Our Story

Separation,
Search, and Return.

From the Founder

Why this institution exists.

Ambassador L. Llewellyn Witherspoon is the fourth-generation descendant of John Prince Porte, one of the 347 Barbadians who emigrated to Liberia on the brig CORA in 1865. His 2021 monograph Portes Find a New Home in Liberia was the first published ancestral account by a descendant of the Barbadian-Liberian diaspora and led directly to the 2024 Sankofa Pilgrimage, the initiation in 2025 of diplomatic relations, and the 2026 Barbados–Liberia Visa Waiver Agreement.

In 2024 President Boakai conferred Liberia's highest honour, the Knight Grand Band of the Humane Order of African Redemption, upon him. In 2025 he was appointed Liberia's Special Envoy for Cultural and Heritage Diplomacy. TABHI is the institutional vehicle through which his research now extends to all approximately fifty 1865 emigrant families.

Read the full biography →
Ambassador L. Llewellyn Witherspoon
Ambassador L. Llewellyn WitherspoonFounder · TABHI
The 1865 Emigration

347 free Black Barbadians sailed for Liberia.

Bridgetown Harbour, Barbados
Bridgetown Harbour, BarbadosThe point of departure for the brig CORA, 6 April 1865

On 6 April 1865, 347 free Black Barbadians — some 72 family groups — boarded the Brig CORA at Bridgetown Harbour. Invited by President Daniel Bashiel Warner of Liberia, they were not refugees. They were pioneers, choosing to build something new on African soil.

They settled at Crozierville, built churches, opened schools, and raised children who would lead their adopted nation. Three of their descendants became heads of state of Liberia — two as elected presidents (Arthur Barclay and Edwin Barclay) and one as Chairman of the National Transitional Government following the country's civil war (Charles Gyude Bryant). For 160 years, the two halves of this story lived apart.

The Named Lineages

The CORA carried roughly fifty Barbadian families. Among the named lineages whose descendants are documented today are the Barclays, Portes, Padmores, Goodridges, Eastmans, Weeks, Carrs, and Thorpes. TABHI's archival programme begins with the Porte-Best line — the line of Founder Ambassador Witherspoon — and is extending family by family.

They did not disappear. They built a nation. And in 2024, their descendants came home. TABHI · The Sankofa Pilgrimage, 2024
The Voyage

Bridgetown to Monrovia. Thirty-four days at sea.

Trace the Atlantic crossing of the brig CORA from Bridgetown Harbour to the coast of West Africa — six April to ten May, 1865. Press play to watch the voyage unfold.

347 Passengers
34 Days at sea
~3,800 Nautical miles
6 April 1865 · Bridgetown, Barbados

Map tiles by CARTO, under CC BY 3.0. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

The Reunion

The first return in 160 years.

The 2024 Sankofa Pilgrimage brought 500+ Bajan-Africans back to Barbados. It produced a signed Barbados–Liberia Visa Waiver Agreement and formally established TABHI as the institutional anchor of this heritage connection.

Sankofa Pilgrimage ceremony
Sankofa Pilgrimage · Barbados, 2024The first organised return of descendants since 1865

The diplomatic outcome of the Pilgrimage was the Visa Waiver Agreement signed in Monrovia on 18 March 2026, by H.E. Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland (Barbados) and H.E. Sara Beysolow Nyanti (Liberia). A Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultation was signed alongside.

All milestones →
Timeline

A chronology of separation and return.

1815
The Porte-Best lineage begins in Barbados
Seven generations of documented descent begin — the foundational family line of TABHI's archival work.
6 Apr 1865
The Brig CORA departs Bridgetown Harbour
347 free Black Barbadians sail for Liberia. They settle at Crozierville and begin building civic institutions.
1864–1892
The 1865 emigrants embed in Liberian civic life
Under the invitation of President Daniel B. Warner (1864–1868), the Barbadian families settle Crozierville, build Christ Episcopal Church, and serve in Liberian government, education, and law. Among the children who emigrated in 1865 is Arthur Barclay, who will later become Liberia's 15th President.
2021
“Portes Find a New Home in Liberia” published
Ambassador Witherspoon's genealogical work catches the attention of Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados.
2024
The Sankofa Pilgrimage — 500+ descendants return
First organised return since 1865. PM Mottley delivers an official address. TABHI established as the institutional anchor of Barbadian-Liberian heritage diplomacy.
May 2025
Crozierville 160th Anniversary — Presidential Summit
Presidents Boakai and Mason convene. Monument unveiled honouring three Liberian heads of state of Barbadian descent.
18 Mar 2026
Barbados–Liberia Visa Waiver Agreement signed
Signed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Monrovia, by H.E. Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland (Barbados) and H.E. Sara Beysolow Nyanti (Liberia). A Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultation also signed.
Where the story goes next

The archive is open.
Your record belongs in it.

Every family connected to the 1865 emigration has a place in TABHI's record. Every name documented is a thread that can never again be lost.

Enter the Archive View Our People
Archive established2024
Families documented72
Primary sources heldDeparture manifests · Arrival records · Oral histories
Generations on recordSeven (1815 — present)

Stay Connected

Family newsletter

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