General Resource Sites

• African-American DNA Roots Project 
  A non-profit, collaborative effort of Dr. Bruce Jackson of the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Dr. Bert Ely of the University of South Carolina Department of Biological Sciences to reunite African-Americans with their ancestral roots in Africa.
• African-American Genealogy Ring 
• African American Lives 
  A 4-hour series on African American family history, genealogy & genetics from PBS.
  • About the Series 
    • For Educators 
    • Resources in Print 
    • Resources Online 
  • Profiles 
  • Analyzing the Evidence 
  • The Science and the Investigators 
  • Who Am I? A Genealogy Guide 
  • Sharing Stories 
• The African - Native Genealogy Homepage 
  Celebrating the Estelusti ~ The Freedmen Oklahoma's Black Indians of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Nations.
• AfriGeneas ~ African American & African Ancestored Genealogy 
  • African American Census Schedules Online 
  • African Ancestored Genealogy by Country/Region 
  • African Ancestored Genealogy by State 
  • AfriGeneas Community ~ Forums, Chat Rooms, Mail Lists, and more 
  • AfriGeneas Library 
  • AfriGeneas Message Boards 
  • AfriGeneas Obituaries 
  • List of Links 
  • Slave Data Collection 
    Wills, inventories, Bible records, slave manifests, etc.
  • Surnames Database & Registry 
• Black/African Related Resources 
• The Channel 4 Guide to Genealogy or How to Find Your Roots 
  • A Caribbean Case Study 
  • Tracing an Ancestor Who Was an Immigrant 
    • African-Americans 
    • Africans 
    • West Indians 
• Christine's Genealogy Website 
  A wealth of African-American resources for genealogy as well as Christine's personal research: The RUSSELLs & COBBs of Jackson, Tennessee; the CHARITYs of Surry and Charles City County, Virginia; the ANDERSONs and PERKINS of Shuqualak, Mississippi; and the SIMMONS of Detroit, Michigan.
  • Phorum 
  • Sections 
  • Topics 
  • WebLinks 
• FamilySearch.org - African American Family History Resources 
  • Finding Records of Your Ancestors, Part A - African American 1870 to Present 
• The Freedmen's Bureau Online - Black History - American History 
  Information and records for "The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands," more commonly known as the Freedmen's Bureau. Published transcriptions of the records of the Freedmens Bureau, including Freedmens marriage certificates and reports of outrages against freed slaves.
• Immigration: The Africans 
  A brief history of African immigration to the United States.
• In Motion: The African American Migration Experience 
  From the trans-Atlantic slave trade through the Great Migrations up to the modern African immigrations to the United States.
• Looking 4 Kin Genealogy Links & Chat - African American 
• National Human Genome Center at Howard University  ~ Washington, D.C.
  • Genomic Research in the African Diaspora (GRAD) 
• Researching Your African American Ancestors 
  From the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
• Roots Television 
  Roots Television is an online television network by and for avid genealogists. Videos include how-to demonstrations, conference lectures, and region-specific programming including Irish, Hispanic, British, Jewish, African-American research and more. Videos are available online, on-demand, and virtually all of them are absolutely free.
  • Program Guide 
    • African Roots 
• Scientific American: Feature Article: The Puzzle of Hypertension in African-Americans: February 1999 
  Genes are often invoked to account for why high blood pressure is so common among African-Americans. Yet the rates are low in Africans. This discrepancy demonstrates how genes and the environment interact.
• Slavegenealogy.com - Rebuilding African American History 
• US African American Griots 
  Dedicated to assisting all those in pursuit of African American Ancestry and History in the United States and other countries by being a valuable centralized resource repository for African American records of historical proportion such as manumission orders, wills & deeds, census records, slave records, land deeds, narratives, cemetery listings, family histories and vital records.
• USF Africana Heritage Project 
  To rediscover precious records that document the names and lives of former slaves, freedpersons and their descendants, and share those records on this free Internet site.
• We are family: Piecing together the past 
  Online article from the Christian Science Monitor.
• Yahoo!...African American...Genealogy 

History & Culture

• African-American Archaeology and African Diaspora Archaeology Resources 
  Provides detailed lists of resources in African American Archaeology, Cultures and History, divided into topical and regional sections.
• African American History 
  Links from the Historical Text Archive at Mississippi State University.
• African American History Bookmarks 
  From Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland.
• African American History, Kansas State Historical Society 
• African Americans on the Move: A Look at the Forced and Voluntary Movement of Blacks Within America 
  Article by Rickie Lazzerini in Kindred Trails.
• African American World 
  African American history & culture.
• African Studies (Rutgers University Libraries) 
• AFRO-American Almanac 
  African American history resource.
• Black History Pages 
• Boston African-American National Historic Site 
• Digital Schomburg Images of African Americans from the 19th Century 
  Artists, engravers and photographers managed to capture and preserve for posterity a variety of images of African Americans throughout the 19th century.
• The Church in the Southern Black Community (American Memory, Library of Congress) 
  Texts from the libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• The Encyclopædia Britannica Guide to Black History 
• Goin' To Chicago 
  Companion web site to the PBS documentary film about the largest internal migration in U.S. history - the move that led millions of African Americans from the South to the cities of the North and West of the United States.
• History of the American Negro 
  West Virginia edition, ed. by A.B. Caldwell, 1923; "This collection of biographies of prominent Negro men and women of West Virginia is Volume VII of the Biographical History of the American Negro. It does not include all the important men and women of the race in the State, but it does include many of the noblest and best."
• Homecoming 
  Companion web site to the PBS program on black farmers from the Civil War to the 20th Century.
• Isle of Canes 
  Companion web site to the historical novel by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
• Kentucky's Underground Railroad - Passage to Freedom 
  Companion site to the KET TV's documentary on the Underground Railroad in Kentucky.
• Lest We Forget 
  Documents with focus on the history and culture of African-Americans
  • Genealogy 
    Index page from the LEST WE FORGET Web Site
• North by South 
  A three-year, NEH-sponsored, study of African American migrations from south to north.
• The Underground Railroad @ nationalgeographic.com 
• Underground Railroad - Taking the Train to Freedom 
• The Universal Black Pages - History Links 
• The Walk to Canada - Tracing the Underground Railroad 

How To

• Ancestry.com - African American Research, Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 
  A series of articles by Roseann Reinemuth Hogan, Ph.D.
• Ancestry.com - The Challenge of African American Research 
  Article by Curt B. Witcher.
• Ancestry.com - Finding Your African American Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide 
  Article by David Thackery.
• Ancestry.com - Help for African American Research 
  Article by Curt B. Witcher.
• Beginners Guide to African American Genealogy 
  From AfriGeneas. An Online interactive guide for beginners by Dee Parmer Woodtor.
• FamilySearch - Research Guidance - African American Records Quick Guide 
• Genealogy.com: African-American Research 
• Genealogy Pathfinder for African-American Research 
  From the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System in Georgia.
• Some Research Tips On How To Get Started Tracing Your African-American Roots 

