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Beginning your African American Family Research

Jackie Oshman

Senior Librarian

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Jackie Oshman

  • Librarian for 19 years
  • Specialize in New Brunswick history
  • Executive board member of New Brunswick Historical Society and History and Preservation Section of NJLA
  • Family genealogist
  • Volunteer for genealogical websites

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How to Start?

  • Start with your living relatives
    • Interview your parents, grandparents, cousins, etc
      • Where and when were they born?
      • Who were their parents?
      • Did they know their grandparents and where they were from?
      • Do they have family bibles, albums or other genealogical resources?
        • Obituaries, birth notices, marriage announcements
      • Has anyone else done the research?

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  • Contact local resources first and then expand
  • Check the websites or call to see what resources they have
    • Libraries, vital records offices, county court documents
  • Expanded resources will be discussed later
  • Do as much internet searching as you can!!
  • Explore specific websites (ethnic, other family genealogists, other states)
  • Discover your local family history center

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Online Sources

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Social Security Death Index

  • http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
  • Search by Last Name, First Name, or SSN
  • Provides last place of benefit, date of death, state issued
  • Will not show people who died before Social Security numbers were issued.
  • May be able to apply for original S.S. application which provides birth record and parents names

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Ancestry.com vs AncestryLibrary

  • Pay for membership on different scales
  • Create and save a family tree
  • “Hints” provide records that possibly match
  • Connect your tree to others searching the same family

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  • Free access to United States records
  • Only available in the library
  • Cannot save your information
  • Cannot see other people researching your family

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Ancestry.com African American Collections

https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/aabooks/

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Ancestry Academy

https://www.ancestryacademy.com/needles-and-threads-piecing-together-african-american-families

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Ancestry DNA

$99 Get personalized details about your ethnic origins. Discover more about your story with advanced DNA science from the experts in family history. – WATCH FOR SALES!

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FamilyTree magazine

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HeritageQuest

  • Available at the library or at home using your valid library card number
  • All information checked multiple times by humans for accuracy (as opposed to Ancestry)
  • Unique databases – Freedman’s Bank records, Revolutionary War records, book and article searching

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  • HeritageQuest Online Introduction
  • Thursday, September 7, 2023 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • This webinar will introduce you to HeritageQuest Online. By the end of the session, you will be able to:��- Navigate to the various content search options�- Locate the Research Aids�- Begin your Heritage journey

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  • Email joshman@lmxac.org for link

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  • FamilySearch.Org Slave Census

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National Archives – African American Collections https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans

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State Specific Websites

  • Maryland Ethnic Research website

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Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy

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African American Research at the Library of Virginia to 1870

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Virginia Museum of History

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International African American Museum

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North Carolina Digital Library on American Slavery

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www.AfriGeneas.com�(Twitter and FB. Webpage down 5/22/23)

  • collects information from descendants of slave owners
  • has numerous searchable databases, including death and marriage records, census records, library records, slave data, surnames and state resources.
  • More than 30 forums to post messages, including Slave Research, Caribbean Research and Free Persons of Color.

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Cyndi’s List – African American

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SlaveVoyages

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Scarlet and Black (Rutgers)

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New Jersey Slavery Records

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UmbraSearch

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Digital Public Library

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https://nbfplhistory.wixsite.com/�blackhistory

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More Internet sites

  • African American Historical and Genealogical Society

http://www.aahgs.org/

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  • North Carolina Runaway Slave Ads

http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/RAS�

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  • Access Genealogy

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/black-genealogy/

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  • PBS History Detectives

http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/technique/african-american-genealogy/

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  • National Archives

http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/

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Books available at NBFPL

  • Black Genesis: A Resource Book for African-American Genealogy by James M. Rose

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  • Family Pride: A Complete guide to tracing African American Genealogy by Donna Beasley

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  • Finding a Place Called Home by Dee Woodtor

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  • Genealogist’s Guide to Discovering your African American Ancestors by Franklin Carter Smith

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  • Barnes and Noble African American Genealogy Guide

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?category_id=768621

  • African American Genealogical Research: How to Trace Your Family History by Paul R. Begley, Alexia J. Helsley and Steven D. Tuttle (South Carolina Department of Archives and History)
  • African-American Genealogical Sourcebook edited by Paula K. Byers
  • African American Genealogy: A Bibliography and Guide to Sources by Curt Witcher

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  • Any Questions?