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Overseas: West Indies
This page lists some of the places in the West Indies for which the Society holds sources. For details click on the link to SOGCAT, the library catalogue, and do a Subject search for the specific place which you are interested in. Please read the SOGCAT tutorial for more detailed help on how to search the on-line catalogue.
An Introduction to the Geographical Resources at the Society includes an explanation of place names used in the catalogue and the Abbreviations list will help you to interpret the sources which you have found in SOGCAT.
The staff of the Society can make limited searches in some of these sources for a fee (reduced rate for Members of the Society).
Recent additions to the library are also listed in the Genealogists' Magazine.
Shelf marks used in the library are given in square brackets at the very end of each title.
GENERAL SOURCES:
- Tracing your West Indian ancestors: sources in the Public Record Office: PRO readers’ guide, no. 11 [SP/PER]
- General Registers
- Monumental Inscriptions
- Censuses
- Directories & Poll Books
- Periodicals
- Wills
- ISLANDS:
Antigua | Bahamas | Barbados | Bermuda | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Dominica | Grenada | Guadeloupe | Jamaica | Montserrat | Nevis | St. Kitts or St. Christopher | St. Lucia | Trinidad & Tobago | Virgin Islands
General registers
West Indies wide sources for Christenings, Marriages and Burials include:
The British overseas: a guide to records of their births, baptisms, marriages, deaths & burials in the UK: Guildhall Library guide, no. 2. 3rd rev. edn. [ML counter]
Registrum ecclesiae parochialis: the history of parish registers in England, also the registers of Scotland, Ireland, the East & West Indies, the dissenters & the episcopal chapels in & around London [TB/PR 4]
Caribbean (all islands): International Genealogical Index [CD-ROM] [Apply to staff] & available on-line at www.familysearch.org
Monumental Inscriptions
West Indies wide sources for tombstone inscriptions (MIs) include:
Monumental inscriptions in England relating to West Indians: in Caribbeana, being miscellaneous papers relating to the history, genealogy, topography & antiquities of the British West Indies, vols. 1-5 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17639-43]
West Indies naval & military burial grounds: MIs [WI/M 1]
Censuses
In addition to free access from within the library to census returns and indexes on various subscription web sites eg. www.ancestry.com,, the Society holds many locally produced indexes.
Directories & Poll Books
The Society’s collection is of national importance and includes county and local directories of residents and businesses and poll books and other lists of voters in parliamentary and local elections in the UK and some for countries overseas. Details, correct as of 1995, are published in:
Directories & poll books, including almanacs & electoral rolls, in the Library of the Society of Genealogists. SoG, 1995. 6th edn. [ML enquiry counters] Buy this book from the SoG on-line bookshop.
Street’s Indian & colonial mercantile directory 1873 [includes Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados & the Bahamas] [IND/D 1873]
The South America, Central America, Mexico & West Indies directory 1898 [AMS/D 1898]
The West Indies & Caribbean cigar book including the Bermudas, the Bahamas ... 1953-54 [WI/D 1953-54]
Periodicals
The Society holds the journals of most English-speaking family history societies world-wide. Search the on-line catalogue for the Title required
Caribbeana, being miscellaneous papers relating to the history, genealogy, topography & antiquities of the British West Indies, vols. 1-6 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17639-44]
Wills
The Library contains film copies of indexes to wills proved in England and Wales 1858-1930 and indexes, calendars and many abstracts of wills proved by individual church courts before 1858. Details, correct as of 1996, are published in:
Will indexes & other probate material in the library of the Society of Genealogists. London: SoG, 1996 [WILLS/GEN] Buy this book from the SoG on-line bookshop.
Other major sources include:
An index to the wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury 1750-1800 [WILLS/PCC] Buy this book from the SoG on-line bookshop or search it on-line at The Origins Network website.. An index to all PCC wills 1384-1858 is available on-line at The National Archives
Estate Duty will indexes 1796-1857 (IR 27/1-323) [Microfilm] [Wills film cabinets] The Death Duty registers 1796-1903 are also on-line at www.findmypast.com (formerly 1837online)
An index to the Bank of England will extracts 1807-45 [WILLS/GEN] Buy this book from the SoG on-line bookshop or search it on-line at The Origins Network website.
