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Subjects last updated on Jul. 21, 2023.
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Dec. 7, 2018
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African American Genealogy
Summaries of decisions handed down by the Alabama Supreme Court regarding slavery.
The Beyond Kin Project requires a method for documenting slaveholder (SH)/enslaved person (EP) connections with existing software tools and the ability to share data. The more consistently we all document our ancestors’ “Beyond Kin” — those whose lives were intricately intertwined without being genetic or legally kin — the more easily we can interpret and share what we find in each other’s trees.
Use this site to search court petitions made by indiviual slaves, slaveholders, and free persons on color. This site provides access to information gathered and analyzed over an eighteen-year period from petitions to southern legislatures and county courts filed between 1775 and 1867 in the fifteen slaveholding states in the United States and the District of Columbia.
This site is devoted to pointing out the many places that affected the newly freed survivors of slavery. The sites where Freedman’s Bureau offices were located are marked. In addition other institutions that served former slaves, are marked – the branches of the Freedman’s Savings Bank, Freedmen Schools, contraband camps, and even the location of battle sites where men who were in the US Colored Troops fought.
A searchable compilation of records that identify individual enslaved persons and their owners, beginning as early as 1525 and ending during the Civil War.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database has information on almost 36,000 slaving voyages that forcibly embarked over 10 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.
This database from the Virginia Historical Society lets you search or browse for slaves who lived in Virginia. You even can click on a map location to view documents, such as sale records, related to slaves held there.
General Genealogy Sites
This site from the Newberry Library supplements their excellent books of historical county boundaries. Now you can see how counties have changed their boundaries over the years for all of the states of the United States.
Family Tree Magazine highlights the 101 best free genealogy web sites for 2017.
Search for the resting places of the famous and not so famous. This site includes burial information for over 34 million individuals in the U.S. and more than 80 other countries.
When exploring genealogy, research may include poring over ship passenger lists to find names of ancestors who immigrated to the United States generations ago. Passenger arrival lists are an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn about family history. These records often included valuable information such as the name of the ship, full names of people on board, their ages, occupations, date of arrival, ports of both departure and arrival, and their country of origin. More recent passenger lists can be even more extensive, also providing physical descriptions of passengers and information about their relatives.
From the Church of Latter Day Saints, Family Search is the largest collection of free family history, family trees, and genealogy records in the world.
In addition to providing digitized images of many of their records, this site also provides research tools, such as microfilm indexes, as well as resources, such as finding aids, articles and information on where to find the records and how to access them, and how to conduct in-person research.
Ellis Island is located at the mouth of the Hudson River, between the states of New York and New Jersey. This historic site opened in 1892 as an immigration station that processed newly arriving immigrants. For those coming to the United States, there was great hope for a new life.
Organization is by county and state, and this website provides you with links to all the state genealogy websites which, in turn, provide gateways to the counties. The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level and this website provides an entry point to all of those pages, as well.
Local Information Sources
"We tell the story of the people of Alabama by preserving records and artifacts of historical value and promoting a better understanding of Alabama history."
This free online resource on Alabama’s history, culture, geography, and natural environment was cited as a "Best of Free Reference" by the Library Journal, the library field's leading professional publication.
Searchable database of obituaries from Huntsville area newspapers.
Search indexes to Madison County, Alabama probate records.
Find links to finding aids, ordering information, online research tools, and more.
Searchable index to obituaries from Birmingham area newspapers. Check back often as this is a work in progress.
Military Records
This site from the National Park Service allows users to search for Civil War soldiers by name or by unit. It includes brief histories of both Union and Confederate regiments, records from Andersonville Prison (Union Soldiers) and Ft. McHenry (Confederate Soldiers), and lists Medal of Honor recipients. Taken from records from the National Archives and Records Administration, this site is easy to use and has a wealth of information for the Civil War researcher.
Hosted by George Mason University's Center for History and New Media, the Papers of the War Department makes available digitized images of letter books, reports of Indian agents, pension applications, and procurement records.
Vital Records
Information on how to obtain Alabama vital records.
Includes addresses and fees for ordering vital records in all 50 states and the territories.
For ordering vital records online.
Page Last Modified: 4/4/2024 12:12 PM