Libraries, Archives & Museums

• A. Philip Randolph/Pullman Porter Museum Gallery 
  Chicago, Illinois museum celebrating this leader in the African American labor movement and the African American Railroad Attendant.
  • Pullman Porter National Historic Registry of the African-American Railroad Employees 
• African American Museum of Harrisburg  ~ Pennsylvania
• African American Resources 
  From the Georgia Archives.
• African American Monuments, Museums and Memorials 
  Links to African American museums, monuments and cultural sites.
• Afro-American Sources in Virginia - A Guide To Manuscripts 
• Amistad Research Center 
• Association of African American Museums 
• A Bibliography of African American Family History at the Newberry Library 
  Describes the African-American genealogy resources in the Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois.
• The Black Fashion Museum 
  The Black Fashion Museum in Washington DC acknowledges the achievements and contributions of people from the African Diaspora to the apparel industry.
• Black Archives of Mid-America 
  A collaboration between the Black Archives of Mid-America Inc. and Kansas City Public Library, funded by the Missouri State Library.
• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Pennsylvania Department: African-American Genealogy 
• Center for American History  ~ Austin, Texas
  From the University of Texas at Austin.
  • Research and Collections Division 
    • Newspapers 
      The Center's Newspaper Collections contain more than 4,500 Texas, Southern, U.S., and non-U. S. titles and is the largest collection of its kind in Texas.
      • Texas Newspaper Collection by Ethnic, Religious, Professional or Political Orientation 
        Listing of more than 600 Texas newspapers indexed by ethnic, religious, professional, or political orientation .
    • Subject Guides to Collections 
      • African-American History Resources - Table of Contents 
      • Genealogy Research Resources 
      • Plantation Resources 
      • Slaves and Slavery Resources 
• Connecticut State Library 
  • History and Genealogy Unit 
    • Research Guide to African-American Genealogical Resources at the Connecticut State Library 
• Harriet Tubman Home  ~ Auburn, New York
• Historical Society of Pennsylvania 
  Includes a research library with materials on immigration studies.
  • A Guide to Manuscript and Microfilm Collections of the Research Library of the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies 
    • African American 
• Indiana Historical Bureau 
  • Indiana African-American Resources 
    Researching African-American History in the Indiana State Library and Historical Building.
• Library of Congress 
  • The African-American Mosaic Exhibition 
    A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture.
  • African American Odyssey 
    • African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship 
      .
    • Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 
    • From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909 
  • African American Perspectives: Pamphlets from the Daniel A.P. Murray Collection, 1818-1907 
  • Local History and Genealogy Reading Room 
    • African American Family Histories and Related Works in the Library of Congress 
      Bibliography listed in order of surname.
    • Afro-American Genealogical Research 
• Library of Michigan 
  • Abrams Foundation Historical Collection: Genealogy and Local History 
  • African-American Research Resources 
    Bibliography from the Library of Michigan.
• Maryland State Archives African American Resources 
• Merseyside Maritime Museum  ~ Liverpool, England
  • Transatlantic Slavery - Against Human Dignity 
    • The Trade Triangle 
• Moorland-Spingarn Research Center  ~ Washington, D.C.
  One of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world. As one of Howard University's major research facilities, the MSRC collects, preserves, and makes available for research a wide range of resources chronicling the Black experience.
• Museum of African-American History  ~ Detroit, Michigan
• The Museum of African Slavery 
• The Museum of Afro-American History Boston  ~ Massachusetts
• National Underground Railroad Freedom Center 
  National Park museum under construction in Cincinnati. Will contain records pertaining to all slavery-era persons. Collecting oral history on Underground Railroad sites and stories.
• New Orleans Public Library 
  • City Archives and Louisiana Division Special Collections 
    • African-American Genealogical Materials 
    • African American Resource Center 
    • A Guide to African American Genealogical Research in New Orleans and Louisiana 
• Parting Ways: The Museum of Afro-American & Cape Verdean History, Inc. 
• Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University  ~ Durham, North Carolina
  • African-American Women - On-line Archival Exhibits 
  • John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American Documentation 
  • Third Person, First Person: Slave Voices from the Special Collections Library 
    Broadside Collection, Special Collections Library, Duke University.
• Researching Your African-American Ancestors 
  From the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
• Richard B. Harrison Library - Mollie Huston Lee Collection  ~ North Carolina
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture 
  From the New York Public Library.
• A Separate Flame: Western Branch: The First African-American Public Library  ~ Louisville, Kentucky
• St. Louis County Library  ~ Missouri
  • Special Collections Department 
    • Julius K. Hunter & Friends African American Research Collection 
    • SLCL Special Collections: Genealogy 
• The Walker African-American Museum & Research Center  ~ Nevada
• Western Reserve Historical Society Library  ~ Cleveland, Ohio
  • African American Archives 
    The African American Archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society's purpose is to collect, preserve and make accessible historic documents, memorabilia, art, and artifacts pertaining to African American life, history and culture in Northeast Ohio and beyond.

Locality Specific

• A Community Remembers - African-American Life in Princeton  ~ New Jersey
• African American History  ~ Princeton, New Jersey
  From the Princeton Public Library. Includes marriage and death notices.
• African American Research 
  Guide for holdings at the Alabama Department of Archives & History.
• African-American Resources  ~ Missouri
  From the St. Louis Public Library.
• African-Americans in Chester & Delaware Counties  ~ Pennsylvania
• African Americans In Cumberland County, North Carolina 
  Tips on African American genealogical searches in Cumberland County NC; and the authors personal genealogy search for the POE, BOGANS, PETTIFORD, COUNCIL, AND BIBBY (BEEBE) families.
• African Americans in Missouri 
  Resources for African Americans seeking enslaved ancestors in Missouri. The site offers slave schedules, marriage records, black cemetery listing and a slave database of Missouri slave owners. Volunteers transcribe data for a variety of much needed resources.
• African-Americans in Southeastern Ohio 
• African Americans in West Virginia 
  Selections from the James Randall Collection at the West Virginia State Archives.
• African-American Sources for Gibson County, Indiana 
• African Immigration to Maryland 
  A scholarly review of immigration into Maryland from the very first colonists to modern immigrants.
• ALGenWeb: Ethnic Groups: African-American Genealogy and History Sites 
• Arkansas Black History Online 
• Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People 
• Blacks in Alaska History Project Inc. 
• Early African American Settlers 
  The largest rural African American settlement of freed and newly free slaves in the state of Wisconsin. Began in 1850 - 1940. Detailed info on Arms and Shivers families.
• Florida African American Roots 
• Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware 
  History of over 500 African American families who were free in the colonial period through 1820.
• Freedmen of the Frontier 
  African American genealogy and historical reference site for western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma.
• Genealogy research resources specifically for African American Families 
  From the Cleveland Public Library.
• Gens De Couleur Libre -The Free People of Color in New Orleans 
  History, surnames,links and group discussions on the Free People of Color in New Orleans.
• The Geography of Slavery in Virginia 
  Digital collection of advertisements for runaway slaves, captured slaves & servants in 18th- & 19th-century Virginia newspapers. Over 4000 advertisements for runaway slaves and indentured servants from newspapers in Virginia & Maryland from 1736-1803. Keyword searchable database.
• The History Guy: Slave Rebellions and Uprisings in the U.S. 
• Georgia African American 
  Links to information on African Americans in Georgia, USA. Includes military, cemetary, census links, biographies and more.
• Georgia Lynching Victims 
  List of 486 victims of lynchings in Georgia from the 1880s to the present.
• Guide to African-American Documentary Resources in North Carolina 
• Historic African-American Families of Denton County  ~ Texas
• Louisiana African American Archives 
  Resources for African Americans researchers with an interest Louisiana.
• Missouri's African American History 
• Monroe County, WV African-American Research  ~ West Virginia
• Negro Settlers of Michigan 
  Original Negro settlers of Montcalm, Isabella, and Mecosta - Central Michigan.
• People of Color in Old Tennessee 
• Profiles of African Americans in Tennessee 
• Poplar Hill on His Lordship's Kindness  ~ Clinton, Maryland
  Museum and historic residence.
  • African American Heritage At Poplar Hill 
    • African American Families at Poplar Hill 
    • The Inventories 
• Remembering Black Loyalists, Black Communities in Nova Scotia 
  • Black Loyalist Surnames 
• Schomburg Exhibition, Harlem 1900-1940 
  Harlem: 1900-1940 was originally published in 1991 by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library. This web site version is based in part on the 1991 publication.
• Thomasville's Black History 
  Thomasville and Thomas County, Georgia.
• To Know My Name - A Chronological History of African Americans in Santa Cruz County  ~ California

Mailing Lists, Newsgroups & Chat

• Genealogy Resources on the Internet - African-Ancestored Mailing Lists 
  Most of the mailing list links below point to this site, wonderfully maintained by John Fuller. John indexes links for all known genealogy mailing lists, including RootsWeb and others.
• RootsWeb: Genealogy Mailing Lists: Ethnic-African 
  The majority of genealogy mailing lists are hosted by RootsWeb.com. Messages on RootsWeb lists are archived. The links to RootsWeb below point you to the archives (browse or search).

