United States Virgin Islands Genealogy

Guide to U.S. Virgin Islands ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records. See also Virgin Islands.

Country Information
The U.S. Virgin Islands is a group of islands in the Caribbean belonging to the United States. Formerly a colony of Denmark it was purchased by the United States on 31 March 1917 for 25 million dollars. Its nearest neighbors are Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. The official language is English.

Getting Started


U.S. Virgin Islands Clickable Map
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Jurisdictions
Sovereignty. The earliest European colonization of what is now the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) involved Spain, the Netherlands, Knights of Malta, and England trading control of the islands.


 * St. Thomas  The Netherlands colonized St. Thomas in 1657. Denmark conquered the island in 1666. Great Britain invaded St. Thomas in 1801, but returned it to Denmark in 1802. Great Britain again seized control of St. Thomas (and St. Croix) in 1807 and stayed until 1815.
 * St. John  Denmark settled St. John in 1718.
 * St. Croix  In 1650 France took control of St. Croix. In 1733 Denmark purchased St. Croix and added it to St. Thomas and St. John to create the Danish West Indies. Great Britain seized control of both St. Croix and St. Thomas in 1807 and stayed until 1815.

The United States purchased all the islands of the Danish West Indies from Denmark in 1917. They remain a territory of the United States.

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records
 * U.S. Virgin Islands Genealogy website