Hawaiʻi State Archives digitizes historic indexes for public use

The Hawaiʻi State Archives Division has completed the digitization of 64 volumes of historical indexes, making them available online for free public access, the Department of Accounting and General Services announced.

The newly digitized indexes span records from the early 1800s through the late 1990s and cover a wide range of topics, including genealogy, land ownership, court cases and burial records.

The project began in 2020 and was completed at the end of 2025.

“This is an important step forward as the public can now, from the comfort of their home and at any time of day, start their search and see whether or not we even have the information they want,” said Hawaiʻi State Archivist Adam Jansen, who holds a doctorate in archival studies.

“If we do, then they can have the proper citations ready for faster service when an archivist is able to help them.”

The indexes function much like a traditional library card catalog, serving as a guide to materials held in the archives rather than providing the original documents themselves.

The online indexes are intended to help researchers identify relevant records before working with archivists to locate the full materials, such as court documents or newspaper articles, within the archives’ collections.

Examples of the records referenced in the indexes include marriage records from Niʻihau in the mid-1800s, burial records from Makiki Cemetery dating back to the late 19th century, and land holdings from more than a century ago.

Some index volumes contain multiple subcategories, such as criminal, divorce and probate cases, or different types of burial-related permits.

“Previously, people would have to come in person to search through the indexes,” Jansen said. “This widens access, particularly for people doing research projects from the neighbor islands or out-of-state. Public access is important to us as we are a state resource.”

Members of the public with questions about the resource or how to conduct research are encouraged to contact the archives directly by email.

To view the hundreds of thousands of records, click here.