Jamaican Family Search Genealogy Research Library
Copies of “The Jamaica Witness” were loaned for transcription, dedicated to the memory of Raymond Allan Brandon, son of Allan Courtney and Violet Kate Steinmetz Brandon, June 26, 1944 to May 20, 2002, Jamaica.
The first copy of this newspaper which I have seen is dated January, 1877, and is identified as “No. 1, Volume II.” This would seem to indicate that it was first introduced in 1876. The first editor was the Rev. William Murray, who was then the minister of the Presbyterian Church in Falmouth. He was replaced by Dr. Rob, Presbyterian minister in Kingston. The newspaper was published until 1887, and possibly after that.
The subscription to the “The Jamaica Witness” was 2s. 6d per year. It was published once each month, and it consisted of 8 pages, of which no more than 2 pages were advertising. There were notices of births, marriages, and deaths, many of which seemed to have occurred within the congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, but notices were included for the payment of a fee. There were articles or editorials concerning current events in Jamaica, including news about the Presbyterian churches throughout the island. There were also items from overseas, and editorials on political, moral and religious issues.
Please use the following links:
NEW!!! Excerpts from 1877-1879 (M)
Experiences in Jamaica, from an issue in 1884. [F] (in free pages)
NEW!!! Excerpts from 1885-1887 (M)
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