Wills (Barbados)
Item
Country
BB
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
Black Rock, St. James, Barbados
Contact information: phone number
001 (246) 424-1270
001 (246) 425-5150
001(246) 535-0050 (Ingrid Thompson, chief archivist)
001 (246) 425-5150
001(246) 535-0050 (Ingrid Thompson, chief archivist)
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
archives@sunbeach.net
bda@caribsurf.com
ingrid.cumberbatch@barbados.gov.bb (Ingrid Thompson, chief archivist)
bda@caribsurf.com
ingrid.cumberbatch@barbados.gov.bb (Ingrid Thompson, chief archivist)
Title (official language of the state)
Wills (Barbados)
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Barbados Department Archives
Date(s)
1647/1959
Language(s)
eng
Extent
c. 75 cubic feet (35 file drawers)
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
Barbados Department Archives contains three series of wills: original wills, wills record books, and wills re-copied record books.
The original wills date from 1648, but records prior to 1723 are very imperfect and incomplete. The records are only reasonably complete from about 1800.
Wills record books date from 1650, but the volumes of 17th- and 18th-century records are incomplete. The series is only continuous after 1793. Record books up to 1872 are indexed individually, but modern indexes have also been compiled.
Wills re-copied record books include 43 volumes with records from 1650 to 1835. However, some of the copies are not very accurately transcribed.
Some wills preserved at the Barbados Department Archives were published by Joanne McRee Sanders (1979-81).
Some of these wills are concerning Portuguese Jews living in Barbados. Samuel Oppenheim (1931) composed a list of them before 1800.
The original wills date from 1648, but records prior to 1723 are very imperfect and incomplete. The records are only reasonably complete from about 1800.
Wills record books date from 1650, but the volumes of 17th- and 18th-century records are incomplete. The series is only continuous after 1793. Record books up to 1872 are indexed individually, but modern indexes have also been compiled.
Wills re-copied record books include 43 volumes with records from 1650 to 1835. However, some of the copies are not very accurately transcribed.
Some wills preserved at the Barbados Department Archives were published by Joanne McRee Sanders (1979-81).
Some of these wills are concerning Portuguese Jews living in Barbados. Samuel Oppenheim (1931) composed a list of them before 1800.
Administrative / Biographical history
In 1960 and 1961, a survey was carried out for the University of the West Indies (then the University College) to discover what historical records survived in Barbados. The survey covered most Government Departments, the local (parish) governments, secondary schools, Anglican, Methodist, Moravian and Roman Catholic churches, a few business firms, the Public Library, and the Barbados Museum and Historical Society. The results of the survey were published in Chandler (1964).
In 1964, a Department of Archives was established by the Barbados Government. The Department is the official repository of archives and, since its establishment, has been accumulating records which were formerly kept by the departments responsible for their creation. Many of the records listed in Chandler (1964) have already been transferred to the Archives, and transfers are continuing.
In 1964, a Department of Archives was established by the Barbados Government. The Department is the official repository of archives and, since its establishment, has been accumulating records which were formerly kept by the departments responsible for their creation. Many of the records listed in Chandler (1964) have already been transferred to the Archives, and transfers are continuing.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
Finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2023
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Barbados Jews wills | Existence and location of originals |
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Barbados Department Archives | Collections (official language of the state) |