African-American County Slave Records Featured in New and Updated Genealogical Records

by | Mar 3, 2017 | 01 What's New, African-American, Records & databases

African-American county slave records are just one of two new collections to broaden your genealogy research. Also this week, records pertaining to the elite group of Masons in North Carolina, naturalization records from Michigan, and church records from New York. Lastly, take a look at the new records available for Northamptonshire, England!

In the past month, we have brought you two blog posts (Social History for Genealogy and the Colored Farmers’ Alliance and Genealogy Research Techniques for Finding Your Free People of Color) to offer you tips to researching your African-American roots. In this Friday’s post, we bring your attention to African-American county slave records and historical ads for genealogy research.

United States – Pennsylvania – African-American County Slave Records

This new database from Ancestry titled Pennsylvania, County Slave Records, 1780-1834 is a great find. This collection contains records pertaining to slaves and free persons from Adams, Bedford, Bucks, Centre, Cumberland, Fayette, Lancaster, and Washington counties, as well as Lancaster City. The types of records include: petitions to keep slaves past the age of twenty-eight, records of “negro” and “mulatto” children, as well as birth and residence registers. Various other records, such as apprenticeship records, bills of sale, and manumissions also occasionally appear.

African American genealogy and slave records

Entries include:
– the slave’s name (typically only a given name)
– description (e.g., Negro woman, negro man, etc.)
– owner
– birth date
– occasionally, the name of a mother

United States – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Finding Family After Slavery

This unique project by Villanova University and Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia will make classified ads of the past easily accessible. The goal of “Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery” is to make accessible an online database of snapshots from history, which hold names of former slaves, owners, traders, plantation locations, and relatives gone missing.

So far, project researchers have uploaded and transcribed 1,000 ads published in six newspapers from 1863 to 1902. These newspapers include: the South Carolina Leader in Charleston, the Colored Citizen in Cincinnati, the Free Man’s Press in Galveston, the Black Republican in New Orleans, the Colored Tennessean in Nashville, and the Christian Recorder, the official publication of the African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination published at Mother Bethel.

Thousands more ads will be added in the future.

United States – North Carolina – WWI Masons

New records from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina are now online. These records include several Minute Books and an Account book from St. John’s Lodge no. 1, Minute books and an account book from Zion Lodge no. 81, speeches from well known North Carolina Free Masons such as William Lander and J.M. Lovejoy, letters of correspondence, and more. But the best records for those doing their genealogy may be the list of North Carolina Masons Who Died in WWI.

African american genealogy and Masons

Screenshot from The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina website.

The list is organized by name of lodge and includes the member’s rank, date and place of death, and where he was buried. This may particularly helpful to those researchers who have not been able to locate a death or burial record, or were not able to locate an obituary.

United States – New York – Church Records

This new database at Ancestry.com is titled New York and Vicinity, United Methodist Church Records, 1775-1949. It contains baptism, marriage, birth, death, and membership records of Methodist Episcopal churches in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Materials include registers, membership certificates, minutes of meetings, church financial records, lists of seminary students and teachers. Though the records will vary due to the lengthy time span they cover, you may find:

  • names
  • birth dates
  • marriage dates
  • death dates
  • spouse’s names
  • parents’ names
  • places where an event (baptism, marriage, death, burial, etc.) took place

United States – Marriages

Over 54,000 records covering more than 1,800 counties have been added to Findmypast’s collection of United States Marriages including substantial updates from Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee. Released in partnership with FamilySearch international, these new additions mark the latest phase of efforts to create the single largest online collection of U.S. marriage records in history.

Each record includes a transcript and image of the original documents that list marriage date, names of the bride and groom, birthplace, birth date, age, residence as well as fathers’ and mothers’ names. The entire collection now contains over 168 million records and continues to grow.

