My ancestral journey started in 2019 during COVID. Like many people trying to cope with the shutdown, I used the time to do maintenance, repairs, and spruce up my house. I wanted artwork or pictures on my walls, but I realized I wanted something more meaningful and significant than just a generic piece from the store.
That’s when the idea hit me: create a family tree, frame it, and hang that on my wall.
The first thing I did was Google “family tree search,” which led me to FamilySearch.org, a free site where you can search for family records. To be honest, I was not initially optimistic. Everything I believed at the time about Jamaica was that record-keeping wasn’t great and that people didn’t always comply with official or governmental records.
Very quickly, I learned that all the preconceived ideas I had about the island of Jamaica were about to be completely displaced.
As I began researching my family history, I went from total ignorance about archives and primary sources to searching all over the internet and emailing government archives in other countries. I started learning not only about my family history, but also about the broader history of Jamaica itself.
Along the way, I connected with elders in my family and developed a whole new appreciation for my relatives, our history, our background, our roots, and our culture.
In this blog, I plan to go back and take you through a step-by-step recounting of my process—the ups and downs, the frustrations, and the triumphs of breaking through research roadblocks. My hope is to catch you up to where I am today in my journey and share the new challenges I face as I continue uncovering my roots.