African American Biography

African American Genealogy Wiki Topics

Beginning Research

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Finding Aids
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Online Resources[edit | edit source]

1785-2000 GU272 Descendants, 1785-2000. Database at American Ancestors. — index & images ($). This database includes the individuals who are descendants of the 272 people who were enslaved by the Society of Jesus and Georgetown University in 1838. The association was formed in 2016 to support and unite the descendants of these enslaved people.

Biographies[edit | edit source]

African American biographies are available at the FamilySearch Library. Biographies provide useful genealogical information such as an individual’s birth date and place (including foreign birthplaces where applicable); family members; occupation and education; and social, political, and religious affiliation. They may also contain a physical description of the person, his or her previous residences, and immigration information. Biographies are the product of family knowledge or previous research compiled about early settlers and prominent citizens of the state, county, or town. Many lesser-known individuals may have biographical sketches written about them in local histories.

African American Online Genealogy Records

You will find many biographies in the biographical sections of statewide, regional, and county histories.

The following resources are available at the FamilySearch Library:

Homespun Heroines and Other Women of Distinction, by Hallie Q. Brown. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1988 (FS Catalog book FS Catalog book 973 D3hom; At various libraries (WorldCat); Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

The W.P.A. slave narratives of the 1930s were part of a genré started prior to the American Civil War. This slave narrative example was published in 1871.

Pride of Family: Four Generations of American Women of Color, by Carole Ione. New York, New York: C. Ione, 1991. At various libraries (WorldCat)
Black Biographical Dictionaries 1790-1950, by Randal K. Burkett, Nancy Hall Burkett, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., eds.. Alexandria, Virginia: Chadwyck-Healey, Inc., [198-]. FS Catalog book 973 F2bbd
African American Biographies: profiles of 558 Current Men and Women, by Walter L. Hawkins. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 1992. FS Catalog book 973 F26h
Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, by Darlene Clark Hine. Brooklyn, New York: Carlson Pub., 1993. FS Catalog book 973 F26b
Notable Black American Women, by Jessie Carney Smith, ed.. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1992. FS Catalog book 973 D36nbw

Slave Narratives. In the 1930s over 3,500 typescript interviews of formerly enslaved persons were compiled by the WPA. See:

Library of Congress' free site that indexes 2,300 narratives in Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project
Born in slavery slave narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938. At various libraries (WorldCat)
A Comprehensive Name Index for the American Slave, by Howard E. Potts. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997. FS Catalog book 973 F22p; At various libraries (WorldCat)
University of North Carolina's free site North American Slave Narratives

External Links[edit | edit source]

The History Makers, Chicago, has short biographical sketches of African American leaders. It created 3500 interviews, now stored at the Library of Congress.
Biographies of Famous African Americans at InfoPlease
Biographies of Great African-Americans at EnchantedLearning
10 of the Most Important Black Women in U.S. History, by Jone Johnson Lewis, 12 December 2020, at ThoughtCo

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