United States – Michigan – Naturalization

FamilySearch has recently added a browse-only database titled Michigan, Eastern District, Naturalization Index, 1907-1995. Soon, this collection will be easily searched by name, but in the meantime, you can browse over 500,000 naturalization records for the state of Michigan.

Michigan naturalization records

Screenshot from FamilySearch.org

This collection contains images of soundex cards to naturalization petitions. A guide to using a soundex appears at the beginning of most of the image ranges within this collection and corresponds with NARA publication M1917: Index Cards to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, Detroit, 1907-1995. For additional information on soundex indexes see the wiki article, Soundex.

The records usually include the following information:

  • Full name of citizen (sometimes a name change is indicated)
  • Date naturalized
  • Name of court
  • Certificate number

United Kingdom – Northamptonshire – Baptisms

Findmypast offers more great finds in the collection titled Northamptonshire Baptisms. This collection contains over 14,000 transcripts of original baptism records and covers 34 parishes across the East Midlands county. These records cover the years 1559 through 1901.

The level of detail found each transcript will vary, but most will include names, baptism date, baptism place, the names of both parent’s, document reference, page, and entry number. Remember, these are transcripts only and do not contain an image of the original document.

United Kingdom – Northamptonshire – Hospital Admissions

The collection at Findmypast titled Northamptonshire, Northampton General Hospital Admissions 1774-1846 consists of over 126,000 transcripts of original admission registers held by the Northamptonshire record office. These transcripts will allow you to discover whether your ancestors were admitted to the hospital, when they were admitted, why they were admitted, and the year they were discharged. Most records will also reveal the nature of ailment and the outcome of their treatment.

More on African-American Genealogy

African American genealogy podcastComing up next month in The Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 201: An interview with Angela Walton-Raji on finding African-American ancestors. She shares tons of resources!

Even if you haven’t found any African-Americans on your family tree, the challenges and rewards of African-American genealogical research are both fascinating and moving to learn about. And, learn other tips and tricks for genealogy research by listening to our archived free podcasts.

New and Updated Genealogical Records Reveal Ancestors in Paradise

by | Oct 28, 2016 | 01 What's New

This week, we set sail to the islands with new and updated genealogical records for Hawaiian and Irish genealogy. Passenger lists and denization records shine a light on ancestors who walked the shores of beautiful Hawaii and previously classified records are revealed in the Easter Rising collections for Ireland. Also this week, the Canadian Census for 1901, and records for Maine, Kentucky, and the country of Benin.

dig these new record collections

United States – Hawaii – Passenger Lists

  • Name
  • Age
  • Occupation
  • Place of origin
  • Arrival date
  • Record date
  • Current residence

United States – Hawaii – Certificates of Identification

This collection of certificates of identification for Chinese arrivals may include:

  • Name
  • Date of arrival
  • Ship
  • Permit number
  • Photograph locator

Note: Photographs are not available in this collection. Photographs of arrivals were taken and kept in a Deposit Book. You can obtain copies of these photographs from the Hawaii State Archives using the locator information that is provided on each certificate.

Ireland – Easter Rising Collection

Findmypast has added over 48,000 additional records to their Easter Rising & Ireland Under Martial Law 1916-1921 collection. If you are not familiar with the Easter Rising, it took place on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916. A group of Irish nationalists announced the establishment of the Irish Republic and staged a rebellion against the British government in Ireland.

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These were once classified records, but have now been digitized and can be browsed. These unique records document the struggles of life under martial law in Ireland and also contain details of both soldiers and civilians who participated or were affected by the Easter Rising of April 1916.

The collection contains the names of the hundreds of people who were detained and interned in prisons across Ireland, England, and Wales. Further, the internment files contain reports on individual detainees which record their charges, trial, and sentence as well as personal letters from prisoners or their relatives testifying to their innocence. Locating an ancestor in this collection would be a very special find.

Canada – Census

Findmypast has just added the Canada Census for 1901. It contains over 5.1 million records. The 1901 census was the first Canadian census to ask questions about religion, birthplace, citizenship, and immigration.