• AFRICA Mailing List 
  Archives: browse or search.
• AFRICANAMER-GEN Mailing List 
  For the discussion and sharing of information regarding all aspects of African-American genealogy. Archives: browse or search.
• Afrigeneas Chat 
• Afrigeneas Mailing list 
  • Afrigeneas Mailing Lists for individual U.S. states:
    AK-AfriGeneas , AL-AfricaAmer , AR-AfriGeneas , AZ-AfriGeneas , CA-AfriGeneas , CO-AfriGeneas , CT-AfriGeneas , DC-AfriGeneas , DE-AfriGeneas , FL-AfriGeneas , GA-AfriGeneas , HI-AfriGeneas , IA-AfriGeneas , IL-AfriGeneas , IN-AfriGeneas , KS-AfriGeneas , KY-AfriGeneas , LA-AfriGeneas , MA-AfriGeneas , MD-AfriGeneas , ME-AfriGeneas , MI-AfriGeneas , MN-AfriGeneas , MO-AfriGeneas , MS-AfriGeneas , NC-AfriGeneas , NH-AfriGeneas , NJ-AfriGeneas , NM-AfriGeneas , NV-AfriGeneas , NY-AfriGeneas , OH-AfriGeneas , OK-AfriGeneas , OR-AfriGeneas , PA-AfriGeneas , SC-AfriGeneas , TN-AfriGeneas , TX-AfriGeneas , VA-AfriGeneas , WA-AfriGeneas , WI-AfriGeneas , WVa-AfriGeneas 
• alabama-slaves Mailing List 
  For the discussion and sharing of information regarding slaves mentioned in Alabama records.
• AL-AfricaAmer Mailing List 
  For anyone with an interest in African American genealogy in Alabama. Archives: browse or search.
• AR-AfricaAmer Mailing List 
  For anyone with an interest in African American genealogy in Arkansas. Archives: browse or search.
• blackadoptiontriad Mailing List 
  For all African-Americans affected by the adoption experience (e.g., adoptees, adoptive parents, birth parents, siblings) to help others in their search for family members and to share searching stores and reunion experiences.
• BLACK-IRISH Mailing List 
  For A mailing list for anyone with genealogy interest in Black-Irish ancestry. This list has great emphasis on the theory of Irish, Native American, Spanish, African, and other nationalities being connected to this great mystery called Black Irish. Archives: browse or search.
• BLACKWARHEROS Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in Black Americans who were "heroes" during any war. Archives: browse or search.
• BSMF-AfriGeneas 
  To coordinate, network and strengthen the efforts of African ancestored researchers interested in Black Smokey Mountain families.
• Canada-AfriGeneas Mailing List 
• CANADA-FREEDMEN Mailing List 
  For the discussion and sharing of information regarding the travels of southern slaves as they were guided to freedom in Canada by Harriet Tubman. Archives: browse or search.
• Caribbean-AfriGeneas Mailing List 
• Christine's Genealogy Forum 
  African American genealogy forum.
• DE-AfricaAmer Mailing List 
  For anyone with an interest in African American genealogy in Delaware. Archives: browse or search.
• FPC-OTHER-FREE-GEN Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in Free Person of Color, Other Free, and/or Mulatto as reported by official records. Archives: browse or search.
• FREEDMEN Mailing List 
  For discussion and sharing of information regarding slaves who were freed by their owners including related files and data. This includes African American, Native American, Scotch, Irish, and any other slave in the United States. Archives: browse or search.
• GEN-AFRICAN Mailing List 
  Gatewayed with the soc.genealogy.african newsgroup for the discussion of African genealogy. Archives: browse or search.
• JEFFERSON-HEMINGS Mailing List 
  for the discussion and sharing of information regarding the descendants of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Archives: browse or search.
• KY-AfricaAmer Mailing List 
  For anyone with an interest in African American genealogy in Kentucky. Archives: browse or search.
• KY-REGULATORS Mailing List 
  For the discussion and sharing of information regarding the history of the Kentucky Regulators, their surnames, and the deeds that they did. Archives: browse or search.
• KY-SLAVES Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in the slaves of Kentucky or researching surnames listed as slaves or free slaves in Kentucky. Archives: browse or search.
• MD-AfricaAmer Mailing List 
  For anyone with an interest in African American genealogy in Maryland. Archives: browse or search.
• MICHIGAN-AFAM Mailing List 
  For anyone who is researching their African American ancestry in Michigan. Archives: browse or search.
• MIXED-MARRIAGES Mailing List 
  For those interested in Native American and African American, Inter-Marriages, and the hidden culture/ancestry which so many of us didn't realize existed and still currently exists in today's society. Archives: browse or search.
• MSAFRICANAMER Mailing List 
  For the discussion and sharing of information regarding all aspects of African-American genealogy in Mississippi. Archives: browse or search.
• NC-USCT Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the US Colored Troops formed in North Carolina during the American Civil War including soldiers, battles, regimental histories and military and pension records for the 35th, 36th, 37th & 135th US Colored Infantries and the 14th US Colored Heavy Artillery. See the also North Carolina - US Colored Troops  web site. Archives: browse or search.
• NJ-AFAM Mailing List 
  For anyone with an interest in African American ancestry in New Jersey. Archives: browse or search.
• OH-AfricaAmer Mailing List 
  For anyone with an interest in African American genealogy in Ohio. Archives: browse or search.
• OH-CW-AfricaAmer Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in African Americans from Ohio who fought in the Civil War. Archives: browse or search.
• POCSOUTH Mailing List 
  "People of Color, South" to open a dialogue with African American genealogists doing research in the thirteen southern United States. Archives: browse or search.
• PULLMAN-COMPANY Mailing List 
  For genealogical or historical interest in the Pullman Palace Car Company (founded 1867) and their ancestors who were associated with it. The list will address the Pullman Company; Pullman Palace Car Company; Pullman Car Works; Pullman porters; and the town of Pullman, Illinois, near Chicago, which was built for Pullman employees. Archives: browse or search.
• SlaveAfriGeneas Mailing List 
  For the descendants of slaves and slaveowners to meet on a common ground in the search for the last slave owner. The African ancestored family searcher must research the family of the "suspected" slave owner in order to get past the pre War Between The States curtain.
• SLAVEINFO Mailing List 
  For the sharing of genealogical data about slaves in the United States including wills/deeds that show sales and transfer of ownership, vital records (e.g., birth, marriage, death), and information/queries on specific slaves that may be part of your ancestry. Archives: browse or search.
• SLAVE-OWNERS Mailing List 
  For for anyone with a genealogical interest in slave owners in the United States. Archives: browse or search.
• SOUTHERN-METIS Mailing List 
  for anyone with a genealogical interest in their Metis ancestry ... those with a mix of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere and Europeans or those with mixed Native American and African ancestry. Archives: browse or search.
• SOUTHERN-PLANTATIONS Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the plantations of the southern United States and their owners. Archives: browse or search.
• Usenet Newsgroup soc.genealogy.african 
• STMP_Roots Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical interest in the descendants of slaves and Free Persons of Color in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
• TN-AfricaAmer Mailing List 
  For anyone with an interest in African American genealogy in Tennessee. Archives: browse or search.
• TX-AFAM-GEN Mailing List 
  For anyone who is researching their African American genealogy in Texas. Archives: browse or search.
• UNDERGROUND-RR Mailing List 
  For anyone with a genealogical or historical interest in the underground railroad - the loose network of antislavery northerners that illegally helped fugitive slaves reach safety in the free states or Canada in the period before the American Civil War. Archives: browse or search.
• US-SLAVE-TRADE Mailing List 
  For the discussion and sharing of genealogical and historical information regarding those involved in the transportation and selling of slaves in the Americas before the Civil War. Archives: browse or search.
• VA-AfricaAmer Mailing List 
  For anyone with an interest in African American genealogy in Virginia. Archives: browse or search.

