Welcome to my Hobby Page. My
hobby is FAMILY HISTORY of Jamaica, West Indies (sorry not Jamaica, New
York). Maps, sources of genealogy, emblems, my tiny tafel and some fun places to visit
are included. I hope this page will be of interest to those who are just getting started
on their Jamaican ancestry, as well as those who have pursued this pastime for a
while. Madeleine Mitchell's Hobby
HomePage
Join the West Indies Newsgroup, Caribbean List and Jamaican List to contact other researchers
Through the hard work of
Sally Jones, Kent, England, Vaughn Royal of Alexandria, VA and others, there is a newsgroup for the West Indies: soc.genealogy.west-indies which includes Jamaica and 30+ West Indian islands and countries. If your internet provider carries
"newsgroups" you will be able to access this group. If not, it doesn't do
any harm to ask the provider to add the newsgroup.
Added in January 1997 The Newsgroup
soc.genealogy.west-indies has been archived and is available for searching on the
Web. click here.
This newsgroup is now linked with the Caribbean-List, an e-mail list which comes in Digest form or single message
form. To subscribe to the Caribbean List, e-mail to CARIBBEAN-L-request@rootsweb.com. Put
nothing in the subject line and turn off your signature and other automatic additions,
write only 'subscribe', (without quotes), in the body or text area of your message. Currently
messages are running 0-4 messages per day, so if you want to receive the output as a
digest (ONE long message), address your request to
CARIBBEAN-D-request@rootsweb.com
Added in
2003
Jamaica now has a list of its own. To subscribe to the JAMAICA List,
e-mail to JAMAICA-L-request@rootsweb.com. Put nothing in the subject line and turn off
your signature and other automatic additions, write only 'subscribe' (no Quotes) in the body
or text area of your message. Currently messages are running 0-2 messages per day, so if
you want to receive the output as a digest (ONE long message), address your request to
JAMAICA-D-request@rootsweb.com
The Caribbean List and Jamaica List are also archived at Rootsweb
When the vote was taken, the following was included as the description of the newsgroup:
RATIONALE:
soc.genealogy.west-indies
There is an established
precedence and interest in the study of West Indian ancestored genealogy on the Internet,
as well-evidenced by the discussions and queries concerning this topic that regularly
appear in cluster groups on commercial online networks, bulletin boards, and in limited
discussions in various newsgroups in the "soc." and "alt." hierarchy.
However, the discussions and queries tend to be scattered among numerous electronic
forums, and researchers are unsure where to post questions and comments concerning the
West Indies to reach others who share their interest, often posting in several different
places as a result. Presently, there is no place of concentration where such people can
register their queries and remarks, and be assured that they will be read by the many who
are interested world-wide, rather than by the few who may by chance encounter West Indian
genealogical postings in electronic forums which are focused on other parts of the world.
The number of nations whose sons and daughters added to the population of the West Indies
is extremely numerous: former colonial powers including England, France, Spain and The
Netherlands; as well as dozens of countries in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia.
Soc.genealogy.west-indies has the potential to serve as the gathering point for
researchers interested in the approximately 30 countries which today comprise the West
Indies, and to provide a forum for people to share queries and insights regarding the
genealogy of the West Indies.
A FAQ on this topic is planned and a Surname Interest List has been set up. Sally Jones has posted to the newsgroups
several pages of source information. They can be retrieved in the archived newsgroup
click here.
CHARTER:
soc.genealogy.west-indies
The focus of
soc.genealogy.west-indies is on exchanging information on the genealogy and family
history of West Indian ancestored people world-wide. This group is designed to focus on
West Indian genealogy, but since the colonisation of many of the West Indian islands had
a social and financial impact on the colonising nations, discussion may widen to reflect
this aspect.
Discussion is open to anyone
with an interest in West Indian genealogy including, but not limited to: people who do
live, did live, or may have lived in any of the West Indian Islands; colonists; voluntary
immigrants; involuntary immigrants (such as slaves); emigrants and their descendants.
Researchers wishing to trace their slave ancestors prior to their arrival in the West
Indies will find that soc.genealogy.african is more suited to their
postings.
The scope of the group reflects
the varied ancestral backgrounds of the inhabitants of the West Indies - often referred
to as a "melting pot". The cultural and language differences of the islands,
often reflecting their heritage can prove a problem to researchers. The difficulties of
researching public records in a part of the world where earthquakes, fire, hurricanes and
pests have destroyed many records can be very daunting, but genealogical archives around
the world do contain records which will help to build up vivid accounts of the lives of
West Indian ancestors. The disseminated nature of the historical and genealogical
information requires a high level of mutual co-operation from researchers around the
world.
Posts may be in any language,
but those seeking replies from a wide spectrum of readers would be well-advised to also
post in English.
Postings on offensive or
defamatory themes, and any other topics unrelated to genealogy are not
welcome.
The additional gateways for this
newsgroup have yet to be created. In this instance, the newsgroup will precede the
Fidonet and traditional mailserver avenues.
Send your surname list to the West Indian/Caribbean Surname Lists
You
can make contact with other researchers who are interested in your surname families
through the West Indian Surname Lists. This list was started and was maintained by
Vaughn Royal up to 1998. Because Vaughn Royal
unfortunately was not able to continue with the West Indian Surname list, a new
list was started by Jim Lynch in 1999. It is:
T453 1500*1910 Tallente,Levy\Warwickshire, England
T625 1500*1910 Throckmorton,Levy\Warwickshire, England
W200 1759*1913 Weeks,Mitchell\Long Ashton, Somerset, England
W362 1740*1913 Waterhouse,Mitchell\London,England
W410 1712*1910 Woulfe,Levy\Vere, Jamaica
W532 1720*1913 Windsor,Mitchell\London, England
W623 1760*1910 Wright,Levy\Bedfordshire,England
3 JUN 1995 an ancestor Tiny Tafel, 1910 = Maternal line, 1913 = Paternal line
About
Me
I was born in Brown's Town,
St Ann, Jamaica to K. and C.(nee Levy) Mitchell in 1941. We lived in Reading, St James,
Grove Place, Manchester as well as Brown's Town before moving to Half-Way-Tree,
Kingston 10 in 1952. My father worked for the Ministry of Agriculture and the first two
residences were Agricultural Experiment Stations where he was assigned. I attended St
Hilda's Diocesan High School in Brown's Town and St Andrew High School for Girls
at Half-Way Tree.
After Cambridge School certificate I went to
MacDonald College of McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. This is where my interest in
family history started when I had to write a paper on the family in a Sociology class. I
went on to do my graduate work in Nutrition at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
And then I went to Pullman, Washington where I was located from 1969 to 2004, except for two
sabbatical leaves, one spent in Washington, DC and the other in Boston,
MA.
I have an older sister and a younger sister and 4 nephews and 1 niece. My mother lived in Cambridge, England near my eldest
sister, the author, Nora Crook, and my younger sister, the nurse, Janet Watson lives in
the Boston area. Thank goodness for e-mail, telephones and faxes! My father passed away in
England in 1993. My mother came to live with me in Dunnellon, Florida in 2004 and passed
away at my home in 2006. Enough of that!
My major family lines come from
England, Scotland, Africa and Jewish (London). As well I have some extensions into France
(via Haiti) and Ireland. At one time I thought there was a German line, but now I am not
so sure. So out of many, one people.
The icon used on this page is the poinciana flower.