Manumitted Enslaved People in Puerto Rico
Most people do not realize that slavery still existed on the island of Puerto Rico well after the United States had freed those enslaved. In Puerto Rico, slavery ended in 1873 by the Spanish National Assembly. However, those enslaved were not exactly free, they had to work for an additional 3 years for those that…
Aguas Buenas Digitized Church Records 1845 – 1938
Prior to the municipality of Aguas Buenas being established in 1838 in Puerto Rico, it was once a part of Caguas and you should look at Caguas church records prior to this church being established. The municipality sits just northwest of Caguas. The reason I mention this is because new researchers think that the towns…
Manumissions on Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and Jamaica
Manumissions is the act in which a slave owner frees their slaves. When Britain ended slavery, many slaves were manumitted and their masters were compensated for freeing them. Some were manumitted even prior to the end of slavery. While there are manumissions records available for Trinidad and Tobago, it will require that you make a…
Bahamas Chancery, Dower, and Court Records 1791 to 1917
Chancery records are actually extremely important in researching your ancestry. Whether your ancestors are European, African or African descent, or Native American. These types of records help you in figuring out if the ancestor you seek will be listed. The Bahamas Chancery, Dower, and Court Records 1791 to 1917 are worth a review. When it…
Bahamas Digitized Estate Appraisals, Leases and Wills from the 1700s through 1900s
One of the hardest things to do is reading documents of Estate Appraisals and seeing humans listed as property. For those of us that descend from these ancestors, it is a hard pill to swallow. Therefore, it is difficult task to read pricing next to a name. I praise these ancestors and place them on…
Dominica – Wills from 1700s through 1938
I was excited to discover wills were available in the digitized format on the FamilySearch website. The records are a collection from manuscripts in the Supreme Court Registry located in Roseau. Unfortunately, the available images can only be viewed from a Family History Center (FHC). It eliminates the step of needing to order and pay…