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Quick Guide to African American Records (view source)
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==== Making the Slave Connection ==== | ==== Making the Slave Connection ==== | ||
[[Image:James Hopkinsons Plantation Slaves Planting Sweet Potatoes.jpg|right|300px|James Hopkinsons Plantation Slaves Planting Sweet Potatoes.jpg]]You must first identify the slave owner, and then study the owner’s records for clues to your family. Correctly identifying your ancestor in slave records is difficult. Even professional researchers are successful only about 50 percent of the time. | [[Image:James Hopkinsons Plantation Slaves Planting Sweet Potatoes.jpg|right|300px|James Hopkinsons Plantation Slaves Planting Sweet Potatoes.jpg]]You must first identify the slave owner, and then study the owner’s records for clues to your family. Correctly identifying your ancestor in slave records is difficult. Even professional researchers are successful only about 50 percent of the time.<br><br> | ||
Keep in mind that only about 15 percent of former slaves took their last slave owner’s surname. Some took the surname of people they admired, such as Lincoln or Washington, and some took a surname they had been using for many years without the knowledge of the slave owner. | Keep in mind that only about 15 percent of former slaves took their last slave owner’s surname. Some took the surname of people they admired, such as Lincoln or Washington, and some took a surname they had been using for many years without the knowledge of the slave owner. | ||
=== Sources for identifying the slave owner: === | ==== Sources for identifying the slave owner: ==== | ||
==== Military Records ==== | ===== Military Records ===== | ||
[[United States Colored Troops in the Civil War|United States Colored Troops (USCT) in Civil War service]] and pension records. These records list the date and place of birth of the soldier and may name the last slave owner. | [[United States Colored Troops in the Civil War|United States Colored Troops (USCT) in Civil War service]] and pension records. These records list the date and place of birth of the soldier and may name the last slave owner. | ||
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:*Wiki [[United States#States|Pages for the states]] where your ancestors lived. | :*Wiki [[United States#States|Pages for the states]] where your ancestors lived. | ||
==== Freedman’s Savings and Trust Records ==== | ===== Freedman’s Savings and Trust Records ===== | ||
Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865–1874. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0816. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1969. {{FHL| 0928571}} | Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company, 1865–1874. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0816. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1969. {{FHL| 0928571}} | ||
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:*Note: Do not confuse records of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company with records of the Freedmen's Bureau listed below. When the trust company closed, the Freedmen’s Bureau tried to recover the money. Freedmen’s Bureau records are part of National Archives Record Group 105. | :*Note: Do not confuse records of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company with records of the Freedmen's Bureau listed below. When the trust company closed, the Freedmen’s Bureau tried to recover the money. Freedmen’s Bureau records are part of National Archives Record Group 105. | ||
==== Freedmen’s Bureau ==== | ===== Freedmen’s Bureau ===== | ||
There are two sets in Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen's and Abandond Land (Freedmen’s Bureau) collection: commissioner’s records and field office records. The field office records are the most useful, but can be searched only at the National Archives. | There are two sets in Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen's and Abandond Land (Freedmen’s Bureau) collection: commissioner’s records and field office records. The field office records are the most useful, but can be searched only at the National Archives. | ||
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More information on the [[United States Freedmen’s Bureau Letters (FamilySearch Historical Records)|Freedmen's Bureau]] is available at the wiki. | More information on the [[United States Freedmen’s Bureau Letters (FamilySearch Historical Records)|Freedmen's Bureau]] is available at the wiki. | ||
==== Southern Claims Commission Records ==== | ===== Southern Claims Commission Records ===== | ||
United States. House of Representatives. Commissioners of Claims. Records of the [[Southern Claims Commission|Commissioners of Claims ]]1871–1880. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0087. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1945. {{FHL| 1463963}} | United States. House of Representatives. Commissioners of Claims. Records of the [[Southern Claims Commission|Commissioners of Claims ]]1871–1880. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0087. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1945. {{FHL| 1463963}} | ||
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Mills, Gary B. Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1994. {{FHL| 975 M2s}} Gives the name of the claimant, his or her county and state, the commission number, office and report numbers, and the year and status of the claim. | Mills, Gary B. Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1994. {{FHL| 975 M2s}} Gives the name of the claimant, his or her county and state, the commission number, office and report numbers, and the year and status of the claim. | ||
==== American Slave Narratives ==== | ===== American Slave Narratives ===== | ||
In the 1930s the WPA Writers Project compiled over 3,500 typescript interviews of former American slaves. Access and indexes are available through: | In the 1930s the WPA Writers Project compiled over 3,500 typescript interviews of former American slaves. Access and indexes are available through: | ||
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:*University of North Carolina's free site ''[http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/ North American Slave Narratives]''. | :*University of North Carolina's free site ''[http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/ North American Slave Narratives]''. | ||
==== Apprenticeship and Orphans’ Records ==== | ===== Apprenticeship and Orphans’ Records ===== | ||
See both Freedmen’s Bureau and county court records for information on guardianship and apprentices. Former slave owners often became the legal guardians of infants and small children. Orphans old enough to work were also apprenticed to the former slave owner. | See both Freedmen’s Bureau and county court records for information on guardianship and apprentices. Former slave owners often became the legal guardians of infants and small children. Orphans old enough to work were also apprenticed to the former slave owner. | ||
==== Another Way of Identifying the Slave Owner ==== | ===== Another Way of Identifying the Slave Owner ===== | ||
If the sources listed above do not help you identify a slave owner, try the following technique: | If the sources listed above do not help you identify a slave owner, try the following technique: | ||
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:*[[United States Freedmen’s Bureau Letters (FamilySearch Historical Records)]] | :*[[United States Freedmen’s Bureau Letters (FamilySearch Historical Records)]] | ||
{{African American|African American}}{{-}} </div> | |||
{{African American|African American}}{{-}} | [[Category:African_Americans]] [[Category:Melungeons]] [[Category:Ethnic,_Political,_or_Religious_Groups]] | ||
[[Category:African_Americans]] [[Category:Melungeons]] [[Category:Ethnic,_Political,_or_Religious_Groups]] | |||