Maps, Gazetteers & Geographical Information

• The African-American Mosaic Exhibition 
  A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture.
  • Migrations 
    Maps and statistical information showing migration.
• African American Odyssey 
  From the Library of Congress.
  • Map Showing the Distribution of Slaves in the Southern States 
• Maps of Liberia 1830-1870 
  From the Library of Congress, American Colonization Society Collection.
• The Underground Railroad @ nationalgeographic.com - Routes to Freedom Map 

Military

• 8th KY USCT Reg't 
  Pvt. NED Hopson, our patriarch, enlisted, served, discharged from Co D, 8th KY USCT Artillery Regiment H.
• 34th United States Colored Troops and 2nd South Carolina Volunteers 
• African-American Civil War Memorial 
  Made possible by AT&T, the Web site provides information for anyone interested in freedom and historical truth or in the valor of the African-American soldiers who fought during the war. An interactive feature allows visitors to find information on the soldiers who served in the war and provides a resource that helps the descendants of these soldiers to keep this history alive. The Web site also features an online store which allows visitors to purchase souvenirs and show their support for the Foundation and it's programs.
• African-American Medal of Honor Winners 
  African-American Medal of Honor Winners from the Civil War to the Spanish American War.
• African Americans in the Civil War 
  Links to more sites.
• African Americans in the Military 
• African American Warriors 
• African American Warriors 
• The Buffalo Soldiers on the Western Frontier 
  From the International Museum of the Horse.
• Casualty Reports of the 10th U.S. Cavalry, San Juan Hill, July 1898 
  List of the missing, dead and wounded Buffalo soldiers of the 10th United Stated Cavalry taken from the reports of officers following the action on San Juan Hill, Cuba during the Spanish American War.
• The Civil War 
  Several links and articles from "Lest We Forget".
• The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) 
  The current version of the CWSS is a new presentation of the names and regimental histories of the African American units in the Union Army.
• Descriptive Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops for the State of Missouri, 1863-1865 
  From the St. Louis County Library. Information about this microfilm set which records the recruitment of 5,000+ African Americans who enlisted in Missouri Colored Volunteers during 1863-1865.
• Documenting African Americans in the Records of Military Agencies 
  Article by Lisha Penn.
• Eighth United States Colored Troops 
• Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry 
• Preserving the Legacy of the United States Colored Troops 
  Article by Budge Weidman.
• Prologue: Racial Identity and the Case of Capt. Michael Healy 
  By James M. O'Toole. Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration Fall 1997, vol. 29, no. 3.
• The Revolution's Black Soldiers 
• Tennessee Colored Pension Applications for C. S. A. Service  
  This page contains name of African-Americans with Tennessee connections who applied for pensions claiming service with the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.
• United States Colored Troops Resident in Baltimore at the time of the 1890 Census 
  Alphabetical list of soldiers, from Maryland State Archives.
• United States Colored Troops: The Civil War 
• US Colored Civil War Soldiers - Washington Court House Cemetery  ~ Ohio
• World War II Black Medal of Honor Recipients 
  Full text citations.

Newspapers

• African American Newspapers in Kansas 
• Black Press Held by the Library of Congress 
  Guide to African-American community newspapers held in the LOC collections.
• Index of African-American Articles at G.R.P.L. 
  The information was abstracted from the local Grand Rapids Newspapers and other Michigan newspapers by Professor Carl Bajema, placed in the Local History Department of the Grand Rapids Public Library - Main Branch. These records cover a time period from 1830 - 1935.
• The Reflector 
  An African-American newspaper printed in Charlottesville from 1933-1935, excellent source for understanding the lives of Charlotteville's African Americans during the Jim Crow period.
• Chicago Defender Newspaper: Some Deaths 1936-1938  ~ Illinois
  From the Patricia Liddell Researchers.

People & Families

• Ancestry of Muhammad Ali 
• Black Fraternal Orders 
  Fraternal Lodges Developing & Expanding the Village in Rural Southern Virginia.
• The Black Seminoles 
• BlackIndians & Intertribal Native American Association 
• Born Free - 350 Year History - ADAMS/BECKETT Family 
  The is a story of remarkable men and women who came out of bondage on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland. In researching his family history, the author discovered many African American families whose freedom had been established from the first or second generation after arrival—families that had lived and worked in America for over 200 years BEFORE the Civil War.
• Civil Rights Activist Rosa Parks in Federal Census Records 
  Links to free images of civil rights activist Rosa Parks in the 1920 & 1930 census.
• Eyes of Glory - 200 Years of an Ethnic American Family 
  Early African and Jewish American history information.
• The Founder of the Order of True Reformers: The Story of William Washington Browney 
• Heart of Two Nations: African Native Americans 
  Overview of the shared history of Native Americans and African Americans that includes bibliography of research and genealogical resources.
• Heritage of a Heavyweight 
  Family history of Muhammad Ali.
• History of Black Firefighters 
  In the United States.
• James S. Russell's an Adventure in Faith 
  An Adventure in Faith by James S. Russell of Nottoway County Virginia. Russell was born a slave, attended Hampton University and later founded St. Paul's Normal and Industrial School in Lawrenceville, Virginia. He was the first African American to be named Archdeacon of the Episcopal Church. The school still exists today. Surnames: BANKS, BROWN, BRAGG, BURKE, CHRISTIAN, CLAIBORNE, COLE, COLEMAN, COLES, CYPRESS, CONNOR, DRIVER, FEARING, GARDINER GREEN, HUNTER, HINTON, HAYES, JACKSON, JONES JOHNSON, LANE, LEWIS, LUNDY, MICKIE, MANNING, MILLER, MILLS, MORRIS, OWENS, PONTON, ROCK, RUSSELL, TYLER, TROY, WATTS, WILSON, WEST, WILLIAMS.
• The Legacy of West FORD - American Son 
  The African American son of George Washington.
• The Life of the Pullman Porter 
  Article by Stewart H. Holbrook.
• Lost Americans Website 
  Native American, African American, Black Indians, East Indians, Anglo-Indians, Anglo-Asians & other Mixed Bloods.
• Malcolm X: A Research Site 
  Including the genealogy of the LITTLE & SHABAZZ families.
• Old Photographs of African Americans 
  Unknown Old African American Photographs to be identified by researchers and family historians. You can post your unknown photographs here.
• Why do Welsh names seem to be so common within the African American community? 

