| African American Family History | | | | well known that many took upon themselves the |
| Tracing Your Roots | | | | surname of their previous slave owner, and yet |
| African American Family History can be the most | | | | others who used a name such as Tailor/Taylor as |
| difficult to trace. Due to incomplete and often | | | | a description of a trade in which they had |
| nonexistent records tracing your African | | | | become proficient. |
| American roots can be challenging. Similar to other | | | | The fact that there is no certainty of what name |
| areas of genealogy research there are certain | | | | your ancestors chose to use makes research |
| things you should become familiar with before | | | | difficult. It becomes even more difficult when |
| starting your search. | | | | coupled with the fact that it was fairly common |
| - African American Roots in the U.S. | | | | for biological family members to choose different |
| There is no need to search out your African | | | | surnames. This fact makes it important to not |
| American Family History in the United States any | | | | simply trace your ancestry using your family |
| further back than the year 1619. It was at this | | | | surname alone, but to also make the effort to |
| time that the first African Americans were | | | | find other family members who may have chosen |
| brought to the U.S. as slaves by Dutch Traders. | | | | to use other surnames. |
| Unfortunately it is not a simple matter to trace | | | | - Do Not Be Easily Discouraged |
| your ancestors back to this point. | | | | |
| Due to the laws of the era that did not require | | | | Researching your African American Family History |
| slave owners to record the names of their slaves | | | | can be extremely difficult and challenging. If you |
| many African Americans were recorded by their | | | | have never done any genealogy research it can |
| first name alone or simply as “black | | | | particularly overwhelming to tackle a task with as |
| male” or “black female.” It | | | | many different complications as this area of |
| is due to this fact that the discovery of the last | | | | research. |
| slave owner of your ancestors is a very | | | | If you begin to feel overwhelmed, do not know |
| important step. Once the last slave owner has | | | | where to start, or cannot overcome a particular |
| been proven it is much easier to find other | | | | obstacle in your research there are options you |
| ancestors who were associated with that slave | | | | should explore. |
| owner. | | | | There are many sites on the internet devoted |
| - The 1870 Federal Census | | | | entirely to African American Family History. In |
| | | | addition to these sites there are professional |
| Censuses are a valuable asset in tracing ancestry | | | | genealogists who do this research for a living. |
| of any type, but the 1870 US Federal Census is | | | | They know the obstacles you are facing and how |
| probably the most important when trying to trace | | | | to overcome them. They have services set up to |
| African American Family History. It was in this | | | | search out your entire family history, or to simply |
| census that African Americans were first listed by | | | | help you overcome a specific obstacle you are |
| name. | | | | facing. |
| This census eases the burden or research, but | | | | No matter what route you choose to take in |
| brings with it a whole new challenge. While many | | | | researching your African American Family History |
| African Americans chose to use their birth given | | | | it can be an incredibly rewarding experience. |
| surname many others chose other routes. It is | | | | |