(The Genealogist)
Volume 16, Number 6
November–December 2007
Honolulu County Genealogical Society
Post Office Box 235039
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96823-3500
Website: www.rootsweb.com/~hihcgs
Board of Directors
President:
Vice-president:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Director:
Director:
Director:
Thomas Bopp
Bobby Stevens
Georgia Kinney Bopp
Harriet Hoffman
Zon Owen
Martha Reamy
Donna Wendt
Committees
APCUG Representative: Joann Henely
Hospitality:
Martha Reamy
Membership:
Harriet Hoffman
Newsletter:
Jan Everly Williams
Program Planning:
Georgia Kinney Bopp
Publicity:
Roberta E. Jones
Webmaster:
Jan Everly Williams
Meetings
General:
9:00 A.M. second Saturday of
each month at 2790-9 Kahaloa
Drive, Recreation Building
Held quarterly
Board of Directors:
Membership
Annual Dues:
Individual $12
Family $18
Board and Committee Contacts
Bopp, Georgia Kinney
Bopp, Thomas
Hoffman, Harriet
Jones, Roberta E.
Owen, Zon
Reamy, Martha E.
Stevens, Bobby
Wendt, Donna
Williams, Jan Everly
(808) 261-8088
[email protected]
(808) 261-8088
[email protected]
(808) 395-2405
[email protected]
(808) 672-0777
[email protected]
(808) 597-8493
[email protected]
(808) 695-5761
[email protected]
(808) 523-8779
[email protected]
(808) 396-2620
[email protected]
(808) 545-5911
[email protected]
Upcoming Programs
November 10—Sorenson Molecular Genealogy
Foundation discussion with free test kits:
www.rootsweb.com/~hihcgs/programs.html.
December 2—Brunch 10:00–1:00, Hickam
Officers’ Club, for those who signed up.
December 8—International Society of Genetic
Genealogy meeting, 9:30 A.M. at our
usual meeting place. All are welcome.
In the Next Issue
• Strategies for Finding Female Ancestors
• Evaluating Internet Resources
In This Issue
DNA Testing for Hawai‘i’s People ................1
Ancestral Occupations ...................................4
In Brief ..........................................................6
WWI: Born Hawai‘i, Registered New Jersey .7
DNA Testing for
Hawai‘i’s People
By Georgia Kinney Bopp
Many people wish to DNA test
to learn more about their
personal genealogy or ancient
ancestry. This is a pioneer field, and there is
much to be learned. Many hobbyists have
begun surname projects or geographical
projects. One benefit of these group projects is
a reduced rate for some of the tests.
At this time, there are very few surname
projects for names associated with the
various diverse ethnic populations living in
Hawai‘i. Until this changes, interested
participants with Hawai‘i connections are
welcome to test through two projects that
qualify for the group rate offered by Family
Tree DNA (FTDNA). There are other
testing companies; however, the administrators of the Hawaiian Ancestry and
Hawaiian Islanders projects, mentioned
below, all found their way to FTDNA and
are happy with their services.
100% Native Hawaiian or that both your
maternal and paternal lines be Native
Hawaiian. Either the direct maternal or
direct paternal line meets the requirement.
The project requirement is based on the
limitations of DNA testing, as known today,
and should not be considered a definition of
Hawaiian ancestry. Direct maternal/paternal
lines are described at the following link:
www.ftdna.com/public/hawaiianancestry.
Hawaiian Islanders: All Ethnic
Groups
If your direct maternal or paternal line is not
Native Hawaiian, you may participate via
this project, which is for all members of all
ethnic groups who have roots in the
Hawaiian Islands. This includes both those
of “full-blooded” and of “mixed” ethnic
backgrounds—including but not limited to
Pacific Islanders, Asians (Chinese, Japanese,
Korean, Filipino, etc.), Hispanics/Portuguese, and Caucasians. Hawaiian Islanders
who participate in this project can obtain
group rates available at FTDNA for some of
the tests of interest to genealogy and
anthrogenealogy hobbyists; see www.ftdna
.com/public/hawaii.
In addition to other testing companies, there
are two other viable testing avenues available to the public: the National Geographic
Genographic Project and the Sorenson
Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF).
There are some limitations associated with
these two avenues. Genographic does not
provide “match” information, but you can
transfer data to FTDNA from Genographic
and see matches there. SMGF does not
provide immediate testing or easy access to
results, but the tests are free.
The project administrators of the following
projects are genealogy hobbyists—not
scientists—using DNA as one of several
resources to further their various genealogical or anthrogenealogical interests. None is
employed by FTDNA, nor do they, or their
projects, receive any form of compensation
or kickback from tests ordered at FTDNA.
