Pacific Island Guide to Family History Research

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by Noël Neville Cardon

Because Pacific island family history is based largely on an oral tradition, researchers face special challenges. They need to use special methods. These methods are not widely known among family history researchers, so in writing this guide, we found Pacific islanders who had been successful in doing family history work and learned from them how they did it.The people who shared their stories and information with me were very kind and generous, and it is their hard work that has made this guide possible. Most of their names are in the Bibliography.

I tried to find someone from each of the island groups to interview, but was not able to get a case study from all groups. My hope is that one of the case studies in Step 9 will be close enough to your situation to help you.

Table of Contents

How to Use This Guide Latter-day Saint Pacific Island Heritage Steps of Research for Pacific Island Ancestors


 * Step 1. Write what you can from memory
 * Step 2. Gather written records
 * Step 3. Learn about customs and history
 * By clicking on this step, you can learn about:
 * Personal names
 * Determining gender
 * Wriitten records that are available
 * Other sources of informtion
 * Step 4. Gather oral histories from your oldest relatives
 * Step 5. Organize your information
 * Step 6. Organize your papers
 * Step 7. Track your research
 * Step 8. Find ancestors on the IGI
 * Step 9. Obtain and search other records
 * By clicking on this step 9, you will get information about:
 * Island naming customs
 * How dates have been estimated
 * How to decide whether a name is male or female
 * Other Pacific island customs related to family history
 * The Cole Jensen Collection and Index
 * Oral Genealogies collected during the 1970s
 * How to use records from institutions near you
 * How to use photographic collections
 * How to use the Family History Library Catalog[[Image:Pacific Map.png|thumb|right|350px|Click this map to enlarge it. The Pacific islands are split into 3 groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.]]
 * For more detailed information about each island group, click on the links below.

Table of Pacific Island Names


 * Cook Islands (Includes Rarotonga)
 * Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
 * Fiji
 * French Polynesia
 * Austral Islands
 * Gambier Islands
 * Marquesas Islands
 * Society Islands
 * Tuamotu Islands
 * Hawaii background and case study
 * Hawaii research helps
 * Micronesia
 * Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)
 * Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
 * Kiribati (Gilbert Islands)
 * Marshall Islands
 * Nauru
 * Palau
 * New Caledonia
 * New Zealand Maori Customs and Background
 * New Zealand Maori research ideas
 * Niue [[Image:Captain Cook.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Capt. Cook, a British explorer, mapped many of the Pacific islands.]]
 * Papua New Guinea
 * Samoa (Western and American)
 * Solomon Islands
 * Tokelau
 * Tonga
 * Tongan customs and research ideas
 * Tongan oral history
 * Register of Tongan Oral Histories
 * Tuvalu (Ellice Islands)
 * Vanuatu
 * Wallis and Futuna Islands

Step 10. Submit names to the IGI Step 11. Share what you found Pacific Island Guide Bibliography

= How to Use This Guide =

Steps 1 through 7 and Steps 9 and 11 are the same for all Pacific island researchers. They will help you get started with your basic family history work.

Some of the information in Steps 8, and 10 are about temple work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon). Just use the information in the guide that will be of help to you in your needs. You will find that you will be skipping back and forth from one step to another as you do your research. This is normal, so feel free to do it.