Caribbean Roots

10/05/10 • 28 min

October is Black History Month and this week Tracing Your Roots hears from listeners with family ties to the Caribbean. We follow Monica Brown, whose family come from Jamaica, as she makes an emotional trip to Zanzibar, visiting the underground chamber where slaves - including, she believes, her ancestors - were kept in horrific conditions before being sold. She wants to know more about her east African heritage.

Rosemarie Barnes also has slavery on her family tree, or so she thinks. Her great great great grandfather (who lived in Essex in the mid-nineteenth century) shares the name of a man who appears on the Jamaican slave register. Were they one and the same person? And if so, how did Edward Andrews get to England?

Soldiers from the Caribbean played their part in World War One, but how were they treated in comparison with their white counterparts? And were false promises made to them to induce them to head for Europe? Valerie Vaughan-Dick and Sheena Simpson ask what their ancestors did in the war, and what greeted them on their return home.

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Radicals and Revolutionaries

This week the popular Radio 4 genealogy show presented by Sally Magnusson features listeners whose ancestors may have been involved in revolution or radical actions.

Trying to find records pertaining to revolutions is always tricky, since by their nature revolutions are fraught with chaos and upheaval. Files tend to be mislaid or destroyed, or too secret to have been placed in national archives. However, when an ancestor gets involved with revolution as well as high profile legal wrangling, there's a much better chance of striking gold. In this week's programme, Listener Anne Induni finds out the true story of her ancestor's arrest, for killing a politician in a 19th century Swiss revolution, and there are a whole lot more eye popping revelations about his activities.

When Judy Thompson wrote into the programme wanting to find out about her French ancestor's activities in the Paris Commune of 1871, she was hoping to track down more details from French archives, but found getting access and information baffling for a non gallic speaker. Author Gavin Dowd has been through the process and joins the team to dispense advice.

And another listener is keen to verify if she really is the great great great granddaughter of the assassin of a British 19th century Prime Minister. The first and only successful attempt in British history didn't quite spark a revolution, but has left a legacy in the modern House of Commons.

And regular studio guest Dr Nick Barratt is on hand to dispense advice and tips on how to trace revolutionaries in your family tree.

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Objects and Heirlooms

The last programme of the series ties in with the History of the World in 100 Objects. Sally Magnusson and resident genealogist Nick Barratt track down the stories behind fascinating objects and family heirlooms. All the objects featured in the programme are also featured on the History of the World website, where listeners are also encouraged to upload their own treasured heirloom.

When listener Sarah Bailey inherited a pearl necklace and a letter written at the time of Marie Antoinette, she contacted the History of the World Website. Now she'd like to know which of her ancestors was at the French court and how she came to be there.

There's a very personal heirloom in the shape of a beautiful hand drawn book created by an illustrator, Carrie Solomon, whose baby was born when her husband was away fighting in WW1. She kept a daily record of their baby growing and developing and gave it to him on his return. Now her descendants hope to find examples of her professional work as an illustrator of children's books.

Kenneth Curley sent audio discs back to his family while he was in the RAF in WW2 and his granddaughter Becky Rowe has inherited some of them. She and her family would dearly love to hear what's on the discs, but no-one can play them. That is until they got in touch with the Tracing Your Roots team.