African American Introduction: Difference between revisions

''[[United States|United State[[Category:African American Records]]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn[[Category:African American Records]]] [[African American Research|African American Research]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn[[Category:African American Records]]] [[African_American_Introduction|Introductio[[Category:African American Records]]]''

{{Click|Image:AA_ORP.png|African American Online Genealogy Records|left}}African-American genealogical research for recent years follows the same procedures as for any other ethnic group. However, there are specific strategies for tracing African-American roots prior to 1870. Most of the records are available through the [[Family History Library|Family History Library and]] through [https://www.familysearch.org/ FamilySearch].<br><br>  

'''Research Guides and Source Lists.''' For guides to African American family history research, see

*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/search/index/catalog-search#searchType=catalog&filtered=true&collectionId=&fed=false&page=1&catSearchType=keywords&searchCriteria=African+American+1870-Present&placeName=African+American&author_givenName=&author_surname= Finding Records of Your Ancestors African Americans 1870 to Presen[[Category:African American Records]], an in depth article including a case study of recent sources.

*[[African American Research]]&nbsp;FamilySearch list of records, databases, indexing projects, presentations and other guides.

*Dee Parmer Woodtor, ''[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/40331192 Finding a Place Called Home: An African American Guide to Genealogical and Historical Identit[[Category:African American Records]]'' (New York: Random House, 1999)(FHL book 973 F2wd). This book explains the basic as well as complex research techniques required for African-American research.

*Marie Taylor, ''{{FSbook|60362}}'' (Salt Lake City: Family History Library, 1994)(FHL book 973 F23tm). This book lists 3,320 African American sources, including Canadian records. It also includes articles from historical and genealogical periodicals.

The following records can help determine if an ancestor was born free or freed by slave owner.  

For records of the Underground Railroad, go to: [http://www.freedomcenter.org/freedomstations/ www.freedomcenter.org/freedomstations/] and [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/j1.html www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad/j1.html].  

To make a slave connection, you must first identify the slave owner, and then study the owner’s records for clues to family information. About 15 percent of former slaves took their last slave owner’s surname. Sources for identifying the slave owner include Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations From the Revolution Through the Civil War: Series A through N {{FHL|Film nos. 1,534,196 through 1,534,236}}, and military records at:

*[http://www.familysearch.org/sg/ht_list.html www.familysearch.org/sg/ht_list.html] and

*[http://www.aagsnc.org/genlinks/Military_Resources www.aagsnc.org/genlinks/Military_Resource[[Category:African American Records]]

The Freedman’s Savings and Trust Records include birthplace, place brought up, residence, age, complexion, name of employer or occupation, spouse, children, father, mother, brothers and sisters, remarks, and signature. These records are found in Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company, 1865—1874 {{FHL|Film nos. 928,571 through 928,591}}. An additional guide for Freedmen’s Bureau field office records is Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Field Offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands: Record Group 105 by Elaine Everly and Willna Pacheli {{FHL|Book: 973 F23ea}}. Part 1 includes Alabama and Louisiana, Part 2 includes Maryland and South Carolina, and Part 3 includes Tennessee and Virginia. Some of the Freedmen’s Bureau records are available online at:  

*http://www.aagsnc.org/genlinks/Genealogical_Resources/Freedmens_Bureau_Records/

Another helpful source of information for locating African-American ancestors is the Records of the Commissioners of Claims 1871—1880 {{FHL|Film nos. 1,463,963 through 1,463,987}}. Nearly 22,300 cases are filed by individual names, family groups, churches, and businesses. Records include testimony of neighbors, relatives, and former slaves to support a claimant’s assertions, taken during the Civil War because of loyalty to the Union. A master index to these case files is found in Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission by Gary B. Mills {{FHL|Book: 975 M2s}}.  

'''Slave Narratives.''' In the 1930s over 3,500 typescript interviews&nbsp;of former slaves were compiled by the WPA.See:

:*Library of Congress' free site that indexes 2,300 narratives in ''[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Projec[[Category:African American Records]]''.

:*Ancestry.com's ($) subscription site of 3,500 slave narratives in ''[http://www.ancestry.com/search/DB.aspx?dbid=4342 Slave Narrative[[Category:African American Records]]'', or&nbsp;free at selected libraries in ''[http://www.ancestryinstitution.com/search/DB.aspx?dbid=4342 Slave Narrative[[Category:African American Records]]''.  

:*Howard E. Potts, ''[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36284310 A Comprehensive Name Index for the American Slav[[Category:African American Records]]'' (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997){{FHL|Book 973 F22p}}.

:*University of North Carolina's free site ''[http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/ North American Slave Narrative[[Category:African American Records]]''.

 

 

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