Thread: Blades who went to Guyana

Does anyone have any information on any Blades who lived in British Guyana pre 1873. I am at a dead end!

Thanks!!

Hi msjay - have you any more information - names, dates, occupations, anything at all? (I was born in Guyana, then British Guiana so am interested!)

Gillian

LOL I was not aware there were any Blades left in Guyana so I was looking for ANYONE with the name. My Great grandfather named James Alexander Blades was in the Royal Navy and on his military papers it says he was born in Demerara, Georgetown, British Guyana and list his previous occupation as being a shoemaker. His father I believe was named Sandiford but I can not confirm that. I also believe his father Sandiford was the school master of a school called Lacy Town school. Both his parents were school teachers we believe of music. James father wrote some music for a coronation ceremony in Georgetown. Do you have any clues or connections? I have been trying to get a copy of James birth certificate to confirm his parents names and where they were from but I have gotten no response to the numerous inquiries I have made to the government. I have also written to the various churches to see if they had any record of a baptism but no response there either. I am very frustrated and was hoping someone on this board could help. I had a response from a fellow Blades who lives in the UK and she told me about this group and she said you guys helped her find the information on her family very quickly so I was hoping to have the same good results. It is almost impossile to get Guyana info!!!

Thank you!

Are you a Blades as well??? I hope you can help!!

James Alexander Blades born Jan 22, 1873 Demerara

married Geraldine Ettymore Gill of Barbados in Barbados in late 1905 OR EARLY 1906. James, his wife and son James jr moved to the US in 1906. tHATS ALL i HAVE



[quote name='gillian']Hi msjay - have you any more information - names, dates, occupations, anything at all? (I was born in Guyana, then British Guiana so am interested!)

Gillian[/quote]

Hi - no I'm afraid I don't have any Blades connections - just an interest in family history and in Guyana! And I suspect 19th century Guyanese genealogy is beyond even Ancestry Aid! However.....

I did manage (some years ago) to get a copy of my own birth certificate from Guyana without too much difficulty so it can be done.... but I think records are only available from 1880. Guyana as you will know is a country with extremely limited resources. Preserving and restoring historic documents is not on their agenda. See www.candoo.com/genresources/ for some links & a realistic idea of what is possible. You have probably looked at all these as I see you have posted on local boards for information

As far as obtaining church records I would say your chances are almost nil! - the climate is hot and extremely humid and without special storage conditions papers and books deteriorate rapidly (mildew, woodworm, insects etc). Also Georgetown is built of wood and has had more than one catastrophic fire with buildings and no doubt documents restored.

However, as British Guiana was a colony there are records at the National Archives which relate to it - probably mostly government papers - I would have to spend some time looking through the catalogue to see if there is anything more promising. They also hold some sort of year books which I have seen but I am not sure how far back they go - I could have a look.

I think your best bet might be newspapers - some relevant ones are held at the Colindale Library in London.

I am not sure where you are based - I could look at the above and would enjoy doing so - but - I am completely committed for the next few weeks so would be looking at the beginning of July.

Best wishes

Gillian

Thank you for that information. I am in North Carolina, USA. I am interested in knowing more about these year books that you mention. Can you tell me what they are and how I can find them. Someone on another board found S. Blades schoolmaster Lacy Town School listed in a whos who book and that is all that was in that.



I am very frustrated at this point. The more I can not find the more determined I am to try and go back further on this branch. LOL... human nature...want what you can't have!



Also I have found in the Archives (UK) my g-granfathers Naval record but it only listed his physical features (which I knew) and his hometown (Demerara) which I did not know. They did not have any information on parents or anything. They listed 3 ships that he was on the Tartan, Intrepid and the Poyche. They told me that I could look up the ship logs but I could not find those ships in the years that he was in the military (1895-1900). SOme of the information suggested that they ships were not even built in that time frame, I know there was an older verison of the ships as the records were handwritten. All very frustrating indeed. Any help you can provide will be great no matter how long it takes to get to it. I appreciate it all!



