This lecture details the true story of how freedom finally came to Texas more than 2 years after the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation. Common myths will be replaced with the truth of the events that occurred and the atmosphere of the surrounding Galveston community, including the presence of United States Colored Troops among the Union soldiers who arrived to enforce emancipation for over 300,000 enslaved people of Texas. Finally, it follows the evolution of celebrations of emancipation beginning with spontaneous celebrations that occurred in 1865 on the docks of the Galveston Wharf, to the first documented citywide celebration in Galveston, to today’s recognition of Juneteenth as an important historical event celebrated throughout the nation and even the world.

This lecture will discuss how to get started in African American research. The objective of this presentation will be to research either a free person of color or a formerly enslaved African American and identify the last enslaver. It will introduce Reconstruction Era records such as: The Freedmen’s Bureau records, Freedmen’s Bank Records, Southern Claims Commission records, military records, census records, voter’s registration, newspapers, and vital records. It will also cover methodology for 1870 African American brick wall problems.

Despite the fact that their marriages were not legally recognized before 1865, enslaved couples were uniting in “quasi-marital” relationships, and were cohabitating as husband and wife, as evidenced by many extant documents created during and after the end of America’s Civil War. In this presentation, we explore examples of documents that provide evidence of these relationships, and sources for finding them.

Following the Civil War, when nearly 200,000 African American men served, the U.S. Army established 4 African American infantry (later modified to 2) and 2 cavalry regiments in 1868. They initially served in the West but fought in the Spanish American War and the two World Wars in segregated units. It was not until 1948 that Executive Order 9981 integrated the military. What was life like for these soldiers? Where do you find service and pension records?

This lecture will discuss how to get started in African American research. The objective of this lecture is to demonstrate what comprehensive African American research looks like from 1870 to the present. It will discuss sources such as: census, vital, and military records; the WPA slave narratives; newspapers; and city directories. It will also cover basic genealogical methodology.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.