JOURNEY WITH US.

A research guide to ancestry, family history, and genealogy resources for Saba.

Uncover with Ancestors of Paradise the untold stories of your Saban ancestors!

”From Anegada to Virgin Gorda, tour the Caribbean in this gorgeous site packed with resources, historical photos and videos…”

101 Best Genealogy Websites of 2024
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records.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through census records, court records, deeds, naturalization records, military records, ship passenger lists as well as birth, marriage, and death records.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • FAMILYSEARCH RESEARCH WIKI | Saba

    The FamilySearch Research Wiki is a free, online genealogical guide created and maintained by FamilySearch, a non-profit organization. It contains links to genealogy databases, websites, other resources, research strategies, and genealogical guidance to assist in the search for your ancestors. Articles included are locality pages for countries around the world and topic pages that include pertinent genealogy record types explaining how to use the record, what it contains, and how to find it.

  • INVENTORY OF THE ARCHIVES OF ST. EUSTATIUS, ST. MAARTEN AND SABA, 1709-1828 (1869) | NATIONAAL ARCHIEF

    The old archives of St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Saba contain documents from various institutions, including the archives of the Governor, the Vice-Commander, the Police Council, the Judiciary Council, the Finance Administration, the Civil Registry, but also the archives of the Warehouse Managers, Vendu Masters, the military commander and the archive of the Orphan and unmanaged estate chambers on St. Maarten and St. Eustatius.

  • INVENTORY OF THE ARCHIVES OF ST. EUSTATIUS AND SABA, 1828-1845 (1860) | NATIONAAL ARCHIEF

    The archives of St. Eustatius and Saba from after 1828 contain documents from various institutions, including the archives of the Commander, from 1834 the Governor, the Council of Civil and Criminal Justice, the College of Small Affairs and the Commissioners for Small Affairs , the Administration of Finance, the Warehouse and Vendu Masters and the archive of the Orphan and unmanaged estate chambers.

  • SHIPINDEX.ORG: A VESSEL RESEARCH DATABASE

    ShipIndex.org simplifies vessel research. Whether you’re a genealogist, a maritime historian, a researcher, or just curious, we can help you learn more about the ships that interest you. We tell you which maritime resources, such as books, journals, magazines, newspapers, CD-ROMs, websites, and online databases mention the ships that interest you. We enhance these references by noting which ones include illustrations or crew and passenger lists, and where you can find or purchase the resource.

  • SlaveVoyages

    The SlaveVoyages website is a collaborative digital initiative that compiles and makes publicly accessible records of the largest slave trades in history. Search these records to learn about the broad origins and forced relocations of more than 12 million African people who were sent across the Atlantic in slave ships, and hundreds of thousands more who were trafficked within the Americas. Explore where they were taken, the numerous rebellions that occurred, the horrific loss of life during the voyages, the identities and nationalities of the perpetrators, and much more.

  • Suriname and Netherlands Antilles: Declared Free Slaves (Emancipation 1863) | NATIONAAL ARCHIEF

    Index of enslaved people in Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles who were emancipated in 1863.

  • WieWasWie

    CBG | Center for Family History in The Hague is the owner of WieWasWie.nl. CBG is the national center for knowledge, documentation and publicity for genealogy and heraldry in the Netherlands.

collections.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through our collection of diverse genealogical resources.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • ANCESTRY MESSAGE BOARDS | CARIBBEAN

    Ancestry message boards contain over 25 million posts on more than 198,000 boards.

  • ANCESTRY MESSAGE BOARDS | SABA

    Ancestry message boards contain over 25 million posts on more than 198,000 boards.

  • DIGITAL LIBRARY OF THE CARIBBEAN

    The Digital Library of the Caribbean is a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean & circum-Caribbean.

