Jamaica, Clarendon Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Style Guide
For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages.

Collection Time Period
Currently, this collection of civil registration records includes only the births for the Clarendon Parish and covers the years 1878-1930.

How to Use the Records
In order to find an ancestor, it is necessary to know the district where the ancestor was born or lived. The registers are organized by parishes, such as Clarendon, and each parish is assigned a letter. Within a parish there are many districts, which are identified at the beginning of each book. It is recommended to use the indexes first.

Record Description
Birth notices are collected into annual registers and arranged by parish, district, number, and registration date. The text is handwritten in formatted records. Some records are listed in books similar to a ledger, and other records are on slips of papers with the same ledger format. The records also contain stamped and handwritten numbers.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
These are the key genealogical facts found on most birth records:


 * District and parish name
 * Date and place of birth
 * Name of the child
 * Gender
 * Complete name and dwelling place of the father
 * Complete current name and maiden name of the mother
 * Rank or profession of the father
 * Signature, qualification, and residence of the informant
 * Date of registration
 * Baptismal name, if added after the registration of birth and date
 * Signatures of the informant and the registrar of births and deaths

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

Why This Collection Was Created?
Civil registration records such as birth, marriages, and deaths are recorded for vital statistics and to better serve public health needs.

Record Reliability
The civil registration records contain some of the most reliable information after 1880 for genealogical research in Jamaica. Before 1880, churches recorded important events in the life of the Jamaican people, such as baptisms, marriages, and burials.

Related Wiki Articles
Jamaica: Civil Registration

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. 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.