Administrations (PCC) relating to the West Indies: in Caribbeana, vols. 5-6 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17643-44]
Extracts from wills relating to the West Indies recorded in England: Journal of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society, vols. 11-14 [WI/PER]
List of wills proved in the PCC relating to the British West Indies 1625-1799: in Caribbeana, vol. 2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17640]
List of wills proved in the PCC 1800-16 inclusive [relating mainly to the British West Indies]: in Caribbeana, vols. 3 & 5 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17641 & 17643]
- ISLANDS: Antigua | Bahamas | Barbados | Bermuda | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Curacao or Netherland Antilles | Dominica | Grenada | Guadeloupe | Jamaica | Montserrat | Nevis | St. Kitts or St. Christopher | St. Lucia | Trinidad & Tobago | Virgin Islands
SOGCAT On-line
CatalogueAnguilla
Anguilla, Leeward Islands list of the inhabitants of Anguilla referred to in General Hamilton’s letter of 3 Oct 1716 ...: in Caribbeana, vol. 3 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17641]
Antigua
The history of the island of Antigua, one of the Leeward Caribbees in the West Indies, from the first settlement in 1635 to the present time [1899], vol. 3 [including an appendix of wills & administrations 1637-1820] [Store A folio shelves]
Antigua, West Indies: Monumental inscriptions of the British West Indies from the earliest date, with genealogical & historical annotations from original local & other sources illustrative of the histories & genealogies of the 17th century, the calendars of state papers, peerages & baronetages, with engravings of the arms of the principal families [WI/M 2]
Antigua: list of wills relating to this island proved in the PCC down to 1812: in Caribbeana, vol. 3 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17641]
Indentures, wills etc at Dominica Record Office [1766-89]: Caribbeana, vol. 4, page 125 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17642]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Antigua. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Falmouth St. Paul | Falmouth Goat Hill St. John | Fitches Creek St. George | Parham St. Mary, Old Road & Valley chapel of ease | Parham St. Peter | Picadilly near Willoughby Bay | Popeshead (Hodges Bay plantation) | St. James chapel of ease | St. John Cathedral | St. John (Wesleyan burial ground) | St. John’s Harbour (James Fort) | St. Mary | St. Philip
Bahamas
Early colonists of the Bahamas: a selection of records [WI/L 52]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the Bahamas. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Nassau Christ Church Cathedral | Nassau St. Matthew
Barbados
English settlers in Barbados: Family Tree Maker’s family archives [CD-ROM] [CD-ROM cabinet]
Genealogies of Barbados families [including abstracts of wills 1614-1853] [WI/L 5]
Barbados: C 1637-1800, M 1643-1800: Family Tree Maker’s family archives: English settlers in Barbados [CD-ROM] [CD-ROM cabinet]
Barbados, West Indies: MD 1783-84, 1787-89 from the Barbados Mercury 1783-84: in Caribbeana, vol. 3 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17641]
Barbados, West Indies: MD 1807-09 from the Barbados Chronicle or Caribbean Courier: in Caribbeana, vol. 2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17640]
Barbados, West Indies: ZMD 1805-18, from the Barbados Mercury & Bridgetown Gazette: in Caribbeana, vols. 1-2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17639-40]
Barbados, West Indies: MIs in churches & churchyards [Store A]
Barbados, West Indies: Monumental inscriptions of the British West Indies from the earliest date, with genealogical & historical annotations from original local & other sources illustrative of the histories & genealogies of the 17th century, the calendars of state papers, peerages & baronetages, with engravings of the arms of the principal families [WI/M 2]
Barbados & America [Barbados censuses for 1679-80 [landowners only] & 1715 with CB 1678-79] [WI/C 2]
A list of the names of the inhabitants of Barbados 1638: New England Historical & Genealogical Register, vol. 39, page 132 [US/PER]
Barbados records, wills & administrations, vols. 1-3: 1639-1725 [WI/L 12-14]
Barbados wills 1639-1725: Family Tree Maker’s family archives: English settlers in Barbados [CD-ROM] [CD-ROM cabinet]
List of wills recorded in Barbados down to the year 1800: in Caribbeana, vols. 4-5 [Microfiche] [WI/PER17642-43]
A list of wills relating to Barbados proved in the PCC [1628-1799]: in Caribbeana, vol. 2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17640]
