In preparing for a trip to Barbados about 20 years ago, I decided I would make enquiries about my relatives. However, when I got there and looked in the phone directory, I discovered that the name "Ifill" was as popular as "Williams" or "Johnson" is elsewhere. That was the end of my search. Today, I happened to idly search for keyword "Ifill" and here I am. This is too cool!
Background
I was born in Guyana (British Guiana, at the time). My paternal grandfather's name was William Christopher Ifill (WCI) who had already died by the time I could remember. According to what my late father had told me, WCI emigrated from Barbados (probably St James parish) with his brother. Upon arrival in British Guiana, the two young men stayed with an uncle, who was a tailor, and worked for him. As time passed, however, they realized that the uncle was cheating them of their earnings. So, they left the uncle's home and struck out on their own. One of them settled on the East Coast Demerara, while the other ended up on the Essequibo Coast and became my grandfather.
I would dearly like to hear from anyone who has information about the Barbados-Guyana connection. You can e-mail me at
mc3newton@netscape.net.