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Tracing your Caribbean family

Family history resources and services

Caribbean related family history, links and forums

The following websites offer a range of information, advice and records around Black Caribbean family history. Some give examples of the experience of undertaking Caribbean family research or provide more historical context in regard to slavery and immigration and the migration of Caribbean people throughout the world. There are also a few online family history forums where people can find out who else is tracing their family. These can be very useful in terms of sharing information with other family members, preventing duplication of research, making connections and even reunions!

General family history resources

Southwark Archives has put together a number of Resources for Family History Research. 

The websites below are just some of the more well-established and popular family history resources. Some of the sites may require a subscription fee or registration.

FamilySearch: For births, marriages, deaths, census, church records and other indexes for the world, (free to browse, further research may require a subscription fee).

Ancestry: As well as the records above you will be able to see the slave registers for the period 1812-1834 for Britain’s former colonies including the Caribbean. The registers list the names of the slaves and slave owners. You can access Ancestry Library Edition free of charge on the public PCs in Southwark Libraries. 

Findmypast contains passenger lists from the UK 1890-1960 and includes migrants and people returning to the Caribbean, UK births, marriage and death indexes 1837-2005, UK censuses (partially indexed by name). You can access Findmypast free of charge on the public PCs in Southwark Libraries. 

Genes Reunited is useful for contacting other families.

The National Archives holds information on plantations, slave records, aliens registration cards, naturalisation records, and passenger lists. Contact the National Archives.

The Society of Genealogists, National Library and Family Education Centre is the UK’s foremost family history society providing a wealth of information and resources including a genealogical library and education centre.  

Surnameweb: For looking into the genealogy of your surname.

Page last updated: 15 September 2023

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