by Curt B. Witcher, FUGA
(Ancestry Magazine, Sept/Oct 1997, Vol. 15, No. 5)
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Conducting successful African American genealogical research can be a
challenging adventure. In recent years, the challenge has been lessened and the
adventure heightened by the growing body of publications relating to this
ethnic group. Special-interest groups and genealogical societies nationwide are
publishing key guides, new bibliographies, and important how-to books. Before
delving into published sources, however, it is always important to pause long
enough to organize one's own personal papers and review standard research
methodology.
PUTTING IT ALL IN CONTEXT
Important in any genealogical investigation as a part of sound research
methodology, but particularly key when researching African American ancestors,
is the process of framing one's research within the proper context. Some
veteran researchers simply call this process "contexting." Contexting involves:
(1) understanding what is transpiring in the nation, state, county, and city
for the particular time period being researched; (2) knowing the migration,
naming, prejudice, and settlement patterns of the particular family and ethnic
group being investigated; (3) understanding the religious, benevolent,
political, and other special organizations which might have been extant in the
geographic area and may have interacted with the ethnic group in question; and
(4) being cognizant of the implications laws, codes, and regulations may have
had on the creation, maintenance, and location of pertinent historical records.
The revised edition of "The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy" (Salt
Lake City: Ancestry, 1997) includes a very useful chapter entitled "Tracking
African American Family History." The chapter provides genealogists with an
excellent foundation for researching this ethnic group, detailing various types
of records, the types of information they contain, and where one can locate
them. The chapter also has a generous number of notes and concludes with a
bibliography.
AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY
There are many important resources for the researcher of African American
family history. One of these is the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical
Society. Joining this society is a wise move for the family historian
interested in this ethnic group. Another helpful resource is a massive tome
dealing with the African American military experience entitled "Black
Soldiers-Black Sailors-Black Ink: Research Guide on African-Americans in U. S.
Military History, 1526-1900," compiled by Thomas Truxtun Moebs (Chesapeake Bay,
VA: Moebs Publishing Co., 1994). Nearly 1700 pages, this work is largely a
bibliography of sources, arranged in several major sections to assist the
researcher in accessing specific materials. The first section is a bibliography
of writings by African Americans, followed by an annotated chronology. The next
two sections contain a subject bibliography with author cross-references, and a
listing of unit histories from 1729 to 1900. Ten appendixes round out the
publication, covering more than four hundred pages. United States Colored
Troops' regimental records, Congressional Medal of Honor winners, Confederate
publications, and portraits of veterans can be found in these appendixes.
What makes this work particularly useful is its comprehensiveness. While many
genealogists initially prefer publications which provide family names with
associated vital events and family data, comprehensive bibliographies, properly
used, certainly can be worth one's research time. Such bibliographies provide
the researcher with a vast collection of resources crucial to establishing the
proper context in which to conduct research, as well as citations to records
that can be searched for more family-specific data. Citation analysis, the
process of looking through the citations, notes, and bibliographies of
published materials for further leads and resources, is a less-frequently-used
but quite worthwhile endeavor for family historians. This process assists one
in finding as much supporting documentation as possible while working to
acquire the maximum amount of primary source materials.
BLACK HERITAGE SITES
At the recent American Library Association annual meeting, an important work
for African American researchers, Black Heritage Sites: An African American
Odyssey and Finder's Guide, by Nancy C. Curtis, Ph.D. (Chicago: American
Library Association, 1996), received the prestigious Denali Press Award. This
award is given to reference works of outstanding quality and significance that
furnish information about ethnic and minority groups in the United States. This
compilation, arranged by general geographic region within the country, yields
much detail about a significant number of historic sites. The material is very
useful for building a context within which to conduct area-specific research,
and also supplies some potentially useful family data. Each section contains
endnotes, as well as a bibliography of works consulted by the author.
AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE CONFEDERACY
As with other areas of genealogical research, periodical literature plays a
vital part in African American family history. There are a significant number
of African American historical and genealogical societies which publish
newsletters and quarterlies. There are also special issues of local, regional,
and state genealogical periodicals focusing on African American records and
research methodology, as well as numerous articles in geographically-based
magazines.
One of these special issues is unique-volume fourteen of the Journal of
Confederate History series (Atlanta, GA: Southern Heritage Press, 1995). This
particular volume has a series title which accurately describes the nearly two
hundred pages of text: "Forgotten Confederates: An Anthology about Black
Southerners." And what an anthology it is!
The work contains a number of heavily footnoted articles on the role of African
Americans in the Confederacy. A number of these notes may very well lead to
sources of data that are vital for particular family history research. Other
articles contain abstracts and lists from compiled military records, extensive
biographical sketches, obituaries, veterans' narratives, and selected
correspondence. The issue is completed with a bibliography of sources for the
study of African American Confederates. A compilation such as this special
issue challenges the researcher to investigate all possibilities and search for
a wide range of records while engaging in Civil War-era African American
genealogical research. It also challenges the researcher to seek facts and
rigorous documentation rather than give credence to stereotypes and information
found in undocumented general-history texts.
INTERNET SOURCES
The Internet can play a key role in assisting those engaged in African American
research. There are a number of excellent sites which assist the researcher in
locating historical data, help identify individuals who are working on
particular family lines, and provide a means for networking. A number of these
sites can be easily located by using one of the many Internet search engines,
such as Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com) or Altavista
(http://www.altavista.digital.com), or by visiting some of the more popular
genealogy sites, such as Cyndi's List (http://www.cyndislist.com), and looking
for the ethnic or African American pages at the site.
The Afrigeneas Homepage
(http://www.msstate.edu/archives/history/afrigen/index.html) is an excellent
example of the type of information researchers can find when looking for
African American genealogy sources on the Internet. The page is well organized
and contains numerous links to important genealogical resources worldwide. From
this home page, one can subscribe to the Afrigeneas mailing list, a place where
queries can be asked and answered, significant research discoveries can be
shared, and information about upcoming symposia, conferences, and seminars can
be disseminated.
There are a host of other links on the Afrigeneas Homepage, including links to
The Genealogy Home Page, ROOTS-L RESOURCE, the African American Genealogy Group
of Pennsylvania, the USGenWeb Project, the African-Native American Genealogy
Page, underground railroad data, books and pamphlets on African Americans, a
directory of genealogical libraries, and basic search strategies. As with an
increasing number of sites, this site also links the genealogist to searchable
data files, including the National Park Service's United States Colored Troops
database.
One can also find a link to The Afrigeneas News. The Afrigeneas News is an
online newsletter intended to be a center for sharing genealogical tips and
resources from the African American online chats at America Online and from the
Afrigeneas mailing list. Among its many informational items, this online
newsletter contains a question-and-answer section called "From the Archives," a
list of current commemorative events scheduled around the country (such as the
9th Cavalry cemetery dedication in Las Animas, New Mexico), links to genealogy
books, and numerous valuable links from the main Afrigeneas Homepage, such as
black studies on microfilm, Britannica black history, and explanations of
important historical events. Researchers from novice to seasoned genealogist
can find much assistance at this Internet site.
With these works - and the other sources certain to be found as one explores
them -- the genealogists interested in African American family history should
enjoy much success.
Curt Witcher is the department manager for the Historical Genealogy Department
of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana; adjunct professor in
Indiana University's Continuing Education Program; and a genealogical
instructor and lecturer. He is the past president of the Federation of
Genealogical Societies and is currently the national volunteer coordinator for
the Civil War Soldiers Names Index Project. The article above was originally
featured in Ancestry Magazine, Sept/Oct 1997, Vol. 15, No. 5. It is available
online at:
http://www.ancestry.com/magazine/articles/enjafam.htm
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