Hawaii has printed newspapers since 1834, many of them in the Hawaiian language. The Hawaii State Archives indexes obituaries from 1836 to 1950, and the free Papakilo Database makes Hawaiian-language newspapers searchable.
Hawaii obituaries in historic newspapers
Ka Lama Hawaii, printed at Lahainaluna on Maui in 1834, was the first newspaper in Hawaii, and the English-language Sandwich Island Gazette followed in 1836. More than 100 Hawaiian-language newspapers were published between 1834 and 1948, and they record deaths, genealogies and kanikau (mourning chants) that do not appear anywhere else.
Sugar and pineapple plantations brought Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Filipino and Korean workers, and each community had its own newspapers. Japanese-language papers such as the Hawaii Hochi and Nippu Jiji printed death notices for plantation families. The Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin were the main English-language papers in the 1900s.
The Hawaii State Archives keeps an obituary index covering 1836 to 1950 and has many of the cited papers on microfilm. The Hawaii State Library’s main branch in Honolulu holds newspaper microfilm and an index to obituaries in the Honolulu dailies.
Where to find Hawaii obituaries
Digitized Hawaii newspapers
- Papakilo Database — Free searchable Hawaiian-language newspapers and other historical sources.
Obituary and death indexes
- Obituary Index, Hawaii State Archives — Index to obituaries in Hawaii newspapers, 1836–1950.
- Hawaii, Obituaries Index, ca. 1980–present (FamilySearch) — Free index to more recent Hawaii obituaries.
Archives and libraries
- Hawaii State Public Library System — Newspaper microfilm and obituary indexes at the Hawaii State Library in Honolulu.
- Hawaii Newspapers, FamilySearch Research Wiki — Volunteer-maintained guide to Hawaii newspaper archives, indexes and microfilm, with county-by-county links.
Nationwide newspaper archives
- Chronicling America, Library of Congress — Free digitized newspapers from every state. Narrow a search to Hawaii and the years you need.
- Google News Archive — Free scans of hundreds of older newspapers, browsable by title and date.
- Internet Archive newspapers — Free digitized newspapers and microfilm uploaded by libraries.
- FamilySearch — Free obituary indexes, death records and the Social Security Death Index (free account).
- Find a Grave — Volunteer-built cemetery memorials, many with transcribed obituaries.
- Newspapers.com — Large subscription archive of U.S. papers. Many public libraries offer free access.
- GenealogyBank — Subscription archive of historic newspapers and modern obituaries.
- Legacy.com — Obituaries published since about 2000 in most U.S. daily newspapers.
Tips for finding an obituary in Hawaii
- Pin down the date and place first. A death index or death certificate gives the exact date and county, and then you only need to search the local papers for the following week or two.
- Search more than one town. Obituaries often ran in the paper where the person was born or had lived before, not just where they died. Small-town weeklies sometimes published a notice weeks later.
- Look beyond the word “obituary.” Older papers reported deaths under headings like “Died,” “Deaths,” local news and personals columns, funeral notices and cards of thanks. See death notices vs. obituaries.
- Try every spelling. Search initials, nicknames and misspellings, and for married women in older papers, search the husband’s name (“Mrs. John Smith”). Digitized text often misreads old type.
- Ask a librarian. Many public libraries and state archives will look up an obituary for free or a small fee, and newspaper microfilm can often be borrowed through interlibrary loan.