FROM THE PRESENT TO THE PAST: TRACING AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY FROM 1940 TO THE 1870 BRICK WALL

Transcription

1 FROM THE PRESENT TO THE PAST: TRACING AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY FROM 1940 TO THE 1870 BRICK WALL Presented by: Tamika Strong Librarian, Genealogist Augusta Genealogical Society August 20, 2016

2 CLASS OBJECTIVE To assist attendees in learning the first steps in tracing their genealogy and documenting their family history. To provide attendees an overview of some challenges that African American researchers face in researching their family history.

3 STEP #1: PREPARE FOR THE JOURNEY Accept History for what it is. Do not apply a 21 st century mindset to a 19 th or 20 th century situation. Try to keep things in their historical context. Be prepared for the Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Unbelievable.

4 STEP #2: WHAT S YOUR GOAL? Determine what you want to learn about your family. Establish a long term and a short term goal. Write them down the goals. Post them in your workspace. Try to stay focus on them.

5 RESEARCH GOALS Short Term Example: Find census records for maternal grandmother. Long Term Example: Trace maternal family line to 1870.

6 STEP #3: HOME COLLECT FAMILY DOCUMENTS Family Stories / Oral History Family Bibles Family Trees / Genealogies Family Papers Birth Certificates Marriage Certificates or Licenses Divorce Decrees Funeral Programs Obituaries (From Newspapers or Funeral Programs) Death Certificates Cemetery/Burial Information Newspaper Clippings

7 STEP #3: HOME COLLECT FAMILY DOCUMENTS Pictures Wills Military Records Land Deeds Yearbooks Organization Memberships School Records Business Records Awards / Certificates Old Personal Phone Books Citizenship Records Court Records Church Information

8 STEP #3: HOME COLLECT FAMILY DOCUMENTS Look for Genealogy in Strange places. Tattoos

9 STEP #3: HOME COLLECT FAMILY DOCUMENTS Look for Genealogy in Strange places. Memorial T-Shirts

10 STEP #3: HOME COLLECT FAMILY DOCUMENTS Look for Genealogy in Strange places. Memorial Car Vinyls

11 STEP #3: HOME COLLECT FAMILY DOCUMENTS Determine if your family has a family historian or someone who knows a lot of your family s history. Identify relatives who would have documents and/or information that would be helpful for your research.

12 STEP #3: HOME COLLECT FAMILY DOCUMENTS Interview relatives, especially the elders Record the interview if possible, audio or video Ask to make copies of pictures, funeral programs, obituaries, etc. Be prepared - some people may be unwilling to share information or materials.

13 STEP #4: WRITE IT DOWN Write down everything you know. Names Full Names, Nicknames, Abbreviations Parents, Siblings, Children Important Dates Birth, Marriage, Divorce, Death Places where the family lived

14 STEP #4: WRITE IT DOWN Record the information Paper Desktop Publishing Software MS Excel, MS Word, Google Docs, Google Sheets, etc. Create Your Own Forms Genealogy Software Pedigree Charts Family Group Sheets

15 PEDIGREE CHART Captures your direct ancestors, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, etc. You are #1 on the chart. Your father s line starts with #2. Your mother s line starts with #3. Men are even numbers 2, 4, 6, etc. Women are odd numbers 3, 5, 7, etc. Women are placed on the chart under the maiden name. If unknown then leave blank.

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17 FAMILY GROUP SHEETS Captures the family units parents and children. Create a Family Group Sheet for every couple or parent pair.

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19 OUTSIDE RESOURCES

20 STEP #5: LEARN THE LINGO Colored C; Col; * African Negro Negress Nigra N****r Mulatto Black Biracial Mixed Quadroon (1/4 th Black) Octaroon (1/8 th Black) Person of Color Afro American Black American African American

21 STEP #6: REMEMBER THE TIME Gain a general understanding of the history of African Americans during the time periods you are researching. 1619: First Africans arrived at Jamestown : A Time of Enslavement and Freedom : The Fight for Freedom and Civil Rights 1965 present: The Fight Continues This is a over simplification of the History of People of African Descent in America.

