Jamaica, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Jamaica



What is in the Collection?
This collection contains records for the year 1880 to 1999. Early records are in register (book) format; later records are certificates.

The records are handwritten in English on formatted forms. These records are organized by parish and then by district.

Compulsory registration of births, marriages, and deaths was introduced in Jamaica in 1878 and was legally implemented in 1880. The registration of births, marriages, and deaths is done at the Registrar General's Department (RGD), which was established in 1879, with the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Unit responsible for collating this vital information. These civil records are organized by parish.

Civil Registration for Jamaica was mandated in 1878, though actual registration began in isolated districts as much as five years later. Each parish was assigned a letter by the Registrar General; the letter J was omitted. Parishes are subdivided into registration districts, which are relevant only to vital-record registrations and have no other civil or fiscal authority. Districts continue to be added as the population grows, so the earliest registrations may have occurred much later than 1878.

This collection contains digital copies of original records housed at the Registrar General's Office in Spanish Town, Jamaica, and also the Ministry of National Security, Kingston, Jamaica.

Collection Content
The Coverage Table shows the places and time periods covered in the indexed records in this collection after the 18 August 2014 additions. Most of the records in the collection are from the time periods listed in the table; however, the collection may have a few records from before or after the time period.

Digital Folder List
This collection was published as a DGS browse collection. Here is a table showing each DGS number and its contents. The table can be found in Jamaica, Civil Registration Digital Folder Number List. The list can be sorted by DGS number, GS number, year, author and title with a link to the FamilySearch Catalog record.

How Do I Search the Collection?
The birth, marriage or place of death needs to be matched with the correct parish. To begin your search in the birth records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Names of parents
 * Approximate birth date and place
 * Parish

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors 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. You will also be able to view the record image from the result page.

To browse the collection images: Select the Browse link and choose an image folder. Search each individual image, comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

What Do I Do Next?
The registers are organized by parishes, such as Trelawny, and then by district, such as Albert Town. Each birth record is given a unique number consisting of letters and numbers to identify each child’s birth registration record. The first letter corresponds to the name of the parish, the second to the district. The numbers are the sequence of the registration of the births. It is recommended to use the indexes first, where the registration number will be included.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.
 * The residence of the parents, and maiden surname of the mother are useful in searching records from that locality to find information on their marriage and the parents' births.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Switch to a different record collection. Depending on the time period, either Jamaica Civil Registration records or Jamaica Church records may be more useful.
 * While searching, it is helpful to know such information as the ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as an ancestor and that the ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Keep in mind that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images. Pay special attention to how the name should have been pronounced and try variations on the pronunciation.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.

Related Websites

 * Registrar General's Department
 * Registration parishes and districts in Jamaica
 * Jamaican Genealogy
 * 1901 Map of Jamaica

Related Wiki Articles

 * Jamaica Civil Registration
 * Jamaica Church Records
 * Jamaica Jurisdictions
 * Jamaica
 * Jamaica History

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Collection Citation

Record Citation

Image Citation

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached 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.