They are willing to share with, and learn
with, others with Island connections who are
interested in this subject.
Limitations of DNA Testing
While DNA testing as a tool for genealogists
has become popular, there are limitations to
what DNA can tell you. If you are only
interested in testing to establish your ancient
Hawaiian ancestry, it is important to
understand that while there is some information about the haplogroups—deep ancestry
going back thousands of years—of ancient
Polynesian DNA, there is no known DNA
that is specifically or exclusively Hawaiian.
Furthermore, although DNA testing may be
able identify Polynesian roots with a high
degree of probability, testing can do so only
if your Hawaiian ancestors include either
your direct maternal, or mitochondrial
(mtDNA), line or your direct paternal (YDNA) line. You may have many Hawaiian
ancestors, but unless they are in your direct
maternal line or your direct paternal line, the
Important: When you visit the project sites
below, please read all of the information
before contacting the project administrator.
Hawaiian Ancestry: Direct
Paternal or Maternal Line
This project is for persons whose direct
maternal or direct paternal line is Native
Hawaiian. It is not required that you be
2
current state of DNA testing cannot identify
any Polynesian connection.
almost exclusively in Polynesia. This PM
subset of B is estimated to be the haplogroup
of more than 75% of the males and females
living today who report their maternal line
as Polynesian. (In some cases these
mutations are reported as 189C, 217C,
247G, and 261T—without the preceding
number 16).
Y-DNA haplogroup C2. Y-DNA in Polynesia
has more haplogroup variations than
mtDNA. C2 is the most common of the
several Y-DNA haplogroups associated with
Polynesia. Haplogroup C2 lineage is
distributed throughout Polynesia, Melanesia,
New Guinea, and Indonesia. C2 is estimated
to be the haplogroup of about 37% of males
living today who report their paternal line as
Polynesian.
What is a direct maternal line? This is an
unbroken line of maternal grandmothers. For
Native Hawaiians, this means that your
mother’s mother’s mother’s mother was
Hawaiian—going back before the arrival of
Captain Cook (about 11 generations). If this
is the case, you carry the mtDNA of that line
going back to ancestral Polynesia. Both
males and females have mtDNA; it is passed
on to them by their mother.
Related Studies
The exact history of the settling of the
Pacific in general, and Hawai‘i in particular,
is still uncertain, and several models are
consistent with the data. The topic remains a
subject of ongoing studies by scholars at the
University of Hawai‘i and their collaborators in New Zealand and Australia, at the
University of California at Berkeley, and
elsewhere.
What is a direct paternal line? This is an
unbroken line of paternal grandfathers. For
Native Hawaiians, this means that your
father’s father’s father’s father was
Hawaiian—going back before the arrival of
Captain Cook (about 11 generations). If this
is the case, you carry the Y-DNA of that line
going back to ancestral Polynesia. Only
males have Y-DNA; it is passed on to them
by their father.
Rebecca Cann, who helped discover “Eve,”
is here at the University of Hawai‘i. Some of
her more recent work, and that of others, is
described in Chapter 13 of Steve Olson’s
book, Mapping Human History: Genes,
Race, and Our Common Origins. That
chapter is highly recommended to anyone
interested in this subject and includes
conversations with Cann about the sensitivity needed in obtaining data (e.g., disturbing
bones of ancestors is a cultural taboo).
Polynesian Haplogroups
mtDNA haplogroup B. This lineage is found
in eastern and southeastern Eurasia, Native
American Indians, and Polynesia. B is
estimated to be the mtDNA haplogroup of
about 93% of the males and females living
today who report their maternal line as
Polynesian. The group of mutations 16189C,
16217C, 16247G, and 16261T collectively
define the Polynesian Motif (PM), a special
subgroup of haplogroup B that is found
Hawai‘i is interesting to many researchers,
not only because of Native Hawaiians, but
because of the availability in one environment of large numbers of persons with
varying ethnicities, as represented in our
state today.
3
Census records, obituaries, death certificates, city directories, and other records may
provide occupational information. Your
ancestor may have attended a trade school in
order to learn an occupation. Depending
upon the time period, birth certificates of
your ancestor’s children may also provide
information on the occupation of the
parents.
