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Archiver > CARIBBEAN > 1997-07 > 0868081105


From: Ash Emery< >
Subject: Berbice, Guyana
Date: Sat, 05 Jul 1997 05:38:25 GMT


I am attempting to trace the Melville family who lived in British
Guiana (now Guyana) in the period about 1860 to about 1880. John
Melville was an English merchant and lived in Berbice. (Does anyone
know if this a town at the coast or upcountry?) John was married to
Sarah and they both were about 30 years old in 1870. They had several
children whilst in British Guiana including (John born about 1863),
Ann de Berenger (born about 1869), Marguerite Matilda (born about
1871) and Walter (born about 1876). John Melville Snr died about
1878/79 and the rest of the family were shipped home to England with
the younger ones packed off to separate orphanages.

My queries:

1.Is there any focal point for me to look for the death record
of John Melville Snr and the cause of death?

2.Where would I look for the baptism records of the children/are
there church records held for Berbice?

3.Was there anything similar to the English Civil Registration
system operating in the British West Indies in the 1860s/1870s and
where should I look for records of births and deaths?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.

Ash

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