On Jul 8, 6:13 am, "Heather" <lai...@nowhere.invalid> wrote: > Hi Nancy....... > > I am a lurker on here now but about 10 years ago, I was researching the > Ffrench surname for a friend in Australia.  He would then pass the info on > to a friend of his wife.......she was the Ffrench descendant.  My last name > also starts with an "F", so it was no problem to look for them in the LDS > films. > > Dorothy Kew would be able to help you..........and as it is 1 am here in > Canada, I hope I make sense with the following.  If you are looking for a > "staunch catholic" in the mid 1850's, you won't find him in the LDS records. > They are 95% Church of England.  And the period from 1870 to 1800 (Law 6) is > missing a lot of records........and those that were not C of E, but perhaps > Baptist or Methodist at that time........well, there is no LDS copy of those > *dissenter records*. > > I know the above because my husband's grandfather was born around 1876 to > 1877, but no sign of him or his sister.......the other children were born > after 1880 and Civil Registration was now the order of the day. > > I have been intending to get back to the LDS (hit brick walls and gave up > about 5 years ago), but now that they have catalogued the churches in Spain, > may have a look for my surname in the 1700's. > > Best of luck.........Heather Figueroa > > "NancyFfrench" <kandn.atkin...@gmail.com> wrote in message > > news:5ec855cb-a7cf-45ea-8d81-d71b3e36e9dc@j4g2000yqh.googlegroups.com... > > > Has anyone had success in contacting the Jamaica Archives, King & > > Manchester Streets,  in Spanish Town?. (Not the Registrars Dept in > > Twickenham Park). We have sent numerous emails to > > jarchi...@jard.gov.jm without success. Does anyone know the name/email > > of a human employed there?Their website has been "Under construction" > > for yonks! > > > Alternatively can anyone help with this query we sent to them re " > > missing persons"? (None of these baptisms can be found in LDS films) > > Does anyone do lookups in Jamaica? > > > We seek the baptism records of the supposed children of George Ffrench > > and his wife, Eliza Minot,married in Portland on January 4,1849 -- > > George Ffrench was the Clerk of the Vestry for the parish of Portland > > & a Tax Collector -- we found the baptism record of their first child, > > Robert Burke Ffrench in Port Antonio on October 31, 1849. Robert died > > six months later and was buried in Port Antonio on May 4, 1850. But > > other sources, particularly the Gleaner, show they had at least four > > other children, possibly 5: > > > 1) Ann M who was  a signatory along with her mother Eliza Ffrench and > > sister Emily Letitia Ffrench in the thankyou  letter to Governor Eyre, > > January 1, 1866  from the ladies of Port Antonio & Manchioneal-- per > > Google Books. > > > 2) Emily Letitia or Letitia Emily  According to a Gleaner excerpt of > > her death from typhoid in 1869 she was  the second daughter of George > > Ffrench, aged 16 years, which would mean she must have been born in > > 1853.We found her burial record in Portland but have not been able to > > find a baptismal record for her.  Her burial record says she was 13 > > implying a birth year of 1856 > > > 3)Edward Shafto Ffrench, he is described in a series of articles in > > the Gleaner in 1897 concerning a court case, as the son of George > > Ffrench. He was a tax collector per  the Blue Books; supposedly born > > about 1855 -but no baptism record > > > 4)Alfred Ernest Ffrench, supposedly born about 1861, who is described > > in the Who's Who of 1916 as a son of George and Eliza Ffrench.He was a > > JP,MP and received the MBE award in WW1-- the Who's Who described > > Alfred as a"staunch Roman Catholic".So he's a VIP ! But has no baptism > > record > > > 5)Arthur George Ffrench, who fathered my  grandfather, Ernest Ffrench > > in 1876 , by one Jane Victoria Smith, baptised in Spanish Town, St. > > Catherine. They were not married and in fact Arthur married a Frances > > Glave not long after and settled in Manchester. Arthur was employed as > > a clerk in St. Catherine, and appears, from what records we've found, > > to have been born about 1851 -- again not found. He got into some kind > > of trouble in his position and left Jamaica precipitously and settled > > in London, England, where he died in 1905.  He appears in the 1891 > > English census where his birthplace is given as Jamaica, West Indies. > > We guess he may be the son of George Ffrench, though it's quite > > possible he might have been the son of George's brother, Edward > > Ffrench, > > > It seems strange that the baptism records of quite a prominent family > > should be missing. > > > Does anyone have any ideas what we can do if the Archives dont > > respond?  Thanks Nancy ffrench Thanks Heather We already know Dorothy Kew who is a star! We also know that LDS doesnt include Catholics& dissenters at that time but most of the family seem to have been Anglicans so thats not the reason we cant find the records. We think they are missing from the LDS films but the originals may still be in the Archives. The good news is that despite Jamaica Archives email address per their website is jarchives@jard.gov.jm the first 2 characters are actually upper case! ie JArchives@jard.gov.jm. Halleluia! Nancy PS Where in Canada are you?