Richard B. Francis     

Sep 1 1996, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: Richard B. Francis < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: 1996/09/01

Subject: St. Lucia families: Cheddie, Kisna, Rattie, Merahie, and Ramdath

I am looking for any help that anyone can provide on finding information about

the St. Lucian families (of East Indian descent) of Cheddie, Rattie, Kisna,

Merahie, and Ramdath. It has been passed down from older family members that

our families were brought to the Caribbean to work on the sugarcane

plantations there. Some siblings went to St. Lucia others were sent to

Trinidad and maybe even Guyana.

I am also interested in any source of information that may help me trace these

families' genealogy in India.

Richard B. Cheddie    

May 24 1997, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: "Richard B. Cheddie" < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: 1997/05/24

Subject: Records of East Indians in St. Lucia by Plantation Families

Here is a response that I received about the availability of records once

kept by St. Lucian plantation families concerning East Indian indentured

laborers. I shall continue to post other responses received via e-mail that

may be of help for other researchers. I encourage others to do the same.

----------

From:   Drouilhet Sidney[SMTP: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ]

Sent:   Wednesday, May 21, 1997 1:19PM

To:     Francis, Richard

Subject:        Re: Plantation Families

     Not only does my family have no records of its estates in St Lucia, it

has almost completely lost all knowledge of its past.  Some branches of the

family did not even know we were from St Lucia.  Everything I have found

concerning my family, and more broadly, St Lucia history in general, was

done from scratch by going to archives and libraries.

     My situation is not unique.  Virtually none of the St Lucia planter

families are likely to remember much, or have documents, even if they live

in St Lucia.  Robert Devaux told me it was unbelievable how

much information had been thrown away over the years, even by members of

his own family.  There are exceptions, but finding the exceptions is a

matter of luck, and it is not always clear what these people have, or if

they even know they have it.  This is one of the reasons I feel it is so

important to renew an interest in St Lucia's history among the island's

citizens: if enough of them get interested, they may start looking through

their family papers, etc. before they are lost or destroyed.  Robert Devaux

did have some success along these lines while he was working on his book on

the Brigands' War.  He had done much archaeological work on his own, and

went around various towns on the island talking about what he had found.

This inspired a few people to look at their own property, and they did find

some more sites from the 1790's guerrilla war that Robert felt were

important.

   There may be something that substitutes for families' own papers.  I

cannot comment on the East Indians, and I have not looked for their

records, but I can make a few observations about records pertaining to

slavery, and perhaps the fact those sorts of records exist indicate that

there may be  useful records for the period of indentured servitude. In the

1820's and 30's, very extensive, detailed records had to be filed with a

branch of the colonial office in London when slaves brought complaints of

maltreatment against the persons running the estate; when the slaves were

emancipated, extensive records of the finances relating to compensation

paid to their owners, or their owners' creditors, were maintained. I would

hazard a guess that if this was done in the relatively unorganized 1820's

and 30's, that by the turn of the century, even more methodical and

detailed records were kept on the indentured

servants, especially since, exploited though they may have been, they at

least had contracts to afford them minimal protection. These papers will

probably be in London, though.

   As I mentioned before, the actual St Lucia Blue Books, as opposed to the

governors' summary reports, might be very helpful to you and they are

microfilmed at the University of Florida in Gainesville, in their Latin

American Collection.  Here is something else interesting you might look at:

when did East Indians begin to appear as registered voters? I have copies

of the 1902, 1903 St Lucia Handbooks, and they do not appear in the

registered voter lists then, I believe. There is a 1924 Handbook, again

microfilmed at the University of Florida, but I do not have a copy of that.

It might be interesting to see if they were voting by then. The 1902,3

voter lists may only be for the Castries area, which might complicate

matters.  Tracing the gradual acquisition of influence by various ethnic

groups in St Lucia is very intriguing.  Of great importance is to determine

how the earliest ones to raise their socio-economic level accumulated their

money.  In the case of the colored class, it can be traced to their

profession, or in some cases, to the circumstances of their illegitimacy

(which is a far more complex situation than I had naively imagined before I

started dealing with the records);  in the case of slaves who bought their

freedom, there are actual discussion of situations such as that of the

1780's, when by law they had a day off on which they were not required to

stay on the estates, and a small number of them developed an economy that

was thriving enough that the French government actually wanted to create a

savings bank for slaves, a suggestion which understandably was not received

by the slaves with enthusiasm. 

Richard B. Cheddie    

Apr 9 1998, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: "Richard B. Cheddie" < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: 1998/04/09

Subject: Researching East Indian Indentured Laborer to St. Lucia: Public Records Office

In the Guide to the Contents of the Public Record Office Vol II States and Departmental Records 1963 the following entries was listed:

1. On page 90: Original Correspondence (C.O. 571) 1913 - 1920 7 Volumes

These concern the entry of Indian Indentured labour into the West Indies and Mauritus.