Photographs & Memories

• UVa Special Collections Library: Holsinger Studio Collection - African American Photographs 
  The Holsinger Studio Collection constitutes a unique photographic record of life in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia, from before the turn of the century through World War I. Approximately two-thirds of the collection are studio portraits, and among these are nearly 500 portraits of African-American citizens of Charlottesville and the surrounding area.

Professional Researchers, Volunteers & Other Research Services

• African Ancestry 
  Web site and associated mailing list describing genetic database being accumulated to assist African Americans in identifying their ancestor's region of origin in Africa.
• Board for Certification of Genealogists - Roster of Those Certified - Specializing in African American Genealogy 
• Bright and Harris Family Tree 
  A site specializing in African American genealogy research services, BRIGHT and HARRIS surnames.
• Carpenter Genealogical Services  ~ Salt Lake City, Utah
  A professional genealogical research group in Salt Lake City specializing in the United States and Western Europe. Our focus is Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Colonial Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Wyoming, Nebraska and African American/Slavery research and slavery in the South. Western European limited to Germany, Switzerland, France, and the Scandanavian countries. Families of note: WINGET, HATHAWAY, AXTELL, CLUTTER, DOUD, LYTLE, BLEHSCHMIDT, EHMAN, HAGGSTROM.
• Entangled Lives: Facing our Slaveholding Past 
  Genealogical speakers providing a multi-media presentation. While researching their genealogies in Randolph County, Missouri, Pam Smith discovered that her enslaved great great grandfather was actually owned by a member of Ann Neel’s family.
• eXpertGenealogy - Genealogy Professional Genealogist - African American 
  Directory of professional genealogists specializing in African American research.
• FreeJoe Enterprises 
  Professional speaker and family history self publishing assistance.
• Searching Families Together 
  African American Research, Family History Research for all nationalities, on location, in town hall basements, graveyards, courthouses, etc. Maintain a complete library of reference materials, microfilm equipment, and a customized research reporting database on site. Perform research through city, county, and state records, libraries and archival work. Searchingfamily.angelfire.com is dedicated to capturing and preserving the history and stories of people's lives.
• Tony Burroughs 
  An internationally known genealogist, and author, who teaches genealogy at Chicago State University. He lectures throughout the United States and Canada on all aspects of genealogy.

Publications, Software & Supplies

• Cyndi's List Genealogy Bookstore 
  A categorized list of genealogy research books that looks a lot like my bookshelf at home.

• African American Genealogy 1850 - 1880 
  A CD for sale. Birth and death information extracted from Federal Census records. Names, ages, causes of death and location of death. Cities, Town, Counties. Shows paths traveled by slaves from birth to final destination. For Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Dakota Territory, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
• Amazon.com Genealogy Bookstore - African American 
  The following are individual book titles of interest for this topic. The book links below point to the Amazon.com bookstore online where you may purchase the book if you wish. These links are provided to bring these published resources to your attention as an aid to your research. Follow the links to books of interest to make note of their title, author, publisher, and ISBN. You might then use this information to obtain the book from your local library or your favorite corner book shop.
  • The African-American Family in Slavery and Emancipation 
    A book by Wilma A. Dunaway.
  • African American Lives 
    A 4 DVD set by PBS.
  • The Afro-American in Pennsylvania: A Critical Guide to Sources in the Pennsylvania State Archives 
    A book by David McBride.
  • Amistad - "Give Us Free" 
    A book by Steven Spielberg (Editor), Maya Angelou (Editor), Debbie Allen (Editor).
  • Bearing Witness: Memories of Arkansas Slavery: Narratives from the 1930s WPA Collections 
    A book by George Lankford.
  • Black History : A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives 
    A book by Debra L. Newman.
  • Black Genealogy 
    A book by Charles L. Blockson.
  • Black Genesis: A Handbook for African-American Genealogy 
    A book by Alice Eichholz.
  • Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree 
    A book by Tony Burroughs.
  • Black Texans: A History of African Americans in Texas, 1528-1995 
    A book by Alwyn Barr.
  • Buckingham County (Black America) 
    A book by E. Renee Ingram, Charles W. White Sr.
  • Databases for the Study of Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy, 1699-1860: Computerized Information from Original Manuscript Sources 
    A CD-ROM by Gwendolyn Midlo Hall.
  • District of Columbia Free Negro Registers 1821-1861 
    A book by Dorothy S. Provine.
  • Family Pride: The Complete Guide to Tracing African-American Genealogy 
    A book by Donna Beasley, Donna Carter and William Haley.
  • Family Records of the African American Pioneers of Tampa and Hillsborough County 
    A book by Canter Brown.
  • Finding a Place Called Home : A Guide to African-American Genealogy and Historical Identity 
    A book by Dee Parmer Woodtor.
  • Finding Your African-American Ancestors 
    A book by David T. Thackery.
  • Finding Your People : An African-American Guide to Discovering Your Roots 
    A book by Sandra Lee Jamison.
  • The Freedmen's Bureau and Reconstruction: Reconsiderations 
    A book by Paul A. Cimbala.
  • Freedom's Port: The African American Community of Baltimore, 1790-1860 
    A book by Christopher Phillips.
  • Free Some Day: The African-American Families of Monticello 
    A book by Lucia C. Stanton.
  • Genealogists Guide to Discovering Your African American Ancestors 
    A book by Franklin Carter Smith.
  • The Hairstons : An American Family in Black and White 
    A book by Henry Wiencek.
  • Homeless, Friendless, and Penniless: The WPA Interviews with Former Slaves Living in Indiana 
    A book by Ronald L. Baker.
  • How to Plan Your African-American Family Reunion 
    A book by Krystal Williams.
  • How to Trace Your African-American Roots : Discovering Your Unique History 
    A book by Barbara Thompson Howell.
  • Hunter Sutherland's Slave Manumissions and Sales in Harford County, Maryland 
    A book by Hunter C. Sutherland and Carolyn Greenfield Adams.
  • In Search of York: The Slave Who Went to the Pacific With Lewis and Clark 
    A book by Robert B. Betts.
  • In View of the Great Want of Labor: A Legislative History of African American Conscription in the Confederacy 
    A book by E. Renee Ingram.
  • Isle of Canes 
    A book by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
  • Jamaican Ancestry: How to Find Out More 
    A book by Madeleine E. Mitchell.
  • The Jefferson Scandals: A Rebuttal 
    A book by Virginius Dabney.
  • Listening For Our Past : A Lay Guide To African American Oral History Interviewing 
    A book by Hasker Nelson.
  • Notes And Documents Of Free Persons Of Color: Four Hundred Years Of An American Families History 
    A book by Anita L. Wills.
  • Official History of Freemasonry Among the Colored People in North America 
    A book by William H. Grimshaw.
  • A President in the Family: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings, and Thomas Woodson 
    A book by Byron W. Woodson Sr.
  • Registers of Signatures of Depositors in the Augusta, Georgia, Branch of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company  
    A book by Alice O. Walker.
  • The Right to Fight: A History of African Americans in the Military 
    A book by Gerald Astor.
  • Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class 
    A book by Larry Tye.
  • Roots 
    A book by Alex Haley.
  • Roots Recovered! the How to Guide for Tracing African-American and West Indian Roots Back to Africa 
    A book by James E. White.
  • Sally Hemings 
    A book by Barbara Chase-Riboud.
  • Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory, and Civic Culture 
    A book by Jan Lewis.
  • Slave Children of Thomas Jefferson 
    A book by Samuel H. Sloan.
  • Slave Narratives 
    A CD-ROM by Ancestry.
  • Slavery at Monticello 
    A book by Lucia C. Stanton.
  • The Slave Ship Fredensborg 
    A book by Leif Svalesen.
  • Slaves in the Family 
    A book by Edward Ball.
  • The Southern Diaspora: How the Great Migrations of Black and White Southerners Transformed America 
    A book by James N. Gregory.
  • Speculators and Slaves: Masters, Traders, and Slaves in the Old South 
    A book by Tadman.
  • A Student's Guide to African American Genealogy 
    A book by Anne E. Johnson, Adam Merton Cooper and Roger Rosen.
  • Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy 
    A book by Annette Gordon-Reed.
  • Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865-1870 
    A book by Paul A. Cimbala .
• African-American Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes 
  Description of book for sale.
• African-American Archaeology Newsletter 
  From the New South Associates.
• African American Genealogy: A Bibliography for Beginners 
• Ancestor's Attic Discount Genealogy Books - African American Genealogy Books 
• Barnetta McGhee White, Ph.D. 
  List of publications by the author regarding African American research.
• Breakthrough in Black Family History Research 
  Press release regarding the Freedman’s Bank Records on CD-ROM.
  • Black Slaves' Descendants Find Priceless Data on Church-Produced CD 
  • From Tragedy to Family History Treasure 
  • The South Point Family History Center -- Utah State Prison 
    The remarkable effort to extract and computerize the Freedman’s Bank records into a searchable database involved approximately 550 inmates over the course of 11 years at the Utah State Prison’s South Point Family History Center.
  • Image of Freedman's Bank passbook for an account opened in 1873 
  • Image of an example Freedman's Bank record 
• Freedman's Bank Records 
  The Freedman's Bank was created to assist newly freed slaves during and after the Civil War. The records cover the time period from about 1864 to 1871 and document the names and family relationships of those who used the bank.
• Genealogical.com - African American 
  The online store of Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. & Clearfield Company.
  • The 1850 Census of Georgia Slave Owners 
    A book by Jack F. Fox.
  • Bibliographic Checklist of African American Newspapers 
    A book by Barbara K. Henritze.
  • Free African Americans of Maryland and Delaware from the Colonial Period to 1810 
    A book by Paul Heinegg.
  • Free African Americans of North Carolina and Virginia - Including the Family Histories of More than 80% of Those Counted As "All Other Free Persons'' in the 1790 and 1800 Census 
    A book by Paul Heinegg.
  • Free Blacks and Mulattos in South Carolina 1850 Census 
    A book by Margaret Pickham Motes.
  • Slaves and Nonwhite Free Persons in the 1790 Federal Census of New York 
    A book by Gilbert S. Bahn.
• Guide to African American and African Primary Sources at Harvard University 
  Book for sale which inventories the collections of primary African American and African materials now residing at 22 repositories at Harvard University libraries and museums. Subject coverage is wide-ranging and multidisciplinary. 800 collections are described. An indepth index provides access to the hidden treasures in these collections. Users can search by personal names, corporate names, topical headings, geographical areas, or format of the materials.
• Heritage Books: African American 
• Isle of Canes 
  Companion web site to the historical novel by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
• Missing Pages 
  Book for sale, detailing more than 200 African American pioneer communities. America's Black Towns and Settlements by Morris Turner III.
• "No Land...Only Slaves!" 
  Book or CD-ROM of almost 4,000 slave names abstracted from the Deeds of Conveyance,Volume 1-6, from Bossier Parish, Louisiana (1841-1865).
• Notes And Documents of Free Persons of Color - Lulu.com 
  A true chronicle of the history of a group labled, Free Persons of Color, in Colonial Virginia. The group were a mixture of Native/African/whites, who were Virginia's own Creole Population. It is the saga of a group labeled, "fpc", or Free Persons of Color, by the Virginia Free Negro Registry. The book is available from Lulu Press, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Blackwell Books, and Walmart (to name a few). BOOKER, BOWDEN, COOPER, EVANS, JACKSON, LEWIS, PINN, POWELL, REDCROSS, WASHINGTON, ROGERS, ROWE.
• Slave Ancestry Research, It's Something Else 
  A book by Mary L. Jackson Fears.
• Slave Manumissions & Sales in Harford County Maryland 1774-1865 
  A book by Carolyn Greenfield Adams. It was once widely held that records did not exist for African American families before 1865. This is not true for Harford County Maryland. This book contains manumission and sales records from 1774-1865 giving information on individuals or families, dates of birth, ages and occupations based on data from over five hundred documents representing a total of about two thousand names which are indexed manumissions.
• The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade - A Database on CD-ROM 
  Contains the records of 27,233 transatlantic slave ship voyages made between 1595 and 1866 from all over Europe.