  • THE EARLY CARIBBEAN DIGITAL ARCHIVE

    The Early Caribbean Digital Archive is an open access collection of pre-twentieth-century Caribbean texts, maps, and images. Texts include travel narratives, novels, poetry, natural histories, and diaries that have not been brought together before as a single collection focused on the Caribbean. The materials in the archive are primarily authored and published by Europeans, but the ECDA aims to use digital tools to "remix" the archive and foreground the centrality and creativity of enslaved and free African, Afro-creole, and Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean world.

  • HISTORY HUB

    History Hub is a research support community for everyone, including genealogists, historians, and citizen archivists.

  • MYHERITAGE | NETHERLANDS ANTILLES ($)

    The Netherlands Antilles family history research page lists data collections relevant to Netherlands Antilles.

    Start your search here to find ancestors originating from Netherlands Antilles and to research historical records pertaining to Netherlands Antilles.

Ancestry US

Ancestry US

CEMETERIES + MEMORIALS.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through cemetery records, grave records, tombstone inscriptions, and funeral booklets.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • FIND A GRAVE | SABA

    Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials or add photos, virtual flowers and a note to a loved one's memorial. Search or browse cemeteries and grave records for every-day and famous people from around the world.

historic images.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through early photographs, studio portraits, and historic landscape images.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • CARPENTER COLLECTION | LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

    The Frank and Frances Carpenter Collection consists of photographs produced and gathered by Frank G. Carpenter (1855-1924) and his daughter Frances (1890-1972) to illustrate his writings on travel and world geography. Carpenter's works helped popularize cultural anthropology and geography in the early years of the twentieth century.

  • The Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs | Saba

    The Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs is a singular collection of more than 3,500 historical images from 34 countries including Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. This visual record contains studio portraits, landscapes and tourist views and brings to life the changing economies, environments and communities that emerged post-emancipation. The Collection includes nearly every photographic format available during the years 1840 to 1940, including prints, postcards, daguerreotypes, lantern slides, albums, and stereographs.

  • NATIONAAL ARCHIEF PHOTO COLLECTION | Saba

    The National Archives manages 15 million photos. You can view more than one million photos online. The photo collection provides an overview of events from the period between 1865 and 1990.

  • SOUTHEAST ASIAN & CARIBBEAN IMAGES (KITLV) | UNIVERSITAIRE BIBLIOTHEKEN LEIDEN

    The KITLV image collection holds photographs, prints and drawings that were acquired by The Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV). Housed at Leiden University Libraries since 2014, as part of the KITLV library collection.

    The biggest part of the image collection consists of photographs. Around 1890 the KITLV started collecting photographs for the purpose of documenting the image of the Dutch East and West Indies in all their facets, such as landscapes, town views, architecture, and life under indigenous and Dutch rule and so forth.

  • VIVID-PIX

    Easy-to-use software that helps you fix your pics and documents fast! Free to try - no credit card required.

HISTORIC MAPS.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through historic maps.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • David Rumsey Map Collection | Saba

    The David Rumsey Map Collection was started over 35 years ago and contains more than 200,000 maps. The collection focuses on rare 16th through 21st century maps of North and South America, as well as maps of the World, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. The collection includes atlases, globes, wall maps, school geographies, pocket maps, books of exploration, maritime charts, and a variety of cartographic materials including pocket, wall, children's, and manuscript maps. Items range in date from around 1550 to the present.

cultural institutions.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through libraries, museums, historical societies, and community cultural centers dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Caribbean culture.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • CBG | CENTRUM VOOR FAMILIEGESCHIEDENIS

    The CBG Centrum voor familiegeschiedenis is the Dutch research centre for genealogical and heraldic studies. It is a non-profit foundation that has been founded on May 15, 1945, with the aim of bringing together a number of archive collections and making research of genealogy and related studies easier.

  • Dutch Caribbean Heritage Platform

    The Dutch Caribbean Heritage Platform was founded on June 11th 2014 and consists of 11 foundations concerned with Cultural Heritage.

