Tracing your Caribbean family

Records of baptisms, marriages and burials (parish records)

Where civil registration records are missing, the parish records are perhaps the next best thing in terms of official documentation. Baptisms, marriages and burials were carried out in the local Christian church generally following the Anglican or branches of Christian faith. In the case of baptisms, these records usually (but not always) show the name of the person baptised, parents' names, date and church of baptism and the parish in which the family lived. If the parents were not married, the mother's surname would be given. Marriages may show who the witnesses were and burials may show where the deceased is buried. Many of the Caribbean's parish records were digitised by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and are available at FamilySearch.

Solihull Central Library holds a list of civil registrations records and some parish records for a range of Caribbean countries.

The original Parish Records for a Caribbean country will be held at the 'department of archives' or 'record office' or 'genealogy office' or another similarly titled government department for the relevant Caribbean country.

Southwark Archives holds microfilm copies of parish baptism, marriage, and burial records for Southwark’s ten oldest Anglican parishes of Southwark from 1500s to the early 1900s (with gaps). Original Anglican parish records for this area are held at the London Metropolitan Archives, which is the official record office for the local diocese. It is also possible to access most local parish records free of charge via Ancestry on the public PCs in Southwark Libraries.  

Page last updated: 15 September 2023