The image above is from the Inventory of Historic Properties, which is a part of the Maryland Historical Trust. (UPDATE, 9/21/2018: the website has changed in appearance) My cousin Jahrod shared this website with me and it is a goldmine: it contains digitized original applications from historic places in Maryland. Maryland Historic Inventories At the site, […]
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Category: Records, Resources and Tools
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 […]
Published Slave Narratives
Lately I have been reading a lot of published slave narratives. These are not to be confused with the WPA slave interviews from the 1930s. I am referring to slave narratives that were written and published mostly in the 19th century. The authors were former slaves, many of whom who had fled slavery. These books […]
Records About the Enslaved in D.C.
I have been thinking about how many states have unique records that can assist those doing slave research. This is what I call records that are not nationwide, but specific to a particular state or locale. For example, slave births in Virginia are recorded from the year 1853. In Maryland, slave statistics (for a […]
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 […]
Have You Checked Published Family Histor...
Recently, I was perusing the Library of Congress’ genealogy reading room website. I clicked on the link to “Bibliographies and Guides.” This page includes the guide to African-American Family Histories and Related Works. Surprisingly, I found one of my ancestral families (a collateral line) on that list! Many of the items were programs from family […]
Prologue Magazine at NARA
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my Christmas/New Year holiday as you can see by my lengthy absence. I missed you all & have sufficiently awoken from my month-long slumber to try to stick my big toe back into the genealogy waters. I was reading the latest issue of Prologue magazine trying to figure out what to blog […]
Slavery: A Visual Record
I haven’t been posting because I’ve been enjoying family and friends over the Thanksgiving holiday. That’s at the heart of why we are all genealogists, right? I’m taking a short break to tell you all about a website I discovered. The website is called, “The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A […]
Casefile Clues
In a previous post, I talked about the need to continue learning and developing our genealogical skills. Recently, I subscribed to Michael John Neill’s Casefile Clues. It’s been a good addition to my toolbox and I want to recommend his newsletter to others. I’ve always been partial to case studies because I am able to […]
Journal Articles on Slave Research
One of the things that has contributed greatly to my growth as a genealogist has been regularly reading genealogy society journal articles. Researchers looking to grow in their skills would do well to begin exploring these, and let me tell you why. Why Read if I am Not a Professional? Beginning genealogists often believe that […]