2. On page 9: Register of Correspondence ( C.O. 780) 1913 - 1920 1 Volume

Specifically concerning St. Lucia:

3. On page 79:  Original Correspondence (C.O. 253) 1709 to 1873 15 Volumes etc. after 1873 ( C.O. 321) 1874 to 1940 397 Volumes

4. On page 79: Register of Correspondence (C.O. 367) 1850 -1881 5 Volumes

5. On page 79: Register of Out - Letters  (C.O. 505) 1872 - 1882 3 Volumes

6. On page 79: Entry Books (C.O. 254) 1794 - 1872 19 Volumes

7. On page 79: Acts ( C.O. 255) 1818 - 1935 17 Volumes

8. On page 79: Sessional Papers (C.O.256) 1820 - 1939 40 Volumes

9. On page 79: Government Gazettes (C.O. 257) 1857 - 1940 59 Volumes

10. On page 79: Miscellanea (C.O. 258) 1722 - 1940 136 Volumes

        newspapers, reports of Protector of Slaves, Blue Books of Statistics, etc

Concerning the Winward Islands

11. On page 86: Original Correspondence, Supplementary (C.O. 537) 1873 - 1898 1 Volume

12. Register of Correspondence (C.O. 376) 1850 - 1926 24 Volumes

13. Register of Out - Letters 1883 - 1926 8 Volumes

Richard B. Shiva-Ram Cheddie         

Apr 24 1998, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: "Richard B. Shiva-Ram Cheddie" < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: 1998/04/24

Subject: Additional Resources for Researching East Indians in the Caribbean

I have ran across the following books and papers that may be helpful for

those of us who are researching our East Indian heritage in the Caribbean.

1. India in the Caribbean. Edited by David Dabydeen and Brinsley Samaroo.

1987. London: Hansib/ University of Warwick Centre for Caribbean Studies.

2. Indians in St. Lucia. A. Rampersad.1980. St. Augustine University of the

West Indies.

3. Voices from Indenture: Experiences of Indian Migrants in the British

Empire. Marina Carter. 1996. NY Leicester University Press.

4. Emigration of Indian Labour 1834-1900. Saha Panchanan 1933. 1970. Delhi

People's  Pub House

5. Indentured Labor, Caribbean Sugar: Chinese and Indian Migrants to the

British West Indies, 1838-1918. Walton Look Lai. 1993. Baltimore: John

Hopkins University Press.

6. The Colonial Legacy in St. Lucia: An East Indian Perspective. A

Rampersad. 1988. Curepe, Trinidad. A. Rampersad & Omega Bookshops.

7. India's Imperialism and its implication for St. Lucia and the Caribbean.

A. J. Rampersad. A. Rampersad & Omega Bookshops.

8. The Legacy of Indian Indenture: 150 years of Indians in Trinidad. Mahin

Gosine w/ Dipak Malik & Kumar Mahabir. 1995. NY Windsor Press.

9. The East Indian Odyssey: Dilemma of a Migrant People. Mahin Gosine. 1994.

NY Windsor Press. (ISBN: 0963931857)

10. Solving East Indian Roots in Trinidad. Shamshu Deen. 1994. Freeport

Junction. H.E.M. Enterprise. (ISBN: 9768136251)

STowns          

Apr 9 1999, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it (STowns)

Date: 1999/04/09

Subject: Books on West Indian/Latin American Research

The following information is excerpted from the July/August 1998 edition of the

AAHGS News, the bi-monthly newsletter of the Afro-American Historical and

Genealogical Society.

Steve Townsend

AAHGS News Editor

Baker, Edward Cecil.  A Guide to Records in the Leeward Islands.  Oxford:  The

University of the West Indies,

1965.

Baker, Edward Cecil.  A Guide to the Records of the Windward Islands.  Oxford:

The University of the West

Indies, 1968.

Berleant-Schiller, Riva. Montserrat (World Bibliographical Series 134).

Oxford, 1991.

Burns, Alan.  History of the British West Indies.  London:  George Allen &

Unwin, 1965.

Carmichael, Gertrude.  The History of the West Indian Islands of Trinidad and

Tobago, 1498-1900.  London:

Redman, 1961.

Carr, Peter E.  Guide to Cuban Genealogical Research.  San Luis Obispo, CA:

TCI Genealogical Resources,

1991.

Carr, Peter E.  Censos, Padrones Y Matriculas de la Poblacion de Cuba Siglos

16, 17 Y 18.  San Luis Obispo,

CA:  The Cuban Index.

Carter, Marina.  Voices from Indenture: Experiences of Indian Migrants in the

British Empire.  New York:

Leicester University Press, 1996.

Coletta, John Philip. They Came in Ships: A Step by Step Guide to Researching

Passenger Arrival Lists and

Indexes, 2nd ed.  Salt Lake City:  Ancestry, 1993.

Cross, Malcolm. The East Indians of Guyana and Trinidad.  London: Minority

Rights Group, 1980.

Dabydeen, David and Brinsley Samaroo, eds.  India in the Caribbean.  London:

Hansib/University of Warwick

Centre for Caribbean Studies, 1987.

Daly, Vere T.  A Short History of the Guyanese People.  Kitty, Guyana, 1966.

Deen, Shamshu.  Solving East Indian Roots in Trinidad.  Freeport Junction:

H.E.M. Enterprise, 1994.

Delhi People’s Publication House.  Emigration of Indian Labour, 1834-1900. Saha

Panchanan, India:  Dehli

People’s Publication House, 1970.

Dookhan, Isaac. A History of the British Virgin Islands, 1672 to 1970.  Essex,

England: Caribbean University

Press, 1975.

Dunn, Richard S. Sugar and Slaves : The Rise of the Planter Class in the

English West Indies,  1624-1713.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina:  University of North Carolina Press, 1972.

Flores, Norma & Patsy Ludwig.  A Beginner’s Guide to Hispanic Genealogy.  Salt

Lake City:  Ancestry.

