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Why Was My Black Ancestor Listed as a Slave Owner?
“I have traced my great-grandfather, Kinchen Bell, back on the 1850 Census Slave Schedule for Kentucky. He is listed in the slave owners’ column and indicated as being black. There is an adult female listed who I believe is his wife, my great-grandmother, Sarah. There are a number of minor children listed. When I went…
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My Ancestral Town Disappeared From the Map!
“I have been researching my genealogy since 1996. This year, I discovered the names of my grandmother’s grandparents. However, their birthplace is proving to be a mystery. It is listed as Hacot Eurville, Ga. I have searched the Web for information about this place and find nothing. My grandmother and her parents lived in Lowndes County, Ga., and Hamilton County,…
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Lost Slave Ancestors Found
“Our last name is odd. We get it from my mother’s father, Herbert Mungin, who was born in 1924, somewhere in the American South—South Carolina, we think. I know that last names were picked up in various ways in the late 1800s, but I’ve actually never met a white person who shares this last name.…
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I’m White. Was My Ancestor a Free Black Man?
“When I was growing up, there were always whispers of black ancestors among my father’s family, but no one would ever discuss it openly. I grew up across the country from that side of the family, so the question never seemed very important. Now all the family members that might have had some answers are…
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When Misspellings Mar Your Ancestry Search
(The Root) — “One line of my family tree, surname Hereford, has lived in the area of Huntsville, Ala., since at least the early 1900s. In researching this line via U.S. census documents, I have found the last name to be spelled multiple different ways, including ‘Heriford’ and ‘Hurford.’ I have been able to find…
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Dominicans and Black American Roots?
(The Root) — “My ancestors were former American slaves invited to live in the Dominican Republic when Haitians had control of the island. We know that these former slaves came from Philly. Samaná was mostly populated by American slaves. Everyone there pretty much has an American last name — mine from that side is Jones. What other information do…
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How Do I Track Deep South Roots?
(The Root) — “I have been tracing my husband’s African-American family for a while now, and am stuck in the same place after 80-100 hours of research. What I’d like to find out are more details on Alford/Alfred Anderson (who was born in 1854 in Tennessee, according to census records) and his wife Tinie Smith (who may have…
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What Happened to a Slave's Family?
(The Root) — “Oral history tells me that my paternal great, great, great grandfather, Sanford Mason, was born in Virginia and sold as a slave. “Sanford met and married Nancy Jewett, and they had three children: Joe, Jeff and Eve. At some point, because of slavery, the family was separated. Sanford went to fight in…
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Did Africans Immigrate to Jim Crow America?
(The Root) — “My great-great-grandfather was named Issac Rowen. He came from Guinea to work as a fisherman sometime in the post-Civil War period. My late great-aunt told me that he came to the U.S. with a group of white men. He worked as a fisherman in New Orleans until was killed, by being thrown…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