Each record includes a transcript and link to the digital image of the original census form. These census records will also list the name, date of birth, place of birth, marital status, relationship to head of household, race or tribe, immigration year, and naturalization year of each household member.

United States – Maine – Military

FamilySearch has added two new collections this week and one of them is Maine, World War I Draft Registration Index, 1917-1919. I don’t know if we have mentioned lately, but FamilySearch.org is free for everyone. This new collection for Maine is just one of hundreds available for genealogy records.

Records found in this collection generally conta28-oct_1in the following information:

  • Name
  • Place and date of birth
  • Marital Status
  • Residence
  • Nationality and race
  • Occupation
  • Relatives’ names

United States – Kentucky – Marriages

This past summer, the Special Collections Research Center at University of Kentucky Libraries and the Fayette County Clerk’s Office developed a pilot project that will ultimately provide online access to Colored Marriage Indexes between the years of 1866-1882 and 1958-1968. The purpose of the project is to provide researchers with greater online access to these documents pertaining to African Americans in Kentucky.

The four volumes of the Colored Marriage Indexes are used to locate early marriage bonds of African Americans in Lexington, Kentucky. These indexes contain the name of each bride and groom and the page number of the marriage bond held at the Fayette County Clerk’s Office.

The digitized versions of the indexes are now freely available to the public on ExploreUK, UK’s digital library. The typed indexes have been run through optical character recognition (OCR) and are searchable.

Africa – Benin – Deaths

Benin, Civil Registration of Deaths, 1891-2014 is the second new collection added to FamilySearch this week. You can browse through this collection, or it is searchable by name. These records are in French.
Death records may contain the following information:
  • Province and district
  • The signer
  • Name
  • Gender
  • Date and place of birth
  • Name of mother and father
  • Spouse’s name
  • Profession
  • Home
  • Name and address of the declarant
  • Date and place of death
  • Date of declaration

More on Irish Genealogy

For even more tips and techniques for finding ancestors in Ireland, read from the following suggestions:

Beginning Irish Genealogy: Tips and Free Records

Comprehensive Way to Learn Irish Genealogy

irish genealogy mega collection

Set Sail from Norway to Australia: New and Updated Genealogical Records

by | Sep 2, 2016 | 01 What's New, Records & databases

New and updated genealogy collections from all around the world are just a click away! Sail your way from Norway across the Atlantic to the U.S. state of Michigan, then head across the Pacific to Korea and end your virtual voyage in Australia with the Victoria Passenger lists.

dig these new record collections

Norway Genealogy Records – Probate

FamilySearch has a new collection this week titled Norway, Probate Index Cards, 1640-1903. Only a small number (194,981) have been indexed. These are not digital images, but like the title says, it is an index.

These index cards were created by the regional archives in Norway. Not all regional archives created an index so, the collection does not cover all of Norway. FamilySearch has indexes for the following counties:

Friday_Post_Sept_2

  • Akershus
  • Aust-Agder
  • Buskerud
  • Hedmark
  • Oppland
  • Østfold
  • Rogaland
  • Telemark
  • Vest-Agder
  • Vestfold

Each index card may include the following:

  • Probate district
  • Volume (inclusive dates) and page number
  • Farm name
  • Parish
  • Date of probate
  • Name of the deceased & spouse
  • Name of children/heirs
  • Decision of the court

United States – Michigan – Oral Histories

The Ypsilanti Library has just launched their African American Oral History Archive. It’s been 40 years, but dozens of leaders of the Ypsilanti African American community were interviewed about their personal experiences during the Great Depression, WWII, and the Civil Rights movement. Now, these interviews are being digitized and will be made available online.

Although only one interview is available at this time, over the next 9 months, historians will be putting more of their stories online at the A.P. Marshall African American Oral History Archive website. You can enjoy the first interview with Eugene Beatty, a track athlete who nearly made the U.S. Olympic team in 1932, now.