A review of the Jewish colonists in Barbados in the year 1680 [including abstracts of Jewish wills 1676-1739]: Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England, vol. 13 [WI/L 11]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Barbados. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Barbados Military Cemetery | Bridgetown Cathedral | Bridgetown Christ Church | Bridgetown Jewish Synagogue | St. Andrew | St. George | Bridgetown St. James | Bridgetown St. John | Bridgetown St. Joseph | Bridgetown St. Lucy | Bridgetown St. Michael’s Cathedral | Bridgetown St. Peter | Bridgetown St. Philip | Bridgetown St. Thomas
Bermuda
Bermuda settlers of the 17th century: genealogical notes from Bermuda, reprinted from Tyler’s quarterly historical & genealogical magazine, vols. 23-29, 1942-47 [WI/L 38]
Early Bermuda records 1619-1826: a guide to the parish & clergy registers with some assessment lists & petitions [WI/R 8]
19th century church registers of Bermuda [WI/R 13]
Central Circuit Methodist: C 1810-1913, M 1826-1913, B 1828-1913: 19th century church registers of Bermuda [WI/R 13]
Bermuda, West Indies: military cemeteries & monuments, reprinted from The Bermudian, Feb. 1988 [WI/M 9]
Early Bermuda wills 1629-1835 summarised & indexed ... [WI/L 40]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Bermuda. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Bailey’s Bay | Devonshire | Ewing | Hamilton | Hoare | Holiday & Feveryear | Ireland Island dockyard Royal Navy cemetery | Keith | Moore | Paget | Pembroke St. John | Richardson | Sandys | Smith’s | Southampton | St. George’s Town | Warwick Christ Church
Cayman Islands
Hirst’s Handbook of the Cayman Islands 1909 [WI/D 1909]
Cuba
Censos, padrones y matriculas de la populacion de Cuba siglo 16, 17 y 18 [residents lists, military lists, censuses & other minor lists of the population of Cuba in the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries] [WI/C 1]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Cuba. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Guantanamo Bay US Naval Cemetery | Havana British Consulate
Curacao or Netherland Antilles
Curacao, West Indies (Portuguese Jewish females): ZM 1743-1831 [WI/R 12]
Dominica
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Dominica. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Morne Bruce military burial grounds | Roseau RC Cathedral | Roseau Savannah burial ground | Roseau St. George
Grenada
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Grenada. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
St. George
Guadeloupe or the French West Indies
Guadeloupe, West Indies: C 1813-14, 1816, MB 1813: Rev. Thomas Norris’s register (chaplain to HM forces 1813-16 & Protestant Colonial Chaplain for the island of Guadeloupe & its dependencies 1813): in Caribbeana, vol. 1 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17639]
Jamaica
Genealogy of Jamaica: an aid to research on Jamaican families [CD-ROM] [CD-ROM cabinet]
Jamaica, West Indies: M 1796-1800 from The Columbian Magazine or Monthly Miscellany: in Caribbeana, vol. 4 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17642]
Jamaica, West Indies: MIs [WI/M 7-7A]
Jamaica, West Indies: Jewish MIs 1663-1880 [WI/M 10]
Jamaica, West Indies: Monumental inscriptions of the British West Indies from the earliest date, with genealogical & historical annotations from original local & other sources illustrative of the histories & genealogies of the 17th century, the calendars of state papers, peerages & baronetages, with engravings of the arms of the principal families [WI/M 2]
A list of landholders in Jamaica 1750: Caribbeana, vol. 4, page 95 [WI/PER/17642]
Ford & Cundall’s handbook of Jamaica 1907 [WI/D 1907]
Abstracts of Jamaica wills, 1625-1792 in the British Museum (Add. MSS 34181) [Microfilm] [Mf 1101]
Alphabetical index to early wills of Jamaica, West Indies, 1655-1816 [compiled from] PCC wills 1655-1816 [& from the] Registrar General’s Office, Spanish Town 1662-1750 [WI/L 57]
Jamaica: a list of wills relating to this island proved in the PCC from 1655-1810: in Caribbeana, vol. 2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17640]
Jamaican inventories of probated estates (lists 1674-94 & 1699-1701): Caribbean Genealogical & Historical Journal, vol. 2, no. 2 [WI/PER]
A list of all testators whose wills are on record in the Office of the Island Secretary, Jamaica, from 1731-1750: Caribbeana, vol. 2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17640]
Names of persons whose wills are registered in Jamaica previous to 1700 [1663-99]: in Caribbeana, vol. 1 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17639]