Sources for Additional Information on
DNA Studies
More on Polynesian haplogroups:
S. Oppenheimer and M. Richards. 2001. “Fast Trains,
Slow Boats, and the Ancestry of the Polynesian
Islanders.” Science Progress 84(3):157–181.
class.csuhayward.edu/faculty/gmiller/3710/DNA
_PDFS/mtDNA/mtDNA-Polynesia.pdf
The mtDNA study showing that all living humans
descend from a woman who lived 200,000 years ago:
Rebecca L. Cann, Mark Stoneking, and Allan C.
Wilson. “Mitochondrial DNA and Human
Evolution.” Nature 325(1987):31–36.
www.artsci.wustl.edu/~landc/html/cann
The content of such records may vary
greatly. My wife’s birth certificate has a
place for father’s occupation but not that of
the mother. My birth certificate has no place
for information on the father’s occupation.
My wife and I were born less than one year
apart in the same state. These and other
records, however, especially when compared
over time, may provide an inkling of the
family’s social status. Census records for an
ancestor may reveal several different
occupations over the course of a lifetime.
A sample of Cann’s work on Pacific populations:
J. K. Lum and R. L. Cann. “mtDNA and Language
Support a Common Origin of Micronesians and
Polynesians in Island Southeast Asia.”
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=
Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9511908&dopt
=Abstract
Records such as this are easier to use, for
they state the occupation directly. It may be
necessary to translate archaic job descriptions into modern terms. In some cases, the
job may no longer even exist, and learning
what an ancestor actually “did” may provide
you with a great lesson in history and
economics. Early records may imply an
occupation without directly stating what it
is.
Estate inventories are an especially good
source for occupation implication. One must
be careful about drawing conclusions too
quickly. It may be advisable to compare
your ancestor’s estate inventory to others
from the same time period, especially if you
are unfamiliar with the period and the
geographic location. One cow does not a
farmer make, nor does one needle and thread
imply that the ancestor was a tailor.
Ancestral Occupations
By Michael John Neill
Many of us are at least partially defined by
our occupation and most of us need
employment to support ourselves, a few
descendants, and perhaps a genealogy habit.
Our ancestors were no different. Learning
more about your ancestor’s occupation may
teach you not only more about your forebear
but also more about the time and world in
which he lived.
If your ancestor had over forty gallons of
whiskey and brandy in his estate inventory,
however (as one of my forebears did),
concluding that he owned a tavern would be
reasonable. One should still try to search
For recent ancestors, determining the occupation may be a relatively easy process.
4
other records either to learn more about the
tavern or to disprove the theory altogether.
In this case, there were many pounds of
apples and spices, along with a counter
scale, so it appeared that the ancestor owned
some type of general store or tavern—
perhaps the 1850s equivalent of a
convenience store (minus the gasoline, of
course). This ancestor is not listed in the
1850 census (when he was likely moving
from Ohio to Illinois) and died before the
1860 census. Consequently, no record listing
his occupation exactly is known to exist.
many of my German ancestors, the church
records listed the occupations.
One can analyze the occupations in many
ways. An interesting way is to chart several
generations of a family and analyze jobs
family members held. In many cases, the
result is a successive chain of farmers. But
there were other interesting things I noted.
One father was a master carpenter and his
only son a carpenter. One family had three
generations of men who were both tailors
and schoolteachers. Another had three
generations of Lutheran ministers. And
another had three consecutive generations
who were custodians of the church’s
property. Learning more about these
occupations and their likely duties has
taught me about more than just my
ancestors. When (if) I have time, I would
like to learn more about how Lutheran
ministers were trained in the late 1500s and
early 1600s, when several ancestors were
involved in that avocation. I might not
obtain direct genealogical knowledge, but I
would definitely come away knowing more
about the time and my ancestor’s life.
Another ancestor’s early 1700s Virginia
estate inventory includes a significant
amount of cloth and many types of needles
and threads. An admittedly cursory
comparison with other estate inventories
from the same county and time period did
not reveal other estates with similar
quantities of such items. In this case, it
seems likely that the ancestor was a tailor.
There are no records clearly stating his
occupation, and the estate inventory is most
likely the only glimpse we will ever have.
Many of our ancestors might not have had
an actual trade or profession in the modern
sense. Many of my forebears were day
laborers—working whatever job they could
for as long as they were able. Estate
inventories for these individuals (if they
exist at all, day laborers were not likely to
leave large estates) frequently contain scant
information. Families in this economic
position might also have moved around and
may be difficult to track.
In some cases, what appears to be an
occupation may also indicate some level of
social status. Sometimes these nuances can
be difficult enough in English (planter vs.
farmer, for example), but translations may
aggravate the ability to make clear the
distinctions the occupational titles make in
social class. When terms are in a foreign
language, nuances can be easily missed.
