Ins & Outs of Barbados 2020

INS& Records begin in 1637 Barbadians have kept excellent records, and with no change of colonial power and few natural disasters, they are in exceptional shape. As a result of this, there is a large collection of seventeenth century records. Digitised Newspapers The British Library recently funded the digitisation of Barbados’ eighteenth and nineteenth century newspapers. The Mercury Newspaper, published since 1783, is available on the dLOC website (Digital Library of the Caribbean). The digitisation of The Barbadian, also of the nineteenth century, began in 2019. Funding Wish List 1. The Barbados Archives Department has some of the best slave records in the world. A Slave Research Centre would assist the myriad of researchers from universities worldwide to broaden their knowledge. 2. There are 400 volumes of deeds dating back from 1635 that need to be digitised. List of researchers There is no charge to do your own research, but the Barbados Archives Department can supply a list of people who offer research services for a fee. For further information email them with your requirements at archives@barbados.gov.bb Chief Archivist Ingrid Thompson has devoted 33 years of her life to the Barbados Archives Department. There is a full time staff of 13. ingrid.thompson@barbados.gov.bb We Gatherin’ Mobile Genealogy Marketplaces Every month throughout 2020 the department will be holding marketplaces in each parish. See the Barbados Calendar on pages 34-65. Info: madged@visitbarbados.org Records you might not expect Apart from ones you might expect to find such as births, deaths, marriages and deed registers, there are many other revealing records kept such as hospital, shipping, trading and lighthouse records. Of particular interest are the arrival lists of forced immigrants in the seventeeth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: enslaved people from Africa, political prisoners from the Jacobite and Monmouth rebellions, and Irish and Scottish deportees under Oliver Cromwell. There are also records over the past 380 years of the large waves of emigrants to Liberia, Panama, Brazil, Cuba, England, the USA and Canada as well as the smaller but equally interesting groups who went to Costa Rica, Suriname, Belize, Australia, New Zealand, St. Lucia and Guyana. Who do you think you are? BARBADOS ARCHIVES DEPARTMENT Annual Genealogy Marketplace On November 28th 2020, the Barbados Archives Department is holding their popular Genealogy Marketplace. Located at their headquarters at The Lazaretto in Black Rock, St. James, there are lectures, documentaries, films and an exhibition in the research room, whilst the grounds come alive with local food and drink stalls, the playing of traditional games like Warri, and plenty of other interesting activities. Lost Heirs The Barbados Archives Department receives many enquiries each year from organisations looking for next of kin for people who die intestate. Several Barbadians have found themselves the beneficiaries of relatives that they did not know existed. Possibly the most famous Barbadian face, Frank L. White left Barbados in 1875, became a chef in Chicago and was photographed in 1900. Barbados Archives Department, The Lazaretto, Black Rock. St. James Tel (246) 535-0090 archives@barbados.gov.bb | archives.gov.bb 24  BARBADOS BUZZ