Caribbean Family Trees

http://www.geni.com/discussions/88671?msg=667642

We need help on the Pirates and Lady Pirates projects, you know:

http://www.geni.com/projects/Pirates-and-Privateers

http://www.geni.com/projects/Pirates-in-Petticoats

Hello! I guess this is more of an intro than a list of suggestions, but I thought it might help since I'm not really "known" yet...

I'm just starting now to work on a project for Bahamians at http://geni.com/projects/Bahamians Sparse at the moment, obviously, but I plan to get moving with it this weekend. I've been working hard at getting Bahamians from other genealogy sites to join, so hopefully that works out.

My own Caribbean heritage covers primarily the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos (T&C), with some pit-stops in Barbados. My mother's a Bahamian immigrant -- her family's been there since the 1600s -- and I've spent a lot of time there since childhood, including doing genealogical research. I've also done work for family and friends with roots in Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica, and this summer I hope to be doing a historical/anthropological fellowship in Anguilla. I'm pretty good with tracking down older documents and also working with more recent Bahamian Creole/Dialect sources (usually transcribed interviews). Knowledge of French and Spanish certainly helps as well.

So, if anyone working in that region would like some help, do let me know! I'm by no means an expert, but I'd love to help where I can. And I'd especially love to find other Bahamians -- I know you must be out there! Reveal yourselves! :)

One immediate problem I can think of is that a lot of Caribbeans can't go back more than a few generations, which probably explains why there aren't many public profiles from the region. I don't want people to have to sacrifice a lot of privacy, though, so I'm not sure how to easily conquer that problem...

Hi Jessica nice meeting you..

Follow-up thought, after writing that boring book (sorry!):

Genealogical sites often have different working definitions for the Caribbean -- geological borders, geographic borders, geopolitical borders, ethnic and linguistic borders, historical governance, even CARICOM membership. Should we start there?

I am happy you brought that up because we all know of the normal family origins in Spain and England because of colonization, Africa because of slavery and India because of indentureship

But there were migration from Venezuela, Martinique, China, Hong Kong, Syria/Lebanon. Portugal and lately from the other islands..

Another thing the Guyanas were also considered Caribbean not South American

Caricom came later and has caused some migration so should we not just leave it open for now.

""We need help on the Pirates and Lady Pirates projects, you know""

Sorry I never learnt nor was taught anything about 'Pirates' in Trinidadian history classes. It was never even discussed in normal conversation..

I know there were some famous ones in Barbados and other islands.

My 5th great-grandfather, @James Irving the Elder, came from Bonshaw, Scotland, and settled at Ironshore, Jamaica in the mid-1700s. Members of his family remained there until the mid- to late 1800s, when slavery was abolished. Is this the kind of thing you're looking for?

Yes Karen we are trying to get a Group of 'Caribbean' people with Geni Trees together hopefully to create projects to help fix the trees if they were merged poorly when they joined up with the Big Tree.

But most of all to use each others information resources.

The first thing we need to do is to Collaborate with each other, to do this just click on the person's name and 'Request to Collaborate"

Sure--I'm in the Collaboration Pool, so will be happy to help out wherever I can.

A few days ago I started a project, "Jamaican Planters" (http://www.geni.com/projects/Jamaican-Planters). I'd be happy to expand it, or to merge it with any other broader project that's going on.

Wonderful I have added myself as a Collaborator, if you have any questions or problems with merges lest me know, as a Curator I might be of some help but I also have 60+ more Curators there to assist.

Hi Karen,

I associated Jews in the Carribean with Jamaican Planters and I think there are other Carib projects to "link" together (optional drop down box on the right in the Project Overview" screen; "follow" the project first, and it will be in your list.)

Now I'm fascinated by the term "Jamaican Planter." I learned (through Geni of course) that "Ancient Planter" was the term given to the original property holders in the "first planting" by the -- hmm - Plymouth Company? So how did it work in Jamaica? Was there a group of merchant / adventurers who formed stock?

