Free Downloads – National Archives

Have you found a link to a plantation in your family research? Did your relative hold a prominent role in council or was he a sailor? The National Archives at Kew holds many documents relating to plantations, government and shipping records in the Caribbean. They are currently offering free downloads of some documents.

Will downloads are available at the following link: Wills – National Archives .

You will need to register with the site initially and add the relevant will to your basket, go through checkout – at no charge , before you can download the document. Wills contain a lot of information of friends and family, location, gift requests and they often describe the family relationship of the person mentioned, giving a array of additional information.

courtesy of National Archives PROB-11-1031-260

Look for the link to the Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills 1384-1858 – you can search for a surname . You can even search for all the wills from a particular island and pick out any names that may look familiar. Do not make your search too narrow – you will then have the biggest range of names.

This is certainly worth a look , you will find shipwrights and sailors here too.

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