black genealogy
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Tracing Your Roots: What Did Freedom Bring for My Ancestor?
Post-Civil War records point to a common fate for many African Americans after emancipation. Dear Professor Gates: I’m searching for any information on my third great-grandfather Hardy Dykes, who was born in 1843. I assume that he was born in or near Hawkinsville, Ga. The only record I could find on him was in the…
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Tracing Your Roots: Where Did My Ancestor’s Freed Slaves Go?
A forebear emancipates his slaves in the 1840s, but “freedom” was a relative term in 1840s Kentucky. Dear Professor Gates: I’m trying to trace a family who was owned by my sixth great-grandfather the Rev. John Holland Owen. Their names were Christopher and Winney Owens and Winney’s children—Fanny, Edwin, Elijah, Andrew Jackson, Charles, America, Mary…
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Tracing Your Roots: Have I Found My Ancestor’s Plantation?
She found a photo of her great-grandmother in the records of a historic plantation house in Georgia, but little information about her life under slavery. Dear Professor Gates: I have located my great-grandmother Cora Lundy in the 1880 census. I would like to learn about her life before 1880 but have so few clues. She…
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Tracing Your Roots: Who Were My Grandparents?
Census records reveal clues to an African-American lineage stretching back in time to the years before slavery ended. Dear Professor Gates: My mother, Maggie Nell Lyons, is an only child. Her mother, Magnolia Battle, died when my mother was 5 years old. Magnolia Battle married Nelson Lyons, my grandfather. They lived, we think, in Gordon,…
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How Do I Legally Prove Native American Ancestry?
For this week’s column, we decided to address a topic that comes up frequently in your questions: How does one legally establish Native American ancestry? Legal recognition as a tribal member varies depending on the Native American nation in which you seek enrollment. Native American communities are sovereign nations and, as such, have their own…
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Tracing Your Roots: Who Was My Black Colonial Ancestor?
A white woman discovers that she has African ancestry and wants help identifying her black New England forebear. Dear Professor Gates: I took a DNA test through 23andMe and it confirmed what I already knew: that I have black ancestry through my mother’s side, approximately 5.2 percent. There was talk during my childhood that my…
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Tracing Your Roots: Why Did My DNA-Test Results Change?
A few reasons that the percentages in your ethnic-ancestry breakdown may change over time. Dear Professor Gates: I did DNA testing through the site African DNA. Initially it showed I had 82 percent West African ancestry, 10 percent European and the rest “Middle Eastern.” However, I recently received updated results from Family Tree DNA (which…
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The Museum of You: The International African American Museum Wants to Personalize African-American History With Its Genealogy Center
Museums can impart a vast amount of information to visitors, sharing with them history, culture, science, art. But what if a museum could personalize your own story, your own background and your own history? That is exactly what the International African American Museum is hoping to do with the launch Tuesday of its Center for…
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Tracing Your Roots: I Want to Post the Names of My Ancestors’ Slaves
Her ancestor’s will named 13 slaves, and she seeks help getting this information to their descendants. Dear Professor Gates: My ancestors were slave owners in Victoria County, Texas. My three-times great-grandfather John James named 13 enslaved people in his will, dated Sept. 3, 1863, in Victoria County. They included three boys, named Woodson, George and…
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Tracing Your Roots: My ‘Merikin’ Ancestor Escaped Slavery
Researching those who chose to fight for the British and emigrate to Trinidad in order to be free. Dear Professor Gates: I was wondering if you could help identify the parents of my five-times great-grandfather Ezekiel Loney, who was among the “Merikins” (formerly enslaved African-American soldiers who fought for the British) who settled in Trinidad. …