African American Genealogy

1.  Amann, William Frayne. Personnel of the Civil War. 2 vols. NY: Thomas Yoseloff Company, 1961.

E494.A5
Volume two contains a list of the names of organizations of the United States Colored Troops arranged by state. 

BX6453.B3 1980
Biographical sketches of a number of Black Baptist men and women who have made contributions to their church.

3.  Bergman, Peter M. and Jean McCarroll, comp. The Negro in the Congressional Record, 1789-1801. vol. II. NY: Bergman Publishers, 1969.

E185.B467 1969
The names of many African Americans are mentioned in these abstracts of the debates and proceedings of the U.S. Congress.

4.  Boothe, Charles Octavius. The Cyclopedia of the Colored Baptists of  Alabama, Their Leaders and Their Work. Birmingham, AL:  Alabama Publishing Company, 1895.

BX6444.A6 B6 Rare Book
This is a “Who’s Who” of prominent Black Baptist leaders. It also includes an autobiography of the author and a history of Baptist principles in America.

5.  [Catterall, Helen Tunnicliff, ed.] Judicial Cases Concerning American Slavery and the Negro. 5 vols. Washington, DC: Carnegie  Institution of Washington, 1929.

E441.C35
These volumes contain a vast amount of historical material  concerning American slavery. Hundreds of court cases dealing with manumission are included.

6.  Clem, Dee. Tracing African-American Roots. Las Vegas, NV: Gator Publishing, Inc., 1999.

CS49.C54 1999
Dr. Clem has provided a needed basic book on genealogical research for African-Americans. The text is a manual on how to perform the research, what records exist, where to find the records and what information the records contain.

7.  Greene, Robert Ewell. Black Courage, 1775-1783: Documentation of Black Participation in the American Revolution. Washington, DC: National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1984.

E269.N3 G74 1984 
Greene lists and gives biographical sketches of known Black soldiers and pensioners of the American Revolution. 

8.  Hewett, Janet B., ed. The Roster of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865: United States Colored Troops, vol. 4-5. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1997-

E494.H4
Broadfoot is publishing a roster of Union soldiers who served from  1861-1865. The roster is almost complete with thirty-one of a total of thirty-three published. These two volumes listing African-Americans are done. The roster only gives the name, unit and rank of the soldier.

9.  Nettie Nesbary, et.al., compilers. An Index to the Signatures of Deposit for the Freedman’s Savings and  Loan Bank, 1865-1869, for the State of Mississippi: Columbia, Natchez and Vicksburg. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1997.

F350.N4 I59 1997
More than 7,000 African Americans can be located in this index. Each entry includes account number, surname, given name, place of birth, place of residence, race, and a notation as to whether more  information is available in the original record.

10.  Indexes to Deposit Ledgers in Branches of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874. 5 reels. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1971.

E185.2.U592 microfilm
The indexes are arranged alphabetically by name of state and  there under by name of city where the branch was located. Lists names of depositors alphabetically. The indexes are useful as a finding aid to two other series in this record group; registers of Depositors’ signatures (M816) and dividend payment records, 1882-89, that are not indexed.

11.  Ingham, John N. and Lynne B. Feldman. African-American Business Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994.

HC102.5.A2 I52 1994
This work provides comprehensive biographies of 123 Black business leaders from the early days in America to 1994. Many of the people found here are not covered in standard biographical works. Appendices classify the business leaders by place of birth, principal place of business, type of business and women business leaders.

12.  Moebs, Thomas Truxtun. Black Soldiers, Black Sailors, Black Ink:  Research Guide on African-Americans in U.S. Military History, 1526-1900. Chesapeake Bay: Moebs Publishing Co., 1994.

UB418.A47 M64 1994
Moebs has compiled an excellent bibliography for researchers, and  he has compiled a list of the Medal of Honor winners along with a  list of men who attended West Point between 1870-1900.

13.  [Mooreman, Joseph H., ed.] Leaders of the Colored Race in Alabama.  Mobile, AL: The News Publishing Company, Inc., 1928.

E185.93.A3 L42 1928 Rare Book
Contains biographical information and pictures of some individuals.

