The database primarily contains records of slave registrations that were made mandatory by the British from 1816 onwards. Slavery was abolished by the British at the Cape on 01 December 1834 but slaves had to serve a four year "apprenticeship".  On 01 December 1838 all forms of forced labour was ended and slavery officially came to an end. Where no exact birthdate is given, the stated year of birth is an approximation by the slave owner. The transcribed date of birth may differ by a year due to slave owners registering birth dates with half a year added to most dates. 

Situated between the Sundays and Fish Rivers, the district was named for Albany in New York by Jacob Cuyler, Landrost, and one of the founders of Uitenhage. Known for its dense woodlands and biodiversity, the area formed a buffer between the British Cape Colony and the Xhosa lands to the east. Albany became the new home of the largest wave of British Settlers to arrive in the Colony in 1820. The villages of Grahamstown, Port Alfred and Bathurst were established by these settlers.

Slave records - South African National Archives

Archive copying by Lara Seaward