First, let me apologize for not being able to answer all email. If you are just beginning your research, you have probably learned that there is no electronic database of all the folks we would like to know about. If you are researching Jewish families in Jamaica, this page will refer you to other Jamaican and Jewish resouirces. I would particularly like to receive email to let me know about web site problems, web resources you believe that I should be aware of, and corrections and additions to the genealogy on my site.
David Silvera
The following are available from the American Jewish Archives:
SC-13463 and Microfilm No. 3003. Kingston, Jamaica. Kaal Kadosh Shahar Ashamain. Register of births, deaths and marriages. 1809-1907. $44.40.
SC-13464 and Microfilm No. 3003. Kingston, Jamaica. Kaal Kadosh
Shahar Shaangare Yosher. Register of births and marriages. 1788-1918.
$21.20.
Contact:
Christine A. Crandall,
Archival Resident
Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
3101 Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45220
513-221-1875 x319
513-221-7812 (fax)
ccrandall@huc.edu
http://www.americanjewisharchives.org
A book published in 1988, The Jews of Jamaica Tombstone Inscriptions 1663 - l880, by Richard D. Barnett & Philip Wright, edited by Oron Yoffe is available directly from the publishers in Israel.
Arguably the best starting sources on the web are the Jamaica Genealogy Page and the Genealogy of Jamaica, West Indies, which are both maintained by Madeleine Mitchell.
Madeleine has also written an essential reference fo anyone working on Jamaican ancestry or persons who passed through Jamaica. Jamaican Ancestry: How to find out More may be ordered directly from the publisher Heritage Books.
Two important new resources for Jamaican (including Jewish) genealogy are now available, with details for ordering avaialble from the following links:
Jamaican Records, A Research Manual, by Stephen D. Porter
Genealogy of Jamaica, 2nd edition, on CD by Donald Lindo
Patricia Jackson's site Jamaican Family Search, has a great deal of information about Jewish records, including transcriptions of the Jewish cemetery at Falmouth which she did herself a year ago while in Jamaica, plus records of both the Sephardic and Ashkenazi congregations, birth and death records of the Amalgamated congregations, and a few records from the Montego Bay synagogue. It's worth the subscription which is quite reasonable. .
Of interest to genealogy research for the West Indise generally, James Lynch is re-publishing Oliver's Caribbeana in six and eight volumes (volume 7 = West Indian Bookplates, volume 8 - all seven indexes repeated in one book). The books will also be available in single volumes and publication is planned by the end of 1999.
Vaughn W. Royal maintains a W.I. Surname List of persons with genealogy interest in the West Indies, and the surnames being researched.
Sally Jones compiled an published to the soc.genealogy.west-indies three very useful lists, which are made available with Sally's permission. Jamaica Genealogy Bibliography. Jamaica Genealogy LDS Resources. Where in the world can I find...
Finally, let me introduce my favorite software package. I use Reunion for the Macintosh, and recommend this software to anyone seriously interested in genealogy. It has an easy to use interface, keeps track of my picture files, prints user definable reports and charts, and writes the html for publishing my web site.