Queries, Message Boards & Surname Lists

• Ancestry.com - Message Boards - African American 
  • Ancestry.com - Message Boards - African American - General 
  • Ancestry.com - Message Boards - African American - Slave Information 
  • Ancestry.com - Message Boards - African American - Underground Railroad 

Records: Census, Cemeteries, Land, Obituaries, Personal, Taxes and Vital
(Born, Married, Died & Buried)

Cemeteries

• African American Cemeteries Online 
• Colonial Slave Cemetery 
  African American Burial Ground of Newport, Rhode Island.
• History of African-American Cemeteries 
• The Mount Giliead AME Cemetery 
  African American AME Church cemetery located in Bucks County, Buckignham, PA.
• Volunteers for Freedom: Black Civil War Soldiers in Alexandria National Cemetery 
  Arranged alphabetically by last name, the database includes information about the soldier's birth date, birthplace, condition/occupation at enlistment, date/place of enlistment, regiment/company, rank, date/place of discharge, post-military activities, and date of death/cause of death as reported by local historian Edward A. Miller, Jr. Wedding dates, names of wives, and names/birth dates of children are included when available. For many soldiers, details beyond the "Notes" column are available at the library.

Census

• 1850 Simpson County Slave Census Extractions  ~ Mississippi
• 1850 Slave Schedule - Irwin County, GA 
• 1860 Simpson County Slave Census Extractions  ~ Mississippi
• 1860 Slave Schedule - Franklin County, NC 
• 1860 Slave Schedule - Irwin County, GA 
• 1860 Slave Schedule - Jacksonville (Duval Co.), Florida 
• 1860 U.S. Census - Schedule 1 Slave Inhabitants in Fredericksburg  ~ Virginia
• 1860 Wise County Slave Schedule  ~ Virginia
• 1870 Census: African Americans - Franklin County, NC 
• 1870 Census: African Americans - Irwin County,GA 
• 1870 Census: African Americans - Jacksonville (Duval County), FL 
• 1870 Census: African Americans - Sumter County, SC 
• 1890 Census Fragment for Delaware 
  From the National Archives and Records Administration. List of Selected African Americans from the 1890 and 1900 Censuses of Delaware.
• African American Census Schedules Online 
• African Americans listed in the 1850 & 1860 Madison County, Tennessee Free Census Schedule 
• Ancestry.com - U.S. Federal Censuses 
  Census images available by subscription:
  • 1850 Slave Schedules 
    Includes images & every name index.
    Alabama , Arkansas , Delaware , District of Columbia , Florida , Georgia , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maryland , Mississippi , Missouri , New Jersey , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Virginia 
  • 1860 Slave Schedules 
    Includes images & every name index.
    Alabama , Arkansas , Delaware , District of Columbia , Florida , Georgia , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maryland , Mississippi , Missouri , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Virginia 
• Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes - Black Indians 
  Scanned images of the complete Final rolls index with census card numbers of Freedmen only. Complete 1860 Slave Schedule of Indian Lands (Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Cherokee Schedules). PICKENS, ROBERTS, STEVENSON, COLBERT Freedmen Census Cards.
• Noxubee County, Mississippi Slave Schedule - 1860 Census 
• Slaveholders and African Americans 1860-1870 
  Transcribe names of some of the largest slaveholders from the 1860 census matched with the surnames of African Americans from the 1870 census. Organized by surname and by county.

