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This Family Archive CD contains images of the pages of six volumes of Barbados baptisms, marriages, and probate records compiled by Joanne McRee Sanders. Naming some 200,000 individuals of English origin, it is very likely that the majority of persons residing in Barbados between 1637 and 1800 are identified here. Barbados was initially settled by the British as early as 1627. Many of these early settlers eventually moved to mainland America, settling in Virginia, Georgia, the Carolinas, and other colonies. In fact, throughout most of the 17th and 18th centuries, there was a continuous flow of settlers from Barbados to virtually every point along the Atlantic seaboard, with the result that many families in America today trace their origins in the New World first to Barbados.

The single volume of Barbados baptisms covers the whole period 1637-1800, and the baptismal entries are presented here in the same sequence in which they were copied from the original parish registers, now housed in the Barbados Department of Archives. Each entry gives the name of the child, the names of parents, the date of baptism (sometimes the date of birth), and a variety of miscellaneous data, all extracted and copied faithfully for the period from 1637 to 1800.

Spanning the years 1643 to 1800, the two-volume collection of marriages is arranged by Barbados parish and then by date. A typical entry provides the date of the marriage and the names of the bride and groom. Like the records of Barbados baptisms, these records are also housed in the Barbados Department of Archives.

The three volumes of probate records were originally published as Barbados Records: Wills 1639-1680 (Vol.I), Barbados Records: Wills 1681-1700 (Vol. II), and Barbados Records: Wills 1701-1725 (Vol. III). Abstracted from the "Recopied Wills Series" in the Archives, each entry gives the name of the testator, the names of all heirs, and all dates, titles, relationships, place names, references, land owners, burial locations, slaves, and vessels mentioned in the wills.

This extraordinary collection of source materials represents the largest body of genealogical information on the British West Indies.

System Requirements: You must have a CD-ROM drive, and in order to read the CD you must use either the Family Archive Viewer (version 4.0 or higher), which is available as a free download at http://www.genealogical.com/content/dlfav6.html, or Family Tree Maker for Windows, version 4.0 or higher (Family Tree Maker software can be ordered from www.FamilyTreeMaker.com).

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using the Family Archive Viewer:

1. Install the Family Archive Viewer CD or download it from http://www.genealogy.com/dlfav6.html.
2. Start the Viewer if it is not already running
3. Insert the CD you wish to view into the CD-ROM drive. If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.
4. The CD should open automatically, but users of later versions of the Family Archive Viewer must click the CD/magnifying glass icon in the top toolbar (above the template in some versions) to read the CD.
5. When the screen entitled "About this Family Archive‿ appears, click OK where prompted.

To access information on our Family Archive CDs using Family Tree Maker:

1. Start your Family Tree Maker and open a Family File. (If the program is already running, skip to Step 2.)
2. Insert the CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive. (If you have 2 or more CD-ROM drives, the CD must be placed in the first one.)
3. From the View menu, select Family Finder, or select the Family Finder icon from the toolbar.
4. For FTM 2005, FTM 2006, or Version 16 or later: From the View menu, select Data CD, then View CD.

To search the CD for names, select the Search Expert button in the top right of your screen, then select "Search this archive for someone NOT from your Family File." You can also search for names by using the Index.

Note: If a window opens that contains a list of files on the CD, simply close it.