South American Genealogy Database                                                 Sources of Data

 


The main sources of data are shown below:-

 

Australian Colony - Andrew Peake has carried out research into a colony of Australians established in Paraguay in 1893. Agents negotiated with the Paraguayan Government to settle 1200 families on unoccupied land. The land was fertile, but much of it was dense forest. Initially a communal partnership was established but by 1909 the partnership drifted towards individual ownership and the New Colony gradually renounced its Australian identity and Utopian ideals. Those who remained settled down to individual farming, sugar crushing and timber-getting.  Names of 250 families who set out in 1893 have been abstracted from Andrew Peake's research paper.

Australians in World War 2  -  These men (and a few women) enlisted in the Australian armed forces in World War II gave their place of birth as in South America. They were found by using the ""place"" search function on Australia's ""World War II Nominal Roll"" https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/ww2   Exact date of birth, enlistment data, next of kin and other data is given. If they died while on service then extra information may be available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site, http://www.cwgc.org/cwgcinternet/search.aspx

62 Names - Names of early settlers in Uruguay have been recorded by Robert J Wells.
Edmundo Murray has translated and edited the list. Prior to 1850 organised immigration to Uruguay did not take place. With the arrival of the railways and other industries the number of British families grew significantly. This list of 62 names constitute the known early settlers but the author does not provide a source reference.

Baptismal Records - The baptismal records of the Anglican church of San Lucas in Salto, Uruguay from 1868-97 were transcribed by Jasice Tostevin for Bob Henly.
Bob has his own web-site. He has kindly provided me with the data from his records.

Bahai Church - Pete Dady has the complete records from The British Church in Bahia
The church was St.George's non-denominational church in Salvador
I have not included a complete record in my database. Pete is willing to do look-ups for anyone who requests them.
He can be contacted under the LINKS sections on this site

Berwyn's Register - Richard Jones 'Berwyn' (1837-1917) came originally from Glyn Ceirog in Wales. He was a leading member of the original party of Welsh emigrants who arrived in Patagonia on the "Mimosa"   in 1865. He was entrusted with the duties of recording births, marriages and deaths in the colony for the first ten years of its life. Jeremy Howat and Stephen Emlyn Jones  both have web sites offering more information on the Welsh in Patagonia

British Friend - Magazine published in 1860's held in Leeds University Special Collections - Leeds Friends

British in Paraguay. – A book by Josefina Plá, Richmond, England: Richmond Publishing, 1976, chronicles the contribution made by 200 British contract workers to the ambitious development plans of Presidents Carlos Antonio López (1844-62) and Francisco Solano López (1862-70). Plá describes the role of British professionals in the development of the state-owned iron-works, shipyard and railway, as well as in the medical service, public works and in the armed forces. The data I have, was sent to me by Andrew Nickson from Public Management and Latin American Studies International Development Department, University of Birmingham. The record has been taken from the Appendix which includes a list of all technical and professional staff engaged between 1850 and 1865.

Bradford Emigration - In 1891 about 600 people were induced to leave Bradford in Yorkshire at the time of a strike at one of the major textile mills. They travelled to Brazil on false promises of a better future. Most soon found themselves destitute. A charitable trust was set up to help them and records were kept of their plight. Alan Longbottom has published the records from Bradford Archives and Parliamentary Papers. More than half of the people returned to England. I have only listed about 150 people from Alan's list, for whom there is no record of a return to the UK.

British in Peru - Steve Van Dulken has kindly abstracted the index of names from Brenda Harriman's "The British in Peru", privately published in 1984 in Peru. A copy is held in the British Library, London

Census ArgentinaIn 1869, during the enlightened presidency of D. F. Sarmiento, the first Argentine national census was undertaken during the days 15th to 17th September. We are indebted to Luis Sebastian Stuart Pennington for transcribing the names of the British and North American residents then listed as living in the Barracas area of Buenos Aires. They are recorded in detail on Jeremy Howat's web site.