Scottish-Jamaican testaments (an index to wills in the Jamaican Record Office): The Scottish Genealogist, vol. 35, no. 1 [SC/PER]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Jamaica. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Falmouth, Trelawney | Kingston | Lucea (Hanover parish church & churchyard) | Maroons Town St. James Flagstaff Cemetery | Montego Bay St. James | Port Royal | Spanish Town | St. Andrew | St. Catherine | St. James Barrett burial ground
Montserrat
Mounseratt 1677-78: heere followes a list of all the men, woemen & children whites & blacks which are conteyned in the severall divisions in the island of Mounserratt ...: in Caribbeana, vol. 2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17640]
Montserrat 1729 list of inhabitants, whites & blacks referred to in Colonel Mathew’s letter of 28th May 1730 from the original in the PRO: Board of Trade papers relating to the Leeward Islands, vol. 21: in Caribbeana, vol. 4 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17642]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Montserrat. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Carrs Bay | Ryleys | St. Anthony | St. George | St. Patrick | St. Peter
Nevis
St. Christopher, Nevis & Anguilla, West Indies: Monumental inscriptions of the British West Indies from the earliest date, with genealogical & historical annotations from original local & other sources illustrative of the histories & genealogies of the 17th century, the calendars of state papers, peerages & baronetages, with engravings of the arms of the principal families [WI/M 2]
Nevis Island 1677-78: a list of Randell Russell’s company or division, mem, women, children, whites & blacks: in Caribbeana, vol. 3 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17641]
Nevis 13 March 1707-08 list of inhabitants with the number of their slaves: in Caribbeana, vol. 3 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17641]
Abstracts of Nevis wills in the PCC: in Caribbeana, vols. 4-6 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17642-44]
A list of wills relating to Nevis & St. Kitts proved in the PCC: in Caribbeana, vol. 2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17640]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Nevis. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Charlestown Wesleyan burial ground | Fig Tree St John | Gingerland St. George | Round Hill St. Mark | St. James | St. Paul | Lowland St. Thomas
St. Kitts or St. Christopher
St. Christopher, West Indies: ZMD 1824-25, 1839-40 from the St. Christopher Gazette: in Caribbeana, vol. 1 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17639]
St. Christopher, Nevis & Anguilla, West Indies: Monumental inscriptions of the British West Indies from the earliest date, with genealogical & historical annotations from original local & other sources illustrative of the histories & genealogies of the 17th century, the calendars of state papers, peerages & baronetages, with engravings of the arms of the principal families [WI/M 2]
St. Christopher 1678 inhabitants: in Caribbeana, vol. 2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17640]
St. Christopher, January 11th 1707-08: an account of all & singular the white men, women & children ... as also of all slaves, men, women & children belonging to the said inhabitants: in Caribbeana, vol. 3 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17641]
A list of wills relating to Nevis & St. Kitts proved in the PCC: in Caribbeana, vol. 2 [Microfiche] [WI/PER/17640]
St. Kitts: index of wills up to 1800 & miscellaneous notes [Typescript] [WI/L 49]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of St. Kitts. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Basseterre | Cabesterre or Capesterre or Capisterre | Cayon | Middle Island St. Thomas | Nichola Town Christ Church | Palmeto Point Holy Trinity | Sandy Point St. Ann | St. George
St. Lucia
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of St. Lucia. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Castries
Trinidad & Tobago
Guppy’s Trinidad official & commercial register & almanack 1875 [WI tracts box]
The Society has material on the following and other places in the islands of Trinidad & Tobago. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
Port of Spain Cathedral | Port of Spain Lapeyrouse Cemetery | Port of Spain Peschier burial ground | Scarborough
Virgin Islands
The Society has material on the following and other places in the island of Virgin Islands. For details please click on the link to the on-line catalogue and do a Subject search for the place name.
St. Thomas Danish Cemetery | Tortola