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"Along Those Lines ..."
by George G. Morgan
Click Here for George Morgan's Archive
| Black Genealogy and the SlaveData Project--May 22, 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
One of the things I enjoy most in genealogy is learning about research challenges and methodologies used by different nationalities and ethnic groups. Why? Because they make me think! They make me look beyond my own problems and my own research approaches, and I very often get new ideas about how to research my own genealogy. If you are researching your White genealogy or your Hispanic genealogy or your Polish genealogy or your Greek genealogy or any other -- you can learn from others' research. This week's "Along Those Lines ..." column, focuses on African-American genealogical research and about a tremendous data gathering project under way. African-American Research on America Online Whether you know it or not, the Genealogy Forum on America Online contains a very remarkable collection of materials to help African-American genealogists research their ancestry. Last Fall, the Genealogy Forum's senior staff and the members of the African-American team began a complete rework of materials for Black genealogists. The result was a totally new African-American Resource Area. If you haven't visited it, you certainly should! It is chock full of "how-to" information, links to Web pages on the Internet, and a vast collection of historical information -- including biographical sketches of almost 150 abolitionists. African-American Research Basics African-American genealogical research in the U.S. is nearly identical to all other research from 1870 onward. Use of the Federal censuses, vital records, public records, and all the rest are the same. In addition, records from the Freedmen's Bureau and applications/signature cards from the Freedman's Savings & Trust Company (two very separate entities, by the way) provide incredibly helpful clues. Prior to the 1870 Federal census, however, locating African-American relatives and ancestors can be challenging and problematic. According to Tony Burroughs, in a presentation delivered on May 9th at the National Genealogical Society convention in Denver, there were in 1860: 200,000 free Negroes in the North 200,000 free Negroes in the South Over 4,000,000 slaves in the South Part of the problem is certainly determining whether your ancestor was free or a slave. If he or she was a slave, the problem is locating who owned him or her. Slave owner records are more difficult to locate than many others. In many cases, the records have been hidden or destroyed by the White families because of the shame and stigma perhaps associated with having participated in the institution of slavery. In other cases, Black families have destroyed the records because of their shame in having been victims. These are certainly delicate and highly charged emotional issues. One assumption made by genealogists is that the former slave always took the surname of the former master or mistress. What percentage of former slaves do you think actually did this? In Mr. Burroughs' erudite presentation at NGS, he presented data from a research study he conducted. During his several years' study, he recorded every instance he found of the surname used by a former slave where the surname of the former slave owner was known. At the conclusion of his study, Mr. Burroughs found that only 14.9% of the former slaves adopted their former master's surname. He indicated, too, that most of the surnames used by former slaves were also in use during the period of enslavement. There were numerous other examples he cited where surnames were changed again one or more times after the time when former slaves had been given their freedom -- sometimes legally and sometimes independently. All of this is perplexing. Certainly this compounds the research process. The starting point for researching your African-American ancestor who was a former slave is certainly in the 1870 Federal census. Prior to that, you must look to oral traditions from your own family. Then, you must look for courthouse records covering sales of property, deeds, tax rolls, and other property-related documents. Loose papers, daybooks, journals, ledgers, letters, receipts, and other documents created by slave owners are another avenue of inquiry. All of these are research routes you can and must follow. The SlaveData Collection There is a tremendous initiative under way to locate, compile and index the records that might be helpful to genealogists researching former slaves. It is called the SlaveData Collection. The organizers have formed a partnership with the Anniston Public Library in Anniston, AL. The library has agreed to be the focal point to receive documents and information, and to house the SlaveData Collection. To quote from an announcement of the initiative: "We would certainly encourage and support all researchers to share any and all slave data you encounter in your genealogical pursuits. We, African Ancestored Researchers (AKA: Afrigeneas), have a project of some 9 year duration to gather, compile and make available slave data to the African Ancestored researcher. Records kept by the slave owner are frequently the only clue to our ancestors, particularly during the period 1619-1870." Records sought include:
"Such information provided is available to all researchers at the Afrigeneas Home Page located at http://www.msstate.edu/Archives/History/afrigen/index.html. It is also available in the Genealogy Forum's File Libraries Center on America Online." Do You Have Information to Contribute? This is a tremendously ambitious project. The goal is to locate, obtain, and compile as massive a collection as possible and to make it openly available to researchers everywhere. The Anniston, AL, Public Library has offered to be the home for the collection. However other institutions have been approached or have also expressed an interest in getting involved. Perhaps YOU have information to contribute. Maybe you have acquired records from your family or in the course of your genealogical research. Perhaps these would be valuable to another researcher. Let me encourage you to submit what you have to this important project. In what format should the data be submitted? Well, in the final analysis, please use whatever is best for you, the Sharer. A preferred format is as follows: Slaveowners Name: This information may be submitted via E-mail directly to the following address: You may also send it in paper format via the U.S. Postal Service (snail-mail) to: Anniston Public Library Summing Up The sharing of genealogically valuable information with others is an important action. Think of the joy you experience when you make an important discovery -- one that takes you back another generation, provides a missing link, or provides a much needed name or date. You can give that gift to another researcher by contributing to this important project. No matter what your race, your color, your nationality, your religion, or other diversity might be -- you can make a difference in the genealogical research of others. My hat is off to the Anniston Public Library and to the members of the Afrigeneas organization for sponsoring this important initiative. We can all learn a great deal from them and from one another! Happy hunting! George Click Here for George Morgan's Archive
Copyright 1998 George G. Morgan All Rights reserved "Along Those Lines ..." is a weekly feature of the Genealogy Forum on America Online (Keyword: ROOTS). This column originally appeared in the Genealogy Forum on America Online. You may send E-mail alonglines@aol.com. George Morgan would like
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