900 Departures of Chinese from Hawaii, 1852-1900, images
 * 1888-1898 Chinese entry permits, 1888-1898, images
 * 1891-1898 Index to entry permits for Chinese minors, 1891-1898, images
 * 1893-1898 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index & images
 * 1900-1952 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1903-1944 Hawaii, U.S., Index to Chinese Exclusion Case Files, 1903-1944 at FamilySearch; index only ($)
 * 1906-1977 Filipino Laborers Collection, 1906 to about 1977; index & images
 * 1909-1910 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Hawaii
 * 1946 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * Hawaii State Archives Index to Chinese Passenger Manifests
 * Hawaii State Archives Japanese Passenger Manifests Index
 * Germans Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Hawaii
 * Italians Immigrating to the United States at MyHeritage; index only ($); includes those with Destination of Hawaii

Passport Records Online

 * 1874-1898 at FamilySearch — How to Use This Collection - index and images
 * 1795-1925 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1795-1925 U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 Index and images, at Ancestry ($)

Offices to Contact
Although many records are included in the online records listed above, there are other records available through these archives and offices. For example, there are many minor ports that have not yet been digitized. There are also records for more recent time periods. For privacy reasons, some records can only be accessed after providing proof that your ancestor is now deceased.

National Archives and Records Administration

 * The National Archives (NARA) has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1820 and 1982. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival (See Part 5).
 * You may do research in immigration records in person at the National Archives Building, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001.


 * Some National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regional facilities have selected immigration records; call to verify their availability or check the online Microfilm Catalog.
 * Libraries with large genealogical collections, such as the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and the Allen County Public Library also have selected NARA microfilm publications.
 * Order copies of passenger arrival records with NATF Form 81.

U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services Genealogy Program
The USCIS Genealogy Program is a fee-for-service program that provides researchers with timely access to historical immigration and naturalization records of deceased immigrants. If the immigrant was born less than 100 years ago, you will also need to provide proof of his/her death.

Immigration Records Available

 * A-Files: Immigrant Files, (A-Files) are the individual alien case files, which became the official file for all immigration records created or consolidated since April 1, 1944.
 * Alien Registration Forms (AR-2s): Alien Registration Forms (Form AR-2) are copies of approximately 5.5 million Alien Registration Forms completed by all aliens age 14 and older, residing in or entering the United States between August 1, 1940 and March 31, 1944.
 * Registry Files:''' Registry Files are records, which document the creation of immigrant arrival records for persons who entered the United States prior to July 1, 1924, and for whom no arrival record could later be found.
 * Files:''' Visa Files are original arrival records of immigrants admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924.

Requesting a Record

 * Web Request Page allows you to request a records, pay fees, and upload supporting documents (proof of death).
 * Record Requests Frequently Asked Questions

Finding Town of Origin
Records in the countries emigrated from are kept on the local level. You must first identify the name of the town where your ancestors lived to access those records. If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it.
 * U. S. Immigration Records: Finding the Town of Origin

Background

 * Less than 1 percent of Hawaii's population is pure-blooded Hawaiian.
 * Many immigrant groups originally came as contract laborers to work in the sugar fields. The Chinese began arriving in 1852, followed by the Portuguese in 1878, the Japanese in 1884, Koreans in 1903, and Filipinos in 1906.
 * Those of Japanese descent presently constitute about 30 percent of the total population, and are the largest ethnic group in Hawaii.
 * American missionaries from New England started coming in 1820, but the number of Americans was not significant until about 1875.

Immigration Records
Immigration refers to people coming into a country. Emigration refers to people leaving a country to go to another. Immigration records usually take the form of ship's passenger lists collected at the port of entry. See Online Resources.

Information in Passenger Lists

 * Before 1820 - Passenger lists before 1820 included name, departure information and arrival details. The names of wives and children were often not included.


 * 1820-1891 - Customs Passenger Lists between 1820 and 1891 asked for each immigrant’s name, their age, their sex, their occupation, and their country of origin, but not the city or town of origin.


 * 1891-1954 - Information given on passenger lists from 1891 to 1954 included:
 * name, age, sex,
 * nationality, occupation, marital status,
 * last residence, final destination in the U.S.,
 * whether they had been to the U.S. before (and if so, when, where and how long),
 * if joining a relative, who this person was, where they lived, and their relationship,
 * whether able to read and write,
 * whether in possession of a train ticket to their final destination, who paid for the passage,
 * amount of money the immigrant had in their possession,
 * whether the passenger had ever been in prison, a poorhouse, or in an institution for the insane,
 * whether the passenger was a polygamist,
 * and immigrant's state of health.


 * 1906-- - In 1906, the physical description and place of birth were included, and a year later, the name and address of the passenger’s closest living relative in the country of origin was included.

 National Archives Catalog  RG 85 Immigration and Naturalization Service - District 17, Honolulu 
 * Register of Japanese Arrivals and Register of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans Detained for Boards of Special Inquiry, 6/27/1899 - 6/20/1905
 * Registers of Arrival and Disposition of Chinese Persons, 12/31/1899 - 12/17/1941
 * Registers of Arrivals of Japanese Free People, 12/4/1898 - 6/12/1900
 * Index to Hawaiian Certificates of Identity, pre, 1898 Images

Information in Passports
Over the years, passports and passport applications contained different amounts of information about the passport applicant. The first passports that are available begin in 1795. These usually contained the individual's name, description of individual, and age. More information was required on later passport applications, such as:


 * Birthplace
 * Birth date
 * Naturalization information
 * Arrival information, if foreign born

For Further Reading
The FamilySearch Library has additional sources listed in their catalog: