Celebrating our collections dating from 780AD to the present day
By Alice Millard, archivist Toussaint Louverture on horseback, 1802, anon. The Met. Before Haiti was so named it was called Saint Domingue, having been colonised by the Spanish in the 15th century then controlled by the French in the 17th century. As with most other Caribbean islands at the time, Saint Domingue's economy was dependent…
Continue reading ➞ The Mysterious Truth of Toussaint Louverture Jr in Chichester
By Alice Millard, Research Assistant During our survey of parish registers for entries relating to people of African, Afro-Caribbean, and Indian heritage*, we found the baptism of a teenaged boy called George Diamond Yacoodh in New Shoreham, 1869. George's baptism entry notes that he was a "native of Zanzibar", but was living at St Saviour's…
Continue reading ➞ Stories from the Parish Registers: George Diamond Yacoodh
By Alice Millard, Research Assistant Please note that some of the language used in the original records includes offensive and insensitive terminology. The inclusion of these terms is not an endorsement of such language, but are there to authentically represent the original document. In August 2021, I began trawling through the transcripts of baptisms, marriages…
Continue reading ➞ The Boy in the Painting: Marcus Thomas, b.1768-d.1816
By Alice Millard, Research Assistant Following on from the blog on Charles Douglass and Ann Glanville, published in October 2021, this blog explores the story behind another entry in the parish registers. This time, we are looking into the life of Maria Sophia Rose; a Bengali woman who, at a young age, was brought to…
Continue reading ➞ Stories from the Parish Registers: Maria Sophia Rose, from Bengal to Ifield
By Alice Millard, Research Assistant As part of West Sussex Record Office's Transatlantic Ties project, and ongoing work surrounding intersectionality in the archive, a survey of the county's parish registers for individuals of African, Asian, and Caribbean heritage is underway. London Metropolitan Archives undertook a similar project which began in 2000, the results of which…
Continue reading ➞ Stories from the Parish Registers: Black residents of West Sussex
West Sussex Record Office 