African-American Genealogy Resources

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:

Access Genealogy

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

African Roots Podcast

AfriGeneas

Ancestry Wiki

BlackPast

Black Servicemen Revolutionary War Records

Boston Public Library Anti-Slavery Manuscript Collection

Christine’s Genealogy Website

Civil War Slave Compensation Claims in Compiled Military Service Records of U.S. Colored Troops

Conversations with My Ancestors  – Mavis Jones’s blog

Cyndi’s List

Digital Library on American Slavery

Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD

Family Search

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 VirginiaBe 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

Mapping the Freedmen’s Bureau

Missouri State ArchivesBe sure to browse this site thoroughly, too. Lots of digital material.

National Archives

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 Genealogy

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 Freedmen’s Bureau

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

Our Black Ancestry

Please leave a comment if you know of other free sites or current blogs that aren’t listed so they can be added.

 

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