I recently transcribed my gggrandfather John W. Holt’s will. He lived in Hardin County, Tennessee. He spent his childhood enslaved by Giles Holt, along with his mother Malinda and other family. By the early 20th century, John W. Holt was one of the wealthiest black man in the county. He owned hundreds of acres of land. […]
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Category: Reconstruction Era Research
Met His Fate by the Rope Route: Lynching
This country has a long history of racism, white supremacy, Jim Crow and discrimination. Violence is at the core of those systems. Without violence, they couldn’t exist. Far from being passive or willing subjects, African and Native peoples and their descendants fought back in myriad ways. That’s why slave rebellions were often dealt with by […]
Criminals In The Family
Every family tree has its share of criminals, vagabonds, shysters, thieves, polygamists, deserters, roughnecks, liars and cheats. While lots of things change, human behavior doesn’t. Joseph Harbour One of my shadier ancestors was Joseph Harbour, my 4th great grandfather. He was born in September 1852 in Hardin County, Tennessee. In the early years of my research, […]
Alabama Convict Records
Recently, an interesting set of records appeared on Ancestry: “Alabama Convict Records, 1886-1952.” I lecture on court records, so these types of records always get my attention. If you watched “Slavery By Another Name” which aired on PBS in February, these records will be familiar. You can watch the whole episode online. I highly also […]
Ex-Slave Pension Records
Recently, Ancestry somewhat quietly rolled out the Ex-Slave Pension database which contains Correspondence and Case Files from the National Archives. I always wanted to take a look at these records but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. I first heard about these records when Mary Frances Berry wrote “My Face is Black Is True: Callie House […]
A Strategy for Researching Freedmens Bur...
Freedmen’s Bureau records are a good example of “needle in a haystack” records for those doing African-American genealogical research. They are voluminous and rich. But they are also notoriously difficult to approach. Most aren’t indexed; heck, most aren’t even paginated. That they were governed by the military, and arranged as such— is itself another obstacle. […]
Black Farmers
I was at the Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore recently, presenting my first lecture on using land records effectively. The Lewis museum is dedicated to Maryland’s African-American history. So, I wanted to focus not just on genealogical research, but also the unique history between land and African-Americans. That history starts with the failure of Reconstruction to […]
Ancestor Found in Southern Claims Commis...
The Southern Claims Commission was created after the Civil War to repay loyal Southerners who had had property taken or destroyed by the Union Army. Witnesses had to attest to the damages. In many cases, for former slaveowners, their former slaves served as witnesses. Some slaves themselves even filed claims. The testimony also had to show that […]
Southern Claims Commission
I’ve been perusing the Southern Claims Commission records and rediscovering how incredible they are. The files includes many stories of the experiences of civilians during the Civil War.The website Fold3 has digitized many of these claims. Background Congress established the Southern Claims Commission in 1871. The Commission adjudicated claims by loyal Southerners for reimbursement of […]
Wayne County, TN Freedmen’s Marriages
I posted marriages from the Freedmen’s Bureau records of Wayne County, TN on Giving Back to Kin. RobynI am an engineer by day, but my true passion lies in genealogy. I have been a researcher, writer, and teacher for over twenty years. This blog is where I share family history strategies, resources, tips and advice […]