Check out Slave Registers of former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834

http://search.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=List&dbid=1129&enc=1&...

For those researching the Forrest surname in Jamaica, contact this member at Ancestry.com for more information:
dixieforrest48

http://trees.ancestry.com.au/pt/RequestTreeAccess.aspx?tid=5156527&...=

I am working on my ancestry in Barbados and the ancestry of my wife from Jamaica. Numerous associated trees have off shoots from my direct lineage. Surnames of primary interest: Hinkson, Worme, King, Goodman in Barbados; Watt, Wright in Jamaica. In the 1800s a number of Barbadians migrated to St. Vincent and as such the same surnames are to be found there.

Private User

Hi Richard I so happy to see you here I hope we can get Michael Atwell here too.

Private User

Hi , if any one can help me out I would be GREATFUL.. I was born in St Vincent.. MY very GOOD FRIEND Richard Hinkson .. introduced me to Geni.And he was very helpful ..to me in helping me with names from Barbados as I live in The U K .. my main intrest now is that I still can't find who were the parents of my gr-gr-grandfather..WILLIAM EDWARD HINKSON..he were married to ELIZABETH ALICE ANN BRADSHAW..I have traced her family.. but not her Husband WILLIAM HINKSON.. also my gr-grandfather JOSEPH WILLIAM MOFFORD [{ MORFORD}born 1862..I am having a bit of trouble tracing those.. I have the Goodman's / Gill's / Greaves / Mascoll's / also trying to trace the Marshall's to all from Barbados .. only JOSEPH WILLIAM MOFFORD ..could be from St Vincent.. but no one can find him there for me..so I have to try and search Barbados, I would like some help if any one can help me out,..also help with MOSES STEPHEN WARD COZIER..he were married in Barbados.. he were one of my gr-gr-grandfathers..on my father side..would be most thankful if any one can help me,, Rita Murphy -Henry

Rita I have a similar story, my mother is from Barbados both Richard and Michael Atwell tried there best to help me. we are still searching.

My second great-grandmother, was born circa 1840 in Santiago, (now) Dominican Republic:
María Josefa de López

So far, I know nothing about her ancestors.

Phillip, check yahoo groups! They are constantly adding good Caribbean genealogy groups. I belong to some for Jamaica and Puerto Rico!

Kenneth: the only relevant Yahoo Group I've found is Dominicanagenalogia, which has 4 members and no activity.

Jump in there, add some friends and get it going! lol. You never know who might join, and share a wealth of info!!

I started a Barbados Project

http://www.geni.com/projects/Barbados-Eminent-Planters-1673

of the 73 "eminent planters" (owned 200 acres or more) from the Census of 1673.

Take a look, see if you recognize any names, and feel free to collaborate. There are also some Barbados resources linked in that project.

ANTIGUA

May I suggest that we put the particular island or area in all caps at the start of our posts. Some of us are generalists in this area of the tree; others are specialists, looking for specific information.

I found a free down-loadable book on the history of Antigua
http://www.archive.org/details/historyofislando02oliv
"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 (1894)"

It can be downloaded in a variety of formats including Kindle.

BARBADOS

I started a second Barbados Project

http://www.geni.com/projects/Quakers-on-Barbados

INTRA-ISLAND

There are people that resided on several different islands during their lifetimes. I'd like us to concentrate on this for a while. For example, my great uncle (grandfather's younger brother), Silas Welsh worked in Cuba as an electrician for a while (mid-late 1920s), before returning to Jamaica.

JAMAICA

I started a Maroon Project

http://www.geni.com/projects/Maroons-of-Jamaica

Many Maroons are of Ashanti (Ghana) ancestry. It is said that Capt. Powell came to Jamaica with 20,000 Ashantis in late 1600s.

JAMAICA

Started a Jamaican American Project here:

http://www.geni.com/projects/Jamaican-American

There are some very interesting genealogies to explore. I didn't know American Revolutionary Innkeeper Samuel Frances, of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraunces_Tavern was Jamaican!