Here’s another family photo mystery, this time not from our family.
This request is from Barry Tabel, who is trying to locate cousins, children of his mother’s two brothers, believed to have lived or be living in Hawaii.
His search was launched after finding family photos among his mother’s possessions after her death.
Click here to view the photographs.
He thinks that his cousins, who he never met, would be in their 60s.
Evelyn Tapia
Christine Tapia
Melvin Tapia
He does not know their married names, if any.
Barry sent along the following information about his mother and her brothers, who moved back to Hawaii following WWII.
Was mother was Adeline Constance Tapia. Her married name was first Broughm, then Tabel.
My mother’s brothers Mike and Tony Tapia, having been born in Hawaii, migrated back to Honolulu after WWII.
The other seven siblings, even those born in Hawaii, stayed on in the San Francisco Bay Area where they had migrated in 1916.
Mike married Doris, of Japanese descent, and fathered Evelyn & Christine.
Tony married Gladys, of Chinese descent, and fathered Melvin.
If still alive, my three cousins would be in their 60s.
It may be that my cousins and their children (if any) already have copies of the photos I have. I just don’t know and it seemed a shame to relegate them back to their box on a closet shelf without at least trying to find some of the people they depict.
Barry said he doesn’t think they are related to ukulele master Bill Tapia, although his photo of a man sitting with a telephone on the wall behind him, and the photos on Bill Tapia’s web site, certainly show a real resemblance.
If you have any information or suggestions, leave a comment here or email me, and I’ll pass them along to Barry.
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Mahalo to Ian for helping me with this and also to Ryan Ozawa for suggesting I contact Ian. I can’t thank these two gentlemen enough.
Barry Tabel
this piqued my interest, so i did some searching online. i found a melvin pung fee tapia, age 68, whose address history includes hawaii. it seems he may now be living in columbus, georgia. i don’t know if this is the same person… i found the info on the website veromi.com. unfortunately, you have to pay a fee to get more info.
Thanks for your interest & research. I think your lead is valuable on 2 points. The date of birth corresponds and the middle name bespeaks Chinese heritage. Melvin Tapia’s mother was of Chinese descent.
glad i could be of some assistance… 🙂
Hi Barry! I too have been searching for a The Tapia family, I was born in Salinas, CA and my biological mother was from Seaside,CA. She stated that my father’s name is Tony Tapia and he had family in Hawaii. Please look me up on Facebook – Althea Frazier – if you request friend I will approve. That way you can see if there is any family resemblance. It would be wonderful to find this side of my family! I am German-Native American on my mother’s side and since she is blonde haired blue eyed I think I look like the Tapia side of the family. I look forward to hearing from you!
Barry I am married to the daughter of Evelyn Tapia. We have been on a 5 year seach for information. You are just the person we are looking for. Her Grandmother is Doris who we also know as Chiyoko Tapia. I would like to contact you ASAP to finally reunite you with your cousin. We have Information that coukld be valuable to us all.
Please send me an email [ian(at)ilind.net] and I’ll forward your address on to Barry.
Tal – Thanks for contacting me. Chatting with you and your wife was just fantastic. Looking forward to doing what I can to fill in the blanks for you as to our mutual family.
Again, Mahalo to Ian for hosting this quest and Ryan Ozawa for steering me to Ian. Also, many thanks to all those who read these posts and put positive energy into a successful outcome. Blessings to all. Barry
My father is John is brothers are Tony and Mike and several others I just don’t know their names. Frank was here in Hayward. My father died when I was 12 and my mother didn’t stay in contact with the Tapia’s I tried looking but came to dead ends I excited that I may have found a start. The picture of my grandparents is the frist time I SAW MY GRANDFATHER. I’m LOOKING FORWARD IN TALKING WITH YOU.
Hi Donna, I am looking for my biological father/family, I was born in Salinas, CA in 1965 and was given for adoption. My bio mother lived in Seaside,Ca. She stated that my father’s name is Tony and he had family in Hawaii. Since you mentioned Tony I am curious to know if that is indeed my father. Please look for me on Facebook and friend me and I will approve. I have a basic profile picture so you might see a family resemblance. I look forward to hearing from you!
Not sure if you found the Melvin you are searching for, but I found these of interest as my father-in-law is Gladys’ nephew (and Melvin’s cousin). I will see if he can contact him to let him know of these photos.
I’m so excited to find some of my family. My father was John . He past away when I was 13. I always wanted to find a connection with my Tapia side. My children always ask. I finally got to see a picture of my grandparents. Barry are you Adelines son?Uncle Frank pasted away many years ago. He was the only one I would see. Please call me or email 707-995-1903 I live in Lake county ca, I have been a teacher for 20 years for Head Start. I can’t wait to hear from you!