Few areas of American
genealogy research pose as much of a challenge as the search for African
American families. The vast majority of African Americans are descendants of the
400,000 black Africans brought to North America to serve as slaves in the 18th
and 19th centuries.
Since slaves had no legal rights, they are often not found in many of the
traditional record sources available for that period. Don't let this challenge
defer you, however. Treat your search for your African-American roots just as
you would any other genealogical research project - start with what you know and
methodically take your research back step-by-step. Tony Burroughs, an
internationally known genealogist and black history expert, has identified six
steps to follow when tracing your African American roots.
Step One - Family Sources
Just as with any genealogy research project, you begin with yourself. Write down
everything you know about yourself and your family members. Scour your house for
sources of information such as photographs, postcards, letters, diaries, school
yearbooks, family papers, insurance and employment records, military records,
scrapbooks, even textiles such as old clothing, quilts or samplers. Interview
your family members. Be sure to ask open-ended questions so that you learn more
than just names and dates. Pay special attention to any family, ethnic or naming
traditions which have been handed down from generation to generation.
Step Two - Take Your Family
Back to 1870 1870 is an important date for African American research because the majority
of African Americans living in the United States prior to the Civil War were
slaves. The 1870 federal census is the first one to list all blacks by name. To
get your African-American ancestors back to that date you should research your
ancestors in the standard genealogical records - records such as cemeteries,
wills, census, vital records, social security records, school records, tax
records, military records, voter records, newspapers, etc.
Step Three - Identify the
Last Slave Owner
Before you assume that your ancestors were slaves prior to the U.S. Civil War,
think twice. At least one out of every ten Blacks (more than 200,000 in the
North and another 200,000 in the South) were free when the Civil War broke out
in 1861. If you aren't sure whether your ancestors were enslaved prior to the
Civil War, then you may want to start with the U.S. Free Population Schedules of
the 1860 census. For those whose African American ancestors were slaves then the
next step is to identify the slave owner. Some slaves took the name of their
former owners when they were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, but many
did not. You will have to really dig in the records to find and prove the name
of the slave owner for your ancestors before you can go any further with your
research. Sources for this information include county histories, the records of
the Freedman's Savings and Trust Bureau, the Freedman's Bureau, slave
narratives, the Southern Claims Commission, military records including the
records of the U.S. Colored Troops.
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