Census UK 1881 - The 1881 census for England and Wales is indexed at http://www.familysearch.org. It can be searched by country to find those born in those places but only if the search is combined with a first name or surname. The 1,700 entries included in the database have been kindly abstracted by Steve Van Dulken and are only some of those that might be found.The actual household is given if, on viewing a retrieved record at familysearch, you click on "household" at top right.

Census UK 1901 - The 1901 census for England and Wales is indexed at http://www.census.pro.gov.uk/. It can be searched by country to find those born in those places but only if the search is combined with a first name or surname plus gender and an age (this can be e.g. age 30 plus or minus 29). There are many transcription mistakes in the database. The 2,600 entries included in the database have been kindly abstracted by Steve Van Dulken and are obviously only some of those that might be found. Payment is necessary to see the actual page from the census rather than brief details.

Census USA 1880 - The 1880 census for the United States is indexed at http://www.familysearch.org. It can be searched by country to find those born in those places but only if the search is combined with a first name or surname.The 150 entries included in the database have been kindly abstracted by Steve Van Dulken and are only some of those that might be found. The actual household is given if, on viewing a retrieved record at familysearch, you click on "household" at top right.

Clergy Lists - Alan Longbottom has kindly provided Lists of Anglican Clergy for Guyana which were prepared in 1851. This initial publication started much earlier than Crockford's Clerical Directory, current copies of which are available in any big public library. Both lists overlapped when the Clergy Lists ceased in 1882.

Colonial Magazine - The Colonial Magazine and Commercial Maritime Journal, c1840, edited by Robert Montgomery Martin author of The History of the British Colonies.

Consul Records PA- David Asprey has provided this information from the UK Public Records Office. Data has been abstracted from the correspondence register at the British Consulate in Porto Alegre from 1881 to 1916. David has provided almost 400 entries to the BiSA database.

Consul Records BA - Records of intended marriages from the Register of the British Consul in Buenos Aires from 1855-66 has been provided by Arnold Morrison

Consular Returns - Correspondence from overseas Consulates are kept at the UK public record office. Abstracts from the consular returns frequently contain references to individuals.

Cornish Research - Sharron Schwartz has a special research interest in Cornwall and hopes to publish a book on the Cornish in Latin America. 

                                  Information at https://projects.exeter.ac.uk/cornishlatin/drsharronpschwartz.htm

David P Werlich wrote a biography of   John Randolph Tucker entitled "Admiral of the Amazon".

https://projects.exeter.ac.uk/cornishlatin/drsharronpschwartz.htm

 

Edmundo Murray operates the website of the Irish Argentine Historical Society  This website offers articles, information and lists of Irish and other English-speaking emigrants to Argentina and other South American countries. Databases are available to IAHS members but some of them are published in html format. There is an extensive bibliography for those interested in Irish immigration to South America.provided by Edmundo Murray http://www.irlandeses.org/researching.htm  

Click on Settlement > List of Irish Settlers > Scroll down to alphabetical lists OR Click on The Journey > Passenger Lists > Scroll down to alphabetical lists

English in South America - A book written by Micheal Mulhall c1880 recording the accomplishments of the English in South America in arms, arts and commerce.The book lists many names most of which have been abstracted by me and included in the database.

Foresters Directory - The Foresters' Institute was founded in 1790. A Directory of Institute of Foresters' interests and activities throughout the World was published in 1912.

Fraile Muerto - The establishment of the Fraile Muerto farming colony dates back to 1865 and the arrival of the brothers Bell. They were following the experience of Scots and Irish immigrants who had, a generation earlier, established large, unfenced sheep runs in the Province of Buenos Aires. The history of the mid 19th century growth of Fraile Muerto is in microcosm the opening up of the central western part of Argentina. The appropriation of land by European immigrants is being researched by Jeremy Howat. He has kindly provided me with data from his research.

Gentleman's Magazine - A magazine for gentleman, with articles and news about events of the day plus hatches, marriages and dispatches, mostly of society people.

