African American Resources for Ohio: Difference between revisions

Ohio. Auditor of State. Special Enumeration of Blacks Immigrating to Ohio, 1861-1863. (Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Historical Society, 198-.) FS Library film 1688779. - contains indexes by immigrants' names, previous residences, counties in which the lived, and questionable names. It also includes original returns by county.

Turpen, Joan. Register of Black, Mulatto and Poor Person in four Ohio Counties, 1791-1861. (Clinton, Highland, Logan, and Ross Counties) FS Library 977.1 F28r

Ohio African American Genealogy has sources to assist you in your search for your ancestors.

Slavery in the North:Ohio

Research Strategy[edit | edit source]

History[edit | edit source]

African Americans make up a rich part of Ohio's History. The The Ohio Constitution of 1803 outlawed slavery, this was in accordance to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. In 1804, Ohio passed Black Laws (sometimes referred to as Black Codes). These laws stipulated that only Freedmen with a valid certificate of freedom (obtained from the court) could reside in Ohio. They also had to register their names in the county clerk's office of where they reside, which cost a small fee. Furthermore, Freedmen could only be employed if they had a certificate proving their freedom. Anyone who harbored an enslaved runaway would be fined.

By the early 1800s, a settlement of African Americans was located in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. This area was controlled by the Wyandot, a Native American tribe. While some of these settlers were free, others were enslaved runaways seeking safety. See Upper Sandusky, Ohio for more information.

Resources[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Census Records[edit | edit source]

Special enumeration of Blacks immigrating to Ohio, 1861-1863

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Emancipation Records[edit | edit source]

Greene County, Emancipation record, 1805-1844

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Land and Property[edit | edit source]

Plantation[edit | edit source]

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

CAAGS Obituary and Funeral Home Collection at California African American Genealogical Society - index & images

Oral Histories[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

The African-American Experience in Ohio, Newspapers

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Reconstruction Records[edit | edit source]

Freedman’s Bank[edit | edit source]

An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and Freedmen. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former slaveholder and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:

Freedmen's Bureau[edit | edit source]

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former slaveholders and plantations, and current residences.^[1] For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of enslaved persons. These films do not appear to contain the names of the enslaved.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1861-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection

Other FamilySearch collections not included:
- 1865-1872 United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1865-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; Images only. These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.

More collections are available in the FamilySearch Catalog. Search for "FREEDMEN - OHIO" in the Subjects search bar to find.

Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records.

School Records[edit | edit source]

Slavery Records[edit | edit source]

WPA. Slave narratives : 1937, interviews with formerly enslaved persons in Ohio Ohio Historical Society

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist formerly enslaved persons in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the formerly enslaved couples. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.

Death[edit | edit source]

Ohio Death Index, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2007 - information may include name, death date and place, time of death, residence, gender, age, race, education level, birth date and place, parents, and cause of death

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Voting Records[edit | edit source]

Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]

African American in Ohio at ArchivesDigital Collection - Genealogy related information for various States and Provinces is available from a variety of servers which may be official government services, genealogy society efforts, or maintained by interested individuals. A digital archive of materials related to African American in the Ohio.

National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center
1350 Brush Row Rd
PO Box 578
Wilberforce, OH 45384-0578
Phone: 937.376.4944
Email: InfoNAAMCC@ohiohistory.org

Ohio History Connection: African Americans in Ohio
800 E. 17th Ave.
Columbus, Ohio 43211
Phone: 614.297.2300
Email: info@ohiohistory.org

Societies[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ "African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau," "African American Heritage," National Archives, accessed 11 May 2018.

[1] "African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau," "African American Heritage," National Archives, accessed 11 May 2018.

