Given the history of slavery and Jim Crow, research African American genealogy can be particularly challenging. This presentation gives some tips and resources to guide genealogists in their work.

1. Using Traditional and Inventive Research to Find Ancestors and Stories

2.  Like many white people, I hadn’t thought much about slavery
 Began to want to know the stories of the people the Bremo Plantations in Fluvanna
County.
 Discovered my first Cumbo ancestor came over as an enslaved person in 1619,
Emmanuel Cambow
 Began to study and hope to help repair the ongoing damage done by slavery.
 Now research African American (enslaved and free) communities for individuals and
organizations.
 Scotchtown in Hanover County
 Bracketts Farm in Louisa County
 Oakwood in Albemarle County
 Esmont in Albemarle County
 Tuckerberry Farm (which my husband and I used to own) in Madison County
 Greene County communities, where I live now.

3.  Burned County Records
 Missing Documents because of Documentary Oversight
 Erroneous Information, particularly online
 Repeated Names – For the love of Pete, how many Bens and Marys does the world
need?
 Limited standardization in spelling

4.  Lack of Legal Status for Enslaved Individuals Pre-Emancipation
 No Legal Marriages
 No Legal Surnames
 Limited birth and death records.
 Changing Names During Enslavement and Post-Emancipation
 May have once been listed with enslaver’s name but gone by another
 May have changed known surname after Emancipation
 May have changed surnames repeatedly.

5.  Enslaver Records
 Journals
 Inventories
 Receipts
 Letters
 Geographical References
 Maps
 Local Residences
 Oral Histories!!!!!!!

6.  Local Historical Societies
 Family papers
 Oral histories
 Free People of Color Inventories
 Clippings
 ArchiveGrid
 Search surnames, enslaved and enslavers
 Search geographical locations
 Search plantation names

7.  Special Collections
 Library of Virginia
 University of Va and William and Mary
 Social Media
 Facebook
 Our Black Ancestry
 Genealogy Groups
 Twitter
 List surnames and ask for help
 Tag with #pocgenealogy
 Find-A-Grave

8.  Genealogists
 Hannah Scruggs at National Museum of African American History and Culture
 Google
 General Search for family names, locations, plantation names
 Churches
 Membership rosters for white and black churches
 Older members
 Other church records
 People
 Ask elders
 Ask current property owners
 Ask anyone who might know anything.

9.  Descendants of Enslaved Community at Bremo
 Creasys
 Drews
 Skipwiths
 Descendants of Enslaved Community at Oakwood
 Whindletons
 Descendants of Bracketts Farm in Green Springs

10. Andilit@gmail.com

11. Thank you!