The following excerpt is from the Feb 16, 2013 edition of jcfloridian.com: The Roulhac Family Association Inc. recently announced the publication of Slave Genealogy of the Roulhac Family: French Masters and the Africans They Enslaved by Roy L. Roulhac, a fifth-generation descendant of colonial North Carolina and territorial Jackson County, Fla. slaves. Born in Marianna, [...]

The following teaser is from an article in the February 17, 2013 edition of HuffingtonPost.com The project that first sequenced a human genome in 2000 took 15 years and cost about $3 billion. Now it takes six to eight weeks and costs as little as $100. Takers include actress Vanessa Williams, who has a long [...]

Elizabeth Shown Mills is considered one of the most knowledgeable, if not the top expert, on research citation and verification. Her books, Evidence!: Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian and Evidence Explained and Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, provide a detailed exploration into proper research techniques, with a focus on [...]

Special Viewing Hours December 30, 2012 through January 1, 2013 Washington, DC, Nov 14, 2012: The National Archives will commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation with a free special display of the original document from December 30, 2012 through January 1, 2013. The Emancipation Proclamation is displayed only for a limited time each [...]

The following was received from Paul Nauta at FamilySearch.org: SALT LAKE CITY (November 2, 2012) – FamilySearch was recently recognized for its “continued dedication and support” of African family history research at the 2nd International Black Genealogy Summit, held at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City October 18-20. The conference theme was “Understanding [...]

Whoops – we posted a blog a few days ago in which Christopher Child at NEHGS stated that proof of American Indian ancestry for Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren did exist – even if it did show she was only 1/32 Cherokee. Now it seems that NEHGS says no such proof exists… The following excerpt is [...]

The following April 11, 2012 press release is from the National Archives: Emancipation documents offer a rare glimpse into slaves’ lives for Act’s 150th anniversary Washington, DC: In commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the DC Emancipation Act, the National Archives today shared rarely seen original records pertaining to the Act, including petitions from slaves [...]

Click on the map to get a graphical view of indexing progress thus far on the 1940 Census. FamilySearch has begun publishing images online from the 1940 U.S. Federal Census to engage the army of volunteers who have been waiting for the chance to begin indexing those names. To explore the digital images or to [...]

Genealogy-at-a-Glance: African American Genealogy Research was written by Michael Halt. This addition to the series examines African American history and related records from the Civil War to the Great Migration. While free African Americans appear in census records from the very beginning. Unfortunately, slaves did not appear in the censuses. This makes tracking slave ancestors [...]

Several weeks ago, my friend, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, sent me a copy of her new book. It’s titled “Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing.” I finally got the chance to sit down and read it cover to cover. Megan knows how to write, with several successful books behind her. However, in my humble opinion, this [...]

The following teasor is from an excellent article written by Marisol Bello and published in the February 21, 2012 edition of USA Today. It was first proposed by black Civil War veterans almost 100 years ago. Now, five special commissions and two acts of Congress later, shovels and backhoes are set to break ground today [...]

For 14 years Mary L. Jackson Fears worked diligently on her family’s history. Slave Ancestral Research: It’s Something Else is a narrative of her experiences in researching her slave ancestors. Instead of a how-to book, Fears has created a guide by example. Her her words, “My purpose is to narrate the details of my roots [...]

The following news was received from Matthew Deighton at Ancestry.com Fold3 is proud to announce Free access to our Black History Collection in honor of Black History Month. This collection includes many enlightening historical records documenting African American achievements since the earliest days of our nation, and will be available the entire month of February. [...]

If you haven’t yet had a chance to browse around FamilySearch’s Civil War page, then you should. The page is a portal to a whole world of Civil War records, histories, wikis, courses, and indexing projects. From the top of the page you can immediately start searching Civil War records. You can also browse and [...]

Title: A Genealogist’s Guide to Discovering Your African-American Ancestors Authors: Franklin Carter Smith & Emily Anne Croon Published: 2003 Type: soft cover Size: 8½ x 11 Pages: 250 ISBN: 9780806317885 FRP Item #: GPC5455 A Genealogist’s Guide to Discovering Your African-American Ancestors reads like many other family history primers. The book outlines basic research principles, [...]