Information sur la source
Registres des esclaves et des gens libres, St. Croix, Îles Vierges des États-Unis, 1779 à 1921
This database contains a wide variety of records from St. Croix that document events in the lives of both enslaved and free residents.
Historical Background
St. Croix in the Danish West Indies would be home to Carib, Arawak, Dutch, French, British, and Spanish settlers before the island was bought by the Danish in 1733. Sugar would be its chief industry into the 19th century, and slaves were imported to provide labor for the island’s plantations. Slavery ended in 1848, and St. Croix was purchased by the United States in 1916, to become part of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The diversity of records in this database reflects some of St. Croix’s diverse history, with records for both free and enslaved people, including the following:
- slave lists
- vaccination journals
- appraisals
- censuses
- free men of color militia rolls
- manumissions and emancipation records
- tax lists
- civil death and burial records (possibly marriage as well)
- immigrant lists
- plantation inventories (include details on enslaved individuals)
- school lists
- lists of people who have moved
- pensioner lists
- property sold
- immigrant records (arrivals, departures, passenger lists)
- slave purchases
Information included varies widely by document type, but you may find name, gender, dates, occupation, residence, and other details among the records.
