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 Dianne T. Golding Frankson I am both a professional and competent Jamaican Genealogist, with thirty years experience. I have experience in all areas of Jamaican research, I've volunteered at the Registrar's General Department of Jamaica, and worked in the vault , with the wills, deeds and law books. I'm well known at both the Jamaica Archives and the National Library of Jamaica, I've also trolled many cemeteries throughout the island. But am based in Kingston, and travel regularly to Spanish town. For thirty years I've worked on the genealogies of all ethnic groups with special experience in Jewish genealogies in Jamaica. I'm also an Archaeological Consultant and have written several reports for N.E.P.A. My resume of achievements include several unpublished manuscripts on my family and on the Pre-Colombian inhabitants of the island, whom I have researched in detail for the last 15 years. "Genealogy has been my life and the fulfillment it gives me to see a person finally discover who they are, and where they come from cannot be described or truly put into words. All I know is it feels great. And that's why I do what I do to the very best of my abilities."
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Here I am with Ainsley Harriott, British cooking sensation after filming, part of the episode dedicated to his family search on the B.B.C's "Who Do You Think You Are?, which was aired in the UK on September 10th 2008, on BBC1.
 Ainsley , pondering the significance of documents found which proved his paternal ancestors were white slave masters
"I think many people are able to relate to your genuine horror at a four year old 'playing shops with Daddy' in the buying and selling of human beings. Your emotional response is important as it engages the hearts of all people; however much some may know or have thought about this terrible period of history, there are far more who would have been hearing this for the first time. I think your reaction was profoundly moving, as was your affectionate demonstration of appreciation for the tact and sensitivity of the curator (researcher) who delicately revealed your ancestor's past."
A comment made after the show aired, by a viewer nicknamed hardlyneutral on the 20th of Sept. 2008 © 2008 Wall to Wall Productions
Ainsley taking a moment to relax between shoots
 A closeup of the incredible stone masonry of the Hopeton Great House. Today the property still functions as a cattle pen as it did in the time of the Harriott's.
 The Moravian church which is sited on the highest ajacent hill , across from Hopeton Great House. The church can be seen from the house and visa versa. The Moravian's bought a sizeable section of land from the original 400 acres estate after emancipation and subdivided the land and distributed it to the plantations former enslaved population , thus creating the town of Hopeton.This meant that the vast majority of the towns residents today are the decendants of former Harriott slaves. |
Spanish Town Square, Spanish Town, Jamaica , the home of the Jamaica Archives , which is sited behind the World Famous "Lord Rodney Memorial Statue .
 One of the beautiful old ledgers which Ainsley had immense pleasure looking at.
Ainsley on the way to Hopeton , even though the journey was long he kept his good humor all the way.
Wear Pen the home of Catherine Smith , the enslaved property of the Estates owner John Davy
 The St. George's Anglican church built by the Property owners who surrounded Mile Gully , this church was featured in both Colin Jackson's story and Ainsley's as the worshiping place of the slave owners of their respective ancestors.
The abandoned Hopeton Great House , the former residence of George David Harriott , Ainsley's white slave owning 3rd great-grand father
The View from Hopeton Great House looking across at the Moravian church.
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Organizational Affiliations :- - Jewish Genealogical Society of Jamaica
Speeches , Symposium Presentations and Papers:- - What is a Consultant Archaeologist, Jamaica National Heritage Trust's Open day, March 2008
- Jamaican Taino ‘Shellsmithing’ Techniques Explored , The Archaeological Society of Jamaica 2008 Symposium, U.W.I. Mona , April 2008
- Uneasy lies the Head that wears the Crown: An examination of a Strombus gigas shell artifact found at Booby North Point and it's Meso-American connections , The Archaeological Society of Jamaica 2009 Symposium, U.W.I. Mona , April 2009
- Jamaican Taino ‘Shellsmithing’ Techniques Explored , Caribbean Quarterly , vol. 55.2 , June 2009 ,U.W.I. Mona
Me examining shell's found at the Cranbrook Pre-Columbian site in St Mary, Jamaica at the Gibraltar House Archaeological Lab, U.W.I Mona Campus.
Here I am at the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, showing the resident National Archeologists, a Classic Taino stone carving from Puerto Rico.
I was filmed in 2009 for a PBS Special , Faces of America hosted by the eminent Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. , scheduled to air nationwide in the United States on the 10th of February 2010 (please check time listings in your local area). I researched the family histories of two of the twelve celebrities which will be featured , Malcolm Gladwell , the famous Canadian author of the 'Outliers' and Elizabeth Alexander , famous poet laureate and renown for her poetry reading at the Precidenitial inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama.Though in the final cut the Jamaican footage was not included , here included are photos of the unused footage.
I am examining the Deed Registers housed at the Registrar General's Dept.
And here I am again out in the feilds of Northampton Pen , St Elizabeth
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