In honor of Black History Month, I thought I'd share some free resources for researching African-American ancestors.
Chronology on the History of Slavery and Racism
An excellent timeline, complete with references, has been published online by Eddie Becker of Holt House as the Chronology on the History of Slavery and Racism. It is broken up into three sections: 1619 to 1789, 1790 to 1829 and 1830 to the end (which appears to be the 1990s).
This is one of the best timelines I've come across by far. It covers laws regarding slavery, historical background, the spread of slavery, the civil rights movement, literature and more.
The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. A collection by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and University of Virginia documents the lives of slaves through images. The collection is broken down into 18 sections including maps, plantation life, military activities and portraits, just to name a few. Sources and comments are given for each image.
Lowcountry Africana
Lowcountry Africana is dedicated to documenting the people and culture of South Carolina, Georgia and northwest Florida. The site is an amazing resource for individuals doing genealogy research of African American ancestors from the area. It offers a research library, helpful information on researching, resources by state and a records search function.
If you would like to aid others researching African American genealogy, sign up for the Restore the Ancestors Project. Through a partnership between Lowcountry Africana, Fold3, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and FamilySearch, researchers can search and view the South Carolina Estate Inventories and Bills of Sale for free at Fold3. Not all of the records have been indexed yet so volunteers are needed to help make more of the records searchable. Have you done your ten yet?
We are running a contest on County-Clerks.com to find the top Genealogy sites on the web. Right now you have been nominated as one of the top 200 sites. The contest is located at http://www.county-clerks.com/genealogy-blog/
What do you get if you win? Winner receives a $50 Amazon Gift Card, Second place receives a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
How do you win? You need to get the most amount of 'votes' for your website and your website is listed in either the 1st or 2nd position by the final date (Sept 30).
Is it free? Yes. 100% free. We picked you because you have a great site. Consider the work you have put into your site the entry fee :-)
How do I get votes? You share this contest on your site, spread the word with social media, tell friends and neighbors, anyone who will listen!
How many times can I vote? You can vote on your own site once per day. You can also vote on other sites that you like (be a friendly neighbor!). But-- you can vote as many times as you want (1x per day per site) from now until September 30th.
How do I get notified that I've won? You will receive an email from us notifying you that you have been selected as either the 1st place or 2nd place winner. We will then ask for contact details to send you the prize!
When does the contest end? The contest will end September 30th, 12:00AM EST. Winners will be notified shortly after.
Happy voting and good luck!
Questions? Just reply to this email and I would be happy to answer them for you.
Best regards,
Adam Murphy