  • Harry L. Johnson Museum

    The Harry L. Johnson Museum is located in a 19th-century sea captain’s cottage at the end of Park Lane in the historic district of Windwardside. The museum is situated in a lush landscaped park which includes a children’s play area, a gazebo, and a variety of tropical vegetation. Exhibits include collections from the 19th and early 20th-century as well as artifacts from the Amerindian archaeological sites around the island. It also serves as a resource center for published documents on Saba.

  • Herensia - Erfgoed - Heritage

    This digital platform (in development) will collect and share all available information on the cultural heritage of the Dutch Caribbean islands and make it accessible to educators, lifelong learners, and the general public.

  • HET SCHEEPVAARTMUSEUM

    The National Maritime Museum shows the strong connection between the maritime world and society as a whole, and more specifically the impact of this on the lives of many individuals.

    The National Maritime Museum recognizes that as a museum, we can and must commit ourselves more actively to combating (institutional) racism; as an institution, in our collection, in our programming, together with our audience and with our current and future social partners.

  • Major Osmar R. Simmons Museum

    The Major Osmar R. Simmons Museum is located in The Bottom on the way to Well’s Bay. The museum is in a small two-story family home on the road heading toward The Ladder. It depicts the household of the major who lived here. Major Simmons was a police officer for 40 years, who collected furniture and domestic artifacts along with 20th-century household tools. Opening times are limited. Contact information will be posted on the door.

  • NATIONAAL SLAVERNIJMUSEUM | NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SLAVERY

    Within the next few years, the Nationaal Slavernijmuseum, a new national museum of slavery, should open its doors to the public. Documenting the history of transatlantic slavery and slavery in the Dutch colonies in the Indian Ocean will be the museum’s guiding principle. The museum’s content will target a broad audience, with a focus on education, art, information and research. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science supports the initiative.

  • Saba Heritage Center

    Located in the village of Windwardside, the Saba Heritage Center is focused on the preservation and promotion of Saba’s cultural heritage. The center organizes weekly youth activities including skeleton reconstructions, photography workshops, diggings, camping trips, education on the identification of trees, workshops and an exhibition on the use of indigo.

  • VerhalenOverLeven Foundation

    ”Verhalen over leven helpen overleven zodra ze gedeeld worden”.

    Onder dat motto zet Stichting VerhalenOverLeven zich in om verborgen verhalen en geschiedenissen van (koloniale) migranten en hun nazaten zichtbaar te maken in educatieve en erfgoedprojecten. Oral history, ofwel het losmaken en vastleggen van (levens)verhalen en geschiedenissen als mondelinge bron, is daarbij een veel gekozen methodiek.

books.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through our collection of books for beginners, research guides, records guides, case studies, memoirs, family histories, oral histories, and photography collections.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

blogs.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through history, culture, and genealogy blogs.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • THE NETHERLANDS | SEPHARDIC GENEALOGY

    Family history of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish diaspora.

social media.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through social media discussion forums, networks, groups, and pages.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • CARIBBEAN GENEALOGY | FACEBOOK

    This group is for sharing resources and assisting with research relating to Caribbean ancestry and history.

  • CARIBBEAN GENEALOGY RESEARCH COMMUNITY | FACEBOOK

    Welcome to the Caribbean Research Community! This group was created to give people researching the region a place to ask questions, collaborate, and share research with one another.

  • GENEALOGICAL TRANSLATIONS | FACEBOOK

    Genealogical Translations was established to provide amateur family researchers a place to have their genealogical documents translated. We are a global volunteer group whose members help other members by offering free translation of their genealogical documents such as vital records, postcards, obituaries, and more, in languages including – Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and many others!

  • Of Saban Descent | Facebook

    Sharing historical and genealogical information related to descendants from the island of Saba, Netherlands Antilles.