Gesta Britanica - Patagonia was opened to settlement in 1884. Shepherds were encouraged to come to Santa Cruz from the Falkland Islands. Professor Emilio Manuel Fernandez-Gomez published an account of the families arriving. Jeremy Howatt has provided data from Volume IIB, page350, of Gesta Britanica.

Hospital History - Jeremy Howat has extracted names of all key personnel from " The British Hospital of Buenos Aires - A History 1840 - 1999 "

Institute of Mining - Alan Longbottom has abstracted names associated with South America from the membership List of the UK Institute of Mining Engineers 1920-21

International BMD - Jeremy Howat  has researched an International register of Births Marriages and Deaths from 1824 - 1840. The register is held at the Guildhall Library, London and records BMD registered at British embassies prior to the opening of English churches abroad.

James Dodd - In 1897 the book,"Records of Scottish Settlers in the River Plate", was published in Buenos Aires. Its author was James Dodds (1823-98). Names of some of the early settlers have been abstracted from the book by Jeremy Howat

Kelly's Directory - Alan Longbottom has kindly provided abstracts of British names from this commercial directory for 1903

Letter of Loyalty - Jeremy Howat found an original letter in the Public Record Office written in 1849 to the Argentine Government. It was signed by 74 merchants and took the form of a loyal address directed to the Argentine President expressing their gratitude for his protection.

List of Gringos - On a visit to Rio Gallegos, Duncan Campbell learned that the British Club has a plaque in the lobby listing the names of 300 "Gringoes" who settled in the Santa Cruz area and raised families there. Duncan has provided 1000 entries to the BiSA database.

List of Subscribers - Subscribers to the expense of building the Scotch Presbyterian Church of Buenos Aires, 1832-5.This data was abstracted from James Dodds' "Records of the Scottish Settlers in the River Plate" by Jeremy Howat.

Louise Guenter has written a research paper entitled "The British community in Bahia - public and private lives". The paper offers a good overview of British community life in Bahia in the first half of the 19th.century. It can be found at https://lac.web.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/lac/documents/media/guenther32.pdf

Magellan Times - Duncan Campbell has provided a short list of names abstracted from the Magellan Times of 1928. Duncan has provided 1000 entries to the BiSA database.

Mateo Martinic - Between 1870 and 1920 some 300 persons emigrated from the Falkland Islands to Chile. The great majority were British. Most settled in the town of Punta Arenas and Magallanes territory. Some 10% re-emigrated to Santa Cruz in Argentina. Mateo Martinic has published detailed research papers on the subject and Duncan Campbell has kindly provided me with two lists of emigrants abstracted from the papers.

Medical Directory - Alan Longbottom has provided data abstracted from the UK Medical Directory from 1861 to 1882

Memorial Inscriptions - Various memorial inscriptions have been provided by many individuals. Jeremy Howat has contributed the most significant number on visits to Buenos Aires and Rosario. Duncan Campbell has also sent me information. His home page is here http://patbrit.org/eng/index.htm

Monumental Inscriptions – Chile Charlotte Hursey has carried out fieldwork at four cemeteries in northern Chile and transcribed accessible MIs with an alphabetical list of 200 names. She has kindly provided the list for me to include in my database.

Charlotte's actual publication is entitled "Monumental Inscriptions in Tarapacá, Chile.  A Brief Introduction to the Search for British and Irish Relatives in Northern Chile.  Including records from the Cemetaries at Arica, Iquique and Pisagua and a Complete Transcription for the British Cemetery at Tiliviche." Bilingual:  English/Spanish. She can take specific queries if people are looking for a particular name. If people want to contact Charlotte they should use this email: MIsTarapaca@hursey.org

 A copy of the survey is deposited with the British Library in London, the Society of Genealogists in London and the Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, Santiago.  Society of Genealogists Charlotte Hursey has reported that the Society has a couple of manuscripts of Monumental Inscriptions in South America which were recorded by visitors. They are not systematic surveys but rather notes taken out of interest.  They include quite a lot of naval records relating to British personnel.

