What exactly are the 1850 and 1860 United States Slave Schedules and what is their value to researchers? A closer look at this enumeration of “slave inhabitants” will streamline interpretation of these records and will help define the do’s and don’ts of working with them.

Utilizing the FAN Club method, DNA, and enslaved ancestral research, Collier finally found major clues to help solve a longtime mystery – who was the previous enslaver of his great-great grandmother, Polly Partee of Panola County, Mississippi, and where did she come from? Her last enslaver was Squire Boone Partee of Panola County, and Polly had been the head cook on his plantation during and after slavery, according to oral history. According to the censuses, she was born somewhere in North Carolina and sold to Squire by 1852, but her origins had been largely unknown. Collier will present a plethora of DNA evidence, in conjunction with genealogy research and the FAN Club methodology, to uncover Polly’s North Carolina origins. Collier will also argue how a court-investigated lunatic, Alfred Alston of Fayette County, Tennessee, was most likely her previous enslaver.

The Pullman Company was one of the leading employers of African Americans, primarily male Porters, who worked on the railroad in the late 19th and early 20th century. This presentation will look briefly at the general growth of the railroad as well as the Pullman Company which built rail cars and rented them to rail companies. Pullman hired primarily African American men and women to staff the dining and sleeping cars. What was the job like and what were lives like for the Porters and Maids? How do we find records of ancestors who were Pullman Porters or Maids?

This groundbreaking collection, which also goes by the name Louisiana, U.S., Records of Enslaved People, 1719-1820, was the brainchild of Dr. Gwendolyn Midlo-Hall and features the names, genders, ages, occupations, illnesses, family relationships, places of origin and more for upwards of 100,000 formerly enslaved in Louisiana. In this session, learn the history of the collection, where records were obtained, how to search and find original documents, and more.

Discover 8 options for pushing through difficult research of Midwestern Black families.

Using the records of the Southern Claims Commission to discover first-person accounts of the lives of freedmen, Union loyalists and former Confederates in their efforts to recover losses during the Civil war; includes the structure of the SCC and how the records can be used to advance research goals.

A researcher’s number one goal is to find ancestors for their client or their own family and share their story. Within the story oral history is followed, critical records and resources will be discovered which helped guide the research. This session will take attendees through the challenges, successes, and the continued unanswered questions of researching an African American family from enslavement to freedom through the states of VA, PA, OH, and MI.

This session introduces a 5-Step Research Methodology to guide family history study and research in the West Indies. Resources available in the U.S. and the U.K. are identified and civil registration and church records are illustrated through exploration of a family line. Emphasis is on the British West Indian experience.

Well-known for their anti-slavery views, Quakers began to migrate to the slave-free territories in the 19th century. As they migrated out of the South, Quakers emancipated and traveled with their newly freed slaves. Once settled, the sect continued their abolitionist cause by supporting the Underground Railroad – transporting runaway slaves to free states. In turn, free blacks established their own settlements, while still maintaining ties with the Quaker community.

Nine African Americans — two women and seven children — were posed amid a laundry day setting in a rare Civil War-era photograph. The handwritten caption identified them only as “Felix Richards Slaves” and the location as Volusia, near Alexandria, Va. Could their true identities be established? In this case study, historian and genealogist Amy Bertsch discusses a variety of sources, including probate records, a chancery suit, Civil War pension applications, and the former enslaver’s federal compensation claim, she used to identify the individuals in the photo, which is now at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She explores how these records can yield new discoveries for family historians and she also demonstrates the importance of researching the enslaver’s family when conducting African American family research.