U.S. Virgin Islands


 * This articles is about the U.S. (formerly Danish) Virgin Islands. For other uses, see Virgin Islands.

United States U.S. Virgin Islands

Territory of the United States. The U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas) were purchased from Denmark on January 17, 1917. They are about 60 miles east of Puerto Rico, in the northeast Caribbean Sea, helping to separate it from the North Atlantic Ocean. The U.S. Virgin Islands are southwest of the British Virgin Islands.

Featured Content
Danish West Indies Passenger List Collaboration Project

Research Tools
Danish West Indies Passenger List Finding Aid

If your ancestor traveled by passenger ship to or from St. Thomas in the 1800’s, or to or from Christiansted between the years 1794 to 1847, it is likely a record was created documenting that travel. Now, all Virgin Islanders will be able to view those archived records in digital format thanks to a remarkable gift from the Rigsarkivet (the Danish National Archives).

The entire 34 DVD set of Passenger Arrival Lists, along with a preliminary finding aid prepared by Susan Lugo, is available at the following repositories: the Territorial Archives and the von Scholten Collection at Enid M. Baa Public Library, the Caribbean Genealogy Library in St. Thomas, Whim Research Library and Archives in St. Croix, the Territorial Archives at Florence Williams Public Library in Christiansted, the Elaine I. Sprauve Public Library Special Collections on St. John, the Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía collection being established at the Universidad Interamericana de Hato Rey, and the Archives and Records Management Unit of the Deputy Governor's Office in Road Town, Tortola.

Major Repositories

 * National Archives Northeast Region (New York City)

Websites

 * U.S. Virgin Islands GenWeb
 * St. Croix Census Records
 * Life and Culture of the Danish West Indies (in Danish)
 * History of the Virgin Islands (by The Danish National Archives)
 * General History
 * Libraries of the Virgin Islands
 * University of the Virgin Islands

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