African American Genealogy
Essentials:
- AfriGeneas: African ancestored genealogy Focuses on African American genealogy, to researching African Ancestry in the Americas in particular and to genealogical research and resources in general.
- Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Association (AAHGS) National organization with local chapters. Annual conference.
Selected resources for researching the enslaved and formerly enslaved:
- Digital Library of American Slavery - includes deeds and other documents
- Freedom on the Move - searchable newspaper advertisements placed to recover self-liberating people
- Guide to using Freedmen's Bureau/Freedmen's Banks Records After the Civil War, the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (the Freedmen's Bureau) provided assistance to tens of thousands of the formerly enslaved and impoverished whites in the Southern States and the District of Columbia.
Tips for researching and recording the enslaved & enslavers in family trees:
- Reclaiming Kin
- Beyond Kin
- Gramps Free desktop genealogical software as well as a community which is more customizable that other genealogy software
Recording enslaved people and their enslavers, or other relationships, can be accomplished by using SyncAssociation
Research Guide to Immigration Sources
Research Guides for Ship Passenger Lists and Immigration Records Focuses on providing guidance and links to records for passenger lists from about 1820 to the early 1950s. It includes suggestions for finding records for ports of arrival and immigration records.
Selected Sources relating to Ethnicity
- Multicultural America Overview of the history of ethnic groups in the United States.
- Jewish and/or East EuropeanJewishGen is outstanding not just for Jewish genealogy but also East European genealogy. Watch for various tutorials on ethnic genealogy offered by the major sites.
- Greek AncestryExcellent site for all things relating to genealogy in the Greek-speaking world.
- AfriGeneasExcellent community with recommended resources.
- IrelandGENUKI is one of the best umbrella sites for Ireland and, in fact, all of the British Isles.
Selected Immigration Sites
- Ellis Island Records (1892-1924)There's no cost. Registration allows you to view complete records.
- Records from Castle Garden (1830-1892)Castle Garden was the precursor to Ellis Island. Over 73 million Americans can trace their ancestors to this early immigration period.
- Finding Passenger Lists & Immigration Records 1820-1940s (arrivals at US ports from Europe)Clear, readable and understandable.
- National Archives--Immigration Records: Passengers arrivals & Border crossingsIncludes some online indexes.
- AncestryAvailable through Cornell or a local public library
Contains lots of passenger lists and immigration records.
Getting Started with Genealogy in the Country of Origin
Find Guides:
- Open Web: search for genealogy associations or societies that focus on a particular country or ethnicity
- Online Guides:
- FamilySearch Research Wiki
- Cyndi's List
Published Books:
Explore unexpected sets of records:
- Use Ancestry's "card catalog" to find records
More possibilities: