First Parish Register of Belize, 1794-1810, and the First Four Censuses, 1816-1826

This volume contains records of birth, marriage, baptism, and death. The baptisms, for example, give the name of the infant; the date of, or age at, baptism; the names of parents; and, frequently, the names of grandparents. Death records identify the decedent by date and occupation, and occasionally by next of kin. Slaves or free blacks are usually so designated in all record categories. Owing to Belize's large Scottish influence, naming practices were influenced by the patronymic custom. In these cases women retained their maiden surnames throughout their lives, regardless of marital status. As the author points out, "this is a blessing to genealogists, identifying women at a time and place in which many people died young, and quick remarriage was the rule." This fully indexed work identifies thousands of 18th- and early 19th-century inhabitants of Belize never before accessible to researchers.