This is an adult name index to the book Portuguese Hawaiian Memories by JA Freitas. It was compiled by amazing volunteers who were part of the Genealogy Forum on AOL in the 1990s. This book will be helpful to you if your ancestors were still in Hawaii in 1930. Not all Portuguese have a biography in this book. The biographies are predominantly male. Each had to give consent to have their information included.
Click on the island for that specific index:
Hawaii
Kauai
Maui
Oahu A-L
Oahu M-Z
If you do not have access to the book, I can scan an entry for a small fee. Please contact me for more information: Request Copies of Entries The book is currently available for sale through the Portuguese Genealogical & Historical Society of Hawaii. Please contact the PGHSH for more details.
About the Book
I asked Maxine a of the PGHSH about how information was collected by JA Freitas for the book. This is our exchange:
Q: What is the Portuguese Hawaiian Memories Index? Where did this info. come from and how was it collected? ML
A: Several people have asked many questions about the Portuguese Hawaiian Memories book & index. I asked Maxine of the PGSH for more information. This is a summary of her information about the book: 1. Announcements were made in churches throughout the islands telling people that interviews would be held for the book. All those who wanted to be featured were to show up on the selected day.
2. On the day of the interviews, J.F. Freitas (the author) and a Priest then visited these churches on each island. They interviewed all the individuals who wanted to be in the book. Photographs were taken either at the church or at the person’s house. Payment for the book was collected on the same day.
3. According to Maxine, the idea that only wealthy or well to do individuals were featured in the book is just a myth. Many people of varying backgrounds including the wealthy and laborers have biographies in the book.
About the Indexes:
1. The index was compiled by members of the Portuguese Special Interest Group on AOL (in the Genealogy Forum) under my direction. The various extractions were proofed then compared for consistency.
2. The information given in the “place” field was in two formats in the book. For the person and their spouse, the term “born in” is used in the book. For the parents, the term “from” is used. No explanation is given. This could be interpreted as “born”, “resident of”, or “grew up in”. Place names have been modified for consistency.
3. The 3 name columns represent the format of the names given in the book. No determination was made as to whether the names were first, middle, compound surnames, etc. They have been recorded exactly as seen. I hope this answers most of the questions about where the index originates from.
Thank you to Maxine of the Portuguese Genealogical Society of Hawaii for her assistance!
© 2002-2018 Melody Lassalle
How can I order these books
Judy, You can order these books by contacting the Portuguese Genealogical and Historical Society of Hawaii. The link for more information is in the article.
Thanks for your comment!
What years does it covers?
Suzanne, It covers families living in Hawaii in 1929/1930.
If I had found this book sooner it would have saved me a lot of leg work on a bunch of my geneaology research. I only wish more of my family were in it. Either way it’s a great resource and I gained information on the de Freitas Spinola line through it. I do not have a copy but the Portuguese Genealogical Society really helped in that rescpet. Very greatful. I recommend people who are looking for information at minimum look at the index for names.