Have you wondered how you could make a difference in the genealogy world? Your research may be fairly straightforward or have many challenges. For those researching African American ancestors, the brick wall appears relatively soon – generally prior to 1870. Dealing with the lack of surnames in the antebellum era, forced separation of families, and record loss requires a focused approach and pouring through many record collections. Fortunately, more useful records are becoming available and efforts by volunteers to index these records can make all the difference. In this guest blog post, we learn how two researchers, Stacy Cole and...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the Southern Claims Commission. This record set was created for loyal southerners to seek redress for supplies seized by the Union Army during the Civil War. Many free people of color filed claims. Many witness and personal statements of former slave owners and the formerly enslaved are included. To access the records, use the index at Ancestry.com and follow the ideas at the FamilySearch Wiki article about the Southern Claims Commission. Links Researching African American Ancestors in Government Documents Part 4: Southern Claims Commission To The Letter DNA Southern Claims Commission...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about records created during the New Deal in the 1930s that can help research African American ancestors. This is the third part in our series on researching African Americans in federal government documents. Diana shares more record groups she learned about during her IGHR course, including the 1940 census, WPA Personnel records, CCC Enrollee Records, the American Guide Series, Slave Narratives, and the Historical Records Survey. Links Researching African American Ancestors in Government Documents Part 3 : WPA Projects and Slave Narratives RLP 121: African American Research Part 1 The Living New...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about researching African American ancestors in United States federal records using land and military records. We discuss laws that impacted free black people and freedmen in the reconstruction era. Many records were created because of the Homestead Act of 1862 and Southern Homestead Act of 1866. We go over a brief history of African American involvement in wars beginning with the Revolutionary War up until the Vietnam War, and conclude with a strategy for finding military records for ancestors. Links Researching African American Ancestors in Government Documents Part 2 : Land and...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about researching African American records in U.S. Federal government documents. This is part one in the series. We discuss the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Freedmen’s Bank, and the U.S. Federal Census. Join us as Diana shares what she learned from the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) in Deborah A. Abbott’s course, “Researching African American Ancestors: Government Documents and Advanced Tools” and from exploring these record sets. Links Researching African American Ancestors in Government Documents Part 1 : U.S. Federal Census, Freedmen’s Bureau and Freedman’s Bank Records – by Diana at Family...
The United States created numerous documents where your African American ancestor may be mentioned. Thousands of the formerly enslaved as well as free people of color are named in the records of the Southern Claims Commission. What are these records and how can you access them? In part 4 of this series examining government documents we will examine this valuable record set. Previous articles in this series: Researching African American Ancestors in Government Documents Part 1: U.S. Federal Census, Freedmen’s Bureau and Freedman’s Bank Records Researching African American Ancestors in Government Documents Part 2: Land and Military Records Researching African...
What additional records can you use to research African Americans in the United States? You might be surprised to learn of the many documents created by WPA projects during the 1930s. These projects provided thousands of jobs and recorded hundreds of first-hand accounts of slavery from interviews of the previously enslaved still living at that time. Learning more about these records can give you another avenue to research in your quest to discover family connections. This series is based on information I learned in “Researching African American Ancestors: Government Documents and Advanced Tools” coordinated by Deborah A. Abbott, PhD. The...
If you are conducting African American research you might wonder what records are available? Could land and military records reveal information about an African American ancestor? Those records created by the United States government in the years before emancipation, during the reconstruction era, and post reconstruction do pertain to African Americans and this article will give a brief overview of the history involved and what records could be searched. Part 1 of this series focused on the U.S. Federal Census, Freedman’s Bureau and Freedman’s Bank Records. Land Records Land has always been a draw for emigrants to the new world....
Do you have African American ancestry and wondered how to begin researching those lines? Perhaps you have an ancestor who enslaved African Americans and you have discovered documents mentioning their names. If you help others with their family history research you may eventually come across either of those scenarios. Many resources are available to aid in African American research and this series will outline those created by the United States Federal Government. I recently attended the course titled “Researching African American Ancestors: Government Documents and Advanced Tools” coordinated by Deborah A. Abbott, PhD. The course was part of the Institute...
How do you learn history? Watching a movie? Taking a course? Reading a historical novel? Discovering the nuances of time and place can make all the difference in our ability to make connections in our family history. Personally, I have found the historical novel, based on research, to be my favorite learning vehicle. A memorable story engages our brain and helps to absorb more information. The Family Locket Book Club on Goodreads is featuring Isle of Canes by Elizabeth Shown Mills as its summer selection and I am pleased to introduce you to the historical novel that plunged me into...
