Tracing Barbados Roots:

The Barbados - Carolina Connection

The historical connections between Charleston and Barbados run deep. Many of the colonists who founded the Carolina colony came to South Carolina from Barbados.

The success of sugar cultivation in Barbados by the 1660s propelled that island to the position of the wealthiest of the English colonies in the New World. As the island’s wealth grew, so did the number of colonists seeking opportunity in Barbados.

The population of Barbados boomed, and available land for cultivation grew scarce on this, an island about 1/5 the size of present-day Charleston. By 1670, Barbados' population was estimated at 60,000 inhabitants. Approximately 60% of that number were enslaved Africans.

Barbadians’ political, economic and cultural influence were great in the earliest years of the colony. In the first two decades after settlement, the majority of Carolina’s inhabitants – free and enslaved – came from Barbados.

Some of the Lowcountry families with ties to Barbados include the Brewton, Bull, Colleton, Elliott, Fenwick, Gibbes, Harleston, Jenkins, Mathews, and Middleton families. Many other Lowcountry families have roots in Barbados.

If your family has roots in Barbados, here are resources to help you get started with Barbados genealogy.

Tracing Barbados Roots Online

Many Barbados records are online. Most are free. Start with these comprehensive guides:

FamilySearch Wiki: Barbados(https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Barbados)

Tracing Ancestors in Barbados: (http://www.barbadosancestors.com/index.html)

Caribbean Roots: Caribbean Ancestry and Heritage (http://www.caribbeanroots.co.uk/)

Caribbean Surname Index (http://www.candoo.com/surnames/index.html)

Digital Library of the Caribbean (http://dloc.com/)

Barbados Family Research Reference Guide by Donald L. Hinson, Jr.

Center for Barbados Studies in History and Genealogy

Caribbean Genealogy Research by Jim Lynch: an incredible compendium of Barbados records online