14.  Page, Jo Ann Curls. Index to the Cherokee Freedmen Enrollment Cards of the Dawes Commission, 1901-1906. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1996.

E185.96 .P33
During the Civil War the African-American slaves of the Cherokee became freedmen. This index to the Dawes Commission  enrollment cards records the names of each member of a household, their age, sex and relationship to the head of the household. Some cards contain notations of births, deaths and marriages, and the names of parents. Ms. Page has also indexed the rejected claims.

15.  Puckett, Newbell Niles. Black Names in America: Origins and Usage. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1975.

E185.89.N3 P82 
This is a valuable resource for understanding the social values attached to names. Over 500,000 names are listed.

16.  Rawick, George P., ed. The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography; Supplement Series 1, vol. 1-7. Westport, CT: Greenwood  Publishing Company, 1977.

E444.A45
Collection of narratives by ex-slaves conducted in the 1930’s. A study of slave and slave culture that earlier studies did not  provide.

17.  Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Alabama, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1870.  23 rolls. Washington, DC: NARS, 1969.

E185.2.U597 1865a microfilm
This set of microfilm contains letters, reports, telegrams, and other records relating to the freedmen. On the last roll of this publication is a register of claims, 1865-1869, which is arranged alphabetically by surname of the person who took the oath of loyalty to the U.S. The trimonthly reports concerning destitute freedmen are generally arranged alphabetically. These reports contain information relating  to the number of men, women, and children fit or unfit for work.

18.  Records of the Commissioners of Claims (Southern Claims Commission) 1871-1880. 14 rolls. Washington, DC: NARS, 1945.

E480.R43 1945 microfilm 
After the War between the States a Commission was  established to hear claims of people in the South against the Federal  government for property seized by the U.S. Army. Many of the claimants were Black. There is material concerning slave housing, slave ownership of property, and slave relations with whites. A number of the claimants were free Blacks and their files are a source that has seldom been analyzed.

19.  Records of the Superintendent of Education for the State of Alabama, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1870. 8 rolls. Washington, DC: NARS, 1969.

LC2802.G4 U5 microfilm
This series consists of letters, reports, miscellaneous account books, and form reports pertaining to schools. The teachers’ monthly school reports are included.

20.  Registers of Signatures of Depositors in Branches of the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company, 1865-1874. rolls 1,2,6. Washington, DC: NARS, 1969.

E185.2.U55 microfilm
This series contains the signatures of and personal identification data about depositors. Copies of death certificates are on some  entries. The place of birth, place brought up, residence, age,  complexion, occupation, wife or husband, children, father, mother, brothers, sisters, remarks and signature are included.

21.  Schweninger, Loren. Black Property Owners in the South, 1790-1915. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1990.

E185.8.S39 1990 
Although this text is more a study of Black property owners than a listing of names there is a biographical listing of prosperous Blacks in the South, 1870’s-1915. The appendices and the essay on sources and methodology are especially useful to the researcher.

22.  Walton-Raji, Angela Y. Black Indian Genealogy Research: African-American  Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1993.

E98.G44 W34 1993
This book discusses Black Indians and tri-racial groups from the  upper South. Ms. Walton-Raji has added two lists of family names, freedmen surnames from the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized  Tribes, and surnames of tri-racial families of the South.

23.  Who’s Who in Colored America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Persons of Negro Descent in America. 4 vols. NY: Who’s Who in Colored America Corp., 1927-37.

E185.96.W54
Some of the entries are brief with little biographical information while others are more extensive. Photographic reproductions of  many of the personalities are included. 

24.  Woodson, Carter G. Free Negro Heads of Families in the United States in 1830 Together with a Brief  Treatment of the Free Negro. Washington, DC: Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, 1925.

E185.W887
This work lists names of free Black heads of households in 1830 which are extracted from the 1830 U.S. Census.

25.  Young, Henry J. Major Black Religious Leaders, 1755-1940. Nashville: Abingdon, 1977.

BR563.N4 Y68
This book contains biographical sketches of major Black religious leaders in the United States.

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