Jews of Barbados
The Sephardic Jewish community in Barbados, an English colony, was established by refugees from Dutch Brazil which was re-conquered by the Portuguese in 1656. They are credited with introducing sugar to the English colony, thereby turning Barbados from an economic liability into a huge financial asset (and also fuelling the trade in people as slaves). It is possible the arrival of Sephardim in Barbados in 1656 was an influence on Cromwell’s allowing Jewish resettlement in England the following year. The Jews of Barbados was famous for its endless communal quarrels.
Jewish Genealogy in Barbados
Sources for Jewish genealogy in Barbados are listed below.
- The Nidhe Israel synagogue is today a museum
- Digital Library of the Caribbean – Synagogue Restoration Project
- Barbados synagogue restoration project Finding Aid
- Barbados synagogue historic district
- Barbados Jewish Community
- Monumental Inscriptions in the Burial Ground of the Jewish Synagogue at Bridgetown, Barbados, by E M Shilstone. Published by the Jewish Historical Society of England, 1955.
- The Center for Jewish History in the United States has a Barbados Jewish community collection. Collection consists of typed copies of various materials relating to the history of the Jews in Barbados including: a list of taxes charged to Jewish inhabitants (1679), extracts from the minute books of Congregation Nidhe Israel, and an index of names and ages from the census of Barbados taken in 1715. Also includes 10 photos (primarily of the synagogue) and an article about the tombstone inscriptions in the cemetery from Algemeiner Journal (1995). The census can be found in Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, Vol. 26, pp. 250-256.
- The Malcolm Stern Papers, of the late Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern, at the American Jewish Archives contains his research on Barbados and elsewhere in the Caribbean.
- The Barbados National Archives (Department of Archives) does not have a dedicated website, but should be able to advise.
- The Digital Library of the Caribbean states that the Barbados archives includes Wills going back to 1647.
- In 1965, Michael J. Chandler wrote A Guide to the Records in Barbados. He provides a detailed overview of the Barbardian archives. The book states that the collection includes Wills dating back to 1648, civil registers from 1890, voter registers from 1867, church records including baptisms, marriages and burials. There are also copies of newspapers, the earliest of which was an edition of the Barbados Mercury published on 5 April 1783.
- The Barbados Museum & Historical Society houses the Shilstone Memorial Library.
- There is a general Barbados Genealogy group on Facebook.
- The archives of the early Sephardic Jewish community in Barbados were lost in a hurricane. The later archives were shipped back to London and are now in the Bevis Marks Archives in the London Metropolitan Archives.
- Sanders Historical Publications in Houston, Texas, have published a series of abstracts from the Barbados archives compiled bu Joanne McRee Sanders. These include Baptisms, Marriages, Wills and Administrations. A number of Jewish families, and families of Jewish ancestry, appear. The English spellings of the Sephardic names is often eccentric.
- Ancestry.com has a database called Caribbean, English Settlers in Barbados, 1637-1800 in which Jews appear
- The British National Archives contain a number of documents referencing Sephardim in Barbados. Probably other British sources deserve research.
- Genealogists researching the Sephardic community of Barbados might also want to research in the Archief van de Portugees-Israëlietische Gemeente in Amsterdam where they will finding information on the Recife (Brazil) congregation and its antecedents in the Netherlands.
Barbadian Sephardic Wills in London include:
Luis Dias
David Ralph de Mercado
Isaac Valverde
Jacob Franco
Daniel de Mattos, of London but with goods in Barbados and Jamaica
Barbados Jewish Cemetery
One of my friends was the guy who restored the Barbados cemetery. As part of the project, he reconstructed the Carrerra books. I will check to see if these are the LME documents. Many of the gravestones are no longer legible, and not all the information has yet been uploaded to his blog. The following names and dates have been recovered from the tombstones.
Name
Hebrew Date
Ribcah filha de Abraham et Jael Valverde
11 Ab 5447
Moses and Abraham sons of Ishak Naftali Ashkenazi. Abraham on heshvan 5459, Moses On 17 Tevet 5453
Sarah Gabay Rison
13 Nisan 5432
Ishak Bar Naftali
Judica Burgos
5544
Ephraim Yesurun Henriques
19 Tishri 5450
Abraham de Medina
11 Nisan 5452
Hanah daughter of Joseph Senior
11 Tebet 5440
Rachel Sarah Senior
10 Adar 5431
Aron Gabay
9 Tishry 5430
Moze Rodryges Soares
22 Ab 5427
Yshak….
De H…..
Yschack Rafael Pacheco
20 Hiyar 5425
Ester Gaon
21 Tishry 5427
Deborah Burgos
23 Tishry 5448
Selomoh Tinoco
24 Kislev 5448
Rahel Ester Henriques
11 Sebat 5448
Aron Gabay Risson
11 Yiar 5448
Gracia daughter of Semuel Aboab Cardozo
10 Tebet 5453
Yshak de Azevedo 5450
Moseh Baruh Henriques son of Abraham Baruh Henriques
7 Ab 5452
Is A Triple Burial Marked With One Stone: Offspring of Abraham Baruh Henriques: A. Yshac Hesvan 5453, B. Hua 6 Ab 5452, C. Abraham 27 Tishri 5456
Abraham son of Joseph Senior
9 Hiyar 5439
[Sarah] daughter of S…..And Ester Sua[res]
5456
Ishak Gomez Henryques
20 Tyshry 5444
Abraham Gomes Henriques
5436
Deborah Burgos
5418
David….
Moses Cohen de Leon
26 Adar 5453
Davyd Yeosusa de Lido
11 Hesvan 5445
Ishak Gabay Risson
15 Nisan 54….
Yaacob son of Joseph et Yael Ysurun Mendes
27 Tamuz 5436
Yosiyav Rephael son of David Castello
16 Adar 5459
Sarah Simha Israel de Piza
7 Tamus 5438
Sarah Ester Pera de Leao de Moseh Pera de Leao
16 Ellul 5438
Ester Mendes daughter of Joseph Mendes
12 Tamus 5440
Abraham Ydana son of Yacob Tdana
21 Hesvan 5439
Moseh Hamis
10 Nisan 5440
Moses son of Joseph Mendes
12 Menahem [5440]
Ymanuel Carcasoni
17 Nisan 5435
Hayyim Katz
14 Sivan 5457
D’acosta
5444
Deborah Burgos
Rabbi Amnuel Burgos
Mordechai Burgos
Ishac Serano
Hanah Alvares
B.R. 5466
Sarah Lopes de Acosta
Antunnes
A Castano
Ester Castano
Rachel de……
Sy de Piza
5444
Mendes
5444
David Abarbanel
Sarah de Mercado
David Raphael de Mercado
David de Mercado
Sarah Mulher
“….ld” Otherwise Illegible
Anjo de Simhon
Ishack Mendez
Hanah Mulher
Ephraim Burak
Feiga
Sara Burgas
Hersh Silver
Simon Altman
Moshe Altman
Joseph Friedman
Jacob H Herbst
Pacheco
If you have found this page useful, please consider making a small donation to support this site and my work. Do you need a professional genealogist to work on your Sephardic genealogy? Click here.