A Beginner's Guide To African-American Genealogy

by
Callie B. McGinnis

Simon Schwob Memorial Library

Columbus State University

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  1. Fill out a pedigree chart with as much information as you already know.

  2. Fill out a family group sheet for each couple on your pedigree chart with as much information as you already know.

  3. Ask older family members if they know any names of other ancestors — grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Put this information on your pedigree and family group sheets.

  4. Go through your family's papers looking for newspaper clippings, obituaries, birth and death certificates, family bibles, photographs, letters — any kind of written information that names members of your family and puts them in a certain place at a certain time. Put this information on your pedigree chart and family group sheets.

  5. Visit a library to use the population schedules of the Federal Census. In Columbus, if your family is from Georgia, go to the Genealogy Room at the Bradley Public Library. They have the 1920 census back to the 1870 census for Georgia. There is a printed index for 1870; for 1900-1920 you will need to have the librarian assist you in using the "Soundex" index on microfilm. The Bradley also has some Alabama census materials, as does Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City and Auburn University Library. If you are working outside Georgia and Alabama, you will need to go to the Federal Records Center in East Point, Georgia. Their phone number is 404-763-7477; call to reserve a microfilm reader before you go. East Point has all Federal Censuses from 1790 through 1920 for all states. (NOTE: The 1890 census was destroyed by fire).

    Another library in Columbus you will want to visit is the Mormon Family History Center at the LDS Church located at 4400 Reese Road. Their phone number is 563-7216. They are open Tuesday and Thursday, 10:00am-9:00pm and Saturday, 9am - 1pm.

  6. With African-American genealogy, you can normally go back only to the 1870 census (unless your ancestors were free Blacks). Before 1870, you will need to look for white families with the same last name as your Black ancestors — in the same county where you think your ancestors were living in 1870. The county of residence is very important; this is where you will want to concentrate your research effort. If your ancestors did not use the last name of their former owner, you will have problems.

  7. In the 1870 census record for your ancestor, pay close attention to:

    1. Birth place/date

      If your Georgia ancestor was 15 years old in 1870, and was born in Virginia, then his/her mother was in Virginia in 1855. Try to figure out how he/she got to Georgia. Was the slaveowner's family in Georgia in 1855? How did the owner acquire your ancestor or his/her mother? Purchase (look for a deed)? Inherited (look for a will or intestate records)?

    2. Race

      Race is important on the 1870 census. If coded "B," your ancestor was Black; if coded "M," Mulatto.

    3. Names

      Pay close attention to the first names of your ancestors on the 1870 census. Look for slaves in pre-1865 records with the same first names. Also look for whites with the same last name.

  8. Familiarize yourself with special sources:

    1. Will Books at the county courthouse

    2. Journals of Returns (for intestate records, estate appraisals and sales) at the county courthouse

    3. Deed Books at the county courthouse

    4. Marriage Books at the county courthouse; ante-bellum marriage records located in local white churches (sometimes Black marriages were recorded)

    5. Slave advertisements in the local newspapers (available on microfilm at the Bradley and Columbus State University Libraries)

    6. The Federal Census Slave Schedules (available on microfilm at the Bradley and Columbus State University Libraries)

    7. Local tax records (may actually name slaves) at the county courthouse

    8. Historical archives in the area that may have personal/business papers of white families (Bible records, plantation records, slave trading records and cemetery inscriptions)

    9. WPA Slave Narratives

    10. Freedmen's Bureau materials

    11. WWI draft cards at the East Point Federal Records Center

  9. Read a book on genealogy or Black genealogy in particular. One reputable title is Black Genealogy by Charles Blockson (available at Columbus State University Library).

  10. Join a society.

  11. Visit African-American genealogy web sites and general genealogy web sites:

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