My g-grandfather, Henry Alexander de Freitas was born on St. Vincent. He somehow landed in the US Army, serving in Cuba during the Spanish American war as a forage master in the Quartermaster Corp, then ended up in Trinidad. He owned a leather tannery, became relatively successful, and was later elected Mayor of Port of Spain. He was quite active in the community, and was eventually awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE). The reason I do not believe that he was descended from a true "exile" is that he was very active in the Catholic Church in Port of Spain. I am in the process of detailing Henry Alexander's descendants with the help of my father.

I was born in Trinidad, but moved to the US when I was only 11. Therefore I don't know many of my relatives first hand. Many of Henry Alexander's children also moved away, mostly to Canada, the U.S. and England. My initial goal here is to try to determine Henry Alexander's parents and siblings, and eventually trace the family back to Madeira. Can anyone provide advice on how to proceed in St. Vincent?

Dean de Freitas