Gasper, David B. Bondsmen and Rebels: A Study of Master-Slave Relations in

Antigua.  Baltimore:  Johns

Hopkins University Press, 1985.

Gmelch, George.  Double Passage: The Lives of Caribbean Migrants Abroad and

Back Home. University of

Michigan Press, 1992.

Gordon, Shirley. Caribbean Generations. London: Longman Caribbean, 1983.

Gosine, Mahin.  The East Indian Odyssey: Dilemma of a Migrant People.  New

York:  Windsor Press, 1995.

Gosine, Mahin, Dipak Malik & Kumar Mahabir.  The Legacy of Indian Indenture:

150 Years of Indians in

Trinidad.  New York:  Windsor Press, 1995.

Grannum, Guy. Tracing Your West Indian ancestors: Sources in the Public Record

Office.  London :

ProPublications, 1995.

Hall, Neville A.T.  Slave Society in the Danish West Indies: St. Thomas, St.

John, St. Croix.  Baltimore:  Johns

Hopkins University Press, l992.

Handler, Jerome S. Supplement to A Guide to Source Materials for the Study of

Barbados History, 1627-1834.

Providence:  John Carter Brown Library and Barbados Historical Society, 1991.

Higman, B.W.  Jamaica Surveyed:  Plantation Maps and Plans of the Eighteenth

and Nineteenth Centuries.

Kingston: Institute of Jamaican Publications, 1988.

Higman, B. W.  Slave Populations of the British Caribbean, 1807-1834.

Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press,

1984.

Honychurch, Lennox.  Basically Dominica in Language, Culture and Heritage.

Barbados:  Dominican National

Cultural Council & Letchworth Press Ltd., 1982.

Johnson, Howard.  The Bahamas from Slavery to Servitude, 1783-1933.

Gainesville, FL:  University Press of

Florida.

Johnson, Howard. The Bahamas in Slavery and Freedom.  Kingston:  Ian Randle

Publishers, 1991.

Kemp, Thomas Jay. International Vital Records Handbook of Births, Marriages,

Deaths, 3rd ed.   Baltimore:

Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994.

Kirke, Henry.  Twenty-Five Years in British Guyana.  Westport, CT: Negro

Universities Press, 1970.

Lai, Walton Look.  Indentured Labor, Caribbean Sugar: Chinese and Indian

Migrants to the British West

Indies, 1838-1918.  Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1983.

Lawaetz, Eva.  Free Coloured in St. Croix, 1744-1816: The History, Statistics,

and Selected Information

Concerning the Free Coloured in the Danish West Indies, with Special Reference

to St. Croix, from

1744-1818.  Christiansted, St. Croix: Lawaetz, 1979.

Lewis, Maureen. Guinea's Other Sun: The African Dynamic in Trinidad Culture.

Dover, MA: Majority Press,

1988.

Mercer, Julia E. Bermuda Settlers of the Seventeenth Century: Genealogical

Notes from Bermuda, reprint of

1947 ed.  Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1982.

Moll, Verna P.  St. Kitts-Nevis (World Bibliographical Series 174). Oxford,

1995.

Momsen, Janet Henshell. St. Lucia (World Bibliographic Series 185).  Oxford,

1996.

Nicholson, Desmond V. Antigua, Barbuda 8 Redonda: A Historical Sketch.

Antigua: Museum of Antigua &

Barbuda, 1991.

Parry, J. H.  A Short History of the West Indies, 3rd ed. London:  Macmillan,

1971.

Rampersad, A.  Indians in St. Lucia.  St. Augustine University of the West

Indies, 1980.

Rampersad, A.  The Colonial Legacy in St. Lucia: An East Indian Perspective.

Curepe, Trinidad:  A.

Rampersad & Omega Bookshops, 1983.

Rampersad, A.  India's Imperialism and Its Implication for St. Lucia and the

Caribbean.  A. Rampersad &

Omega Bookshops.

Ryskamp, George R.  Tracing Your Hispanic Heritage.  Baltimore:  Genealogical

Publishing Co., 1985.

Szucs, Loretto Dennis.  They Became Americans:  How to Discover Your Family or

Ancestors in

Naturalization Records.  Salt Lake City:  Ancestry, 1997.

Vaughn, Robert V.  In Loving Memory: Virgin Island Decedents, Relatives,

Friends and Others: An Index

From Selected Reports in The Daily News of the V.I. and the St. Croix Auis,

January 1982 Through January

1989. Christiansted, St.Croix:  Lawaetz, l983.

Watson, Jack. The West Indian Heritage: A History of the West Indies.  London:

John Murray, 1979.

Williams, Eric. History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago.  London: Deutsch,

1964.

Kathryn           

May 26 1999, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: "Kathryn" < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: 1999/05/26

Subject: Re: [CARIBBEAN-L] trinidadian help

I am Trinidad born, but moved to Canada in the 60's. Started researching my

Trindadian ancestors a few years back. I have had great success obtaining

birth, marriage and death certificates from the Registrar General's Office.

Just received 8 certificates today which took abt 4 months. The Trinidad

Archives does have the Colonial Office Documents on microfilm, I do believe

1800-1870. The Government Archives also has East Indian Immigration records

1854-1870. I am interested in joining your Trinis e-mail group.

Thank you Kathryn

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: apl...@sunbeach.net

Date: 1999/05/09

Subject: [CARIBBEAN-L] Indian migration

The copyright of the below two pieces belongs to Shamshu DEEN, of Trinidad.

