African American Genealogy: Research Tips

African American Genealogy Research Tips

African American Genealogy: Research Tips

Searching for your African American ancestors can be quite challenging, to say the least. Here are some basic tips to get you started on your African American genealogy research journey, so you can start climbing your family tree!

Steps to researching your African American Ancestors:

1. Search your ancestors back to the 1870 Census
2. Search your ancestors in the U.S. Free Population Schedules of the 1860 census
3. Not there? Identify the slave owner of your ancestor.
4. Research anything and everything on the slave owner
5. Come back forward again using descendancy research
6. Stuck? Continue the process for EACH descendant
7. Research the slave trade in the area you’re researching

African American Genealogy Research Tips:

• Broaden Your Research-As I ALWAYS say, don’t keep yourself in a “box” with ANYTHING
• Keep in mind that name spellings were all over the place
• ​Keep in mind that ages were all over the place
• Keep in mind that not all kept the names of the slave owner or what was given to them, sometimes they chose their own names after emancipation
• Don’t forget to widen your search to other family and friends, especially those mentioned in any records, including those of the enslavers
• Research the other families that owned property before and after your ancestor’s entry in the 1870 Census

More Genealogy Resources:
Learn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.