22 STEP #6: REMEMBER THE TIME Learn about the environment in which the ancestors lived. County & Town Histories Coverage in the Local Newspaper Print and online materials about African Americans in the geographic area. Remember! Try to keep the information you learn in its historical context. There is a possibility that a resource may not mention the presence of people of color, i.e. some county histories.

23 STEP #7: KNOW WHERE TO LOOK Get familiar with the historical African American neighborhoods, institutions, organizations, resources and accomplishments. Neighborhoods historic and current. Springfield & Sand Hills / Elizabethtown U. S. National Park Service African Americans in Augusta Augusta New Georgia Encyclopedia Belair Hills Estates Reflections. A Newsletter for the Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network (pg. 4)

24 STEP #7: KNOW WHERE TO LOOK Get familiar with the historical African American neighborhoods, institutions, agencies, resources and accomplishments. Institutions Schools Lamar School for Nursing (Reflections. IX.4. March pg. 5) Paine College Historically Black College / University Hospitals Jackson Street Hospital Help for the Helpless: Antebellum Healthcare for African Americans in Georgia. Reflections. IX.3. December pg. 5.

25 STEP #7: KNOW WHERE TO LOOK Get familiar with the historical African American neighborhoods, institutions, agencies, resources and accomplishments. Institutions Churches Cemeteries Funeral Homes Organizations Businesses / Business District

26 STEP #7: KNOW WHERE TO LOOK Get familiar with the historical African American neighborhoods, institutions, agencies, resources and accomplishments. Books Augusta, Georgia By Sean Joiner and Gerald Smith, foreword by Marva Stewart. ISBN: Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Date: 07/21/2004 State: Georgia Series: Black America Series Images: 200 Pages: 128

27 STEP #7: KNOW WHERE TO LOOK Get familiar with the historical African American neighborhoods, institutions, agencies, resources and accomplishments. Newspapers Chronicling America chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

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30 STEP #7: KNOW WHERE TO LOOK Identify the clues in the resources. Terms and Abbreviations Colored C Col * B M Neg

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32 Source: Richmond County Marriage Book, pg Georgia Virtual Vault.

33 STEP #7: KNOW WHERE TO LOOK Identify the clues in the resources. Changes to the Document Clipped Edges World War I Draft Card (Registration Cards A and B)

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35 Source: United States World War I Draft Records. FamilySearch Wiki. Link to Draft Card A -

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37 STEP #7: KNOW WHERE TO LOOK Find the section of the resources that contain information about African Americans. Table of Contents Check Index Look for terminology used for African Americans, i.e. colored, black, negro, mulatto, slave, etc. Back of the Book Colored Section AJC Example of Colored Obits

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39 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES ARCHIVES & LIBRARIES Georgia Public Libraries Several have genealogy centers / departments. Ladson Genealogical Library (Ohoopee Regional Library System) Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American History and Culture (Atlanta Fulton County Public Library System) Georgia Archives National Archives at Atlanta Family History Library and Centers Salt Lake and local locations Allen Public Library Fort Wayne, Indiana

40 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES RECORD TYPES Census Records Military Records Vital Records (Birth, Marriage, Divorce, Death) School Records Yearbooks City Directories Cemeteries Newspapers County Histories Town Histories Funeral Programs Land and Property Records Business Records Court Records Probate

41 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES ONLINE FamilySearch Georgia Virtual Vault Digital Library of Georgia Digital Public Library of America Chronicling America Library of Congress Google (Search, Scholar)

42 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES ONLINE Afrigeneas Reclaiming Kin (Blog) The Root Genealogy Articles Lowcountry Africana Cyndi s List African American Category Umbra Search

43 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES ONLINE Library of Congress American Memory Project African American History Collection 0American%20History Collections include: Voices from the Days of Slavery Slave Narratives, Federal Writers Project Documenting the American South Collections include: The Church in the Southern Black Community First Person Narratives of the American South Oral Histories of the American South

