Geneabloggers

This article is part of a continuing series looking at each federal census individually. Please read the others in the archives of this column. The 1870 U. S. Census was the Ninth Decennial Census. This census is probably the single most important census for genealogists conducting research on African-American families

The Generations Project is a new reality series that helps those who have questions about their family history investigate their own identities by walking in the shoes of their ancestors. As they undertake these journeys, they often uncover the hidden identities in family pasts, and come to see that in many cases the best way to know who you are is to know who you came from.

This will be a recurring announcement. If your organization has any upcoming events that you would like to add to this calendar, please leave a comment here with all of the details, including a link to your website or email the details to me at michael.hait@hotmail.com.

Come meet Michael Hait - author and creator of the Tricks of the Tree blog as well as author of several Examiner.com columns!

In the 1920 federal census for Leon County, Texas, a seventy-four year old African-American man named Jeff Clark lives with his sixty-four year old wife Hattie. Jeff was a farmer who owned his own farm, and worked his own land. The census further records that he was born in Alabama, as were both of his parents. His granddaughter also lived with them.

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The Maryland Historical Society and genealogist and author Robert Barnes will once again present a series of four Family History workshops this year.

The following two sites provide a wealth of information for those wishing to learn more about their African-American ancestors...

When the 1860 federal census was collected and enumerated, slavery was still legal within most of the states south of the Mason-Dixon line. The 1860 federal census enumerated only free people of color in its population schedule; slaves were enumerated namelessly on a separate schedule, identified only by slave owner, age, gender, and color.

In honor of the many U. S. veterans that have served in our armed forces throughout the history of this great nation, the African American Genealogy Examiner column today will provide instructions on accessing several free records databases available online at the website of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Over the last six months, this column has discussed the "Anatomy" of the federal census for the years from 1870-1930, not including the mostly-destroyed 1890 census. In this series of articles, each column of the census questionnaire was examined, and clues that will aid your research were discussed. If you have missed any of these articles, you can read them again using the links below: Anatomy of the 1930 federal census Anatomy of the 1920 federal census Anatomy of the 1910 federal census Anatomy of the 1900 federal census Anatomy of the 1880 federal census Anatomy of the 1870 federal census In a discussion concerning the federal census as evidence for genealogical research, however, one must also consider the question: are census records reliable sources?

Many Civil War veterans and their widows or other dependents received pensions from the U. S. government for their support. For those researchers whose ancestors received pensions for service, these files are arguably the single richest record group in terms of information contained within them.

On 20 October 2009, this column addressed the topic of Y-DNA testing for genealogical purposes. This relatively new development in science holds revolutionary potential for genealogy, especially African-American research. The most recent issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (Sep 2009) contains the case study of an African-American family where Y-DNA testing revealed direct male line European ancestry.[1]

This column has previously focused on African-American genealogy blogs, in the articles Shout-outs to African-American Genealogy Blogs and More shout-outs to African-American genealogy blogs. A third edition soon forthcoming will spotlight several new genealogy blogs. The responsible genealogist, however, would be advised to learn more about United States history, including how it affected African-Americans. History blogs are a vital source for keeping up with current perspectives as well as newly available historical resources, many of which may provide genealogically useful information.

This post is regularly updated. It gives a list of History podcasts with the accompanying thoughts I have about them. All my reviews on these podcasts can be found under the label history.