Documents & Primary Sources

Records.

Before You Enter

A living institutional record.

TABHI's archive contains departure manifests from Bridgetown Harbour, Liberian arrival records from 1865, seven generations of genealogical documentation, oral history recordings, and the photographic record of the 2024 Sankofa Pilgrimage. All material is authenticated. Access is structured by purpose.

Enter the Family Tree
Historical archive
Barbadian-Liberian communityHistorical archival photograph
Archive Holdings

What the archive contains.

Anchor Lineage of the Archive
Porte-Best Family Archive — Seven Generations

The founding lineage of TABHI's genealogical record — one of approximately fifty Barbadian families who emigrated on the brig CORA in 1865, and the line of Founder Ambassador Witherspoon. The methodology developed for this lineage is now being extended family by family across the full 1865 emigration.

Open the Family Tree →
01
Primary Source · 1865
Departure Manifests from Bridgetown Harbour

Original passenger records from April 1865. Names, ages, trades, and family groupings of the 347 emigrants who sailed in some 72 family groups. Extant and authenticated.

Request access →
02
Primary Source · 1865
Liberian Arrival Records

Settlement documentation from 1865 Liberia. Land grants, civic registrations, and early Crozierville community records.

Request access →
03
Oral History · Docuseries · 2023
The Children of Lemongrass Street

Featured docuseries by Barbadian-Liberian historian Cherrine Goodridge-Smith. 80+ family interviews across Barbados, Liberia, and the diaspora. Watch the embedded showreel below.

04
Photography · 2024
Sankofa Pilgrimage Photographic Record

The photographic record of the 2024 Sankofa Pilgrimage — 500+ pilgrims, official ceremonies, family reunions.

Featured Docuseries

The Children of
Lemongrass Street.

A 2023 docuseries by Barbadian-Liberian historian Cherrine Goodridge-Smith, drawn from more than 80 interviews of Barbadian-Liberians across Barbados, Liberia, and the global diaspora. Released through her independent platform Our History TV. Embedded with permission of the producer.

Visit Our History TV on YouTube → ourhistorytv.com →
Primary Source · 1865

The Manifest of the Brig CORA.

The published roll of the 347 emigrants who sailed from Bridgetown for Liberia on 6 April 1865 — 346 of them recorded by name across these seven pages. Names, ages, occupations, religious affiliations — entry by entry. This is the foundational documentary source for every TABHI claim about who sailed, who they were, and who their descendants are today. Every name in the archive traces back to one of these seven pages.

“Emigrants from Barbados,” The African Repository (Journal of the American Colonization Society), Vol. XLI, No. 8 (August 1865), pp. 236–242.

Page 236, African Repository, August 1865 — emigrants 1-49
Page 236 · Nos. 1–49The African Repository · Aug 1865
Page 237, African Repository, August 1865 — emigrants 50-102
Page 237 · Nos. 50–102The African Repository · Aug 1865
Page 238, African Repository, August 1865 — emigrants 103-155
Page 238 · Nos. 103–155The African Repository · Aug 1865
Page 239, African Repository, August 1865 — emigrants 156-208
Page 239 · Nos. 156–208The African Repository · Aug 1865
Page 240, African Repository, August 1865 — emigrants 209-261, Barclay family
Page 240 · Nos. 209–261 · Barclay familyThe African Repository · Aug 1865
Page 241, African Repository, August 1865 — emigrants 262-314
Page 241 · Nos. 262–314The African Repository · Aug 1865
Page 242, African Repository, August 1865 — emigrants 315-346
Page 242 · Nos. 315–346The African Repository · Aug 1865
All 346 names Read the
full list Click any page to view it
at full archival resolution
Request Access

How to access the archive.

Access is structured by purpose. All requests are reviewed by TABHI's archival team. Response within 5–10 working days.

Family descendantsFull access to lineage records linked to your family name
ResearchersAccess to authenticated primary source documents with institutional affiliation
InstitutionsPartnership access for museums, universities, and policy bodies
Contactbacktobarbados@gmail.com
Submit a Record

Proud Sponsors & Partners of the Sankofa Pilgrimage

Africa VS. EverybodySuHe ShopsLiberia Maritime AuthorityFront Page AfricaBulletin BillboardsTriadAfrica VS. EverybodySuHe ShopsLiberia Maritime AuthorityFront Page AfricaBulletin BillboardsTriad

Request

Request archive access or propose collaboration

For researchers, archivists, journalists, documentarians, and faculty.

About you

Institutional email preferred where applicable.
e.g., Atlantic history, Caribbean studies, African diaspora.

Your inquiry

Type of inquiry * Select all that apply.
A few sentences on the project, the question, or the materials you're after.
Optional. Must start with https://

Privacy & purpose

Information you share here is collected by The Africa Barbados Heritage Initiative (TABHI), a registered Liberian nonprofit (Minnesota 501(c)(3) status pending), for the purpose of responding to your research, citation, contribution, or collaboration request.

Your inquiry is stored on secure infrastructure accessible only to authorized board members and reviewers. You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your data at any time by emailing backtobarbados@gmail.com.

Stay Connected

Family newsletter

Project updates and milestones from Barbados, Liberia, and the wider diaspora — sent quarterly.