Three Residents' Perspectives: St Joseph, Trinidad and Tobago, in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Abstract:This essay in local history examines St Joseph in the first half of the twentieth century. It draws on the testimonies of three long-term residents: the author's mother, who committed to paper recollections of her early life; his godmother with whom he recorded oral interviews; and the Catholic parish priest, from 1903 to 1940, who left behind two untitled notebooks containing censuses of the parish undertaken in 1911 and 1940–1941. Resting on these four sources, the study offers a partial history of St Joseph, with rich, colourful details expected of local history, and framed within the context of Trinidad and Tobago's history.