44 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES DATABASES GALILEO Ancestry Library Edition HeritageQuest FamilySearch Ancestry.com - $$ FindMyPast - $$ MyHeritage - $$

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47 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES -CENSUS RESEARCH Census Records Start from the present and work backwards starting with yourself. Happens every tens years from Census lost to water damage due to a fire; some parts survived. Information recorded in the census varied from each census year. Special Schedules were included during certain census years, i.e. Slave Schedules in 1850 and 1860 Census. Some states completed a census in between the Federal Census, i.e Alabama State Census.

48 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES -CENSUS RESEARCH Census Records 1870 Census first time most African Americans were listed by name Census showed family relationships for the first time Census included birth month and date 1940 Census Released April 2012 Fully indexed by August of 2012 Denotes informant with an asterisk.

49 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES -CENSUS RESEARCH Census Search Tips Start from the latest census and work backwards. Use multiple sites to search the census. Always look at the original document, not just the transcription. Remember to look at the neighbors; sometimes they are family members. Ages may not be accurate.

50 STEP #8: USE YOUR RESOURCES -CENSUS RESEARCH Census Search Tips (cont.) Be mindful of Nicknames or name abbreviations, i.e. Jno John, Maggie Margaret; Mag Maggie Be creative with the spellings of names, i.e. Calloway/Callaway. Use wildcards for searching Asterisk (*) for multiple letters, i.e. Cal* Question mark (?) for a single letter, i.e. Call?way

51 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: CASE STUDY

52 MAGGIE BELL PRINTUP SWINGER MADDOX Maternal Grandmother Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia Oldest of 5 children Different Father from her 4 siblings Married twice Mother of Nine Children, 7 boys, 2 girls 5 Still living

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64 STEP #9: CASE STUDY MAGGIE BELL MADDOX Look at the individual s birth date. That will determine which censuses the person should be included. Example: Maggie Bell Printup ( ) Should be able to find her in the 1940 Census 1930 Census

65 STEP #9: CASE STUDY MAGGIE BELL MADDOX Example: Maggie Bell Printup ( ) 1940 Census

66 STEP #9: CASE STUDY MAGGIE BELL MADDOX Example: Maggie Bell Printup ( ) 1930 Census

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69 1950 Atlanta City Directory; Page: 1348; Ancestry.com

70 CASE STUDY: MAGGIE B. MADDOX NEXT STEPS Compile all of the documents I ve gathered. Review them and updated information on Pedigree Chart and Family Group Sheet. Create/Update her timeline. Create a list of tasks to complete, based on missing information. Get copies of the following documents: First Marriage License Original Birth Certificate Obituary School Records Death Certificate City Directories

71 REVIEW Prepare for the Journey What s Your Goal? Home Collect Family Documents Write It Down Learn the Lingo Remember the Time Know Where to Look Use Your Resources

72 RESEARCH TIPS Select a single surname, individual, or family unit to focus on. Set a research goal. Complete and update Pedigree Charts and Family Group Sheets to reflect new information. Create and keep a research log or journal to track your progress. Get organized and stay organized. Make copies, either paper or electronic, of the original documents so you will have a copy.

73 RESEARCH TIPS CONT. Evaluate and interpret the information you have collected. Take small steps don t overwhelm yourself. Genealogy is a lifelong hobby! Get organized and stay organized!!!! Learn as you go using webinars, classes, attending genealogy group meetings, etc. Remember to have fun!!!

74 HAVE FUN!!!!! Source:

75 PHOTO CREDITS Slide 8: RIP Tattoo - Kids Name Tattoo - Slide 9: Whitney Houston T-Shirt - Path=11_57_69 Andre Fulgiam T-Shirt - Slide 10: Car Memorial Vinyl -

76 PRESENTER INFORMATION Tamika Maddox Strong Genealogist and Librarian