How to look for records of… Births, marriages and deaths in Grenada
This is a brief guide to help you with your research. Records of births, marriages and deaths in Grenada are kept in various places, but not usually at The Grenada National Archives. This guide will help you to find out where else you can look.
Search BMDregisters ($) for records of:
The nonconformist (RG4, RG5, RG 8), clandestine (RG7) and Quaker (RG6) registers are also available on Ancestry ($) where they can be searched or browsed using the ‘browse this collection’ option on the right hand side of the search page. This allows you to browse by series, place or denomination.
Solihull Central library holds Caribbean records and, for a small charge, you can order any available records that we don’t yet have. See our guide to ordering FamilySearch records.
We’ve compiled an individual island register to assist you when searching for particular records.
More records are being ordered, especially for Jamaica, so do check back regularly.
Sometimes, church records will still be at the church concerned but many will be at the main library or archive centre. Records for St Mary’s Anglican Church, Anguilla, are detailed within our Caribbean records at Solihull Central Library.
These records give details of people arriving in the UK aboard ships which set sail from ports outside Europe and the Mediterranean. The passenger lists have been digitised and are available on the Ancestry website (available free of charge from computers in any Solihull library).
Registers were usually compiled every 3 years from approximately 1814 until 1834. These registers are available at the Ancestry website.
Search for birth, baptism, marriage and burial records on Ancestry ($) findmypast ($) and Deceased Online ($).
Guy Grannum ‘Tracing Your Caribbean Ancestors: A National Archives Guide’ (UK Nat. Arch. 2012)
The Grenada General Register Office (GRO) keeps all certificates of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales since 1837.
Civil registration began on 1 July 1837 and no central records of births, marriages or deaths exist before that date.
If you are tracing a birth, marriage or death before 1 July 1837, look for parish registers in local archives.
As most non-conformists were obliged to marry in the Church of England between 1754 and 1837, it is possible to find records of their marriages in Church of England parish registers.
What do I need to know before I start?
Try to find out:
- the person’s name (and name of their parents, spouse or next of kin, where applicable)
- the approximate date of the birth, marriage or death
- the district where the event is likely to have taken place
What records can I see online?
Indexes to birth, marriage and death registrations (1837 to present)
Search the very limited number of Grenada records birth, marriage and death indexes on familysearch.org. Some commercial websites ($) also have the indexes such as Findmypast and Ancestry. For more information see the General Register Office family history page on GOV.GD.Non-conformist registers (primarily before 1837)
Registers of non-conformist births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials are held by The National Archives in record series RG4 – RG8 and are available online.Search BMDregisters ($) for records of:
- non-conformist and other non-parochial births and baptisms, deaths and burials, and some marriages for the 17th-19th centuries (RG4, RG5, RG8)
- clandestine (irregular) marriages up to 1754 (RG 7)
- Quaker (or Religious Society of Friends) births, marriages and deaths up to 1837 (RG 6)
The nonconformist (RG4, RG5, RG 8), clandestine (RG7) and Quaker (RG6) registers are also available on Ancestry ($) where they can be searched or browsed using the ‘browse this collection’ option on the right hand side of the search page. This allows you to browse by series, place or denomination.
Selected church marriage registers (1837-c1920)
View some church marriage registers from 1837 up to the 1920s on Ancestry and FamilySearch. See the list of filmed records held by FamilySearch (more details).What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
Birth, marriage and death certificates (1837 to present)
Order birth, marriage or death certificates either from the Grenada General Register Office ($), or from the relevant local register office ($).Indexes to birth, marriage and death registrations (1837 to present)
Use the GOV.GD website to find out which libraries, archives and record offices keep birth, marriage and death indexes on microfiche (though at present non do).Parish registers (before 1837)
Find the parish register in a local archive to locate baptism, marriage and burial records before 1837. Look up the parish using Filmed Registers on FamilySearch.What other resources will help me find information?
Visit a Family History Centre
There are no Family History Centres in the Caribbean however everywhere else in the world you can find them.Caribbean family history
You can now research some of your Caribbean ancestors without leaving Solihull, thanks to the efforts of the Solihull and Birmingham Caribbean family history group and the Jamaican Family Roots Group.Caribbean records at Solihull (UK)
As Solihull Central library is an affiliate FamilySearch Centre, you can browse millions of records.Solihull Central library holds Caribbean records and, for a small charge, you can order any available records that we don’t yet have. See our guide to ordering FamilySearch records.
We’ve compiled an individual island register to assist you when searching for particular records.
More records are being ordered, especially for Jamaica, so do check back regularly.
Beginning your research
The basic principles of family history apply wherever your ancestors are from.Births, marriages and deaths
Records of births, marriages and deaths are the most vital records for family history.Church records
Before the establishment of civil registration, church records of baptism, marriage and burial are particularly useful.Sometimes, church records will still be at the church concerned but many will be at the main library or archive centre. Records for St Mary’s Anglican Church, Anguilla, are detailed within our Caribbean records at Solihull Central Library.
Ships passenger lists 1878 to 1960
For ships arriving in Britain, the National Archives holds inward passenger lists for 1878 to 1960 (catalogue reference BT26).These records give details of people arriving in the UK aboard ships which set sail from ports outside Europe and the Mediterranean. The passenger lists have been digitised and are available on the Ancestry website (available free of charge from computers in any Solihull library).
Slave registers
The trading of slaves in the British Empire was abolished in 1807, although slavery itself was not abolished until 1834.Registers were usually compiled every 3 years from approximately 1814 until 1834. These registers are available at the Ancestry website.
Websites
Search for birth, baptism, marriage and some burial records on the FamilySearch website. Geographical coverage is patchy but the index provides a useful pointer to relevant parish registers.Search for birth, baptism, marriage and burial records on Ancestry ($) findmypast ($) and Deceased Online ($).
Books
Search The National Archives’ bookshop to see whether any of the publications below may be avaliable to buy. Alternatively, look in The National Archives’ Library catalogue to see what is available to consult at Kew.Guy Grannum ‘Tracing Your Caribbean Ancestors: A National Archives Guide’ (UK Nat. Arch. 2012)
Did you know?
Birth, marriage and death certificates CANNOT be viewed or ordered at Grenada National Archives.The Grenada General Register Office (GRO) keeps all certificates of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales since 1837.
Civil registration began on 1 July 1837 and no central records of births, marriages or deaths exist before that date.
If you are tracing a birth, marriage or death before 1 July 1837, look for parish registers in local archives.
As most non-conformists were obliged to marry in the Church of England between 1754 and 1837, it is possible to find records of their marriages in Church of England parish registers.
Still need help?
Visit us
Monday to Friday
10.00 to 17.00
Grenada National Archives/Library10.00 to 17.00
Carenage, St. George’s, Grenada
Or Museum at
Young and Monckton Streets,
St. George’s, Grenada, W.I.
Or Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development
Ministry of Education Building,
Botanical Gardens, Tanteen,
St. George’s, Grenada, W.I.
Or Supreme Court Registry
Upper Church Street
St. George’s, Grenada, W.I.
Email
For more detailed research enquiries
gls@caribsurf.com
gdamuseum@gmail.com
registrargda@caribsurf.com
gls@caribsurf.com
gdamuseum@gmail.com
registrargda@caribsurf.com
Phone
+1 (473) 440 2506
+1 (473) 440 3725
+1 (473) 440 2737
+1 (473) 440 2030 / (473) 440 0870
+1 (473) 440 3725
+1 (473) 440 2737
+1 (473) 440 2030 / (473) 440 0870
