In this presentation, Adwoa Ulzen-Setrakian, founder of spanDNA and Human Temple Therapeutics LLC, explores how genetic genealogy has become a powerful tool for families of African descent to reclaim their histories and restore connections severed by displacement, migration, and historical traumas. Through a family-centered approach, Adwoa demonstrates how commercial DNA testing can do more than uncover personal ancestry—it can reconstruct the bonds of kinship across generations and continents. Drawing from real-life case studies, Adwoa will share stories of how African-descended families are using genetic genealogy to facilitate reconnecting with lost relatives, restoring collective memory, and explore opportunities for healing from intergenerational wounds. Attendees will learn about the unique challenges faced by these families, especially when traditional records and oral histories fall short, and how spanDNA’s method helps bridge the gaps using DNA analysis, compassionate research, and a collaborative, community-based approach. A key focus will be the culmination of these efforts at gatherings such as the upcoming Transatlantic Genealogy Summit 2025, where families who have reconnected through DNA will come together to celebrate their shared heritage, foster deeper connections, and continue building their family legacies. Attendees will walk away with: Insight into how genetic genealogy can be a transformative tool for family legacy-building, particularly within the African diaspora. Practical knowledge of how to use commercial DNA testing platforms to connect with genetic relatives and uncover ancestral histories. A better understanding of how family reunions and summits, such as the Transatlantic Genealogy Summit, can serve as a powerful culmination of genealogical research and DNA connections. Real-life examples of success stories and the emotional impact of restoring long-lost family ties. This presentation may inspire families to see themselves as protagonists in their own stories, capable of uncovering veiled memories and reclaiming their place within the larger, interconnected human family.

There are at least 44 million descendants of enslaved individuals alive today, but slavery separated families, erased names, and obscured facts. The 10 Million Names Project, recently launched by American Ancestors and its partners, aims to connect the family stories of these descendants to the 10 million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in the U.S. prior to emancipation and to restore their names to history. Join Cynthia Evans and learn about the scope of this project, the objectives, and our methodology.

Take a deep dive through case studies to learn how Civil War Pensions, the Freedmen’s Bureau, and Probates/Successions come together to reveal the pre-emancipation, post emancipation, and 20th Century lives of the formerly enslaved and their families.

Thomas Terrell was a lawyer born in Louisa County, Virginia in 1761. His plantation in Greene County, Georgia and the people he enslaved there have connections to a Civil War battlefield, the University of Georgia, Wells Fargo, a United States Congressman, and northern enslavers from Connecticut and New Jersey. Thomas’ death in 1822 created the only comprehensive list of his enslaved population, requiring the use of unconventional sources to gather more information about them. Many were separated due to devastating slave sales, but 200 years later, their descendants have been reunited by DNA testing.

Learn how DNA reconnected a family living on two continents (North America and Australia), and how the Underground Railroad, the Freedmen’s Bureau, a legal battle within the slaveholding family, and Broadway musicals became central threads to their dynamic story.

This lecture will discuss how to get started in African American research. The objective of this presentation will be to research African Americans before the Civil War – either as an enslaved or free person. It will introduce Antebellum Era records such as: newspapers, slave schedules, church records, tax records, free people of color registers, plantation records, and probate records. It will also cover methodology for enslaved research.

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.