Anyone wishing to do so
may contact him at      sham...@tstt.net.tt

================================================

NEVIS' Early INDIANS
Shamshu Deen
21/03/98

In my continuing look at the Caribbean Indian diaspora, I examine this week
the documentation on indentured Indians in Nevis. This is a follow-up of an
article I did on the sister island of St. Kitts (see Independent of March
7, 1998).

Nevis is a fascinating island, geographically and historically. Volcanic in
origin the towering Nevis Peak hovers over this whole island and clearly
visible from just about anywhere. At 3232 feet, it is higher than our El
Cerro del Aripo, 3085, Trinidad's highest mountain. Recent events show the
interconnections of vulcanicity in that with every eruption at the
Soufriere Hills volcano, Montserrat, the residents at Charlestown, Nevis,
reported that the water from their hot spring ran cold!

Historically, Nevis has had some impressive settlers and visitors over its
road of time.
Archaeological excavations show that the first inhabitants went there about
four thousand years ago. On November, 1911, Christopher Columbus' vessels
anchored off the coast. In 1907 the explorer, Captain John Smith, whose
memory was recently revived in the movie, Pocahontas, spent several days at
Nevis on his way to found the Virginia colony in North America.

Nevis was the birth place of Alexander Hamilton who later went to America
and became the Secretary of the United States Treasury. Africans also came
in large numbers to work as slaves.
Today they form the largest population group. And in 1874, the lone voyage
of Indian indentured workers arrived from Calcutta.

Perhaps what is most praiseworthy is the serious and successful attempt by
the authorities and interested personnel to preserve the island's rich and
diverse history. The Nevis Historical and Conservation Society ( NHCS ), "
Was founded in 1980 to conserve the natural and cultural history of Nevis
by collecting artifacts and archival materials, publishing pertinent
information and researching and making information available."

With those objectives in mind the NHCS opened the Museum of Nevis History
at the birth place of Alexander Hamilton and the Horatio Nelson Museum
followed in 1992. The friendly, helpful and courteous staff led by Mr.
Robinson acceded to my every request for material and for photocopying at a
minimal cost.

It was at this Nelson Museum in Charlestown that I was able to find
publications and handwritten registers verifying the arrival of Indians to
this island. In a publication Caribbean Migrants,Richardson, 1993, it was
noted, " On March 30, 1874, 315 Indians came to Nevis. During their
indenture period many were homesick and lonely, and some broke their
contracts in order to migrate to Trinidad. The others were offered
re-indenture contracts after their five-year periods had expired, but they
chose to remain on Nevis as free labourers."

The point about coming to Trinidad was verified by the family stories of
the Mustaphas of El Socorro who claimed that their ancestor, Sheikh
Mujaffar Ali, had rebelled against his masters and had come to Trinidad;
subsequent searches showed that he had come from Nevis.

Throughout the documents of the 1870's and 1880's I found references of the
presence of Indians in Nevis. The 1874 Blue Book of Nevis showed that with
the introduction of the Indians, 4993 pounds sterling of the island's total
expenditure of 11,149 pounds was spent on Indian immigration. Two acts were
passed in that year; one on March 24 was "to raise a sum of money for the
purpose of assisting to defray the expenses of the introduction of Coolie
Immigrants,";the other on April 9, "to raise a further sum of money for the
purpose of assisting to defray the expenses of the introduction..."

The arrival of that ship from Calcutta was by far the most important and
largest single maritime activity affecting the people of Nevis for 1874.
The crew was the most thirty five, and with a tonnage of 974, outstripped
the total of five voyages of 880 tons from Britain. From Trinidad there was
a tonnage of twenty four; at that time Nevis held a favourable balance of
trade with Trinidad which sent coconuts, pickled fish, cocoa and timber in
exchange for sheep and horned cattle.

The early years for the Indians must have been difficult ones. For 1874 and
1875, court
convictions by and against them were well over 120; this gradually declined
to just 27 in 1880, as they settled and were more easily accepted by the
Nevisian society.

It would seem that due to the small number of Indians requested by, and
eventually taken to Nevis that their emigration from India was handled by
the Guiana Emigration Agency at 8 Garden Reach, Calcutta. This agency had
in 1880 requested of the President's office in Nevis, a report on the
condition of the Indians. To this the acting President Spencer Churchill
replied on August 14, 1880, " I beg to state that all the Indian immigrants
were freed from their indentureship in April 1879."

The point about Guyana supervision is made here in that more detailed
documentation might be available from the National Archives of that
country.

Concerns on the welfare of the Indians were expressed in another letter of
July 5, 1880, when Mr Spencer addressed the questions of "attendance of
Coolie children in the schools,...... whether they have generally at this
time acquired sufficient acquaintance with our language colloquially to
enable them to profit by the masters' instructions  .....do they attend
divine service either singly or in families......what numbers of their
children have been baptized ?"

The question of repatriation was also addressed in Mr. Churchill's letter
of May 14, 1881, which stated, "I am directed by his Excellency the
Governor to forward by R.M. Steamer to Grenada for shipment per SYRIA (the
sailing ship that came to Trinidad with Indians between 1872 and 1878) to
Calcutta the coolies named respectively Santokho and Bhugwantia enclose
copies of correspondence on the subject and I shall be glad to be advised
of the departure of these persons."

In the documents at Nevis however I could not find the list of the names of
the Indians who arrived in 1874. Such a list should still be available and
I was assured that there were more documents awaiting classification and
would soon be available to researchers.

