Jamaican Family Search Genealogy Research Library
I was born in Jamaica. I spent the first 21 years of my life in St. James and Trelawny, and one year in Portland. After graduating from high school I was an articled clerk and law student for 3 1/2 years. I left Jamaica and lived for some time in the United States, where I received my university education. I later returned to Jamaica to teach and work in the Kingston/St. Andrew area for 6 years. Much of my working life has been in the business world, particularly in accounting and banking.
I am keenly interested in the world that God created and in which we live. Apart from living in Jamaica and five States in the USA, I have lived in France and Chile and spent a few months on the island of Grand Cayman. I have traveled to England and six other European countries, 3 other Caribbean islands, Canada, Mexico, and Japan. I have been to 27 other states in the U.S.A including Alaska. Need I say that I love to travel?
In 1982 I started doing research on my family. Besides research in the Archives in Spanish Town, Jamaica, the Island Records Office, and the National Library of Jamaica, I have also done research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I did research for my French ancestry while living in France, and both in France and in Jamaica spent hours looking at tombstones in various cemeteries.
All of this about travel and genealogical experience tells where I have been, but it omits the fact that as a Christian I know where I am going ultimately, and that when I get to heaven it will be clear to me who all my ancestors really were. For more about this, please go to Biography 2.
In 1999 I took an early retirement. Seeing the need for a site which would provide a place for others to start researching their family history in Jamaica, as well as the history of the island, I started transcribing documents and records to be placed on jamaicanfamilysearch.com. The site was made available to the public in March 2000. I immediately invited the public to contribute documents to help build the site, as I knew it was too big a task for one individual.
Among the surnames of my ancestors are: Anderson (Scotland only), Bartibo, Barton, Biddies, Burke, Douglas, Evans, Hay (Scotland only), Holloway, Lions (France and Jamaica, sometimes written as Leon), Moore, Morrison, Parker, Pereira, Scott, Shergold, Trought, Usher, and Webb.
For a newspaper photograph taken at the Island Records Office, Jamaica, please see Jackson at the IRO
For a photograph taken as I was setting out for another day of research, please see Jackson.
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