I’m convinced that slave research and the research of slaveowners is some of the toughest genealogy research the field will ever see. This is a long post, but I hope you’ll read it all. I also recommend reading “The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism,” by Edward Baptist. The book […]
You are browsing archives for
Category: Slaveowner Research
Slave Distributions
One of the most important pieces of information those of us researching enslaved ancestors need to know is how the slaves are distributed after the owner’s death. If we’re lucky, there’s a will that tells us to whom each slave is bequeathed. Most of the time, there’s not. There are many wills that simply say […]
Slave Research in Bibles
Slave Research in bibles might sound counter-intuitive, but this post illustrates why it should not. The Tennessee State Archives and Library (TSLA) just finished digitizing and uploading hundred of bibles in their collection. The files are organized by surname. I hope that more genealogists will submit copies of family information from their family bibles. Aside from that, there […]
Freedmens Bureau Labor Contracts
Familysearch is quickly digitizing Freedmens Bureau Records. Labor Contracts are one of the first categories of records that researchers should search within these valuable records. I posted awhile ago a suggested process to follow while searching these exasperating records. Background and Importance Labor Contracts are very valuable because they were often made between slaveowners and their former enslaved […]
Documenting the Slaveowner in Your Genea...
How do you document the slaveowner in your research? Here are two ideas from my own toolbox. Separate Trees 1. Create separate family trees for each slaveowning family within your genealogy software. Most people never use the feature available in genealogy software to do this. I use Rootsmagic, but every brand of family history software can do […]
The Crown Jewel: Civil War Pensions, Par...
In Part 1 of this post, we looked at examples of the riches contained in civil war pension records. Let’s see more examples of how the lives of enslaved people are illuminated before, during and after the war. The name of the slaveowner is sometimes mentioned in pension files. This name can be very hard […]
The Crown Jewel: Black Civil War Soldier...
Civil War Pensions remain the crown jewel of genealogy research for those with enslaved ancestors. The first-hand descriptions of their lives in the testimonies, both before, during and after the war still take my breath away. Though I have no direct ancestors that served, I have some collateral ancestors who did. I also make it […]
Tracking Mason Garrard Through Slavery
I have succeeded in extending Mason Garrard’s history back just a little further. Mason is my 4th great-grandfather. He was enslaved by William Garrard. I discussed that find in the previous post. Daniel Garrard Now I know that Daniel Garrard was the father of the slaveowner William Garrard. This is a classic case of enslaved […]
Finding the Garrard Slaveholder
Finding the Garrard slaveowner for my great-grandmother Mary Garrett is a fascinating case for study. She married John Wesley Holt and they settled in Hardin County, TN and raised a large family. Mary was from neighboring Decatur County. Her mother’s death certificate (also named Mary) identified her parents as Mason and Rachel Garrett. The 1870/1880 […]
Mind of the Slaveowner: Runaway Ads
Runaway Ads for enslaved people throughout Maryland are available online at the Maryland State Archives’ Legacy of Slavery database. The ads tell us much about the mind of the slaveowner. Here are some of my observations: 1) Slaveowners knew a surprising amount of information about enslaved families. This also speaks to the extended kinship communities that […]