Several German words may translate loosely
as “farmer” but if they more specifically
mean landowner, farmer, and farm laborer,
it makes a difference. There may be even
more terms indicating a social hierarchy.
When one has traced one’s ancestry back
several generations, the occupations will
begin to vary significantly. In my case, I had
to trace back to my third great-grandparents
to find a family where the breadwinner was
not a farmer. After 15 generations, I had
ancestors who were bakers, coopers,
carpenters, millers, teachers, ministers,
weavers, sextons, farmers, and a variety of
other occupations. I was fortunate that for
For my Ostfriesen ancestors, there are many
who are listed as either a hausmann, a
warfsmann, or a tagelöhner. The first owns a
“full farm,” the second a small house and
perhaps some land, and the third is a farm
laborer. There is even a page that contains
5
In Brief
modern translations of some Ostfriesen
occupations—and indications of social
status. Ostfriesland is an area of modern-day
Germany, and the comments on that page
should not be extrapolated to other areas of
Germany without sufficient reason.
2008 NGS Conference & Family History
Fair, Kansas City, Missouri, May 14–17.
Registration brochures may be downloaded
from the NGS website beginning in
December.
www.ngsgenealogy.org
In some regions, there might not be records
that clearly list occupations. For many of my
Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia ancestors, I
am fortunate to establish clear links of
parent to child, let alone anything else.
Estate inventories (when I have them) point
to farming as the prime occupation. The
problem is aggravated by the lack of occupations on census records before 1850. If
ancestors did not live in “town” they likely
farmed in some way, shape, or form and
most likely were handy at other tasks as
well.
✐
Free online courses for genealogists.
Brigham Young University’s independent
study program currently offers these free
courses in genealogical research:
FHGEN 68—Finding Your Ancestors
FHGEN 69—Providing Temple Ordinances for
Your Ancestors
FHGEN 70—Introduction to Family History
Research
FHGEN 80—Helping Children Love Your
Family History
FHREC 71—Family Records
FHREC 73—Vital Records
FHREC 76—Military Records
FHFRA 71—France: Immigrant Origins
FHFRA 72—France: Vital Records
FHFRA 73—France: Reading French
Handwriting
FHFRA 74—France: Genealogical
Organizations and Periodicals
FHFRA 75—France: The Internet and French
Genealogy
FHFRA 76—French Research: Paris
FHFRA 77—French Research: Alsace-Lorraine
FHGER 71—Germany: Immigrant Origins
FHGER 72—Germany: U.S. Sources and
Surname Changes
FHGER 73—Germany: Jurisdictions,
Gazetteers, and Maps
FHGER 74—Germany: Reading German
Handwriting
FHGER 75—Germany: Calendars and Feast
Days
FHGER 76—Germany: Vital Records
FHHUG 71—Huguenot Research
FHSCA 73—Scandinavia: Jurisdictions,
Gazetteers, and Maps
FHSCA 74—Scandinavia: Reading Gothic
Script
FHSCA 75—Scandinavia: Church Records and
Feast Days
FHSCA 76—Scandinavia: Census Records
FHSCA 77—Scandinavia: Probate and Other
Records
Your ancestor likely left behind little in the
way of biographical information (at least
mine did!). If you are fortunate enough to
know what your ancestor did for a living,
learning more about that occupation might
provide you with additional insight into your
ancestor’s life. I’m always interested in
seeing historical re-enactments of certain
occupations, especially those occupations
that were practiced by my forebears. One
ancestor owned a mill in Maryland in the
late 1700s, and seeing working gristmills
from that time period has always intrigued
me for this reason. This type of see-it-foryourself activity can also be a great way to
interest children in genealogy. Watching a
tinsmith at the Old Sturbridge Village in
Massachusetts may be more interesting than
staring at a family tree on the computer
screen or on paper.
There are potential drawbacks, however. I
think I’ll forgo a visit to the ancestral tavern
that was also described in a contemporary
newspaper as a “house of ill repute”!
Previously published in Ancestry Daily News, 10
April 2001. Copyright 1998–2007, MyFamily.com,
Inc., and its subsidiaries.
6
At the BYU website, click on the course that
interests you. You’ll be taken to an introductory page with several subtopics: “From
the President” gives you a brief description
of the particular course and how many
lessons are included; “FAQ” explains the
software requirements; “Getting Around”
provides navigational help. When you click
“Begin Course,” you’ll be asked to accept
BYU’s copyright terms, and then to give
your email address. If this is your first time
signing up for a free course at BYU, you’ll
be asked for additional information and will
then be allowed to enter the course.
ce.byu.edu/is/site/courses/freecourses.cfm
World War I Draft: Born in Hawai‘i, Registered in New Jersey
A surprising number of Hawai‘i-born men registered for the World War I draft in other states.
