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Caribbean Family History Top Tips

Local and family history A-Z > Family history
Before you startJoe Clough was London Transport's first black motorbus driver.
  • Talk to your family and try to obtain as much information as possible such as first-hand accounts, memories and stories, especially from older generations. They can often provide you with names, dates and key family events - although you should never take anything at face value, as it will be your job to investigate family myths
  • It is also important to look through old family correspondence, photos, heirlooms and other material that can find its way into trunks, drawers, attics or cellars. You will be amazed how much information you can extract from these objects to obtain vital clues. Also try to establish where your family is from, as this will play an important role in where to look for relevant records
  • Visit Moving Here, which is a great starting point for those tracing ancestors who were not born in the UK, and the Family History section on the BBC web site
  • Read all you can about the subject. On the online catalogue, use search terms such as 'family history', 'genealogy' or 'tracing West Indian ancestors'
Your research begins
  • The accepted method of research is to start with the known (yourself) and then to work backwards, one step at a time, from relatives living here in Britain. Decide which branch of your family to research first, your father's or mother's
  • If your ancestors were born in England or Wales on or after 1st July 1837 start your search with Births, marriages & deaths (civil registration)
  • If your ancestors settled in England or Wales after 6th June 1841 take a look at Census records (1841-1901)
  • If you wish to read up on the history of African Caribbean settlement see the 'Migration histories' section of the Moving Here web site

Key resources

  1. Birth, marriage & death records (Civil registration)
  2. Church records (baptisms, marriages & burials)

Other useful resources:

  1. Incoming passenger lists
  2. Slave records
  3. Census records
  4. Local newspapers

Birth, marriage & death records (1800s 1900s)

  • Hyde Park Family History Centre in London
    To see what records are held at the main library of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, based in Utah, USA, which can then be ordered at Hyde Park Family History Centre on microfiche/film, go to www.familysearch.org> Search Records> Library Catalogue> Place Search
  • Registry Offices/Archives in the Caribbean
    Click on 'Tracing your roots', then 'Caribbean', then 'Life Events'. Contact the relevant office/archive to find out what records they hold and to see if staff there will check records on your behalf

Church records (1600s to 1900s)

Incoming Passenger Lists

Records of those arriving at UK ports only. There will not be any records if your ancestor arrived in Britain by aeroplane or if they disembarked from ships at continental ports and then arrived in the UK by train

1878-1960

  • Ancestry Library Edition
    Available in all Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire Libraries.
    Click the 'Search' tab at the top of the page, then scroll down to 'UK & Ireland', select 'England' and scroll down to 'UK Incoming Passenger Lists'

March 1948 - Oct 1960

  • Moving Here (www.movinghere.org.uk)
    Click the 'Search' tab, tick 'Catalogue of Digitised Resources', then enter the person's name or any other keyword such as country, name of ship or departure port

Slave records

Most records of slaves will be found among the personal papers of the plantation owners. These may still be with the family who owned or managed the plantation, they may have donated them to their local record office or they may be found in the plantation country's archive. A few are held at the National Archives in Kew, London

Slave registers 1814 -1834

These were set up to try and combat the smuggling of slaves throughout the Caribbean. The registers were compiled every 3 years from approximately 1814 until slavery was abolished in 1834

Census records 1600s-1800s

Most are just headcounts but some give the name of the head of the household plus the number of women, children, servants and slaves. The taking of the census began during the period when Britain governed the Colonies.

Local newspapers

  • British Library (www.bl.uk)
    Scroll down to 'British Library websites', select 'Integrated Catalogue' from drop-down menu, then click on 'Search the Newspaper Catalogue', enter the name of the country for a list of newspapers available at the Newspaper Library in Colindale, mainly on microfilm, with date range

Useful websites

Useful books

Going further in your research

Good luck with your search! To the top of the page

 

Page last updated: 18th February 2014