Barbados Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

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

Church records of Barbados are a reliable source for early genealogical research in Barbados. Civil registration through the government began in 1890 (for births and marriages) and 1925 (for deaths). For events after these years, you should search both civil and church records and compare the information.

The above link will also show you a list of the parishes, events, and dates currently published in this collection.

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:


 * Names of individuals associated with the event (child, parents, spouses, etc)
 * Approximate year and place of event
 * Religion of your ancestor

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: 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.

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 the record's original indexes. Indexes are usually located at the beginning or end of a group of images. Find your ancestor's 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
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.


 * 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.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is 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.

General Information About These Records
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.

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.

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.

Related Websites

 * Anglican Diocese of Barbados
 * Introduction to Barbados Genealogy
 * Barbados Genealogical Resources

Related Wiki Articles

 * Barbados Church Records
 * Barbados Cemeteries
 * Barbados
 * Barbados Maps

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.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation:

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