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.

Using several families that were enslaved on the same plantation as case studies, this presentation will demonstrate research that meets the Genealogical Proof Standard. Examples of reasonably exhaustive research, evidence analysis, correlation, and resolving conflicts will be presented. This class is presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series and is being broadcasted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

In the summer of 2023 American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society announced the collaborative 10 Million Names project, an undertaking to recover the names of people of African descent who were enslaved in the area of the United States. This monumental task of centralizing datasets about African Americans is likely to take years to accomplish; in the interim, this webinar provides a useful survey of the many existing databases that serve a similar purpose though limited in scope.

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.

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.

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.

Slavery existed in some northern states well into the 19th century. Learn about the motives for gradual emancipation, how it affected enslaved African Americans and enslavers at this time, the state laws surrounding slavery, and the records that it created.

This session will focus on the thousands of transactions occurring in Edgefield, South Carolina in a County that did not burn, therefore, these records revealed the value placed on a slave in this community. “In the antebellum South, a prime male hand was the overriding measure for determining prices for enslaved workers. Hearty, prime women who were good breeders also had a high market value. Other factors that contributed to the sale price of a slave were gender, age, and skill.”

For over 25 years, oral history led Melvin Collier down the wrong road in the search for the father of his great-grandfather, Albert Kennedy (1857-1928) of Leake County, Mississippi. DNA was indeed providing great clues, but he initially attached them to the wrong ancestor. However, more autosomal DNA analysis, Y-DNA evidence, X-chromosome matching, and genealogy research revealed that the oral history had not been entirely true. This put Collier on the right road to discovery. Travel down this exciting genealogical road as Collier shows how DNA and genealogy led him to the identity and the story of his 2X-great grandfather. Ironically, he was born in northern Virginia, where Collier resides now, and was eventually taken to Sugartown, Louisiana during the Civil War. Lots of genealogy and genetic genealogy tips to be gained from this case.

Sharon Batiste Gillins a descendant of enslaved ancestors and Cheri Hudson Passey a descendant of enslavers share how to overcome emotions and other obstacles to work together to connect families.

Locating and using former slave owners’ bible records can reveal slave families as well as their birth, ages and deaths. These records are valuable and can predate statewide vital statistic records. In addition, these records can show enslaved persons were listed with their enslaved families.

Using DNA analysis, combined with documentary research and with only one hint of family lore, the presenter has found the family of her enslaved great-grandfather.