Miscellaneous

• African American Voters in Alexandria, 1902-1954 
  Database from the Alexandria Library, Virginia.
• Black Voters Registration List - 1867-1872 Henderson County  ~ Texas
  This is a list of names, some with their ages, their birth state, and the number that they were when they signed the register.
• Family Search Record Search 
  Millions of indexed records and images of records. Join volunteers around the world who are helping to make more free records available online through FamilySearch Indexing.
  • Freedman Bank Records 1865-1874 
• Footnote.com - African-American 
  Footnote is an online repository for original historical documents, combined with the ability for users to make comments, annotations, and upload their own documents. Some areas of Footnote are free to use, while others can be freely searched and then viewed with a paid subscription.
  • Southern Claims Commission 
    In 1871, the US government established the Southern Claims Commission to address southerners' petitions for compensation of supplies, livestock, and other items taken by the Union troops during the Civil War. More than 20,000 claims were filed. These testimonial files include first-person accounts of how civilians survived the war, detailed circumstances regarding loss of property, and accounts of each family's history and loyalty to the Union cause.
• Freedmen of the Frontier 
  African-American Historical and Genealogical Resource Page of the city of Ft. Smith Arkansas.
• Freedmen's Bureau Records 
  Selected Florida records.
• Freedmen's Bureau Records: An Overview 
  Article by Elaine C. Everly.
• Freedman's Savings and Trust Company and African American Genealogical Research 
• Institutions of Memory and the Documentation of African Americans in Federal Records 
  Article by Walter B. Hill, Jr.
• The Lynching Century 
  African-Americans who died in racial violence in the United States 1865-1965.
• Records of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters 
  Description of the microfilmed holdings of the Chicago Historical Society and the Newberry Library.
• Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands 
  Guide to the holdings at the National Archives and Records Administration.
• Register of Free Blacks Augusta County, Virginia 
• Register of Free Negroes and Mulattoes in The Corporation of Staunton 
• Register of Free Negroes and Mulattoes in Montgomery County, Virginia 
• Register of Negroes and Mulattoes 1853-1860  ~ Jefferson County, Indiana
• Registry of Negroes and Mulattos, 1853-54, Vigo County, Indiana  ~ Indiana
  Online searchable database from the Indiana State Archives.
• Register of Negroes and Mulattoes Montgomery County, IN 1853 
  Online searchable index.
• Wallace Roll 
  The Wallace Roll was created in 1890 due to the citizenship of many ex-slaves (freedmen) being disputed by the Cherokee Tribe. The Wallace Roll helped establish claim for the freedmen for the sharing of the Cherokee lands, and the payments and annuities the Cherokee Tribe was to receive in the future.

Obituaries

• Obituaries from the Michigan Chronicle 
  Obituaries from the Michigan Chronicle, the oldest surviving African American newspaper in the state. Records online date from 1997 to present.

Vital Records: Birth, Marriage, Death

• Family Search Record Search 
  Millions of indexed records and images of records. Join volunteers around the world who are helping to make more free records available online through FamilySearch Indexing.
  • Freedmen's Bureau Virginia Marriages, ca 1815-1866 
• Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Index (1864-1865)  ~ Tennessee
  From the Memphis/Shelby County Library.
• Freedmen's Bureau Online 
  Information and records for "The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands," more commonly known as the Freedmen's Bureau. Published transcriptions of the records of the Freedmens Bureau, including Freedmens marriage certificates and reports of outrages against freed slaves.
  • Freedman's Bureau, Marriages in Arkansas 1861-1869 
  • Freedman's Bureau, Marriages in Jacksonville, Florida 1861-1869 
  • Freedman's Bureau, Marriages in Mississippi 1863-1865 
  • Freedman's Bureau, Marriages in Tennessee 1865-1869 
  • Freedman's Bureau, Marriages in Washington, D.C. 1861-1869, Part 1  and Part 2 
  • Freedmen's Bureau Register of Marriages in Gloucester, Virginia 1861-1869 

