Did you know you can not only search the library catalog for resources about African American family history research, but you can also search for your family name? Searching for your family name in our catalog can help you find out if there are published family histories to find in our collection, or if there are donated files of others' family history research that could help you! Simply search for <Your Last Name> family in the search box above.
Many pertinent records are found in the Freedmen’s Bureau Records of Field Offices for the various states. It is very important to note that a common misunderstanding is that this record group only encompasses records of people freed from enslavement. While it does contain records of freedmen, it includes a lot information about impoverished southern families, regardless of race. Presented by professional genealogist Diane L. Richard, principal of MosaicRPM.
Free African Americans of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina from the Colonial Period to about 1820 by