In analyzing 1865 -1920 Kansas census of African born persons I was led to the collection of Slave Registers of Former British Colonial Dependencies. The path from Kansas to the British colonies in the Caribbean was a long one, but I landed at the National Archives of UK researching An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, or the Slave Trade Act, 1807.
British Colonial Slave Records Cover 1812 to 1834
Those researching African ancestors may find their ancestors named in the 2.7 million slaves and 280,000 slave owners in 17 former dependencies registers that uncover the Caribbean slave trade of Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Berbice/Guyana), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Dominica, Grenada, British Honduras (Belize), Jamaica, St. Christopher, Nevis, the British Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Tobago, St. Vincent, etc.
The biggest genealogical treasure found in these records is the confirmation
of a slave's nationality. Another great
find is a slave's baptismal information (if baptized), which gives both the
slave name and the Christian name.
Study the Triangle -
Quick Primer
African slaves worked on sugar, tea and tobacco plantations
in the British colonies. Britain
banned slave trading in 1807. And to
keep it controlled, and to prevent illegal trading, records of the slave owner's
inventory registered “lawfully enslaved” slaves. Documenting the legal slaves,
and updating the registers every 3 years included slave descriptions,
birthplaces, and more. These registers were kept until Britain abolished slavery in 1834. But as you gather information, don't forget to
research the plantations.
It's Slave Research
Like all good slave research, the researcher should know the
name of the slave owner, the owner's use for slaves, and preference of trading
country. The residing parish as well as information on the slaves is also
needed.
As I mentioned at the top of this article, I used these
documents to analyze ex-slaves living in Kansas. Again, they came from Africa,
by way of the Caribbean, to New
York (and almost every other state of the northeast),
then finally...voila...Kansas.
Where to Research
Ancestry.com/uk has populated its database: Slave Registers of former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834.
The original registers are held at the British National Archives. In reviewing the slave trade and slavery records at the National Archives, the reader can research the following topics:
Kathleen Brandt
a3genealogy@gmail.com
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