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Church News
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Sunday, 04 June 2006 00:00 |
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.
Read full article on the Star Bulletin web site
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