Being an African American, how can I go about looking for my ancestors?

Question

And also, where can I learn more info about my particular heritage. I know I'm part Native American as well.

Answer 1

You do it like everyone else - European Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans - for the first few generations. Then you run into trouble. They didn't even ask for slaves' names until the 1870 census. Some slave owners kept some slave birth, marriage and date records in their family Bibles; many did not. Once in a while two or three generations of white men will mention "My ***** boy Moses", "My ***** man Moses" and "My aged ***** man Moses" in their will, when a grandfather wills Moses to his son, and that son wills Moses to his son. There are some special resources - the Freedman's Bank Records, which many LDS FHC's have on CD, and you can access for free at a FHC - but you have a long, tough row to hoe, so to speak, and you will probably hit dead ends faster than someone whose ancestors settled in Massachusetts.

GenForum has forums devoted to AA and NA genealogy.

This is my standard answer with links:

These questions come up every day.

Where can I find my family tree for free?
Does anyone know the {Surname} family?
What are good sites for ancestors / genealogy?

They are all about tracing your family tree on the Internet. The fourth time I typed in my favorite beginner's links I realized I should save them in a text file and paste them in. This is long and general. Because it is general, not all the links will apply to every question or questioner.

These may help get you started. They are large and free. Many of them, however, have subtle ads for Ancestry.com in them - ads that ask for a name, then offer a trial subscription. Watch out for those advertisements.

http://www.cyndislist.com/
(240,000+ links, all cross-indexed. If you want Welsh or Pennsylvania Dutch or Oregon or any other region, ethnic group or surname, chances are she has links for it.)
http://www.familysearch.com
(Mormon's mega-site. Click on "Search")
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi
(460,000,000+ entries, of varying quality)
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx?ln=
Surname meanings and origins
http://www.tedpack.org/begingen.html
My own site: "How to Begin"

United States only:
http://www.usgenweb.net/
(Subdivided into state sites, which all have county sites.)
(The Canadians have Canadian Gen Web, by province)
http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi
(Social Security Death index - click on "Advanced". You may find your grandparents.)
http://find.person.superpages.com/
(US Phone book, for looking up distant cousins)


United Kingdom Only:
http://www.genuki.org.uk/
(Biggest site for United Kingdom & Ireland)
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/
(Free Birth, Marriage & Death Records)

(If you posted your question in Genealogy, ignore this paragraph. If you posted it in the "Family" category, read on.)
Tracing your family tree is called genealogy. YA has a category for genealogy,
Home > Arts & Humanities > Genealogy
There are hundreds of more links in the resolved answers there.

In the USA, some public libraries have census image subscriptions. Many Family History Centers do too. FHC's are small rooms in Mormon churches. They welcome anyone interested in genealogy, not just fellow Mormons. They have resources on CD's and volunteers who are friendly. They don't try to convert you; in fact, they don't mention their religion unless you ask a question about it.


Notes:

You usually have to do some research. Sometimes you get lucky. Don't give up if your Great grandfather with your surname isn't there. Try all eight great-grandparents.

You won't find living people on any of the sites except the phone book one. You won't find many people born after 1920 on any of the sites except the SSDI one. Genealogists hide the birth dates, birth places and other facts of living people to protect their privacy. You will have to find your grandparents' or great grandparents' birth dates and maiden names somewhere besides the Internet.

The best way to get started is to ask your oldest living relatives about themselves and their parents. You may find great-grandpa's death date and burial place on the web, but only his children, your grandfather and grandaunt, can tell you what sort of man he was.

The free sites are supported by advertising, just like TV. You can't watch the Super Bowl without seeing a beer commercial, and you can't surf for dead relatives without seeing an Ancestry advertisement. Many people complain about advertisements. Please don't. They bring you the "free" sites. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

If you get serious you'll need a genealogy program. They are to family research what "Word" is to writing a novel. I like Roots Magic. Family Tree Maker is the market leader. Both cost around $29. The Mormons will let you download PAF for free. It is clunky, but it is free. You can sometimes find old versions of FTM or Family Origins (FO is the predecessor of RM) in bargin bins at CostCo.

This is a general hint. Even though you go in through YA Canada, YA Australia, YA UK or YA USA, all of the questions go into one big "pot" and get read by everyone in the world who speaks English. Most of the people here are in the UK and USA, but you sometimes get questions and answers from people who worry about kangaroos eating their roses. So - put a nation, or, better yet, if you are asking about a specific individual, a nation and a state / province in all of your questions. It will help people help you.

Answer 2

Tracing Your African
American Roots

Think researching your African American roots is impossible? Think again. In honor of Black History Month, Ancestry.com has released a new census filter tool to help you locate your African American ancestors. Plus, a new page combines all our resources for researching your African American heritage on one page. Learn more about the largest collection of online African American records
(from ancestry.com-Feb 2007 newsletter)

Answer 3

Black History Month is a month long dedication of the celebration of Black History in America however the account of the history of Black people did start in America. Therefore I see nothing wrong with the celebration of Black history throughout the entire Black Diaspora. I encourage the celebration of Black History Globally. As Black people we should not wait to be recognized by our nations residency to celebrate our history. No one is stopping us from celebrating and studying our history worldwide. I also feel that learning of all our people world wide will help mend our differences and bring us together as one people world wide. Therefore not only will we celebrate the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and Malcolm X but we can also celebrate the lives of Steven Biko, Patrice Lumumbo, Nelson Mandela, Toussaint L' Ouveture, Queen Nzinga, Queen Hepshetsut, Marcus M. Garvey, Antonio Maceo Grajales, etc. Every person I named has a common African ancestry. If Black History were was specifically designed for Black Americans then it should be called Black or African American History Month. It's not therefore there is no rule in place to determine among Black people as to who shall be celebrated. If there was then it wouldn't be a celebrate of true reflection but a government control event. A government that prides itself on freedom would never do that.

Answer 4

I find it interesting that you say your African American and not Native American. Either way, your going to have a rough time locating any sort of history on your family because of lack of records. But I'm sure you could at least find out about your family back to when they first came to the US.

Answer 5

Talk to family and get out of them as much as you can, and also look and look and look online at those genealogy websites. And hope that the info you are searching for eventually turns up someday.

Like me, some info may just never surface, and I refuse to pay those sites for MY family's information...but I just keep hoping the info will turn up someday...

Answer 6

Some states listed the names of non-free and free black persons and their family components from earliest census beginning 1790. From top of my head I think NY, CT, MD, DE would be some. I am thinking that may be Quaker influence.

Answer 7

Do a search on googler this site was advetised recently. it;s not cheap to do but they do it by DNA. test
http://www.dnaancestryproject.com/

Answer 8

if your ancestors were slaves,your out of luck.sorry you have to ask the muslims about where they got it from.