 Monte Grande Colony - Two Scottish merchants, John and William Robertson, started a colony in Monte Grande in 1825. About 300 men women and children came out from Scotland on the ship Symmetry. Both Graeme Wall and Bob Henly have both shown an interest in the Colony. The colony collapsed in 1828 and most of the colonists moved to Buenos Aires.

Mulhall's Handbook - The brothers Michael G. and Edward T. Mulhall from Dublin settled in Argentina in 1860. In March 1863, they published the first of five River Plate Handbooks, describing it as possibly the first book published in English in South America. The abstracts from the Handbook have been posted on the mailing list by Jeremy Howat 

Mulhall's list of foreigners - The first edition of Mulhall' Handbook has a section of 38 pages that contains the names of over 1,500 foreigners resident in Buenos Ayres. The register, while far from complete, is a very useful guide to those who had already emigrated to Argentina by the beginning of 1863, especially among the Irish, English and Scottish communities. If you would like more detailed information Jeremy Howat has published the full index of names on his excellent web site.

Naturalisation Letters - Duncan Campbell posted a list of Names abstracted from an Index of Naturalisation Letters published by the Chilean Ministry of the Interior in 1927. I have recorded the English version of most given names and surnames, but some names are spelt "as found" because their English equivalent is not clear.

Norah's Diary - Norah Power travelled to Chile in 1866 on her father's ship. She kept a diary throughout her trip. The names recorded in the diary have been provided to me by Ariel and Warren Power. Ariel has an extensive web page tracing the history of the Power family in Chile. A transcript of the diary kept by NORAH POWER in 1866 and 1867 during her voyage from Liverpool to Valparaiso on her father's ship, the, "WORRALL" can be found at one of the Power family web pages. Http://www.antonymaitland.com/power001.htm

Old Cordoba Map - Jeremy Howat found a map of the Province of Cordoba dated 1876. The map shows farms and the names of British settlers who were living there at the time.

Oxford School Record - The activities of alumni from St.Edward's School Oxford are recorded for 1863-1949. South American references have been abstracted by Alan Longbottom.

Para Cemetery - There are few records of the British community in Para, Brazil. A British cemetery was established in 1815. The last burial was c1885. David Asprey has abstracted records from the UK Public Records Office giving details of burials and payments for fund raising.

Paraguay War 1869 - Steve Van Dulken has kindly abstracted reports from the London "Times" about British subjects during the war between Paraguay and Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay

Parliamentary Papers - Commercial Reports from H M Consuls overseas were occasionally delivered as Parliamentary Papers

PCC administrations -Administrations proven at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, a series which ended in January 1858, and which were for those who had property in Southern England or Wales. The entries are taken from microfilm copies of the administrations themselves in Prob 6 at the National Archives’ Family Records Centre, 1 Myddelton Street, London, EC1R 1UW, tel. 020 8392 5300            020 8392 5300      . Residents in South America were found by Steve van Dulken when carrying out another project. At present only 1840-58 is covered and earlier material will be added later.

PCC Wills - Wills proven at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, which closed January 1858. Steve Van Dulken has kindly abstracted all South American wills from this database. It can be searched on line at    https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/    You will only find brief details on the site but payment can be made to see a copy of  the will.

Peruvian Monthly - Peru-The Cradle of South America was published in 1924 and covered economic social and commercial aspects of life in Peru. The magazine was edited by the consul general of Peru in London.Names have been abstracted by Alan Longbottam.

Railway Director's Report - Sylvestor Damus operates a website which collates information on ANGLO-ARGENTINE RAILWAYMEN WHO SERVED IN THE GREAT WAR, 1914 - 1918. Checkout LINKS on my site if you want to visit Sylvestor's web page.

Railway History - "From the Pacific to La Paz" is the title of a history of the Antofagasta & Bolivia Railway Co. written by Harold Blakemore. All English names have been abstracted from the book's index which was posted by Peter Fitzgerald-Moore. Peter has provided 200 entries to the database.

Red Cross Donors World War 1 - This list of donors to the Red Cross has been provided by Duncan Campbell . He has a web site speciffically devoted to Patagonian.

