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Almanacs and Directories The Trinidad & Tobago Almanacs/Yearbooks may be a very useful resource for family historians wishing to research their Trinidad roots and tracing ancestors. They were published annually listing demographic information and data on businesses and citizens, mainly residents of Port-of-Spain. Commencing in 1823 and finally ceasing in 1969, their usefulness increases as the years progress. A partial list follows below, which links to the locations where these resources can be found. For researchers living in Trinidad, the best repository is the West Indiana Library at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine and for the period, 1866 to 1872, UWI is the best source worldwide. For researchers in the UK, it seems that there is no one source, including the British Library, which holds all known editions. Unfortunately, in respect of the Trinidad Almanacs/Directories and Trinidad in the UK, in most cases the online catalogues are not comprehensive and do not always list this material. For instance, in the British Library catalogue, a few of the Almanacs/Yearbooks may be found under the heading EPHEMERIDES. Perhaps, surprisingly, the best repository in the UK for the Trinidad & Tobago Almanacs/Yearbooks is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Library, which has an excellent collection, although for some of the early years, researchers need to look elsewhere, such as Cambridge University Library and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library, University of London. In the USA the Library of Congress has holdings, with scattered issues missing, of the Trinidad and Tobago Yearbook starting in 1899 to 1945. Known Publication Date(s) Title Author Where found 1823 - ca1840 Trinidad Almanac Lewer, Will British Library 1840 Mill's Trinidad Almanac and Pocket Register for 1840 Mills, Henry James MUN, Oxford 1865, 1866 Trinidad and the other West Indian Islands and Colonies Hart, Daniel Oxford 1866 -1872 The Trinidad Official & Commercial Register and Almanack Guppy, Henry F.J. British Library, ICS 1873 - 1891 The Trinidad Official & Commercial Register and Almanack Guppy, Robert John Lechmere British Library, FCO, ICS, Oxford 1892 - 1897 The Trinidad Official & Commercial Register and Almanack Collens, James Henry British Library, Cambridge Univ., FCO, ICS 1898 - 1915 The Trinidad and Tobago Year Book Collens, James Henry Cambridge Univ., FCO, ICS 1916 - 1943 The Trinidad and Tobago Year Book Franklin, Conrade Bismark Cambridge Univ., FCO, ICS 1944 - 1967 The Trinidad and Tobago Year Book Dow, Lieut.-Col. Henry Cambridge Univ., FCO, ICS, Oxford 1968 - 1969 The Trinidad and Tobago Year Book Yuille's Printerie FCO, ICS 1894? - 1916 Mirror Almanack and General Commercial Directory of Trinidad and Tobago Mole Brothers Cambridge Univ., ICS 1932 Classified Business Directory Trinidad Chamber of Commerce Cambridge Univ. 1947 The Guardian Guide and Classified Directory Cambridge Univ. 1950 Trinidad Who, What, Why - 1950 Smith, L. S. -ed. Cambridge Univ. 1963 - 1964 The Trinidad and Tobago Trade Directory Cambridge Univ. NOTES: The Trinidad Official & Commercial Register and Almanack: There is no alphabetical surname index until 1884. The Trinidad and Tobago Year Book: From 1922 to 1945 this was still the 'title' page, though the 'cover' page carried the title "Franklin's Year Book". A Barbados section was added from 1926 to 1941. The 1965/1966 centenary edition lists all of the compilers and publishers since 1865 and the Introduction states: "Mr. Conrade Bismark Franklin purchased the yearbook from Col. Collens in 1916 and continued as publishers and compiler until 1943. The yearbook was printed at Franklin's Electric Printery, Port-of-Spain until 1931 [when the premises were destroyed by fire]. From that date the printing was done at Yuille's Printerie Ltd, when the copyright from Mr. Franklin in 1943. The compiler then became Lieut.-Col. Henry Dow, one of the Directors of the firm." No compiler is named in The Trinidad and Tobago Year Book 1968/1969 edition.