Are you sure you’ve been looking in the right place? These men, for example, registered in New
Jersey. Note that several of them were on ships belonging to the American-Hawaiian Steamship
Company; 13 of the Navy’s World War I–era transport ships were converted from AmericanHawaiian freighters.
Download images of the original draft registration cards from Ancestry.com or order
photocopies from the National Archives (www.archives.gov/genealogy/military/ww1/draftregistration/index.html).
Name
Chang, Henry K.
Chasiko, Harold W.
Cook, Joseph
De Mello, John
Freitas, John R.
Hook, Henry
Hurst, William
Johnson, William R.
Kealoha, Samuel Louis
Kono, Kensuke Harold
Koshi, Sueo
Lee, George S. P.
Longfeather, David
Birthdate & Place
10 NOV 1887 Honolulu
13 OCT 1891 Hawai‘i
4 MAR 1888 Hilo
5 AUG 1892 Honolulu
29 DEC 1892 Honolulu
23 FEB 1890 Honolulu
13 APR 1895 Kaua‘i
18 DEC 1889 Honolulu
11 OCT 1888 Honolulu
8 APR 1893 Honolulu
13 AUG 1892 Hilo
11 JUN 1891 Honolulu
26 FEB 1894 Honu‘apo,
Ka‘ū
Pahio, Robert
26 OCT 1889 Hawai‘i
Tabuchi, Chikar
14 JUN 1891 Kohala
Tong, Tin Yen
11 JUN 1887 Honolulu
Wakefield, James Gordon 4 JUL 1897 Honolulu
Race
Where Registered
Occupation
Caucasian
African
Caucasian
Caucasian
Caucasian
[not given]
Caucasian
Caucasian
Malayan
Japanese
Mongolian
Caucasian
Malayan
Hoboken, Hudson
Mannington, Salem
Hoboken, Hudson
Hoboken, Hudson
Atlantic City, Atlantic
Beverly, Burlington
Hoboken, Hudson
Hoboken, Hudson
Hoboken, Hudson
Norwood, Bergen
Passaic, Passaic
Hoboken, Hudson
Riverside, Burlington
Chief steward*
Farm laborer
Seaman†
Steward*
Entertainer
[not given]
Mariner‡
Steward*
Chief steward§
Butler
Student, U of MD
Cook*
Case maker
Malay
Mongolian
Mongolian
White
Burlington
Wildwood, Cape May
Atlantic City, Atlantic
Hackensack, Bergen
Fireman
Store keeper
Merchant
[not given]
* On the S.S. Montana, American-Hawaiian Steamship Company.
† Employed by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, but no ship is named.
‡ On the S.S. Kentuckian, American-Hawaiian Steamship Company.
§ On the S.S. Dakotan, American-Hawaiian Steamship Company.
Sources: World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918, an Ancestry.com database (Ancestry’s source is World
War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918, National Archives and Records
Administration); World War I Era Transports—Converted Freighters of American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Types, Naval Historical Center (www.history.navy.mil/photos/usnshtp/ap/w1ap-tfa.htm).
7
How to Find the Meeting
By bus, connect to the #6–Woodlawn. Get off at the
intersection of East Mānoa Road and Kahaloa Drive.
By car on H-1 from ‘Ewa, take the Punahou Street exit.
Make a left onto Punahou and continue mauka through three
traffic lights. When Punahou Street forks, take the right-hand
fork, which is East Mānoa Road.
By car on H-1 from Hawai‘i Kai, take the University
Avenue exit. Make a right onto University Avenue,
continuing mauka until it intersects with East Mānoa Road.
Turn right onto East Mānoa Road.
Continue on East Mānoa Road. Pass the Mānoa Marketplace,
which will be on your right. Kahaloa Drive is two traffic
lights past the Marketplace. Turn left onto Kahaloa Drive and
walk/drive almost straight into the public parking lot.
PLEASE PARK IN THIS LOT!
If you have a physically challenged passenger, take a righthand turn just before the parking area, drop the person at the
Community Center door, and return to park your vehicle.
Mānoa Gardens is the complex of white houses next to the
parking lot. Its community center, #2790-9, is on the righthand side about halfway into the complex.
Ke Kū‘auhau (The Genealogist)
Honolulu County Genealogical Society
Post Office Box 235039
Honolulu, HI 96823-3500
Forwarding and Address Correction Requested