A Guide to the Records of Bermuda is a reference guide to the Island's historical records. It was compiled by Helen Rowe, B.A., the Bermuda Government Archivist, and published by the Bermuda Archives in 1980.
The guide describes records dating from the colonial period in the 1600s up to 1980, with most detail on government administration from the 19th century onward. It is meant for historians, genealogists and students, and also helps government departments find their own records.
What the guide covers
- Government records: arranged by ministry and department (for example Finance, Education, Health and Marine Services), following the 1980/81 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.
- Judicial records: including the Supreme Court, Magistrates' Court and Attorney General files.
- Immigration, customs and shipping records.
- School and church records: schools and denominations are listed alphabetically, and churches are ordered by location from east to west.
- Records held overseas: Bermuda-related material in foreign archives, including archives in France and Spain, British repositories and Lambeth Palace Library.
- Microfilm collections.
Things to know before you research
- Access: records in the Records Centre can only be seen with approval from the department that created them.
- 30-year rule: under the Bermuda Archives Act 1974, public records are generally closed for 30 years.
- Gaps in the record: many records were destroyed in the 1955 Hamilton Hotel fire, so some early 20th-century files are incomplete.
- Not included: maps, photographs and printed materials are not listed in this guide.