African American Research

African American research can be verythem a copy of your family records (leaving off
challenging. Most families are sitting on a wealth ofpersonal notes and information on the living).
information and don't even realize it. Reunions areDonate your records to the local library and post
something most African American families areto the internet. As a side note, ALWAYS
passionate about. Every two years most familiesremember to document your sources. Sources
unite, take pictures and share many storiesare where you found your facts, whether positive
related to their family. Some families make aor negative. This will save you endless time in
book with this information.reviewing information.
Information gathered at these reunions can be aThese are the records that you should look for
great starting point to do an individual's familyamong all family members:
history. Families tended to live near each other• Family Bibles
and assist each other where needed. Tracking the• Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates
families via the census can help document their• Divorce Records
families from 1930 to the 1870 census. Previous• Wills
to the 1870 census, only the free black and their• Deeds to Property
families were listed on the 1860 and 1850 census,• Old Letters
etc. But, even tracing to the 1870's, where some• Photographs
ancestors births are recorded in the late 1790's,• Plaques, Awards, Honors and other
can be a great find!Memorabilia
A great website for African American research is• School Certificates
AfriGeneas is a site devoted to African American• Insurance Papers
genealogy, to researching African Ancestry in the• Funeral Programs
Americas in particular and to genealogical research• Obituaries
and resources in general. It is also an African• Funeral Programs
Ancestry research community featuring the• Membership Cards
AfriGeneas mail list, the AfriGeneas message• Anniversary Programs for
boards and daily and weekly genealogy chats.Organizations and Churches
Many descendants of slave owners are realizing• School and College Yearbooks
the importance of slave records in helping African• Military Discharge Papers
American's doing their own family research. These• Any other sources with names and
descendants are sharing documentation to thedates
public and posting on the internet the slaveryThese sources, if they exist, will help you to
records that show families and other importantcomplete your first charts and guide you to
genealogical information. Race barriers are morefinding additional records. Make sure you make
quickly broken in the genealogy research as we allcopies of everything that you find, including
desire to help each other. We tend to understandphotographs. As African American families do their
the importance of learning our family heritage andgenealogy and share with their descendants, this
respect all cultures.knowledge will be handed down to future
One of the most important helps an individual cangenerations. This will give an added knowledge and
do is sharing their finds. See if there is a countystrength as they learn about their ancestor's
website for your family's residence and sendstruggles and accomplishments.