GENEALOGY VIDEOS + TUTORIALS.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through tutorials, lectures, roundtable discussions, and genealogy webinars.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • History of Saba Dutch Caribbean - Interview with Historian Will Johnson

    History of Saba Dutch Caribbean - Interview with Historian Will Johnson

  • Saba Dutch Caribbean - Family History Interview with Will Johnson

    Saba Dutch Caribbean - Family History Interview with Will Johnson

  • INTRODUCTION TO AFRO-CARIBBEAN GENEALOGY RESOURCES WITH SHARON WILKINS

    Learn how to trace your Afro-Caribbean ancestors from the West Indies, including Barbados, Jamaica, and other places. Presented by Sharon Wilkins, President of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society - New York.

  • Caribbean Ancestry Guide: Getting Started | Island Ancestors

    Use the strategies and hints in this video to trace your Caribbean ancestors. Before you know it you'll be on location just like on 'Who Do You Think You Are.' West Indian family history research is challenging but NOT impossible.

  • Caribbean Ancestry: Myths and Misconceptions | Island Ancestors

    Myths and Misconceptions are holding you back from tracing your Caribbean Ancestors. Challenge your assumptions and take your research forward.

    In this video, I dispel four common myths about West Indian family history.

  • Tracing My Caribbean Ancestry - Reasons to do Genealogy! | Islands Ancestors

    How I traced my Caribbean ancestors back to the 18th century! The process of working on my family tree has helped me grow tremendously. Now I want to help you trace your Caribbean ancestors as far back as you can!

  • Researching Female Ancestors of the Caribbean | FamilySearch

    In this video, Researching Female Ancestors of the Caribbean, Sharon Tomlin delves into ways we can research African-Caribbean female ancestry. Encouraging dialogue across the generations to understand the pioneers of the past and to discover the pioneers within their own family.

    This presentation was part of RootsTech Connect 2021.

  • BlackProGen LIVE! Ep 84: Getting Started with Caribbean Genealogy

    Learn tips, tricks, and more for researching ancestry in the Caribbean! Special guest, Anaisa Bayala.

  • Exploring the Early Caribbean Digital Archive: A Treasure Trove for Family and Historical Research | DIS A FI MI HISTORY PODCAST

    In this episode, we delve into the rich world of the Early Caribbean Digital Archive (ECDA) with the insights of Professors Nicole Aljo and Elizabeth Dillon, alongside their dedicated team.

    We explore the origins and objectives of the ECDA, a publicly accessible archive platform that houses a vast collection of pre-20th century Caribbean materials. Learn about their mission to decolonize and democratize knowledge by surfacing hidden narratives, such as those of enslaved individuals, embedded within historical texts.

    The team also shares their experiences and methodologies in curating and digitizing these invaluable resources, offering a glimpse into some fascinating exhibits like Obeah practices and Jamaican Heirs. Discover how you can navigate the archive, contribute to ongoing projects, and even use these resources for family research and educational purposes.

    Join us for a compelling discussion on the importance of preserving and accessing Caribbean history, both for understanding our past and informing our present.

  • Art in the Spotlight: The Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs | Art Gallery of Ontario

    Join artist and Toronto Photo Laureate Michèle Pearson Clarke for a conversation with AGO Associate Curator of Photography Julie Crooks about The Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs, a singular collection of more than 3,500 historical images from 34 countries including Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. This visual record contains studio portraits, landscapes and tourist views and brings to life the changing economies, environments and communities that emerged post-emancipation. The Collection includes nearly every photographic format available during the years 1840 to 1940, including prints, postcards, daguerreotypes, lantern slides, albums, and stereographs.

hire a professional genealogist.

Uncover the rich lives of your Saban ancestors through collaboration with a professional genealogist.

The following resources may include some affiliate links in an effort to support the continued growth of Ancestors of Paradise as a leading research resource in Caribbean genealogy. Thank you for your support!

  • Legacy Tree Genealogists

    Are you looking for details about your Caribbean ancestry? Do you need help getting started or have you hit a brick wall?

    Caribbean genealogy can be challenging, and the professional genealogists at Legacy Tree Genealogists can help with your research needs.

    Ancestors of Paradise visitors save on select genealogy research projects.

Ancestry US

Ancestry US

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