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| Trinidad and Tobago Genealogical Society | |
|---|---|
| Name | Trinidad and Tobago Genealogical Society |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Region served | Trinidad and Tobago |
Trinidad and Tobago Genealogical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the study and preservation of family history in Trinidad and Tobago. The society facilitates genealogical research relating to Caribbean, European, African, Indian, Chinese, and Indigenous lineages and connects researchers, archivists, and historians across the twin-island republic. It supports work that intersects with archives in Port of Spain, civil registration in San Fernando, and parish records linked to colonial administrations such as the Spanish, British, and French periods.
The society emerged in the early 21st century amid renewed interest in Caribbean diaspora studies influenced by scholarship associated with University of the West Indies, Royal Historical Society, British Library, Nationaal Archief (Netherlands), and regional initiatives like Caribbean Studies Association. Founding members included local archivists, librarians, and historians who had collaborated with institutions such as The National Archives (United Kingdom), Library of Congress, University of Toronto, University of the West Indies Mona Campus, and Mount Allison University on projects concerning indentureship, emancipation, and migration. Early activities referenced records from colonial administrations including the Spanish Empire, British Empire, and French colonial empire and engaged with databases maintained by FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, and scholarly projects housed at Oxford University and Columbia University. The society adapted methods developed in genealogical organizations like the Genealogical Society of Utah and the New England Historic Genealogical Society while responding to local challenges such as dispersed parish registers, plantation records, and oral histories tied to communities in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain, Chaguanas, and Siparia.
The society's mission emphasizes preservation, education, and access. It promotes initiatives connecting family historians with repositories including the National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago, Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, The Red House (Port of Spain), and church archives from denominations like Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Hindu Temple (Trinidad and Tobago), and Muslim Organisations in Trinidad and Tobago. Activities range from workshops that reference methodologies taught at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and Indiana University to collaborative digitization projects inspired by programs at the Smithsonian Institution and British Museum. The society also advocates for conservation practices aligned with standards from the International Council on Archives and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
Membership comprises amateur genealogists, professional researchers, archivists, librarians, and academics affiliated with bodies such as University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago National Library and Information System, Museums Association of the Caribbean, and local historical societies in Tobago. Governance typically follows nonprofit models used by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals and regional nonprofit statutes in Trinidad and Tobago corporations law with elected officers, committees for publications, education, and outreach, and volunteer-led special interest groups focusing on surnames, indentureship, Afro-Trinidadian lineage, Indo-Trinidadian ancestry, Chinese Trinidadian families, and Indigenous communities like the Carib people.
The society issues newsletters, research guides, and bibliographies drawing on primary sources from repositories such as the National Archives (United Kingdom), India Office Records, Barbados Archives Department, and digitized collections hosted by Caribbean Memory Project-style initiatives. Publications cite records like ship manifests recorded in Port of Spain Harbour logs, plantation ledgers associated with estates on Trinidad, and indenture registers from Calcutta and Bengal Presidency. Resource compilations reference published works including studies by C. L. R. James, Eric Williams, Hilary Beckles, Gaiutra Bahadur, and archival compilations similar to those at The National Archives of Scotland and National Archives of Australia.
The society organizes seminars, speaker series, and conferences that have featured researchers connected to University of the West Indies St. Augustine, Brown University, Yale University, Harvard University, and regional centers such as Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies. Events often intersect with commemorations like Emancipation Day (Caribbean), anniversary exhibitions at National Museum and Art Gallery (Trinidad and Tobago), and workshops run in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Caribbean Community. Regular programming includes hands-on sessions for civil registration searches, church register transcriptions, and DNA methodology overviews referencing providers and studies from laboratories associated with Harvard Medical School and Wellcome Trust-funded research.
Services include lookups in parish registers, civil records, cemetery transcriptions, and plantation inventories similar to projects undertaken by the West India Committee and British Caribbean Philatelic Study Group. Major projects have targeted digitization of 19th-century records, compilation of surname indices, oral history collections with elders from Tobago Village, and collaborative mapping of migration routes to destinations such as Trinidadian diaspora in Toronto, United Kingdom, United States, and Caribbean Netherlands. Methodologies incorporate cataloging standards from the Society of American Archivists and data-sharing frameworks modeled on Europeana and Digital Public Library of America.
Partnerships span local and international institutions including the National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago Library Services, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, UNESCO, and cultural organizations such as Carifesta and the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Arts Company. Outreach programs engage schools, elder associations, and cultural groups linked to Hosay, Divali, and Carnival (Trinidad and Tobago) celebrations to collect oral histories and family archives. Collaborative grants and training draw upon models from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, and regional development agencies to sustain conservation, digitization, and public-access initiatives.
Category:Organisations based in Trinidad and Tobago Category:Genealogical societies