[1]

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 <li>Turpen, Joan. Register of Black, Mulatto and Poor Person in four Ohio Counties, 1791-1861. (Clinton, Highland, Logan, and Ross Counties) FS Library 977.1 F28r</li>
 <li>[http://sites.rootsweb.com/~ohafram/ Ohio African American Genealogy] has sources to assist you in your search for your ancestors.</li>
-<li>[http://slavenorth.com/ohio.htm Slavery in the North: Ohio]</li>
+<li>[http://slavenorth.com/ohio.htm Slavery in the North:Ohio]</li>
 ==Research Strategy==
 ==History==
-African Americans make up a rich part of Ohio's History. The Ohio Constitution of 1803 outlawed slavery; this was in accordance to the [https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/northwest-ordinance Northwest Ordinance of 1787]. In 1804, Ohio passed Black Laws (sometimes referred to as Black Codes). These laws stipulated that only Freedmen with a valid certificate of freedom (obtained from the court) could reside in Ohio. They also had to register their names in the county clerk's office of where they reside, which cost a small fee. Furthermore, Freedmen could only be employed if they had a certificate proving their freedom. Anyone who harbored an enslaved runaway would be fined.
+African Americans make up a rich part of Ohio's History. The [https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Ohio_Constitution_of_1803 The Ohio Constitution of 1803] outlawed slavery, this was in accordance to the [https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Northwest_Ordinance Northwest Ordinance of 1787]. In 1804, Ohio passed Black Laws (sometimes referred to as Black Codes). These laws stipulated that only Freedmen with a valid certificate of freedom (obtained from the court) could reside in Ohio. They also had to register their names in the county clerk's office of where they reside, which cost a small fee. Furthermore, Freedmen could only be employed if they had a certificate proving their freedom. Anyone who harbored an enslaved runaway would be fined.
-By the early 1800s, a settlement of African Americans was located in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. This area was controlled by the Wyandot, a Native American tribe. While some of these settlers were free, others were enslaved runaways seeking safety. See [https://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/browse-historical-sites/indian-mill Indian Mill] for more information.
+By the early 1800s, a settlement of African Americans was located in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. This area was controlled by the Wyandot, a Native American tribe. While some of these settlers were free, others were enslaved runaways seeking safety. See [https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Upper_Sandusky,_Ohio Upper Sandusky, Ohio] for more information.
+*[http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam/html/mss/index.html The African-American Experience in Ohio: 1850-1920]
+*[https://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Welcome_To_Ohio_History_Central Ohio History Connection]
 *[https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=3ca47f61737c4b7c938b5f84d383c6e0 Tracking Freedom: Tracing the Origins of Ohio's Free Blacks from 1803-1863.]
 *[https://learn.uakron.edu/beyond/africanam_antebellum.htm African Americans in Antebellum Ohio]
+*[https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/African_Americans Ohio History Connection - African Americans]
 *[https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=34486eb863fa4743a0d4619ee5d56942 Story Map: Birth locations of Ohio's Free Blacks in 1850 & 1860]
@@ Line 69: / Line 72: @@
 ===Newspapers===
-[https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p16007coll98 The African-American Experience in Ohio]
+[http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam/html/nwspaper/index.html The African-American Experience in Ohio, Newspapers]
 ===Probate Records===
@@ Line 129: / Line 132: @@
 [http://www.archives.com/genealogy/free-north-american-genealogy-resources.html African American in Ohio at ArchivesDigital Collection] - Genealogy related information for various States and Provinces is available from a variety of servers which may be official government services, genealogy society efforts, or maintained by interested individuals. A digital archive of materials related to African American in the Ohio.
-[https://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/browse-historical-sites/national-afro-american-museum-cultural-center/ '''National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center''']<br>
+[https://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/museum-and-site-locator/national-afro-american-museum '''National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center''']<br>
 Brush Row Rd<br>
 PO Box 578<br>
@@ Line 136: / Line 139: @@
 Email: InfoNAAMCC@ohiohistory.org<br><br>
-[https://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/ohio-history-center/ '''Ohio History Center''']<br>
+[http://dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam/ '''Ohio History Connection: African Americans in Ohio''']<br>
 E. 17th Ave.<br>
 Columbus, Ohio 43211<br>