In addition to interview recordings, the online archive will include a transcript with photographs of the subjects.

Korea – Civil Service Records and Genealogies

Wow! It has been a long time coming, but finally, we have two new database collections for Korea. FamilySearch.org has digitized over 2 million records for these collections. The Korea Collection of Genealogies, 1200-2014 was added this week and boasts family biographies, genealogies, and histories. The records are in Korean and Chinese, but for translation tools, see the section titled For Help Reading These Records.

These genealogies are not yet indexed, so you will need to use the browse feature we shared with you last month. You can read that article here.

The second collection for Korea is titled Korea Civil Service Examinations and Records of Officials and Employees, 1390-1900Korea_Record. This is a rather small collection of just over 4,000 records.

This collection will include records from Jeollabuk-do and Jeonju-si, South Korea. The records are in Korean and Chinese, dated from 1392 to 1910, and include Korean civil service examinations from the Joseon Dynasty.

The civil service examinations under the Joseon dynasty were known as the gwageo. These were very difficult tests  and central to education during the Joseon dynasty. The test assessed the applicant’s knowledge of Chinese classics and, occasionally, technical skills. Passing the test qualified the individual to enter into the higher governmental or aristocratic positions.

The civil service examination may contain some valuable information, such as:

  • Name of Employee
  • Date and Place of Birth
  • Names of Parents
  • Name of Spouse
  • Residence

Australia – Victoria – Passenger Lists

New from Findmypast, Victoria Coastal Passenger Lists 1852-1924 is the largest release of Australian records to date! These passenger lists cover the great Gold Rush and contains 3.3 million records. Both transcripts and digital images of the lists are found in the collection. Generally speaking, you will find the following information:

  • First and last name(s)
  • Sex, age, and birth year
  • Marital status
  • Occupation
  • Year of arrival
  • Ship name
  • Departure port and date
  • Arrival port and date

The early 1850s marked great gold discoveries in Australia. People immigrated to the area in masses to stake their claims. The population exploded and by 1871, 1.7 million people had immigrated to Victoria. Perhaps you always wondered what brought your family to Australia. This collection may finally provide the answer!

More Gems on New and Updated Genealogical Records

WorldCat Gets a Major Addition: New Genealogy Records Online this Week

England Emigrants and More: New Genealogy Records Online

Destination Yorkshire, England with a Stop in New Jersey

by | Aug 12, 2016 | 01 What's New, Records & databases

This week’s round-up of new and updated genealogical records will begin in the United States with records from Minnesota and New Jersey. Our final destination is Yorkshire, England with the incredible new and updated collections at Findmypast. Baptisms, marriages, banns, and more!
dig these new record collections

United States – New Jersey – Church Records

Ancestry has a new record collection entitled “New Jersey, Episcopal Diocese of Newark Church Records, 1809-1816, 1825-1970.” In this group of records, you will find parish registers from Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Newark. Each register provides a record of the baptisms, marriages, and burials performed at that church. The records are indexed and are easily searchable. Sometimes, these registers include a list of families, persons confirmed, communicants, and details on offerings received by the church. However, these lists of families, communicants, et cetera are not yet indexed.

Baptismal records typically include, the name of the child, parents’ names, baptism date, and the officiator. In many cases the birth date and place are noted as well.

Marriage records include the marriage date, the couple’s names, residences, and the name of the officiator.

Lastly, burial records list the name of the deceased, date of death, date and place of the funeral, and officiating minister. Some funeral records may even include the cause of death and date and place of burial.

United States – New Jersey – State Census

Genealogists are usually well acquainted with the federal censuses taken each decade. Here in the United States, the first was taken in 1790. Many researchers may not know, however, that some states were taking state censuses every ten years on the five’s. For example, New Jersey has a census from 1855.

