SEARCH FOR THE UNKNOWN
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kawaiahao Church Trustee and Archivist Tin Yu Young posed yesterday for a portrait by the Kamo'o'ili'ili Memorial, which contains the remains of individuals originally buried at the Rice Chapel cemetery that had to be relocated.
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Kawaiahao Church mystery
Dozens gather in the hopes of locating relatives buried more than 100 years ago
Faded maps, yellow index cards and certificates of birth and death hold the clues to Joe and Linda Oba's biggest family mystery.
The old records were strewn in front of the Kailua couple yesterday as they tried to discover where, in some 3 acres of cemetery at Kawaiahao Church, lies the body of Joe Oba's grandmother.
"All I know is that she is close by Punchbowl Street," said the 78-year-old, whose maternal grandmother was just 27 when she died in 1908. "Hers is a real mystery."
A total of 80 people visited two open houses at the historic church in downtown Honolulu in the past week, hoping to find the graves of their relatives or learn about a family member they weren't aware of.
The Kawaiahao graveyard, surrounded by a waist-high metal fence on the corner of Punchbowl and Queen streets, is one of the most ancient Western-style cemeteries in Hawaii, said Nanette Napoleon, who is compiling a computer database for the cemetery.
Most who rest here died in the early 1900s or late 1800s, she said. The cemetery's oldest burial on record is dated 1834 for someone who didn't have a last name.
COURTESY KAWAIAHAO CHURCH
Kawaiahao Church Trustee and Archivist Tin Yu Young spoke with Geneva Carden and Denise Koa at an open house last weekend. The church invited descendants with relatives buried at its cemetery to take part in the Na Iwi Committee project over the last two weekends, and help update church records.
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It is estimated that there are 200 unmarked burial sites in the cemetery, where 600 bodies have been identified so far, Napoleon said. The graveyard has 296 tombstones, but some sites house more than one person.
"Hawaiians buried all over the place, in their backyards, but not in clusters like the Westerners," Napoleon said when explaining the unidentified graves. "It was when the missionaries arrived in the 1820 that they introduced the concept of a graveyard associated with the church, boundaries and tombstones."
Because of the unmarked plots, several people who come to pay respect to a lost family member each year can't kneel down or place flowers and pictures near graves, said Tin Hu Young, church archivist.
Young said many Hawaiian families who started burying relatives at cemeteries couldn't afford the tombstones or plate names.
"And that's why we are here -- a lot of unknowns," he said.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Someone had placed a lei at a headstone bearing only the title "Mother" at Kawaiahao Church Cemetery, one of the islands' oldest Western-style burial grounds. Most who are buried here died in the late 1800s to early 1900s.
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Kauai resident Karen Silva, who knows of six relatives buried at Kawaiahao, flew to Oahu for the day because she remains curious about her family's connection to the cemetery.
The surprise came in the name "J. Thompson," who, according to cemetery records, is buried in the same family plot where Silva's great-great-grandparents, their three children and one grandchild were placed.
"This is a record that we were not familiar with, but they found it," Silva said. "It's exciting -- I'd like to find out who that is. But it looks like it's going to take some research."
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Many headstones at Kawaiahao Church Cemetery give few clues about their occupants. The cemetery has an estimated 200 unmarked burial sites, some of which may hold more than one person. When missionaries introduced the idea of burial grounds in the 1800s, many Hawaiian families could not afford markers and tombstones.
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Joe and Linda Oba are being helped by a daughter-in-law who is searching online for any records of Mary Iao, Joe Oba's grandmother. Her death certificate only lists Kawaiahao Church as the burial site, without any section number or plot.
Meanwhile, the couple will fly to Kona on the Big Island next week to meet with a 90-year-old relative who they hope can offer valuable details on where Saichiro Oba, Joe Oba's paternal grandfather, is buried.
"It's getting real intricate," said Linda Oba, 64. "But now we are weeping because the people who could tell us have died. Hawaii is already losing so much, and now we are losing our history."