Rio Petition - At Rio de Janeiro in 1836 sixty six British residents comprising most of the mercantile body of the City presented a memorial concerning the appointment of the British Chaplain. The same group of people also signed a petition seeking representations against a new police power to require "permission to reside". David Asprey has kindly provided both lists.

Scottish wills - Steve Van Dulken has kindly abstracted many (not all) Scottish wills associated with South America up to 1901.
They were indexed on the http://www.scottishdocuments.com/content/shop/advanced.asp but the indexed list has now been transferred to Scotlands People ,the official government source for genealogical data in Scotland. It is one of the largest online sources of original genealogical information, with almost 50 million records to access.You will need to register but you can carry out a free search on the site. More detailed information is available for a fee of £6. This enables you to search for 7 days. . The Will Index gives brief details (including occupation and often details of relations and of movements around South America.. In most cases you can pay to see images of the document. Some died in South America, others in Britain. Sometimes the documents are inventories of possessions rather than wills. The dates given are of probate etc. and sometimes are many years after the date of death.

Ship's list-Mimosa - A list of 150 Welsh patriots crowded on board the sailing ship "Mimosa" leaving Liverpool on 28th. May 1865 bound for Patagonia. Jeremy Howat's  excellent web site gives more details of the event. Stephen Emlyn-Jones also has a site giving details of the Welsh in Patagonia. The first arrivals from Wales were very important because they were the pioneers. There is a black marble obelisk, on which their names are engraved, standing near the site where they landed in Patagonia.

Ship's List - Margaret  Captain Craig, sailed from Leith and arrived in Buenos Aires 80 days later on 14th December 1825 with 104 prospective Scottish colonists on board. The data is shown in greater detail on the excellent web-site by. Graeme Wall  .

Ship's List - Norval, Captain W Punton, arrived in Buenos Aires from Greenock, on 9th July 1825. A brig of 197 tons, single decked with beams, built 1815 and owned by Lang & Co. Classified A1 at Lloyds.The data was extractd from the Passenger Roll from the Argentine National Archives, scan courtesey of Marie Renee. The data is shown in greater detail on the excellent web-site by. Graeme Wall  .

Ship's list - William Peele - The 'William Peele' (also spelt Peelle or Peile) was a typical mid-nineteenth century brig, which sailed at least twice to the River Plate. The first voyage was in the Spring of 1844, with 115 emigrants on board fleeing the poor economic and social conditions in Ireland. Seven years later, she sailed again through the southern seaways and arrived in Buenos Aires with 48 emigrants of the same origin. Edmundo Murray provides extensive details from the two ships lists on his web site

Ship's list - Symmetry - The Symmetry set sail from Leith bound for Buenos Aires in 1825. Graeme Wall has abstracted the list of emigrants on board the ship from Rev.James Dodd's book. The data is also published on Bob Henly's excellent home page.

St.John's Marriage - Jeremy Howat has transcribed the index of the first marriage register at St.John's Anglican Church, Buenos Aires from 1824 to 1851

Stock Exchange Report - Abstracted from adverts for various banks in the Stock Exchange Official Intelligence, 1899.

Thomas O'Brian - A book published in 1982 records the development of the Nitrate industry in Chile from 1870 - 1891

Suranim Graves Donna Mendes has provided an extract of an Inventory of Grave Inscriptions found in the former  Nieuwe Oranjetuin cemetery in Paramaribo Surinam, made by F. Oudschans Dentz circa 1925

Uruguay Names - I am grateful to Edmundo Murray for pointing out to me Robert Wells' article
on the earliest British settlers in Uruguay, published in the Revista del Instituto de Estudios Genealógicos del Uruguay, Nº 24, May 2001, page 209. From this article I have been able to add 62 names to the database.

Whitaker's Almanac - South American data has been abstracted by Alan Longbottom from a list of foreign consuls in the 1891 and 1904 Almanacs.

Yellow Fever 1871 - The Death Roll for the Buenos Aries 1871 Yellow Fever outbreak has been provided by Graeme Wall. Unfortunately, his web site is no longer available on-line.