FamilySearch.org offers free access to all their database collections, including the New Jersey State Census of 1855. Most towns included in the census will only include the names of head-of-households, but the returns for Pequanac Township in Morris County also list the names of the wife and children in each household.

Missing areas in this census include, Burlington, Cape May, Mercer, Middlesex, Ocean, and Salem counties and unfortunately, other areas may be incomplete.

United States – Minnesota – School Records

FamilySearch has also made the Minnesota, Clay County, School Census Records, 1909-1962 available online. School records are a great resource for finding missing children in your family tree.

These records include digital images, but be aware! Some of the records contain many errors with some years incorrectly identified, particularly the 1960’s. Records will typically include the name of the student, the age of the student, and their parents’ or legal guardians’ names.

United States – Military

muster roll genealogy record Yorkshire

Page from Roll 1 1798 Aug-1806 Dec

U.S. Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps, 1798-1937 can now be searched from FamilySearch. These digital images were taken from microfilm rolls at the National Archives. The records are arranged chronologically by month, then by post, station or ship, and are part of Record Group 127 Records of the U.S. Marine Corps. Not all of these muster rolls are complete and some have not yet been indexed. Be sure to check back regularly as more of the records are indexed.

In the meantime, if you do find your targeted ancestor, the following information may be listed:

  • Name of officer or enlisted man
  • Rank and unit in which served
  • Date of enlistment
  • Date of re-enlistment
  • Name of ship
  • Notes regarding promotions, transfers, physical description, etc.

In some cases, muster rolls also contain the following:

  • Injuries or illness and type of treatment
  • Date of death or discharge
  • Date of desertion
  • Date of apprehension
  • Date of court martial
  • Sentence of court-martial

England: Yorkshire Genealogy Records – Baptisms

Findmypast has just added four new collections for Yorkshire England. The Yorkshire Baptism records collection has over 79,000 new records. These new additions cover Church of England parishes across Rotherham, the Roman Catholic parishes of Doncaster, St Peter in Chains, Knaresborough, St Mary, Rotherham, St Bede, Sheffield, St Marie Cathedral, Sheffield, St Vincent and Staveley, and St Joseph. Each record includes a transcript and an image of the original document.

By using the parish location and the parents names, you may be able to continue your search in the next collection.

England: Yorkshire Genealogy Records – Marriages

With over 28,000 new records added to this Findmypast collection, you may finally be able to locate great-grandpa’s marriage record in the Yorkshire Marriages. The record collection actually has over 2.4 million records spanning near 400 years. Because of the time span covering several centuries, information contained on the records may vary. You may find any of the following pieces of information:

  • Name
  • Birth year
  • Marriage date and place
  • Residence
  • Occupation
  • Marital Status
  • Spouse’s name, residence, and occupation
  • Father’s name and Spouse’s father’s name
  • Name of witnesses

England: Yorkshire Genealogy Records – Banns

Findmypast’s collection of Yorkshire Banns has some new additions. Each of the nearly 600,000 records contain both a transcript and an image of the original document. Some information will vary, but may include a name, place of banns, date of banns, marriage year, residence, and the name of their spouse.

These banns cover a very lengthy time span with records as early as the 1600’s through the 1930’s. In this case, a bann of marriage is the public announcement in a Christian parish church of an upcoming marriage. Banns were read on three consecutive Sundays in the church of both the bride and the groom.

England: Yorkshire Genealogy Records – Burials

share celebrate balloonsLastly, Findmypast has been adding to their over 4 million Yorkshire Burials. The records found in this collection record the details of Roman Catholics buried across five parishes in Doncaster, Knaresborough, Rotherham, Sheffield and Staveley. Information found in this collection may include name, age at death, birth year, burial date, and burial place. Each record will contain at least a transcript and some offer a digital image as well.

Thank you for sharing these new genealogy records online with fellow genies and society members! We appreciate you helping us spread the good news.

Didn’t find the records you’ve been pining for? Click here for a Google-based strategy on searching online for genealogy records.

 

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