A Few Keys to African American Genealogical Research

If you’ve ever wondered why so many professional genealogists seem reluctant to do research for African Americans who are seeking to trace their family history, here are some of the reasons why:

Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." While the Proclamation only applied to slaves held in Confederate states not yet under Union control, and it was only the first step on the long road to slavery’s eventual destruction, it is a clear indication that that any African American whose ancestors lived in the United States before the Civil War were almost certainly slaves, and written records for slaves, if they existed at all, were rare.

So how can you go about researching these ancestors? One place to begin is with those who were free. Just as you would with an ancestor of any race or ethnic group, you trace your family history back as far as you can. It is common to run into problems just before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. Before that time, African American civil rights were heavily restricted. Many had received little or no formal education, were unable to read or write, and had a much more difficult time receiving documentation of their records. The further you go backward prior to the Civil Rights movement, the fewer records were kept and the fewer African Americans were able to receive an education or to read or write.

When you find yourself unable to discover written records, you must start to look at oral family history. These are the family stories, legends and even myths. Naturally, these are incomplete, and often exaggerated or partially forgotten stories that have been handed down, but they are still valuable as points to refer to in your search for facts. The rule of thumb is that if you can find the same story, with the same details, in three separate and unrelated places, you can tentatively regard the stories as true. However, it is still important that you continue to be diligent in looking for discrepancies or errors in the stories as you continue your research and uncover other information.

On the other hand, once you have managed to carry your research farther back in time, the records of slave owners and slave-ship captains can become a factor. For example, proceeding backwards, you can find bills of sale which show the dates your ancestors were purchased as slaves, many times following the trail in reverse from owner to owner until you find the earliest bill of sale from a particular ship, then follow the ship’s logs and journals backward to the particular area in Africa where the ship was docked to know where your ancestors came from.

Researching African American ancestors is an extremely challenging task, and it requires a great deal of patience, persistence, intuition, and luck, along with an even greater measure of determination. However, the results can be extremely rewarding.

Beginning Your Genealogical Research at the Library

We're part of the Internet generation, so we all tend to do it. Whenever we
are seeking any type of information, we just jump on the computer and
type a phrase into a search engine. But in years past, before nearly everyone
had a personal computer at home, most people doing genealogical research
did most of their work at the local library. And in spite of the fact that
getting on your computer in the comfort of your own home is convenient,
there are important reasons why you might want to consider visiting your
local library, or the library in the town of your family's origin early on when
you begin to research you family tree.

Local libraries contain a great deal of information dealing with family history.
Often, they have entire sections, or even rooms, dedicated solely to the
function of genealogical research. These libraries will usually be staffed
with people who can assist you in beginning your research. If you are
fortunate enough to live in a town where your family has lived for
generations, it is quite possible that the local library may even have books
specifically dealing with your family and aspects of its history. In any case,
they will contain newspapers and indexes that are an ideal place to
begin searching. In addition, nearly all local libraries have computers and
Internet access, which means that all the resources of print and Internet
media are accessible in one location.

In addition, librarians are professionals who can offer assistance in your
research. Although not all of them are family history research experts,
they are thoroughly trained in helping patrons to find information of all
kinds. They can assist you with basic library resources and how to use
them. They will often be able to direct you to specific sources that you
need and advise you of other sources that will contain further information
on the topics you are researching. Many times, librarian will have had
experience in helping others with family research and can offer valuable
suggestions that have proved useful to others.

As many people have found over the years, libraries are an ideal place
to work, providing a quiet atmosphere, computer access, and professional
assistance when needed, without the normal distractions found at home.
So before you confine your initial family research to your computer,
visit your local library and take advantage of the resources available to
you