Slavery

• African American Genealogy Resources: Slavery 
  Links from Christine's Genealogy Website.
• AfriGeneas - Slave Data Collection 
  Enslaved ancestors in public and private records. Clues and keys to the last slaveholder.
• Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy 1719-1820 
  Online searchable database of over 100,000 descriptions of slaves found in documents in Louisiana between 1718 and 1821 from Dr. Gwendolyn Midlo Hall.
• American Slave Narratives 
• The American Slave Brig Creole - The Creole Research Center 
  Details about the slave revolt on board the American brig Creole.
• American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology 
• Amistad America, Inc. - Building the Freedom Schooner 
• Appraisements and Inventory of Slaves in Wills - Macon County, Alabama 
• Been Here So Long 
  Selections from the WPA American Slave Narratives.
• Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 
  More than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves from the Library of Congress.
• Documenting the American South: North American Slave Narratives 
  These are first first person narratives of slave experiences given in vivid detail.Records the mental and emotional reflections as well as physical realities.
• The Dred Scott Case 
• Excerpts from Slave Narratives 
• Exploring Amistad: Race and the Boundaries of Freedom in Antebellum Maritime America 
• Families Discover Roots 
  From the Augusta Chronicle. Meticulous records kept by slave owner allows descendants to chronicle their history in South Carolina.
• Family Name 
  Companion site to the PBS documentary film. As a young child growing up in North Carolina, Macky Alston thought that it was unusual that many of his African American elementary school classmates shared his last name.
  • About Family Name 
• Footnote.com - Free Trial 
  Search original historical documents free, digitized images available with fee-based membership. Records included are from The National Archives and Records Administration, the Pennsylvania Archives, FamilySearch, the Center for Research Libraries, and various local archives.
  • Amistad - Federal Court Records 
    Original source: NARA M1753. The district and circuit court records pertaining to the claims of salvage for the Spanish schooner Amistad, seized in 1839 by the US Navy.
  • Amistad - Supreme Court Records 
    Original source: NARA M2012. This Supreme Court case deals with issues of salvage of the Amistad, a ship carrying slaves seized by the US Navy in 1839, and popularized in a 1997 movie.
• From Slave Women to Free Women: The National Archives and Black Women's History in the Civil War Era 
  Article by Noralee Frankel.
• Fugitive Slave Records: 1820 - 1839  ~ Chester County, Pennsylvania
• The Geography of Slavery in Virginia 
  Digital collection of advertisements for runaway slaves, captured slaves & servants in 18th- & 19th-century Virginia newspapers. Over 4000 advertisements for runaway slaves and indentured servants from newspapers in Virginia & Maryland from 1736-1803. Keyword searchable database.
• The History Guy: Slave Rebellions and Uprisings in the U.S. 
• How Do I Trace My Slave Ancestors? 
  How to information from Lineages, Inc.
• Illinois Database of Servitude and Emancipation Records 1722-1863 
  This database includes more than 2000 transactions found in governmental records involving the servitude and emancipation of Africans and, occasionally,Indians in the French and English eras of colonial Illinois (1722-1790) and African-Americans in the American period of Illinois (1790-1863).
• Index to Parish Court Slave Emancipation Petitions, 1814-1843, Orleans Parish, Louisiana 
• Map showing the distribution of the slave population of the southern states of the United States 
  Scanned image of the map compiled from the census of 1860.
• Merseyside Maritime Museum  ~ Liverpool, England
  • Transatlantic Slavery - Against Human Dignity 
    • The Trade Triangle 
• Missouri Slave Data 
  Online searchable database and slave schedules.
• North American Slave Narratives 
  From Documenting the American South.
• The North Star: Tracing The Underground Railroad 
• Runaway Slave Blog 
  This ongoing project is a collection of African American slave names that were printed in west Tennessee newspapers before 1865. These men, women and children were advertised as runaway slaves or listed as property for sale.
• Searching for Ancestors Who Were Slaves: An Index to the Freedom Records of Prince George's County Maryland, 1808-1869 
  Online searchable database from the Maryland State Archives.
• The Sixteen Largest American Slaveholders From 1860 Slave Census Schedules 
  The sixteen largest county slaveholders in the 1860 US Census, holding at least 500 slaves in any one county.
• Slave Ancestry Research 
  Tips on locating a African-American slave ancestors when the name of the slave owner is not known.
• Slave Archival Collection Database 
  A slave database with information collected from living descendants across the country. Descendants can contribute to the website online by submitting their enslaved ancestor's name, date and place of birth and death and any other information.
• Slave Emancipation through the Prism of Archives Records 
  Article by Joseph P. Reidy.
• Slavegenealogy.com - Rebuilding African American History 
• Slave Information from Various Loudoun Co., VA Documents, 13 Dec 1809 to 30 June 1861 
• Slave Names from Records - Noxubee County, Mississippi 
  Names, ages, and other information taken from Probate records books A providing some insight into origin or surnames.
• Slave Names in Wills : Fayette County, Tennessee 
  Indexed transcription of all slave names listed in wills probated in Fayette County, Tennessee, USA, from 1836 through 1854. Includes index of slaveowner names.
• Slave Records 1803-1820  ~ Centre County, Pennsylvania
  Online searchable index and scanned images.
• The Slave Records of Lancaster County Collection, 1780-1849  ~ Pennsylvania
  From the Lancaster County Historical Society's archive. Description of index & entries in the Slave Register and indext to the Negro Entry Books. Limited to official records of slaves and their children registered with local/county officials.
• The Slave Revolt On Board The American Brig "Creole" 
  The revolt of over 100 slaves carried on the brig "Creole" in 1841.
• Slavery and Abolition - A Journal of Slave and Post-Slave Studies  
• Slavery Era Insurance Policies Registry - Illinois Division of Insurance 
  Slavery Era Insurance Policies Registry by name and owner from 6 of 1700 insurers in the state of Illinois - policies issued to slaveholders for death or damage of their slaves that it wrote either directly or through a predecessor corporation during the slavery era; by name and owner.
• Slavery Era Insurance Registry 
  Links to the California Department of Insurance’s report on the insurance of slaves by insurers still doing business in California, including the database of slave and slaveholder names and identifying information from around the United States.
  • Report 
  • Slave Names 
  • Slaveholder Names 
• Slavery in Pennsylvania 
  African American slavery in 18th and 19th century Pennsylvania.
• South Carolina's Slave Heritage Uncovered in Nova Scotia 
  From the Augusta Chronicle.
• St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records Project 
  • Freedom Suits 
    Online searchable database of nearly 300 legal petitions for freedom brought by or on behalf of persons held in slavery within the St. Louis area from 1814 to 1860.
  • Search 
• Testimony of the Canadian Fugitives 
• Texas Slavery Project 
  Database of slave and slaveholder populations in Texas during the Republic era (1837-45).
• Third Person, First Person: Slave Voices from the Special Collections Library 
  Broadside Collection, Special Collections Library, Duke University.
• Trace Your Slave Ancestors 
  Tips and resources for researching African-American roots.
• The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade - A Database on CD-ROM 
  Contains the records of 27,233 transatlantic slave ship voyages made between 1595 and 1866 from all over Europe.
• Underground Railroad Resources From the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
• Underground Railroad - Taking the Train to Freedom 
• United States History Index - WWW-VL: History: US: Slavery 
• The Walk to Canada - Tracing the Underground Railroad 
• The Underground Railroad 
  From the National Geographic Society.
• Virginia Runaways 
  Runaway slave advertisements from 18th-century Virginia newspapers.
• Yahoo!...US History...Slavery 

Societies & Groups

• African American Genealogical Group of the Miami Valley  ~ Yellow Spring, Ohio
• African-American Genealogical Society of Cleveland, Ohio 
• African American Genealogical Society of Northern California  ~ Oakland, California
  Preserve and promote the study of records of a genealogical and historical nature relating to African American ancestry.
• African-American Genealogy Group (AAGG)  ~ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  Dedicated to the encouragement of and support for genealogy research, serving the African-American community of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.
• African American Heritage Preservation Foundation, Inc. 
  Dedicated to the preservation of endangered and little known African American historical sites and its history. The foundation acts as a resource center for historical societies, community groups, preservation groups, African American groups, government entities and for individuals needing information pertaining to the preservation of African American historical sites and history.
• African Atlantic Genealogical Society  ~ New York
  A resource for people whose ancestors have had an African and/or Atlantic-crossing experience.
• Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County  ~ Virginia
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.  ~ Washington, D.C.
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. - Arkansas Chapter 
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society - Central Florida Chapter 
  Located in Orlando as a chapter of the National AAHGS.
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society - Jean Sampson Scott Greater New York Chapter 
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society - Metro Atlanta Chapter  ~ Atlanta, Georgia
• Alexandria Society for the Preservation of Black Heritage   ~ Alexandria, Virginia
• American Colonization Society Collection (Prints and Photographs Reading Room, Library of Congress) 
  The American Colonization Society, organized in 1817 to resettle African Americans in West Africa, presented its records to the Library of Congress in 1913, 1964, and 1965.
• Birmingham African-American Genealogy Study Group  ~ Alabama
  A Special Interest Group of the Birmingham Genealogy Society.
• California African-American Genealogical Society  ~ Los Angeles, California
• East Coast African American Genealogists 
• Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society  ~ Detroit, Michigan
• The Friends of Freedmen's Cemetery 
  History and preservation of an 1864-1869 cemetery for former slaves and their children in Alexandria, Virginia. Contains burial records of African Americans 1863-1869 as well as background and personal data on the freed people and Alexandria's black residents, in general.
• International Society of Sons and Daughters of Slave Ancestry 
  A not-for-profit lineage society to perpetuate the memory of slave ancestors in America and around the world.
• Lawnside Historical Society  Lawnside, New Jersey
• The Menare Foundation's North Star Website 
  A national non-profit organization dedicated to the documentation, preservation and restoration of Underground Railroad safe-houses and environments. The Menare Foundation, Inc., was created from historian Anthony Cohen's research on the Underground Railroad.
• North Carolina African-American Historical Society  ~ Raleigh
• Nicodemus Historical Society  ~ Nicodemus, Kansas
• Patricia Liddell Researchers - Chicago Chapter/Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc.  ~ Illinois
• Prince Hall Freemasonry 
• The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society 
• Shorefront Historical Organization  ~ Evanston, Illinois
  Historical organization for the African American communities in Chicago's suburban north shore including Evanston, Glencoe & Lake Forest.
• William Still Underground Railroad Foundation, Inc. 
  For anyone who has any information on the UGRR or anyone who is interested in UGRR history. Information about the The National Underground RailRoad Family Festival Reunion.

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