Two positive notes on my research in Nevis the first was that I met
descendants of that voyage of 1874 both in Nevis and their relatives here
in Trinidad. These would be discussed in a subsequent article. The second
was for other Caribbean genealogists there is "The Complete Book of
Emigrants 1700-1750" by Peter Wilson Coldhan, 1993, which gives passenger
listings from which one might trace ancestry.
_____________________________________________________________
INDIA-- NEVIS TRINIDAD
Shamshu Deen 28/03/98

It would seem as if the same way Chinatown served as a concentration for
many Chinese immigrants to New York city and also how many cities have
their little Italy or little Greece, so too did Trinidad serve as a place
for the settling of peoples from various groups. Some Indians, coming in
small numbers to other Caribbean islands during the period of
indentureship, attracted by the resources and the chance to be with their
countryfolk made the journey south.

These islands each required a smaller quota not only because they were,
with the exception of Jamaica, much smaller in size than Trinidad but also
because as Richardson, 1983, suggested, "Neither ( British Guiana nor
Trinidad ) had suffered the environmental degradation wrought by decades of
cane cultivation in the 'old' (British) islands of the Caribbean but both
needed maintenance, field work and reconstruction of rainforest and
mangrove swamps to fields of sugar cane."

When the first and only boat of indentured Indians from Calcutta to Nevis
in 1874, the 315 souls were distributed to several estates. Some left
during their five years, some soon after and the others remained on the
island.

Though so far I have not been able to find the listing of the names of
Indians who arrived in St.Kitts (1861) and Nevis, I have found documents
and publications which offered assistance as to the status of the present
day families. Richardson, 1983, stated, "Today in the late 20th century,
the only noticeable vestige of this immigration on the two islands is a few
Indian families in the Cotton Ground village area of Nevis north of
Charlestown.

Among the early Indians there was a lot of intermarriage among the jahajis
and later on among the children of the jahajis. Many soon took Christian
names. According to Byron, 1981, "In typical Indian tradition, young Indian
Thomas girls were married to Indian Sucheron youths and so forth.
And in most cases there were many Indian children of Nevis birth."

I visited two such families while in Nevis. The first was and old man, John
Henry, born in 1903, and presently living in the village of Fountain, a few
miles north east of Charlestown. He was only four years when his father
died. His father had come as a little boy from India his being on that 1874
ship was perfectly logical.

>From Mr. John Clarke, born 1926, at Cotton Ground village I got a fair

amount of information on his family background. Both sets of his
grandparents had come from India. His paternal grandfather, Bhagirath,
adopted the name of Clarke and married an Indian from St. Kitts. Their son
was Fred Clarke and daughters, Mary and Edna, both of whom had migrated to
New York.

Fred remained in Nevis and married Olive, the daughter of Paray and Mary,
both of whom had come from India. Olive's siblings all migrated most going
to the USA. "Fred and his teacher-oriented wife," according to Byron, "were
determined that their children should be given every educational
opportunity possible, and many of them were sent to universities and other
educational institutions abroad. Few had returned to Nevis."

John, a son to Fred and Olive, was a government agricultural development
officer and eventually became the head of the Agricultural Department in
Nevis. In this capacity he visited Trinidad on different occasions and was
able to re-establish ties with his Trinidad cousins.

John's maternal grandmother, Mary, was a Mungroo. Her brother, William, as
a little boy, had joined a Nevis Indian migration to Trinidad in the
1880's. Here he married a fellow Nevis Indian, Alice Lulu, and settled in
Malabar, Arima. They rented a house but after a few years of hard work on
the public roads, William bought several acres, which he eventually gave to
his children, Bojou, John, Edgar ( Sonny ), Arthur, Edith and Mary.

As youngsters the sons worked on the San Jose estate in Lopinot where they
earned between 6 and 12 cents a day picking and bagging cocoa. This was
during the 1920's and 1930's.

Arthur married Gertrude whose parents Nanhoo and Florence Stephens had also
come from India via Nevis. Arthur worked with WASA where he became an
inspector. His children have become associated with horse racing. Joy
Mungroo works at Santa Rosa. Michael Mungroo was a jockey in the 1960's and
1970's; he rode freelance in Trinidad and Tobago and also Barbados. Some of
his winners were Debonnaire, Orlando, Bulldozer and Back to Nature. Ralph
is a trainer and owner of horses kept at the Santa Rosa stables.

I was fortunate to meet Sonny Mungroo ( 1913 ), the last surviving child of
William, at his daughter's grocery in Talparo. After his stint as a cocoa
labourer, he worked at the US base at Wallerfield where he did brush
cutting and sanitation. He also worked for the Government Cocoa Board at
Carapo and at La Reunion estate in Chaguaramas. He married Basdaye Sukhu of
Diego Martin in an Anglican ceremony when she was called Nazarene.

They had 12 children and lived at Malabar. With Basdaye's death in 1983,
and a stroke Sonny suffered in 1985, he moved in with his daughter, Angela,
and her husband, V.S. Naipaul (Vincent Sankar ).

The inter-island connection has been kept alive over the years. In 1926,
Sonny's father, William visited Nevis and met his sister, Mary, and nieces
and nephews, one of whom, Edward, came to Trinidad a few years later. Mr.
John Clarke's visits have revived and reestablished ties among the
relatives of our two twin island states.

