Barbados Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection of church records includes the years 1637-1887. It covers baptisms, marriages, and deaths for the Anglican Church during the years 1637-1850, and 1660-1887 for other denominations. The coverage will vary from one denomination to another.

Church records are created by an authorized priest, keeping the events in the life of parishioners in registers for preservation and future use.

Church records of Barbados are a reliable source for genealogical research in Barbados. For research after the civil registration implementation of birth and marriages in 1890 and for deaths in 1925, it is suggested to research both civil and church records and to compare the information.

The Anglican Church, originally referred to as the Church of England, was the first official religion in Barbados. The original Diocese of Barbados and the Leeward and Windward Islands established in 1824 was subsequently divided into different dioceses:
 * Guyana in 1842
 * Antigua in 1842
 * Trinidad in 1872
 * Windward Islands in 1879 (which continued to be administered to by the Bishop of Barbados until 1930).

Together with the Dioceses of Jamaica (created in 1824), Nassau and the Bahamas (created in 1861) and Belize (formerly British Honduras, created in 1891), these congregations make up the Anglican Province of the West Indies.

The events of parishioners' lives, such as baptism, marriage, and death, were recorded in registers. These records were handwritten in English and kept in the parish archive.

Nonconformist churches such as Moravian, Baptist, and Methodist churches began to be established in the 1780s and may also be a useful source of family records. Other religions in Barbados include Wesleyan, Catholic, Jewish, and miscellaneous non-Anglican congregations.

For a list of records by parishes, events and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from collection landing page.

Record Content
Baptism records usually include the following:


 * Place of event
 * Date of event
 * Name of child
 * Parents' names
 * Grandparents' names
 * Godparents' names

Marriage records usually include the following:


 * Place and date of the event
 * Names of bride and groom
 * Personal information of bride and groom
 * Parents of bride and groom
 * Place of residence

Death or burial records usually include the following:


 * Date and place of death
 * Name of deceased person
 * Sometimes the parents or spouse names of deceased person
 * Cause of death
 * Burial place

How to Use the Record
Before searching these records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of parents
 * Name of bride or groom
 * Name of deceased
 * Approximate year of birth
 * Approximate year of marriage
 * Approximate year of death
 * Name of religion

Search the Collection
To search by index: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To search by image: To search the collection images, you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the appropriate "Parish" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Denomination" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Record Type and Year Range" which will take you to the images.

Look at the images one by one, comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

When searching: As you are searching, it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor's given name and surname, and some identifying information such as residence, age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Some of these groups of images include indexes as part of the record. Indexes are usually located at the beginning of a group of images or at the end. Find your ancestors name and look for the locator information next to the name (such as page, entry, or certificate number). This will help you find the record you are looking for in the collection.

Using the Information

 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Use the parents’ birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.

When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * The information in church records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * The "All Parishes" section of the browse includes the names of other religions that your ancestor may be listed in.
 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities. See the section titled Related FamilySearch Historical Records for more records to search.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Anglican Diocese of Barbados
 * Introduction to Barbados Genealogy
 * Barbados Genealogical Resources
 * The History of Barbados
 * Barbados Maps

Related Wiki Articles

 * Barbados Church Records
 * Barbados Emigration and Immigration
 * Barbados Cemeteries
 * Barbados Genealogy
 * Barbados History
 * Barbados

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information (often called citing your sources). This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

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