St Helena Family History Resources

The Archives in St Helena

Church register:

Baptism register from the 1680s until the mid-20th century 
Marriage register from the 1680s until the mid-20th century. 
Death records from the 1680s to the mid-20th century. 
English state register: 
Birth register in 1853 ?? 1898 
Marriage Register in 1853 ?? 1936 
Death records in 1853 ?? 1962

Register for later years are available via Essex House, Main Street, Jamestown, St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean.

Ship Register:

Arrival and departure date for ships described in the newspaper ?? St Helen Guradia, from 1852 to 1923, when a list of ship type and name, captain's name, route and shipping, was listed in this weekly magazine. Later published in the church newspaper in 1899 ??1942, Wirebird in 1955 ?? 1966, St Helens News in 1958 also news about the ship arrivals and departures.

During the period in 1673 ?? In 1836 there is a register in the Ostindiska Kompaniets own register books. But there are no reports in the archive in the years 1836 ?? 1852


Duties performed and leases: Reports available for years from 1682 ?? 1885

Maureen Steven, Government Archivist, The Castle, Jamestown, St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean undertakes research for a fee depending on depth of investigation.


http://jcgrimshaw.blogspot.co.za/2011/05/ St Helena: Explorers, prisoners and visitors, maps, photographs and heritage. Records of a unique and special island.

A Prospect of James Fort on the Island of St. Hellena [sic]. London, Samuel Thornton, c. 1711. A view of the East India Company's fort on St Helena, the important stop on the route to the East Indies.  Shown are the triangular fort, the crane used for unloading supplies and the Governor's garden. Published in Thornton's 'English Pilot.

Wathen, Plantation House and St. Paul's Church, 1812

Napoleon on St Helena. In May of 1814 Napoleon was exiled to Elba but not for long: he escaped the following February and entered Paris. Events followed swiftly. Within three months the Battle of Waterloo took place, Louis XVIII was restored to the throne and Napoleon was exiled to the island of St Helena. He would remain there until his death in May 1821.

St Helena Resources

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/st-helena-genealogy/

The above link takes you to St Helena Institute's Forum for Family History. It is intended for anyone interested in St Helena family history and genealogy (incl. Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha).

As the forum is both a Message Board and a Mailing List, your message will be accessible online to future members and visitors to the site. Posts to the group should feature one of the names being researched in the subject line, if applicable.

Basic resources relating to St Helena family history can be found on the Institute's homepage at http://www.st-helena.org.

Explore the Family History Library Catalogue at familysearch.org for filmed military records relating to St Helena. Bear in mind that St Helena was a trading colony from the mid-17th c and had close connections with India: the island was occupied by troops of the East India Company between 1659 and 1836. In 1836, company troops were replaced by regular British troops. Muster and pension rolls for 1789-1859 include the name, rank, company, regiment, date of arrival, date of discharge and other information for soldiers serving on St Helena. The films include some partial indexes. The original records are in the India Office Military Department collection no. L/MIL/13/1-15, held at the British Library.

Passengers passed through St Helena on their way to England from far-flung outposts in India and China.

For further information and links visit the FIBIS (Families in British India Society) site
http://wiki.fibis.org/index.php?title=St._Helena

http://sthelena.uk.net/newsitems.php  news of the imminent publication, by the Friends of St Helena, of the book St Helena Britannica.