LATEST LISTINGS:

Online Events

Caribbean Family History: African & Scottish Ancestry in the Caribbean

Sunday 20th September 2026

Why do Scottish surnames appear so frequently in Caribbean family histories, and what can they reveal about ancestry?

 

Many people researching Black family history reach a point where records no longer seem to connect. Family links become harder to follow across generations shaped by slavery, migration and colonial rule.

In this online talk, genealogist and author Paul Crooks presents a documented family lineage connecting the Caribbean to West Africa through public records. Using a real family history case study, the session explores what this journey reveals about Black ancestry, identity and family connections across generations.

Paul Crooks is a genealogist, author and speaker specialising in Black history and African-Caribbean ancestry. He is known for one of the earliest documented reconstructions of Black British ancestry from the Caribbean to Africa using archival records, tracing his own ancestry from London to West Africa via Jamaica.

His work explores themes including ancestry, identity, migration, slavery, emancipation, Windrush and the interpretation of historical records. He is the author of A Tree Without Roots: The Guide to Tracing British, African and Asian-Caribbean Ancestry and the novel Ancestors. His research has been featured by the BBC and has helped thousands of people better understand their family histories and ancestral connections.

In this talk, Paul Crooks presents his own documented family history, tracing a lineage from Jamaica to the Gold Coast in West Africa. The session examines what made this reconstruction possible and what it reveals about the wider structure of Black family history across the Caribbean and the Atlantic world.

This session forms part of a wider series exploring how Black ancestry can be traced and understood across different historical periods.

What You’ll Gain

• A clearer understanding of African and Scottish ancestry in the Caribbean
• Greater insight into why Scottish surnames appear in many African-Caribbean family histories
• A broader understanding of how ancestry, migration and identity became intertwined
• Context for interpreting family stories, inherited traditions and unexpected discoveries
• New perspectives on what surnames can — and cannot — reveal about ancestry

Who This Is For

• Anyone exploring African-Caribbean ancestry
• People with Scottish surnames or family traditions connected to Scottish heritage
• Individuals interested in Caribbean identity and family history
• Family historians seeking deeper historical context
• Anyone interested in the connections between ancestry, heritage and belonging

Event Details:

Start Time: 8:30pm
Finish Time: 9:30pm

Admission: Free

Location: Online

Suitable for anyone interested in Black history, genealogy, Caribbean heritage and family history research.

More Online Events Listings MORE