Research guides

It is possible to trace Caribbean ancestors as far back as the mid-1800s without going outside of the UK. 

It is likely that you will touch on the period of slavery during your Caribbean family history search.

During the 1700s there were people from the African continent and the Caribbean working as domestic slaves in the homes of the rich across the UK. The practice was made illegal in 1774. 

The Slave Trade began in the mid 17th Century and included the forced enslavement and transportation of Africans to the Caribbean. They would be sold to landowners, becoming their property and made to work on plantations and carry out domestic work. They were frequently split from their families and moved to other countries.

The Slave Trade ended in 1807. Slavery ended in the British Empire with the passing of the Slavery Act in 1833. However, many enslaved people were still apprenticed to their masters for 4 years, so would not have been freed until 1838.

Here is some advice to help you start your research into tracing your Caribbean family:

1. It's easier to start with one side of the family first. Start with yourself and work backwards.
2. Speak to as many family members and people connected to your family as you can. Collect their stories and memorabilia – try recording them or even filming them. Stories will give you the details to build your tree.
3. Write down as much detail as possible. Old sayings and cultural habits give clues about a person's life, which will be useful in making links and building a picture and timeline of your family. 
4. If you have family in the Caribbean today, ask them if they could help you gather information. If you visit the Caribbean, you could go to the islands’ archives and local record offices.

Try to get formal names because these will be mentioned on documents. Nicknames, aliases and maiden names may also be useful. Bear in mind how the surname was given. Is the surname of the person you are researching from the mother or father? 

When inputting names into a search engine, use variations on name spellings. For example, the name 'Mitchell' may also be entered as 'Mitchel'. 

During slavery many people did not get baptised until adulthood. Many women gave birth out of wedlock with their children assuming the father’s or slave owner’s name.

It was not always the case that a child took their birth father's surname. Enslaved people did not have legal surnames. They often took the slave owner's surname, which they kept after freedom. Many adopted their own surname derived from any source close to them once they were freed, for example, their mother’s.

Civil registration documents

Records of births, marriages and deaths (called civil registration documents) are the most useful records in family history research. Civil Registration began in 1837 in England and Wales and later in the British territories. 

The Caribbean islands began their civil registration systems at different times. These records are usually held at the archives department or similar government department for the particular country.

Certificates for births, deaths or marriages registered in Southwark after 1900 can be ordered online from the Southwark Register Office. 

Certificates for events registered in England and Wales before 1900 in can be ordered online from the General Register Office. 

Email archives@southwark.gov.uk if you would like a PDF copy of our complete guide including contact details for Caribbean record offices.

Parish records

In the Caribbean, baptisms, marriages and burials were carried out in the local Christian church, generally following the Anglican faith. 

Baptism records usually show the name of the person baptised, the parents' names, date and church of baptism. If the parents were not married, the mother's surname would be used.

Marriages may show the names of witnesses in addition to the names of the bridge and groom. Burial records 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). These are available on FamilySearch.org. 

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

Probate is the process of applying for the legal right to manage a deceased person’s possessions. 

Wills record how a deceased person wishes their possessions to be distributed. 

Enslaved people were regarded as the property of the slave owner, so they may also be named in the will. Copies of wills may be held in the local Caribbean archive or in the UK’s National Archives, depending on where the person held property or died. Search probate records on the UK government website.

Passenger records can be obtained from Ancestry and Findmypast. The passenger lists cover the period 1878 to 1960 and may include the passenger’s name, date of birth or age, the ports of departure and arrival and the name of the ship they travelled in.

The Slave Registers are crucial records for researching slaves and slave holders for the period 1813 to 1834. They were first created in Trinidad under British laws and adopted in other Caribbean countries. 

Copies of the registers are held at the National Archives in the series referenced T 71. The digitised records can be accessed via Ancestry. 

Read a guide to Slave registers from the National Archives

The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership based at University College London has compiled a database of slave owners.  

The census is a complete count of the population of a place taken on a specific date. 

The 1841 Census is the first complete UK Census. They have been taken every 10 years ever since (except during the Second World War). Some local censuses were collected before 1841.

