Jamaica, Civil Registration - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains records for the year 1871 to 1930.

These records include an index to civil records from all the parishes in Jamaica except for Claredon and Trelawney. Early records are in register (book) format; later records are certificates.

At present, this collection includes only birth records; in the future, marriage and death records will be added. The records are handwritten in English on formatted forms. These records are organized by parish and then by district.

The current collection of civil records of births includes the years 1900-1930. In the future, civil records of marriages for the years 1880-1950 and civil records of deaths for the years 1871-1995 will be added.

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

Civil Registration for Jamaica was mandated in 1878, though actual registration began in isolated districts as much as five years later. Each parish was assigned a letter by the Registrar General; the letter J was omitted. Parishes are subdivided into registration districts, which are relevant only to vital-record registrations and have no other civil or fiscal authority. Districts continue to be added as the population grows, so the earliest registrations may have occurred much later than 1878.

Record Content
These births records generally contain the following information:


 * District and parish name
 * Date and place of birth
 * Name of the child
 * Gender
 * Complete name and dwelling place of the father
 * Complete 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 the birth
 * Signatures of the informant and the registrar

These marriage records generally contain the following information:


 * Date of marriage
 * Given names and surnames of the groom and bride
 * Marital status of the betrothed
 * Occupation of the groom
 * Ages of the groom and bride
 * Place of residence at the time of marriage
 * Names of the parents of the groom and bride
 * Place of marriage
 * Witnesses’ names

These death records generally contain the following information:


 * Date and place of death
 * Complete name of the deceased person
 * Gender
 * Marital status
 * Age at time of death
 * Occupation at the time of death
 * Cause of death
 * Witness of the death, with relation to deceased stated (sometimes no more than "present at the death," but often a family member and not a field indexed in FamilySearch)
 * Date and place of registration

How to Use the Records
To begin your search in the birth records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Names of parents
 * Approximate birth date and place
 * Parish

The birth, marriage or place of death needs to be matched with the correct parish.

Search This Collection
Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Using the information
Use the information found in these records to find more records about your ancestor or his/her parents.

For example

The residence of the parents, and maiden surname of the mother are useful in searching records from that locality to find information on their marriage and the parents' births.

The registers are organized by parishes, such as Trelawny, and then by district, such as Albert Town. Each birth record is given a unique number consisting of letters and numbers to identify each child’s birth registration record. The first letter corresponds to the name of the parish, the second to the district. The numbers are the sequence of the registration of the births. It is recommended to use the indexes first, where the registration number will be included.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Jamaica Civil Registration
 * Registrar General's Department
 * Registration parishes and districts in Jamaica

Related Wiki Articles

 * Jamaica Civil Registration
 * Jamaica Jurisdictions

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
“Jamaica, Civil Birth Registration” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 14 June 2012), James P Essoa born 21 Aug 1892; citing Jamaica, Civil Birth Registration, FHL film number 1523389, Registrar General's Department, Jamaica.