The primary sources used to prepare the activities presented on this website, TeachVIHistory.com, are from the institutions listed below.
Rigsarkivet (Danish National Archives): The Danish National Archives holds a vast collection of material, largely documents, related to the Danish period of US Virgin Islands history. The primary sources related to the Danish West Indies (1672-1917) include a variety of censuses, church and mission records, information about businesses, defenses, foreign relations, administration, health, maps and drawings, soldiers, reports on natural disasters and nature, people, plantations, police, fire service, telegraph service, property registers, public buildings, schools, shipping, enslaved people, slave legislation, narratives by slaves, plantation reports, British occupation, Gold Coast, legal system, probate system, and trade. While some material is written in English, a large amount is in Danish, and in most cases documents are handwritten in gothic cursive. Visit the West Indies Collection
The Danish West Indies – Sources of History: This is a product of the Danish National Archives. It is a portal to about 5 million digitized image files related to the Danish West Indies. Some material is transcribed and searchable, but the large majority is not. Visit Sources of History
DET KGL Bibliotek (Danish Royal Library): The Danish Royal Library has books, papers, and other collections related to the Danish West Indies. The site can be translated to English and is searchable. Visit the Danish Royal Library
Danish West Indies Newspapers: One of the Danish Royal Library’s important collections for the US Virgin Islands, is a digitized collection of Danish West Indies newspapers. Here you can search and read the St. Croix Avis, Lightbourn’s Mail-Notes, Sanct Thomas Journal, The Bulletin, The Saint Croix Bulletin, The West End News, The Herald, Danish West Indies Regierings, The Danish West Indian, The Saint Thomas Herald, Sanct Thomae Tidende, The Royal Danish American Gazette, and The Royal Saint Croix Gazette. Dates of the newspapers include the late-1700s to 1935. The newspapers are searchable, and most are written in English. Search Danish West Indies Newspapers
Virgin Islands Daily News: Digitized copies of the Daily News from 1930 to 1980 are available through Google Newspapers. Visit Daily News Collection
Danish National Museum: This is a collection of museums across Denmark, the website includes digitized material. Use the search feature to locate material about the Danish West Indies including old photos, artwork and artifacts. Visit Danish National Museum
Amerindian Settlements and Artifacts: One important collection from the Danish National Museum, that is available online, is of artifacts from archeological research conducted in the US Virgin Islands. View Artifacts in Danish National Museum
Library of Congress: The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States. It has digitized material related to the US Virgin Islands including books, papers, reports, and old photographs. An important photograph collection related to the US Virgin Islands and held in this institution, is the work of Jack Delano from 1941. Use the search feature to find US Virgin Islands relevant material. Visit the Library of Congress
U. S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): NARA is the archives for the United States. It has substantial material related to the US Virgin Islands. Only a small selection is digitized. Use keyword searches related to the US Virgin Islands to see what they have available. Visit NARA
Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC): dLOC is a cooperative of Partners within the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean that provides users with access to Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials held in archives, libraries, and private collections. Partners with resources relevant to the US Virgin Islands include the University of the Virgin Islands, the Moravian Archives, and others. Visit dLOC
The Bethlehem Moravian Archives: The Moravian Archives is the official repository for the records of the Moravian Church in America – Northern Province. The Bethlehem Moravian Archives also holds records from the Moravian Church in other locations including from the US Virgin Islands. Visit Moravian Archives
Caribbean Genealogy Library: TeachVIHistory.com is a product of the Caribbean Genealogy Library. The Caribbean Genealogy Library is a research library on St. Thomas, it has a collection of books, including out of print books, related to the US Virgin Islands and Caribbean; in addition records and newspapers on microfilm, a small print collection from the late 1900s, a large funeral booklet collection, and access via computers to digital collections at other institutions. It has some digitized material on its website. Visit the Caribbean Genealogy Library
Artwork used in activities on this website were sourced from the following museums:
Suggestions of Additional Archives, Museums and Libraries
If you would like to suggest an archive, museum, library or organization that has primary source material, related to the US Virgin Islands, within their collection, please Contact Us with that information. Include the institution’s name, and a short description of the collection/materials.
