African American Research
ProGenealogists is a leader in African American genealogy research. Our firm has conducted research for the PBS African American Lives series. We have traced the ancestry of several African American celebrities, including Rosa Parks and Richard Pryor. Our experts are well versed in tracing African American families in every state and in every time period.
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There are various challenges to researching African American roots. The speed and success of research depends on the status of your ancestral family, and whether they were free or enslaved prior to the Civil War.
Post Civil War Research
Post-Civil War research is generally easier and more straight forward than pre-Civil War research for any ethnic group. However, for African Americans, there were many upheavals and changes for them and their families after the Civil War. Many of them moved away from the South and away from farms and into the cities and the Northern states after the Civil War. Fortunately, United States censuses have been indexed and we can generally trace your ancestry backward in time quite well to your ancestors who were born in the 1850s.
However, even though tracing African American ancestors in 20th century records is much easier than in earlier records, there are factors can add challenges to the research. Common surnames - like Jackson, Smith, Taylor, and Jones - were frequently adopted by emancipated families. Common surnames make it quite challenging to figure out which John Smith was your ancestor of the 100s of John Smiths who were about the same age! ProGenealogists's researchers have a great deal of experience tracing individuals of all ethnicities in United States records.
Before the Civil War and Emancipation
Your African American ancestors had fewer genealogically signficant (birth, marriage and death) records kept about them if they were enslaved prior to the Civil War. Many counties in the South experienced record loss from the Civil War, too. So, even those records that we'd typically use to trace African American ancestry in the South have sometimes been completely destroyed due to the ravages of war.
Once a branch of your family has been traced back to a pre-Civil War ancestor, and if he or she were enslaved, then the next step is to begin identifying the slave holder.
We go about studying records pertaining to the slave holders and their families - like as deeds and estate records. These documents often record the names of slaves who were passed from one to another. Many people have a desire to trace their roots back to Africa. While this is sometimes possible, there are instances where a lack of records can prevent this.
If your ancestors were enslaved prior to the Civil War, then the work is challenging, but not impossible. We've had very good success tracing Southern African American roots and especially maternal lines prior to the Civil War. In many areas, slaves were not able to remain in family units. However, children were generally attached to their mothers until at least age 10 or so. Therefore, in cases where lines have been traced back to an African immigrant, it often follows a female ancestor. Father’s names were usually not recorded for slave ancestors.
Tracing an African American lineage is a very exciting task! Yet, it can be very time consuming—usually requiring several research sessions—depending on a person's specific research goal. Nevertheless, our experts are among the best in the industry for African American research and we are committed to helping you reach your goals.
Get a Free Estimate
Let one of our professionals provide you with a FREE estimate to research your African American ancestry. Every family is unique, so by providing basic information about your family, we can determine what it may take to reach your goal.
