The (Underground) Railroad Runs Through Here

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?

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?

Segregation extended into death for African Americans, especially for those in the Southern United States. What led to the development of separate funeral homes and burial grounds? This presentation looks at burial practices for African-Americans from the 16th to the 20th century.

After the end of the Civil War in 1865, African Americans began leaving the areas where they had been enslaved. Many went to North to larger towns where work was more plentiful. But less discussed is that a number went West to farm, using the Homestead Act of 1862 to claim land of their own. Other settled in and helped develop some all-Black towns in Kansas and Oklahoma. Still others headed to the Pacific Coast for work. What can we find out about these settlers’ lives? Where can we find records?

The Spanish brought Africans to be enslaved in their colonies in the Caribbean and the Americas. What was life like for those of African descent during Spanish colonial time, Mexico and after the regions became the western U.S.? Was life significantly different from enslaved Africans brought to North America? What records exist to tell of their lives?

Nearly 10,000 people (mostly men) of African ancestry fought in the Revolutionary War on both sides of the conflict – hoping that freedom from slavery would come with the end of the eight year war. What records exist and how can genealogists discover them?

This session looks at those who fought with the British - Black Loyalists. Who were they and what happened to them after the war when they fled to Canada? Learn where to locate records to find out more about the people and their communities.

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.

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.