Byron, 1981, lamented, "But most of the Indian families that enriched the
life of Nevis in the distant past have gone. They have migrated to other
lands where they do well. Of course a not inconsiderable number has become
thoroughly mixed with the rest of the native population.....Nevis would
appear to have become too small to continue to support the lives and
ambitions of the descendant Indian families who came to this land more than
100 years ago."

Hopefully my recent contacts with St.Kitts/Nevis and also the Public
Records Office and National Maritime Museum both in London would yield
those valuable lists of 1861 and 1874, as we continue to examine the
arrival of various peoples to the Caribbean and then their subsequent
movements worldwide.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                   

Jun 26 2002, 10:48 pm

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: "Richard B. Cheddie" < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 22:47:45 -0400

Local: Wed, Jun 26 2002 10:47 pm

Subject: Some Individuals in St. Lucia and Grenada circa 1891

The following bits of data was collected from the East Indies to St. Lucia

by Surgeon-Major D.W.D. Comins,  Protector of Emigrants, Calcutta. Printed

at the Bengal Secretariat Press in 1893

St. Lucia

1. Budhu, age 20,  son of Parabu. Caste: Turki Koiri  from Azamgarh

District, Mohmadambad Thana, Walidpur village. Uncle's name Gulap, son of

Domon. Budhu signed a Form of Agreement for Intending Emigrant to St. Lucia

on 15 Dec 1890 in Ghazipur, India

2. Pay list of Crown Lands Estate for the week ending 3 April 1886:

Gujadhur, Horill, Hulass, Hoossanys, Intame, Joodhester, Joonab, Kalkasings,

Kehane, Kessowar, Khiroda, Lachiman, Lakpetia, Lukkia Dilloo, Maimra,

Manchoo, Mengaul, Mucktolia, Munnoosings, Naga, Najtookallys, Panchoo,

Pemya, Phobagra,  Poonia, Pajne, Prionauth,  Raghoo, Rampaul Girlya, Rampaul

Sanker, Rumsumhin, Ramyad, Resmu, Rutnu, Salamutalu, Snodunden, Shazjada,

Shajurb, Sabnath, Simroo,  Somnar Mengaul,  Sukba, Sookhan, Sookra, Somra

Lalloo, Somra Nimmur, Sarukissen, Sutraton, Sucknu, Jakam, Burdia, Bundoo.

3. Pay list of Crown Lands Estate for week ending 10 April 1886: Note

different spellings for same names listed for 3 Apr 1886: Agnoocea, Augmo,

Baijoo, Ballea, Barhoo, Bhagobutty L., Bhagobutty Ram, Bagwansahaie,

Bhulloo, Beekham, Button Napoo, Bissessur, Bissessuree, Boodhun, Bundhoo,

Bundhea, Boodna, Chakowree, Chootra, Chowtie, Chujjoo, Chumme, Dagull,

Donie, Dilchandsingo, Doola, Dorlaum, Ekwara, Fokeer Mahomed, Gopee,

Gujadhur,  Horli, Hulass, Hoossany, Jutame, Joorhester, Jomal, Kalkasingo,

Kihane, Kessmar, Khiroda, Luchiman, Lukpotia, Lukhina, Lukkia Dilloo,

Mainwa, Manchoo, Mingnul, Mucktolia, Munnoosing, Naga, Naytookally, Panchoo,

Penya, Phobagra, Poonea, Payne, Prionath, Raghoo.

4. Bhowanibhick, age 55, son of Chowpaie ,5' 7.25",who originally came on

the Foyle (number 4) in 1880 to St. Lucia is registered to return to

Calcutta, India on the Hereford, which sailed on 4 Sept 1890, with his wife

and at least 3 children. He last worked on Crown lands.

5. Sukram age 38, son of Mungha, 5' 2.5", who originally came on the Bann

(number 237) in 1881 to St. Lucia elected bounty of 10 Pounds on 6 Mar 1891.

He had a wife. He last worked at the Roseau estate

6. Dhowday , age 31, son of  Onsori, 5' 4.5",  who originally come on the

Bann (number 228) in 1881 to St. Lucia elected to return to India. He had a

brother. He last worked at the Roseau estate.

7. Hunoomansing, age 35 who came on the Bracadaile (register number 1467 and

wife register number 1468) in 1884 was assigned to the Dennery Usine in

September. He appeared to have died on 27 Nov 1884.

8. Hosanee, General Register number 1033, of Roseau Estate, received a

certificate of exemption from labor on March 9, 1886.

9. Dhoni of Marguis Estate, who came to St. Lucia on the Leonidas in 1878,

was imprisoned on 7 Sept 1878 for 14 days. Register number 415.

10. Thaibdin, age 35, son of Oree, 5'5" was listed as number 278 in the

General Register of Return Immigrants. He originally came to St. Lucia on

the Leonidas (number 205) in 1878, left on the Moy (number 183) on 5 Sep

1888. He was last employeed at Perle Estate.

11. Badari, age 22, son of Chadhary, came to St. Lucia on the Bracadaile in

1884. His ship number 480 and register number 1625. He was a Kurmi by caste.

He was assigned to the Bois d'Orange Estate.

12. Narrain son of Loroton deposited 16 pounds in the Moy (ship number 272)

for the return voyage on 5 Sept 1888.

13. Motee registered 2 Pounds, 10 Shillings on 11 Mar 1885 to be sent to

Teeka

14. Ondhar, who came on the Foyle (number 53) in 1880 died on25 March 1883.

His 13 Pounds, 14 Shillings, and 11 pence were sent to India on 13th Jun

1880

15. Bhookul age 43, son of Augnoo elected for bounty of 10 Pounds on 19 June

1888. He originally came on the Leonidas in 1878. He was assigned to the

Esperance Estate.