Lastly what newspapers are you referring to? Maybe I can find them in the US somewhere.



Thank you!

J

PS what is so frustrating is when I wrote to government agencies and churches via email and get no response. I get a receipt that the message was read but they do not even have the courtesy to say we have no information or whatever!



As for the birth certificate I was told to write the consulates for Guyana in NY and request the certificate, which I have. That has been over a month ago and no response. How would you suggest that I go about finding the certificate? I have also tried searching Barbados because I know he went there often on his ship duties and married his wife there. I have not been able to find an index of his marriage. He was married in a large church in St. Micheals, Barbados according to my grandmother.



Thank you.

Hi - you certainly sound frustrated but you seem to have obtained quite a lot of information given the circumstances.

I have checked and civil registration did not start until the 1880s. As I suggested a search of the very few newspapers available might just get the information you are looking for. Unfortunately for you any records are likely to be in England because of the colonial connections rather than America. I will also see if I can find anything for 1902 at the time of the coronation of Edward V11 which is probably the occasion for which his father composed music.

I'm sorry - you'll have to be patient! I can't tell you details of what is available until I've had a chance to look.

The documentation you have about his naval record will be correct - you cannot look online at ships log books - it needs a personal search - and they certainly won't tell you about his family - though possibly about where he may have been.

Have you fully explored the links I gave you - there is some quite interesting information among them.

What was the origin of the family? Do you know? Was there a British connection?

I'll be in touch again as soon as I can.

Gillian

Yes I have checked them with the utmost interest. I have previously checked some of the links you gave me but there were a few new ones as well. So far I have not found anything.



The other problem I have been having is that some of the links are too early for me to recognize any names or the references in the right time frame contain no names that I recognize. I had borrowed this book called Genealogies in Barbados and in it there was one Blades listed who married a member of the Allyene family and I did not write it down but it was in the late 1700's or early 1800's. I don't know if that Blades was related or not. I copied the reference but I put it away to look at it with a fresh mind later.



My g-grandfather James always identified with the British and swore his allegance to his Queen (I think it was Victoria??). When he came to the US he would not apply for citizenship because "he was born British and would die British". That does not tell me anything though. LOL. soooo I have no idea where this branch of my family is from beyond Guyana. I was told Sandiford was a mullatto who's father was english. Sandiford was supposidely educated in England, which is how he became a music instructor. His wife was a school teacher as well. I think his mother was a slave or servant and might have been African, I have yet to find anything with her name and no one alive in the family has any idea. I was told his father was Sandiford Alexander Blades or Alexander Sandiford Blades, again no documentation to support the name. The S Blades listed as the schoolmaster in Lacy Town made it seem like it could be Sandiford. I know he was in charge of a school, the time frame was right, the location right, and due to the lack of Blades in the country (that I can find) it is likely a connection. I am a person that needs documentation to prove 100% truthfulness though.



I have checked a lot of sources from Guyana and also Barbados because I know he went there often according to Ellis Island records. He came back and forth from Barbados to the US. He was married in Barbados and I am hoping that his parents names are on the certificate. I am waiting to see if they can provide a copy, hopefully a true copy and not transcribed.



AGAIN thank you for everything and I don't care how long it takes if you can help. They say patience is a virtue and as long as I am alive, with a sane mind, a working computer and a live internet connection,,,I have time

No help - but just to let you know there are some other Blades about - a John Blades married Hannah Hawton in Barbados 1721

Gillian

Hello,



I was wondering if you found any additional information on locating the Blade's family.



I recently started tracing mine and so far I have some information from my grandmother who is a Blade because her mother was a Blade. I know that her great -grandmother or great-great grandmother came from Barbados to Guyana , her name ( or slave name) was Titi... I have started looking at the archives in Barbados to try to trace it back. I'm trying to determine the time frame since its close to your time for your Father. Please let me know if we can exchange some information to see if there is a link. Thank you.