The Jersey Archive is the Island’s national repository holding archival material from public institutions as well as private businesses and individuals. The purpose of the archive, is to is to retain images, objects, documents and memories from time periods of history, allowing us to reflect on Jersey’s past through these form of documentations. The material within Jersey’s archive allows us to trace our family history, making the documents personal to the individuals, In addition, it also outlines the importance of islanders’ records in today’s society. The archive holds over 300,000 documents and images, which date back to the early 19th century, the archive was founded in 1981, and still runs today, storing new documents and allowing us to explore the past lives within our family and island.
Within the family history collection, the archive holds books, family trees, indexes of baptisms, marriages, burials and censuses. This outlines the extensive amount of files that the archive has on different family history. Having archival material available to the public, allows us to gain a better understanding of that set period of time and explore the past and our family history.In addition, another major aspect of Jersey’s archive is the extensive archival material they hold on the German Occupation, WW2. Within this aspect of the archive, they hold, letters from the Bailiff, German Register Cards, German ID cards and items from the Law Officer’s department.
The archive is different to other archives on the island, this is because it does not just hold photographs but other documents which present a person’s history and insight into the life they had.
