Jamaica, Clarendon Civil Registration (FamilySearch Historical Records)Edit This Page

From FamilySearch Wiki

	This article describes a collection of historical records scheduled to become available at FamilySearch.org.

Style Guide

For guidelines to use in creating wiki articles that describe collections of images and indexes produced by FamilySearch, see: FamilySearch Wiki: Guidelines for FamilySearch Collections pages.

Collection Time Period

Currently, this collection of civil registration records includes only the births for the Clarendon Parish and covers the years 1878-1930.

How to Use the Records

In order to find an ancestor, it is necessary to know the district where the ancestor was born or lived. The registers are organized by parishes, such as Clarendon, and each parish is assigned a letter. Within a parish there are many districts, which are identified at the beginning of each book. It is recommended to use the indexes first.

Record Description

Birth notices are collected into annual registers and arranged by parish, district, number, and registration date. The text is handwritten in formatted records. Some records are listed in books similar to a ledger, and other records are on slips of papers with the same ledger format. The records also contain stamped and handwritten numbers.

Citation for This Collection

The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org. It may include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Jamaica, Clarendon Civil Registration. Registrar General's Office in Spanish Town, Jamaica.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content

• District and parish name
• Date and place of birth
• Name of the child
• Gender
• Complete name and dwelling place of the father
• Complete current name and maiden name of the mother
• Rank or profession of the father
• Signature, qualification, and residence of the informant
• Date of registration
• Baptismal name, if added after the registration of birth and date
• Signatures of the informant and the registrar of births and deaths

Record History

Compulsory registration of births, marriages, and deaths was introduced in Jamaica in 1878 and was legally implemented in 1880. Registration of births, marriages, and deaths is done at the Registrar General's Department (RGD), which was established in 1879. The Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Unit is responsible for collating this vital information. These civil records are organized at the parish level, Clarendon being one of the parishes.

Why This Collection Was Created?

Civil registration records such as birth, marriages, and deaths are recorded for vital statistics and to better serve public health needs.

Record Reliability

The civil registration records contain some of the most reliable information after 1880 for genealogical research in Jamaica. Before 1880, churches recorded important events in the life of the Jamaican people, such as baptisms, marriages, and burials.

Related Web Sites

This section is incomplete. You can help by adding content.

Related Wiki Articles

Jamaica: Civil Registration

Contributions to This Article

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection

This citation example isn't from this collection. You can help by replacing this example with a citation for a record found in this collection.

“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata > San Ponciano > Matrimonios 1884-1886 > image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clementina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. San Ponciano, La Plata, Buenos Aires.

• This page was last modified on 4 August 2012, at 21:18.
• This page has been accessed 1,603 times.