African-American Genealogical Records

As we prepare to celebrate the upcoming birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King on Monday, January 21, 2008 and Black History Month in February, this seems an appropriate time to highlight the growing interest in genealogical research among African-Americans.  Some of the most useful sources for locating information include the following:

1. Federal census data from 1870-1920 is of most value to researchers in African-American research.  Prior to 1870, slaves were only listed in special “slave censuses”. Unless your African-American ancestors lived in the northern states, other sources must be consulted.
2. Freedman’s Bureau records:  The main services offered were recording of slave
   marriages that took place prior to the Emancipation Proclamation and creating
   a special banking system for former slaves. 
3. Courthouses records:  Probate and chancery court records are excellent sources
    for identifying slaves.  If a person died and left a will, slaves who were passed
    on to heirs were identified by first names.
4. Slave narratives:  Although very few slaves could read or write at the time of
   the Emancipation Proclamation, many learned to do so in the years and
   decades that followed.  In the New Deal era, the Works Project Administration
   hired workers to interview as many former slaves still living as possible.   Not  
   all surviving slaves were willing to talk, but they may have written about their
   experiences or kept diaries that were shared with family members. 
5. Church records:  In most cases, their church was an integral part of African American family life and social structure.
6.  Home Sources:  Information contained in family bibles, diaries, letters, and
   photographs that may exist somewhere (perhaps hidden) around a family
   member’s home may contain valuable clues.  Family bibles may contain
   family information that may not exist in official records.  While African-Americans were included in the vital records that were compiled by various states by the late nineteenth century, it was midwives, rather than doctors, who delivered many African-American babies.  Thus, in many cases, birth certificates were not issued.  Old photographs can also be helpful, especially if the people in the pictures are identified and the date when the photograph was taken is noted. 
7. Military records:  African-Americans have fought in the Revolutionary War,   
   War of 1812, various Indian Wars, Civil War, Spanish-American War, and
    both World Wars.