1,154
edits
→Land Deed Records
| Line 56: | Line 56: | ||
'''Registers of Enslaved Persons, Registers of Freedmen, and Manumission Papers.''' From the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, about ten percent of African Americans were free. Most free African Americans carried their own papers, but these could be stolen. In order to distinguish between the enslaved, runaways, and free African Americans, many counties or states in the upper South, and border states kept one or more sets of registers or papers. Some had registers of enslaved persons. Some kept registers of Blacks, Freedmen, Free Men of Color, or "free Negroes." Some kept copies of manumission papers of people freed from slavery. To find these kinds of registers or papers look in county courthouse records. They are most likely found in the court papers, among the land and property deeds, or occasionally in probate or tax records. Sometimes these kinds of records are found at state libraries, archives, or historical societies. | '''Registers of Enslaved Persons, Registers of Freedmen, and Manumission Papers.''' From the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, about ten percent of African Americans were free. Most free African Americans carried their own papers, but these could be stolen. In order to distinguish between the enslaved, runaways, and free African Americans, many counties or states in the upper South, and border states kept one or more sets of registers or papers. Some had registers of enslaved persons. Some kept registers of Blacks, Freedmen, Free Men of Color, or "free Negroes." Some kept copies of manumission papers of people freed from slavery. To find these kinds of registers or papers look in county courthouse records. They are most likely found in the court papers, among the land and property deeds, or occasionally in probate or tax records. Sometimes these kinds of records are found at state libraries, archives, or historical societies. | ||
For more information about registers of enslaved persons, see the | For more information about registers of enslaved persons, see the article ''[https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/slavery-or-slave-owners/ How to look for records of Enslaved people and slave owners]'', from the National Archives and Records Administration. | ||
===Websites=== | ===Websites=== | ||