Searching for Jamaican ancestor

[Valslater]

  Hi, Would anyone know how to find out if ones ancestor was of Jamaican origin?  I believe my great grandmother may of been or possibly her mother.  Any help pointing me in the right direction would be great.  Thanks

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[lizdb]

Have you found them on censuses? might get Jamiaca as place of birth

[Valslater]

   GGM states she was born in Bilston in 1881,  Ince in Makerfield in 1891 and Blackrod in 1901!  She was illiterate at the time of marriage to GGF in 1883.  So there is no satisfaction on the census front as to say she was coloured. 

[lizdb]

and her mother? father?

[Valslater]

Well, ggm's parents have been hard to find.  She is called Mary Jane Winnard after marrying my GGF, on her wedding cert she is named as Mary Jane Rowe age 32 Spinster father  Edward Rowe.  However the confusion is that in 1881 there is an Edward Rowe age 8 listed as stepson living with the GGp's along with a couple of Winnard children.  Later on there is a Hugh Morris Winnard that is born to GGp's.  I can find a Mary Jane Morris m Richard Rowe and he (Richard) died after a few years (of course without a cert there is no proof it is the right ppl)  And because she couldnt make up her mind as to where she was born I have been all around the UK so to speak looking for her.

[rubyrose]

My husband's great grandfather was Jamaican and settled in Liverpool in 1860. We know this from census returns and family photographs (and the fact that we have a huge part of our family who are black). I have found it impossible to get any further back because I have no idea which parish in Jamaica the family was from or who was the slave owner. I can only assume that Lawrence was the name of the person who 'owned' our Jamaican ancestors. You need this information to be able to track black Jamaican families.

There is a very good website you can try jamaicanfamilysearch.com Its full of useful information and lists of slaves, manumissions, slave owners, newspaper reports etc. but without a name and place it is very difficult to track black Jamaicans back to Jamaica.

The BBC website, if I remember correctly, also has some information on how to trace ancestors from the Caribbean.

Good luck.

Ruby

[Valslater]

   Thanks for that Ruby.  I am guessing that the stab in the dark would be a long one!!  Forgive the play on words