The census can give details about family and other people living in the house at the time. 

They usually include the full names of all occupants of the household, their age, relationship to head of household, gender, occupation, place of birth, and employment status. People from Caribbean communities may be described in earlier censuses as ‘negro’

Many of the following titles are available at Southwark Archives, or in Southwark Libraries. 

Check the catalogue.

We recommend:

• Tracing Your Caribbean Ancestors, Guy Grannum (3rd. Ed., Bloomsbury, 2012)
• A Tree Without Roots: the Guide to Tracing British, African, and Asian Caribbean Ancestry, Paul Crooks (Arcadia Books Ltd, 2008)
• Tracing Your West Indian Ancestors: Sources in the Public Record Office, Guy Grannum (Public Records Office, 2002)
• Tracing Ancestors in Barbados: A Practical Guide, Geraldine Lane, (Genealogical Publishing Co., 2006)
• Jamaican Ancestry: How to Find Out More, Madelaine E Mitchell (Heritage Books, 1998)
• Jamaican Records: a Research Manual, Stephen D Porter (Stephen D Porter, 1999)
• Immigrants and Aliens: Guides to Sources on UK Immigration and Citizenship, R Kershaw & M Pearsall (PRO, 2000)
• Discover Your Roots and Explore Your Family‘s History, Kathy Chater (Lorenz Books, 2003)
• The Genealogist’s Internet, Peter Christian (PRO/The National Archives)
• Immigrants and Aliens: a Guide to Sources on UK Immigration & Citizenship, R Kershaw and M Pearsall, (The National Archives, 2004)
• Caribbeana: Miscellaneous papers relating to the history, genealogy, topography & antiquities of the British West Indies, Vere Langford Oliver (c.1910, The National Archives)
• Caribbean History
• Windrush: the irresistible rise of multi-racial Britain, Mike Phillips and Trevor Phillips (Harper Collins Publishers, 1998
• Pieces of the Past: a Stroll Down Jamaica’s Memory Lane by Rebecca Tortello, Ian Randle Publishers, 2007
• In the Shadow of the Plantation: Caribbean History and Legacy, Ed. By Alvin O Thompson, Ian Randle Publishers, 2002
• The Making of the West Indies, by F R Augier, S C Gordon, D G Hall, M Reckford, Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Ltd., 2005
• India in the Caribbean, Ed. By Dr David Dabydeen, Dr Brinsley Samaroo, Hansib Publishing Ltd., 1987
• Jamaican Volunteers in the First World War: Race, Masculinity and the Development of National Consciousness by Richard Smith, Manchester University Press, 2004
• Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1840 to the Present by Deborah Willis, W W Norton & Co., 2000
• Van Der Zee: Photographer 1886-1983, Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1998
• The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, The African, written by Himself, Ed. By W Sollors, W W Norton & Co. Inc., 2001
• The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands, Mary Seacole, Black Classics, 1999
• Speak Of Me As I Am: the Black Presence in Southwark Since 1600 by Stephen Bourne, Southwark Council, 2005
• Keep on Moving: The Windrush Legacy: The Black Experience in Britain from 1948, T Sewell, Voice Enterprises Ltd., 1998.
• The Trader, The Owner, The Slave: Parallel Lives in the Age of Slavery, by James Walvin, Jonathan Cape Publ., 2007
• Black Tudors: The Untold Story, Miranda Kaufmann, Oneworld Publications, 2017
• Black Voices: The shaping of our Christian Experience, David Killingray and Joel Edwards, Inter-Varisty Press, 2007
• Black Londoners 1880-1990, Susan Okokon, Sutton Publishing, 1998
• Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime 1939-45, Stephen Bourne, The History Press, 2020
• Mother Country: Britain’s Black Community on the Home Front 1939-45, Stephen Bourne, The History Press, 2010
• Black and British: A Forgotten History, David Olusoga, Pan, 2017
• Black Poppies: Britain’s Black Community and the Great War, Stephen Bourne, 2014
• ONE Picture My Story – a collection of 30 oral history recordings by people of Black heritage living in Southwark. Listen on our YouTube channel