Caribbean Genealogy Library Presentation on French Community (STT)

Caribbean Genealogy Library presents lecture related to the French Community on St. Thomas.

The Caribbean Genealogy Library on St. Thomas is pleased to host Dr. Julianne Maher who will present a lecture entitled “Reconstructing the Social History of St. Barthelemy” on November 17th, 2013 at 2pm. Dr. Maher’s talk will take listeners through the history of St. Barths people. People that are the ancestors of the large French community that exists on St. Thomas.

Dr. Maher notes that there are almost no written records from the early days in St. Barths but it is possible to reconstruct the island’s social history from the birth, death and marriage records in the French archives, the voluminous Swedish governors’ reports, slave emancipation lists and anthropologists’ reports from the 1960’s. These records attest to the remarkable resilience and fortitude of the St. Barth people who survived wars, pirates, hurricanes, droughts and starvation.

Dr. Maher, a research scholar, recently published a book entitled “The Survival of People and Languages: Schooners, Goats and Cassava in St. Barthélemy, French West Indies”.

For information on the presentation please visit the Library's Facebook Page.

Caribbean Genealogy Library’s mission to identify, preserve and provide access to Caribbean genealogy, history and cultural heritage information resources for the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. The library houses unique and rare books on Virgin Islands history and culture; funeral booklets, microfilms; and provides access to church records and other documents. Regular workshops and presentations are held to encourage the community to learn about their family and cultural history. It is located in Al Cohen’s Plaza (Raphune Hill), next to Mango Tango Art Gallery.

For more information on the Library visit Caribbean Genealogy Library.