Historical records from the Central American country of Belize, formerly British Honduras, are the basis of a new book by Sonia Bennett Murray. "The First Parish Register of Belize, 1784-1810 and the First Four Censuses, 1816-1826″ was created from copies of the parish register from the Belize state archives and census records.
The author's introduction demonstrates the pitfalls of interpreting early records, because one must always read these introductions to accurately understand this work. She said there are more births and burials than marriages. The census records cover 1816, 1820, 1823 and 1826, and for most years supply names of members of the household, ages, and names of the slaves and their ages, far more information than U. S. censuses provided for similar years.
This is an important new source for this part of the British Empire and is available for $29.50 plus $5.50 postage from Clearfield Publishing Co., 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211. You can also call 1-800-296-6687 or check www.genealogical.com.
There are other sources on the Internet and in books for elsewhere in the Caribbean, and one good Web site to check belongs to Augusta B. Elmwood of New Orleans. She earlier published "The Saint-Domingue Newsletter" about the French resources in the Caribbean, especially for Haiti, the former French colony of St. Domingue. Now she offers her newsletter online. Contact her at augustae@bellsouth.net. Her Web site is found by searching for "Saint-Domingue" and Augusta Elmwood, and you will find the "Saint-Domingue Page." She has great links to other sources for Haiti, Cuba and Jamaica, among other places.
Topic: Augusta genealogy seminar
The Augusta Genealogical Society will host its annual homecoming seminar on Aug. 14, and Robert S. Davis, Jr., Don Rhodes and Tricia Price Glenn are the speakers. Davis will talk about sources before the 1850 census: "Robert Carr's Fort Tragedy: Records of the Ceded Lands and Old Wilkes County" and early Georgia's Secret Archives, the Colonial and State Books of Record Series. Rhodes will speak on "Mysteries and Legends of Georgia," and Glenn will address the history of violence in the Old Edgefield District of South Carolina. The all-day seminar costs $35 for members, $40 for non-members if received by Aug. 10 to be receive a syllabus. Checks should be made out to AGS to the Society, P.O. Box 3743, Augusta, GA 30914-3743. Check the website at www.augustagensociety.org.
Topic: Tennessee legislative petitions
If you are looking for lost relatives in early Tennessee, check the Tennessee State Library and Archives Web site at www.tennessee.gov/tsla. Listed are the "Tennessee Legislative Petitions" from 1799 through 1829, divided into eight sections that have to be searched separately. Find someone, and it was well worth the search. There are a lot of other important documents on the Web site.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
