Kauai County, Hawaii Genealogy

United States

Hawaii

Kauai County

Guide to Kauai County, Hawaii ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Hawaii Online Genealogy Records

Kauai County, Hawaii
Map
Location in the state of Hawaii, United States Genealogy
Location of Hawaii in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	1905
County Seat	Lihue
Courthouse
Address	Kauai County Courthouse 4963 Rice Street Lihue, HI 96766 Phone: 808.241.6371 Kauai County Website

Historical Facts

Known Beginning Dates for Major Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1851	1842	1851	1851	1848	1851	1890
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in 1842 but very few records survive before 1896. General compliance by 1929.

• Parent County: created in 1905 from Lihue (old) county
• County seat: Lihue
• Neighboring Islands Honolulu

History Of Kauai

Kauai is known as the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km), it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the “Garden Isle”, Kauai lies 105 miles (170 km) across the Kauai Channel, northwest of Oahu. This island is the Site of the Waimea Canyon State Park.

The United States Census Bureau defines Kauai as Census as Census Tracts 401 through 409 of Kauai County, Hawaii, which is all of the county excepts for the islands of Ka’ula Lehua, and Ni’ihau. The 2000 census population of Kauai (the island was 58, 303

There is no known meaning behind the name of Kauai. Native Hawaiian tradition indicates the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa — the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Kauai after a favorite son; therefore a possible translation of Kauai is "place around the neck", meaning how a father would carry a favorite child. Another possible translation is "food season.

Kauai was known for its distinct dialect of the Hawaiian language before it went extinct there. Whereas the standard language today is based on the dialect of Hawaii Island, which has the sound [k] at the beginning of words, the Kauai dialect was known for pronouncing this as [t]. In effect, Kauai dialect retained the old pan-Polynesian /t/, while 'standard' Hawaii dialect has innovated and changed it to the [k]. Therefore, the native name for Kauai was Kauai, and the major settlement of Kapaau would have been called Tamara.

Kauai’s origins are volcanic. The highest peak on this mountainous island is Kawaikini at 5,243 feet (1,598 m).] The second highest peak is Mount Waiʻaleʻale near the center of the island, 5,148 feet (1,569 m) above sea level. One of the wettest spots on earth, with an annual average rainfall of 460 inches (1,200 cm), is located on the east side of Mount Waiʻaleʻale. The high annual rainfall has eroded deep valleys in the central mountains, carving out canyons with many scenic waterfalls. On the west side of the island, Waimea town is located at the mouth of the Waimea River, whose flow formed Waimea Canyon, one of the world's most scenic canyons, and which is part of Waimea Canyon State Park. At 3,000 feet (914 m) deep, Waimea Canyon is often referred to as "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific". The Na Pali Coast is a center for recreation in a wild setting, including kayaking past the beaches, or hiking on the trail along the coastal cliffs.

During the reign of King Kamehameha, the islands of Kauai and Niʻihau were the last Hawaiian Islands to join his Kingdom of Hawaii. Their ruler, Kaumualiʻi, resisted Kamehameha for years. King Kamehameha twice prepared a huge armada of ships and canoes to take the islands by force and twice failed; once due to a storm, and once due to an epidemic. In the face of the threat of a further invasion, however, Kaumualiʻi decided to join the kingdom without bloodshed, and became Kamehameha's vassal in 1810, ceding the island to the Kingdom of Hawaii upon his death in 1824. In 1815-17, Kaumualiʻi led secret negotiations with representatives of the Russian-American Company in an attempt to gain Russia's military help against Kamehameha; however, the negotiations folded and the Russians were forced to abandon all of their presence in Kauai, including Fort Elizabeth, after it was revealed that they did not have the support of Tsar Alexander I.
[missing reference]

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Resources

Cemeteries

Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Tombstone Transcriptions in Print	List of Cemeteries in the county
Findagrave.com	Family History Library	Findagrave.com
HIGenWeb	WorldCat	Billion Graves
HIGenWeb Archives		FamilySearch Places
Tombstone Project
Hawaii Interment
Billion Graves
See Hawaii Cemeteries for more information.

Census

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	20,734	—
1910	23,952	15.5%
1920	29,438	22.9%
1930	35,942	22.1%
1940	35,818	−0.3%
1950	29,905	−16.5%
1960	28,176	−5.8%
1970	29,761	5.6%
1980	39,082	31.3%
1990	51,177	30.9%
2000	58,463	14.2%
2010	67,091	14.8%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Kauai County, Hawaii Genealogy census records online, see: Hawaii Census.

• 1849
• 1850
• 1866
• 1890
• 1900
• 1910
• 1920
• 1930

 Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Hawaii denominations, view the Hawaii Church Records wiki page.

List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places
  

Emigration and Immigration

• 1874-1898 - Hawaii, Passport Records, 1874-1898 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

 History

Local histories are available for Kauai County, Hawaii Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Hawaii Local Histories.

Land and Property

• 1845-1909 - Hawaii, Grantor and Grantee Index, 1845-1909 at FamilySearch — index How to Use this Collection

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Military

World War I

• 1917-1919 - Hawaii, World War I Service Records, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

World War II

• 1940-1945 - Hawaii, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1838-1991 - Hawaii, Naturalization Records, 1838-1991 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Obituaries

• 1980-present - Hawaii Obituaries Index ca. 1980-present at FamilySearch— index and images - How to Use this Collection
• 1982-2010 - Hawaii, Kauai County, Obituaries, 1982-2010 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection

 Probate

• 1822 – 1962 Hawaii Wills and Probate Records 1822-1962 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Public Records

State Health Department has marriage, death, birth wills, probate and land records.

Description

The County Seat is Lihue and was Founded 1905. It is located in the islands of Kauaʻi, Niʻihau, Lehua, and Kaʻula.

Family History Center

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Kapaa Hawaii Family History Center
• Kapaa Hawaii Family History Center
• Kauai Hawaii Family History Center
• Kekaha Hawaii Family History Center

Societies

Kaua‘i Historical Society
Historic County Building
4396 Rice Street
Suite 101
P.O. Box 1778
Lihu‘e, HI 96766
808 245-3373
Email: nfo@kauaihistoricalsociety.org
Website

Taxation

• 1847-1903 - Hawaii, Tax Assessment Rolls, 1847-1903 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Vital Records

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. The State office has some records as early as 1853 up to the present. See the State of Hawaii, Department of Health website for information on acquiring the records and any restrictions.

Birth

• 1843-1909 - Hawaii, Births and Baptisms, 1843-1909 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Marriage

• 1803-1940 - Hawaii, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1909-1989 - Hawaii, Board of Health, Marriage Record Indexes, 1909-1989 at FamilySearch — index, and some images - How to Use this Collection

Divorce

• 1849-1915 - Hawaii, Various Islands, Circuit Court Divorce Records, 1849-1915 at FamilySearch — images - How to Use this Collection

Death

• 1841-1925 - Hawaii, Death Records and Death Registers, 1841-1925 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Websites

• Kauai HIGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Kauai County, Hawaii Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Unincorporated communities
Halehomaha	Kealia	Puʻuwai
Census-designated places
Anahola ʻEleʻele Hāʻena Hanalei Hanamāʻulu Hanapepe Kalāheo Kalihiwai Kapaʻa	Kaumakani Kekaha Kilauea Kōloa Lāwaʻi Līhuʻe (county seat) Niihau ʻŌmaʻo Pākalā Village	Poʻipū Princeville Puhi Wailua Wailuā Homesteads Waimea Wainiha