African American Genealogy Research Tips in Honor of Juneteenth, Freedom Day!

African American Genealogy Research Tips, Records and Resources in Honor of Juneteenth, Freedom Day

African American Genealogy Research Tips in Honor of Juneteenth, Freedom Day!

​Juneteenth, Freedom Day
Juneteenth was finally established as a federal holiday, last year on June 17, 2021, to be recognized and observed every year on June 19th, unless it falls on a weekend, but it has been around much longer than that!

Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Emancipation Day. Even though Emancipation was proclaimed in 1863, it wasn’t actually implemented in confederate states, and the implementation took affect little by little. The last place that word had reached, and emancipation was finally implemented, was in the state of Texas, on June 19, 1865, when Union troops landed in Galveston, Texas and announced their freedom by executive decree. Juneteenth has been celebrated ever since; although, many Americans have not been aware of it. With it being a federal holiday, all Americans will finally know of this holiday and what an important day in history it was and is! 😉
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In the early days it had been celebrated with prayer and family gatherings, and some taking pilgrimages to Galveston; today it is celebrated with the same, as well as parades, festivals and more.

Emancipation Proclamation; Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana

​African American Genealogy Research
Are you researching African American Ancestors for either yourself, another family member, friend, or a client? Are you looking for research tips, records to use, resources, or Presentations? I do not specialize in African American research in any way, but I have researched for African American clients and thought some of the information I use, that I have listed below,  may be of interest and help. 😊
 
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 Records:

• Family Records
• ORAL HISTORIES
• Bible Records
• Family Letters and Papers
• Diaries
• Family Photos
• School Records
• Vital Records
• Census Records
• U.S. Free Population Schedules of the 1860 census
• 1850 and 1860 federal census mortality schedules
• Obituaries
• Cemetery Records
• Military Records
• Enslaver Land Records
• Voter Records
• Newspapers
• Slave Schedules
• County Court Records
• Government Registers of Free Persons of Color
• Southern Claims Commission Records
• SLAVE NARRATIVES
• Enslaver Tax Records
• Enslaver Property Records
• Enslaver Bills of Sale
• Enslaver Wills
• Enslaver Probate Records
• Enslaver Plantation Records
• Enslaver Business Receipts
• Enslaver Business Contracts
• Freedman's Bank Records 
• Freedmen’s Bureau Records
• Bounty Lists
• Runaway Slave Notices
• Chancery Court Records
• And more!

 
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

 
African American Genealogy Resources:

• African American History- National Archives
• The Freedmen's Bureau- National Archives
• Genealogy Research: Black and African American Genealogy- West Virginia University Libraries
• African American Studies Resource Guide: Freedmen's Bureau and Freedman’s Bank Records- Suffolk University, Boston   
• Genealogy: Black & African American Genealogy- Western Carolina University Hunter Library
  Research Guides
• African American Genealogy-History Detectives: Special Investigations, PBS
• African American Genealogy- Pratt Library
• International African American Museum Center for Family History
• Federal Records that Help Identify Former Enslaved People and Slave Holders-National Archives
• African American Genealogy-FamilySearch Wiki
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
• Black Family Research: Records of Post-Civil War Federal Agencies- National Archives
• Black Genealogy-Access Genealogy
• African American Genealogy-American Ancestors
• African American History Online: A Resource Guide- Library of Congress
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society

 
African American Genealogy and Ancestry Webinars and Presentations Coming Up:

• Legacy Family Tree Webinars at MyHeritage (FREE & $)

 
Free Anytime FamilySearch Lessons in African American Genealogy:

• African American Records and Strategies, Post-1865
• Unique African American Records Post-1865
• Where Do I Begin? Getting Started with African American Research
• Finding Helpful Resources, Post-1865
• How FamilySearch Tools Can Help with Post-1865 Resources
• Freedmen's Bureau Records
• African American Records on FamilySearch​​
• Beginning South Africa Research

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FREE Anytime BYU Library African American Research Videos

• The Great African American Migration Part 1: Overview and Methodology – James Tanner
• The Great African American Migration Part 2: Destinations and Causes – James Tanner
• The Great African American Migration Part 3: Additional Sources and Records – James Tanner
• The Great African American Migration Part 4: Impact on the Country – James Tanner 
• The Great African American Migration Part 5: Understanding and Researching the Records – James Tanner 
• The Great African American Migration Part 6: Summary of the Main Record Sources – James Tanner

 
 
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Interactive Questions:
How will you celebrate Juneteenth? Are you stuck in your African American genealogy research? What records above have you found the most useful in your African American genealogy research? Do you have other tips or resources that may be helpful? Did you know that MyHeritage and FamilySearch offered these free genealogy classes and conferences? Are you signed up for any of the webinars and presentations listed above? I’d love to hear your comments below, in the comment section!

 
More African American resources:
Find more African American genealogy resources, tips, and other info under the African American Genealogy category.

More Genealogy Events:
Find some more genealogy presentations and events to attend, under the Genealogy Presentations category and the Genealogy Events category.
 
More Genealogy Resources:
Learn about more family history and genealogy resources under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page.
 
More Genealogy Records:
Learn about more records you can use in your research under the Genealogy Records category.

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This post is a participant in the Genealogy Blog Party!


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