Rambaran, age 25, son of Nimuth (Nimuta),  5" 0.5",  was of the Ahir caste.

He was from Ghazipur. He left Calcutta on the SS Roumania ( Ship's number 4)

in 1891. He worked both for the Dennery Company, LTD (La Caye Estates) and

St. Lucia Central Sugar Factory Company, LTD (Crown Lands Estate).

16. Some individuals listed on Crown Land Estates circa 1891: Buckwala,

Bowdha, Bundheo, Bundhoo, Eddhay, Sawonbar, Juspersad, Rohi, and Reetai.

17. The following individuals had money in the treasury, but upon death

there was no heir to be found: Jecan, Purboll, Horill, Oudhai, Chingan,

Budal, Kullu, and Sonichara.  The highest amount at the time was 13 Pounds,

14 Shillings, and 11 Pence belonging to Oudhai. This amount was lodged in

the treasury on 13 June 1889.

18. Durma came on the Bracadaile in 1885. Worked as a Chaukidar on the

Roseau Estate.

19. Ram Dass was employed by the Ressources Estate according to the pay list

dated 25 Apr 1891.

20. Anwar, worked at Ressources Estate during 1891.

21. Oomur, worked at Ressources Estate during 1891.

22. Purmanon had a bania shop on Ressource Estate during 1891. So did Debi.

They both most likely came to St. Lucia on the Bracadaile in 1884. Kali

Pershad sold rice and dal on the Ressource Estate during 1891.

23. Umeer Sing, only son of a mother still in India in 1891. Had accepted

the 10 Pound bounty and had no intentions of going back to India. He was a

Chettri by caste (Kstriy).  He had a wife and two children. He most likely

either came to St. Lucia on the Foyle or Bann.

24. Ramnath (boy) was employed by Retraite Estate during 1891

Grenada

1. William Murray, after he became a Christian adopted this name from his

former master. He owned a shop and a small cocao plantation. He also

imported from America.

2. De Gale, also adopted his name from his former master. He owned private

property and had a provision shop. He gave the Cooly Mission the land to

build its school as a present.

3. Udalli owned land and ran a shop. He was into horse racing.  His son

George Udalli was a clerk in the Police Magistrate's Office.

4. Cooman Sing ran a shop.

St. Vincent

1. Macleod had changed his name.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                    

Cyril Jardine              

May 28 1999, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it (Cyril Jardine)

Date: 1999/05/28

Subject: [CARIBBEAN-L] Indian Migration to Jamaica

Because Trinidad is almost 50% Asian Indian, there seems quite a lot of

literature available. My interest is whether there was a similar migration

to Jamaica and what info is available. My grandfather, bearing an Indian

surname: Toolsie (Tulsie?), came to US from Trinidad, but was born in 1873

in Jamaica. This info came from the ship's log at the US National Archives.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------        

Richard B. Shiva-Ram Cheddie         

Aug 14 1999, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: "Richard B. Shiva-Ram Cheddie" < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: 1999/08/14

Subject: Ugheer Passenger List?

I am looking for any listing of the passenger list for the Ugheer which

transported East Indian indentured laborers to Guyana in the late 1800's. A

relative of mine, Nuk Cheddie, was transported on that vessel along with his

two sisters.  They worked on teh Diamond Estate in British Guiana, where he

was the Head Driver. He married a Sookia Singh and had ten children.

I will be posting his genealogy on my website:

www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Resort/5913

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------        

Ruth - Ann      

Jul 19 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it (Ruth - Ann)

Date: 2000/07/19

Subject: surnames: soodeen, premdas, bunsee

Hello all,

I've been lurking for the past couple of weeks and have read through many

posts in the archives. I've just recently embarked on my own genealogical

research and I've found some very useful information from this list - thanks

for sharing!

Anyway, looking for info for my family has been quite difficult - I do have

a chapter from Anthony de Verteiul's Eight East Indian Immigrants on my

great-grandfather, Charles Clarence Soodeen, which is where most of my info

is from (unfortunately I don't have the list of references and I can't seem

to find the actual book!). He emigrated from India to Trinidad in 1861

(aboard the clarence - this is when he got his name - but I can't seem to

find any records of that ship). He was prominent among the presbyterians,

working mostly with teh Canadian Mission (yes, I've contacted the canadain

presbyterian archives, but I can't afford to pay $25/hr for a search with

only a possibility of finding mentions of his name)

I'd also like to find out about his first wife, Laura Jane Frances Heath

(all I know about her is that she was an "englishwoman" and they married in

1872; she died the following year)

I also went to the local LDS family history centre but records for Trinidad

are next to nil!

Anyway, if anyone can give me any leads re finding info about the soodeens,

or even premdas (Francis Arnold I believe is my grandfather's name -

originally from Guyana, but I don't know the years) that would be great.

Finally, does anyone have contact info for Trinidad historian Anthony de

Verteiul?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Ruth-Ann Soodeen

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                    

fmwade          

Jul 31 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Date: 2000/07/31

Subject: Estate books of Trinidad

Does anyone know where one can find the Estate Books of the various sugar estates in Trinidad during the period of slavery and also during the period of Indian indentureship?

Hoping someone can help me.

