Not all of the search for genealogical materials is going to be straight forward and easily found. Some cultures did not keep good records, for various reasons, while others did not have the wherewithal to do so.

Among those which you may find difficult to research will be Native Americans, Black Americans and aboriginal peoples from countries such as Australia. The reasons are primarily that good records on those races were not well kept until later years, and in some instances, such as the Black Americans who were enslaved.

For those who are currently seeking their African American ancestors, there are several methods that may bear fruit for you. Those plantations or companies who did keep records of their Black Americans may have lost them in the ensuing war or destruction of the property, however there are many slave narratives still in existence.

Additionally, although many of the records were burnt, there are some alternative methods of searching for your African American ancestors, most of them, thankfully wrought by the hand of slaves who had been freed and kept track of such things as marriages, deaths and banking issues.

Among places you might search for records of your African American ancestors you would likely find some type of information in reference points such as the Southern Claims Commission Records. These were the claims that were filed by about 20,000 Southern families who believed they had compensation coming to them for their properties which had been taken by the Union Armies.

You will also perhaps find some of those things you’re looking for in the Freedmen’s Bureau Records. A Freedmens Bureau was begun in 1865, and lasted about ten years, that helped those who had been slaves during the reconstruction of the Southern United States.

A collection of records exists there including: 

- Freedmens Savings and Trust, a bank serving many former slaves contains about 40,000 plus records.

Freedmen’s Marriage Records kept track of literally thousands of marriages between former slaves.

Tags:  African American ancestry African American Genealogy