As a retired teacher, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was the segue into February’s Black History Month. I know February is still a couple of weeks away, but old habits die hard!
Here are some links that are either devoted to, or include, genealogical resources for researching African-American roots. I’ve also added links to African-American blogs with current posts (as in 2017) below the website list:
African American Cemeteries Online
African American Gateway on Allen County Public Library
African-American Life in St. Louis 1804-1865 from the Records of St. Louis’ Courts
Black Servicemen Revolutionary War Records
Boston Public Library Anti-Slavery Manuscript Collection
Civil War Slave Compensation Claims in Compiled Military Service Records of U.S. Colored Troops
Conversations with My Ancestors – Mavis Jones’s blog
Digital Library on American Slavery
Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD
Free People of Color in Louisiana
Freedmen’s Bank Records, 1865-1874
IAAM Center for Family History
Illinois State Archives Servitude and Emancipation Records 1722-1863
IN.gov – Reference list of print and microfilm resources
Library of Congress American Memory
Library of Virginia – Be sure to browse this site thoroughly. Lots of new resources all the time for all things Virginia!
African American Church Histories in Virginia
African American Civil War Research
African American Newspapers
Missouri State Archives – Be sure to browse this site thoroughly, too. Lots of digital material.
National Archives Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1938
National Park Service Soldiers and Sailors Database
New England Historic Genealogical Society – African American Resources
New Orleans Public Library – list of resources, but no live links
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
North Carolina Runaway Slave Advertisements
PBS – website on how to research African American roots
Philadelphia African-American Census 1847
Slave Name Roll Project – Schalene Dagutis’s blog site, Tangled Roots and Trees, includes a link to slaves whose names have been “released” as genealogists have come across their names in documents. The roll is an on-going project and includes links to many U.S. counties. Many of the names are found in wills or deeds.
Slaves and the Courts 1740-1860
Tennessee State Library and Archives
Texas Slavery Project
The African-Native American Genealogy Home Page
The Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery
The Geography of Slavery in Virginia
The Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture
United States Civil War Service Records of Union Colored Troops, 1863-1865
University of North Carolina Digital Library on American Slavery
University of Virginia American Slave Narratives
Virginia – African-American Funeral Programs, 1935-2009
Here are some African-American family history blogs, all with posts in 2017:
Between the Gate Posts – LindaRe’s blog
Black and Red Journal – Terry Ligon’s blog
Caddo Trees – blog about families from Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Claiming Kin – blog
Eastern Shore’s Africans, Melungeons and Native Americans – blog
Finding Josephine – Dionne Ford’s blog
Into the LIGHT – Renate Yarborough Sanders’ blog
Mariah’s Zepher – Ms. Vicky’s blog
My Genealogical Journey – Minkyadoo’s blog
Notes to Myself – True Lewis’s blog
Please leave a comment if you know of other free sites or current blogs that aren’t listed so they can be added.
You have a generous heart, Linda. I love that you took the time to list these resources. <3
Thank you for the compliment. I try to keep expanding the types of resources that American researchers might find handy.