Public Local Records
Item
Country
JM
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
eng
Contact information: postal address
Corner of King and Manchester Streets, Spanish Town, Saint Catherine
Contact information: phone number
001 (876) 984-5001
001 (876) 984-2581
001 (876) 984-2581
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
jarchives@jard.gov.jm
Reference number
2/
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (official language of the state)
Public Local Records
Language of title
eng
Creator / accumulator
Parishes
Date(s)
1735/1978
Language(s)
eng
Extent
17 series
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
This collection consists of the surviving records of the Vestries, Municipal Boards, Parochial Boards and Parish Councils for 17 parishes of Jamaica Island: St. Thomas-ye-Vale, St. Catherine, St. James, Hanover, Trelawney, Kingston and St. Andrew, Westmoreland, Clarendon, St. Ann, St. Elizabeth, Portland, St. Thomas, St. Mary, Manchester, St. George, Port Royal and St. David. In addition to minutes of meetings, the Local Government records include slave returns, slave trials, petty session courts, accounts, tax rolls, poor relief registers and correspondence to and from central government authorities.
The collection includes Kingston poll tax lists for 1745 (2/6/1), 1769 (2/6/5), 1795 (2/6/105) and 1819 (2/6/106), from which Eli Faber (2000) surveyed Jewish households and companies established in this city in these years, including information on enslaved people they owned. See lists in Faber (2000), pp. 188-212. Faber also listed Jewish households and companies settled in St Catherine parish in 1772 (2/2/22) and 1820 (2/2/19), based on trade tax lists (pp. 213-216).
The collection includes Kingston poll tax lists for 1745 (2/6/1), 1769 (2/6/5), 1795 (2/6/105) and 1819 (2/6/106), from which Eli Faber (2000) surveyed Jewish households and companies established in this city in these years, including information on enslaved people they owned. See lists in Faber (2000), pp. 188-212. Faber also listed Jewish households and companies settled in St Catherine parish in 1772 (2/2/22) and 1820 (2/2/19), based on trade tax lists (pp. 213-216).
Archival history
The Jamaica Archives and Records Department had its beginnings in the Island Secretary’s Office (ISO), established in 1659 as the administrative and record-keeping arm of the Colonial Government. The Island Secretary’s Office was dismantled in 1879, and some of its functions were transferred to the Island Records Office (IRO) in Spanish Town under the Records Law of that year. As a Government Department, the Jamaica Archives began in 1955 with the establishment of an Archives Section in the Island Records Office and the appointment of Clinton Black as government archivist, the first such appointment in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Some of the records transferred to IRO in 1879 became the holdings of the Archives Section and, in 1962, were amalgamated with the historical records of the law courts to form the Jamaica Archives. In 1962, the records in the Archives Section were moved to the new building specifically erected to house them at the corner of King and Manchester Streets, Spanish Town.
The Jamaica Archives remained a part of the Island Records Office until 1982 when it became a Department in its own right following the passage of the Archives Act 1982. During the latter half of the 1980s, when records management responsibilities were added to the Department, the Government Records Centre was established in Kingston, and the name of the Department changed to The Jamaica Archives and Records Department (JARD).
The Department serves as the primary repository in the country for the preservation of government records in paper, audiovisual and electronic formats relating to the country’s history and heritage. It collects archival materials relating to Jamaica produced by government ministries, agencies, and departments and persons of national importance as well as churches, charities and other organisations to ensure the preservation of primary materials of cultural value to Jamaica. It provides a research and reference service to the public and disseminates information on the collection to promote interest and knowledge of the nation’s history and culture.
The Jamaica Archives remained a part of the Island Records Office until 1982 when it became a Department in its own right following the passage of the Archives Act 1982. During the latter half of the 1980s, when records management responsibilities were added to the Department, the Government Records Centre was established in Kingston, and the name of the Department changed to The Jamaica Archives and Records Department (JARD).
The Department serves as the primary repository in the country for the preservation of government records in paper, audiovisual and electronic formats relating to the country’s history and heritage. It collects archival materials relating to Jamaica produced by government ministries, agencies, and departments and persons of national importance as well as churches, charities and other organisations to ensure the preservation of primary materials of cultural value to Jamaica. It provides a research and reference service to the public and disseminates information on the collection to promote interest and knowledge of the nation’s history and culture.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The records are organised by parishes.
Finding aids
Finding aids are available in the archive. They are structured into five main categories: Central Government, Local Government, Statutory Bodies, Private and Ecclesiastical. The indices provide a historical overview of the creating agencies, the types of records included in each collection and their creation date. Individual entries in the indices provide information on the reference number, which derives from one of the main categories of records, the item's description and the date of creation.
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2023
Bibliography
Linked resources
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Jamaica Archives and Records Department | Collections (official language of the state) |