Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia Genealogy

Guide to Pohnpei ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
When the island was sighted on 3 January 1832 it was already on charts as "Ascension Island;" it is uncertain who first called it Ascension Island, but the name became established until the Spanish period. By 1886 the Spaniards claimed the Caroline Islands which were part of the Manila-based Spanish East Indies and began to exert political authority. Spanish Capuchin friars were also sent from Manila to Pohnpei to preach the Catholic faith. After the 1898 Spanish–American War, the German Empire purchased the Caroline island group from Spain in 1899 together with the Marianas except for Guam, and 4 years later the Marshall Islands for 17 million goldmark. During the German administration a fundamental change in land ownership was implemented on Pohnpei and throughout the Carolines and with the Treaty of Versailles, Japan as mandatory power assumed control of all German colonial possessions north of the equator, that included Pohnpei. The Federated States of Micronesia achieved independence in 1986 after being administered by the United States under UN auspices since 1947 as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 

Online Resources
A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:


 * Micronesia, Pohnpei Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Micronesia, Pohnpei, Court Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Micornesia, Pohnpei, Land Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)