African American Census: Difference between revisions

In [[United States Census|census records]] from 1790-1840, only names of the head of household were provided, along with the number of enslaved persons and Free Persons of Color. In 1850 and 1860, the Federal government took a supplemental "Slave Schedule" giving the slaveholder's name and the number of enslaved persons by gender, age, and a designation of Black or Mulatto. The names of all free Blacks were included in the 1850 and 1860 census. Beginning in 1870, the census listed the names of all African Americans.

*More information, about African Americans in the United States Census, is available at the  [https://www.archives.gov/files/research/census/african-american/census-1790-1930.pdf. National Archives and Records Administration].

Local Census and County Records, State census records, school census records, town census records, deeds, bills of sale, marriage records, county will books, and probate records sometimes lists names of enslaved persons and other genealogy information.

African American genealogical research can be challenging, especially after you hit the brick wall of the 1870 census. There are, however, more and more ways to get over that wall and more resources to learn the techniques for doing so.

Included here are some of the best the internet has to offer, as well as some searchable census sites of particular interest for African Americans:  

*[http://ccharity.com/ Christine's African American Genealogy]

Christine's Genealogy Website's census links for African American Genealogy:  

*[https://ccharity.com/contents/various-census-transcriptions/ Census links at Christine's African American Genealogy]

ThoughtCo's list of links for African American History:  

*[https://www.thoughtco.com/african-american-history-4133344 ThoughtCo]

Researching Your African American Ancestors

* Located at [https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/researching-your-african-american-ancestors/ Boston Public Library].

'''Slave Narratives.''' For autobiographical sketches of formerly enslaved persons, see:  

:*Library of Congress indexes 2,300 slave narratives in ''[https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/ Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project]''.

:*'''1936-1938''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1944/ U.S., Interviews with Formerly Enslaved People, 1936-1938] at Ancestry - Index & Images ($)

'''Another useful website with links to the census by state:'''

[https://accessgenealogy.com/black-genealogy Access Genealogy - African American Genealogy]  

*FamilySearch Library and FamilySearch centers  

*[http://www.archives.gov National Archives] for addresses of regional branches

*Search for your family in every available census to find additional children, in-laws, grandparents, and other members of a changing household.

*When you find your family, photocopy the whole census page or ask your FamilySearch center for a form to copy census information.  

*The FamilySearch Library and FamilySearch centers  

* [http://www.archives.gov National Archives] regional branches

''African Americans in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census {{FSC|1003743|item|disp=FS CD-ROM no. 388 copy 2}}.'', (must access at the FamilySearch Library).

''Accelerated Indexing Systems (AIS) Microfiche Indexes of U.S. Census and Other Records,'' by Ronald Vern Jackson. Salt Lake City Utah: Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1984. {{FSC|711262|item|disp=FS Catalog book 973 D2ai}}. Use this index to find the heads of household from Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Dakota Territory, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, and Wyoming.  

*'''1980''' {{RecordSearch|1417683|United States, Census, 1880}} at FamilySearch. This includes names, dates, and places for nearly six million African Americans.

This is the best index to the 1880 census. Use this index to:  

*Locate ancestors when you do not know their state of residence (This index covers the entire United States; most indexes cover one state only).

To use the 1900 census Soundex indexes see the following paragraph on "Soundex Indexes."

There is an online name converter on the Internet. This is the quickest way to convert a surname to a Soundex code. Go to BradAndKathy's Genealogy to use [https://bradandkathy.com/genealogy/yasc.php  '''Yet Another Soundex Converter'''].