Flavia Wade

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------        

Richard Bond  

Jul 31 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it (Richard Bond)

Date: 2000/07/31

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------        

  I think they are all over the place, some are still at the

greathouses, others are in museums and some in Antiquarians. Some of

them could be in London or New York.  They were private property like

the books for a bar or any other business there is no one answer for all

of them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------        

John Weiss    

Jul 31 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it (John Weiss)

Date: 2000/07/31

Subject: Re: Estate books of Trinidad

Flavia

You can try the Registration and Compensation records in the PRO,

which are not the same as Estate Books but list every slave by

name, surname, family and description. My PRO search produced

this www address - it gives a large number of references from

class T71 [you have to join this up as one line in your browser -

it gets split in sending the e-mail]

http://catalogue.pro.gov.uk/ListInt/browse_keywords_frameset.asp

function=Next+Page&lcode=T&class=71&subclass=

or this to start a new search (I entered Trinidad, letter code T,

class 71):

http://catalogue.pro.gov.uk/ListInt/browse_keywords_frameset.asp

But I am sure you are familiar with all these records, which are

duplicated at the Red House, POS (or possibly now at the National

Archives)..

John

This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                    

Dean de Freitas          

Jul 31 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it (Dean de Freitas)

Date: 2000/07/31

Subject: RE: Estate books of Trinidad

In Father Anthony de Verteuil's book "Eight East Indians", he describes

using those records at the National Archives (Red House) in Trinidad.  He

notes that some of the books are in good shape, while some of them where so

fragile that he was not allowed to handle them.

Dean de Freitas

TriniGenWeb Coordinator

http://www.rootsweb.com/~ttowgw/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------                               

Richard B. Cheddie    

Aug 3 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: "Richard B. Cheddie" < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: 2000/08/03

Subject: Researching East Indians in the Caribbean

Here is a link for those interested in researching East Indian indentured

labourers. There is a growing list of ships that brought these laborers to

the Caribbean

http://www.egroups.com/group/Bhatchaman

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------        

John Weiss    

Aug 20 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it (John Weiss)

Date: 2000/08/20

Subject: Re: Ships and Indentured East Indians

Richard Cheddie gave a useful "minor list of ships that

Transported East Indian labourers to the Caribbean."

I see his list shows the SHEILA arriving in Surinam in 1883. She

made an earlier visit to the Caribbean, her maiden voyage (if it

is the same vessel) in 1877, leaving Calcutta on 1 Sep and

arriving in Trinidad on 13 November, landing 624 out of 626

embarked. Her journey is recorded in the Captain's account:

A Return to the Middle Passage: the Clipper Ship "Sheila", by

Captain W.H.Angel, edited by Ken Ramchand and Brinsley Samaroo

(originally published in 1921, modern edition 1995, CIS, Port of

Spain, Trinidad)

John McNish Weiss

This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Richard B. Cheddie    

Aug 29 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: "Richard B. Cheddie" < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: 2000/08/29

Subject: Re: Ships asn Indentured East Indians

I have to recheck this post. Somehow I am missing quite a few ship names and

destinations. I might have uploaded an older file by mistake. Most of this

information I gathered off of the web and through several Caribbean

associations researching East Indians.  I should be receiving another

listing of ships that went to Trinidad and Guyana in the near future. If you

have any info through your own research please e-mail it to me.

It is my goal to one day have the complete list of ALL ships that

transported East Indian Labourers to the Caribbean. The most up to date list

can always be found at

http://www.egroups.com/group/Bhatchaman

This site also contains other information about sources for those of us

researching our Indian Heritage.

Richard Bond             

Aug 29 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it (Richard Bond)

Date: 2000/08/29

Subject: Re: Ships asn Indentured East Indians

  I wonder which of St Croix's families are descended from the one boat

load that brought people from Calcutta in the 1860s. Most were

disillusioned by poor treatment and went back to India or moved to

Trinidad but a minority stayed on. There are probably some people where

we grew up who don't even realize that there patrilneals are Indian. My

great great grandfather Alfred Busby came by way of another island.

Richard B. Cheddie    

Aug 27 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: "Richard B. Cheddie" < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it >

Date: 2000/08/27

Subject: Updated List of Ships that Transported East Indian Laborers to the Caribbean Basin 8-27-00

I have attempted to compile a list of ships that brought and repatriated

indentured Indians to and from the Caribbean. This list is short right now.

Just for Trinidad alone, 319 voyages were made.

ARRIVALS

 DATE                                         SHIP

COLONY

LABOURERS ARRIVED

May 5, 1838

 Hesperus

 British Guiana

 156 of 170

May 5, 1838

 Whitby

 British Guiana

 263 of 267

May 30, 1845

 Fath Al Razak

 Trinidad  225

1845

 Blundell

 Jamaica

 ???

1854

 Louis Napoleon

 Martinique

 ??

For updated lists go to http://www.geocities.com/yuddh1/gateportal.htm

Richard Bond             

  I think that I can get it for you but could you help me sort out the Asians on Saba and Statia. I'm still trying to add to what I know about Alfred and Grace Busby

              Oct 21 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it (Richard Bond)

Date: 2000/10/21

Subject: Re: 1931 National Geographic: Saba & Statia

Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show original | Report this message | Find messages by this author

  I think that I can get it for you but could you help me sort out the

Asians on Saba and Statia. I'm still trying to add to what I know about

Alfred and Grace Busby

Richard Bond             

              Oct 22 2000, 3:00 am

Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.west-indies

From: