TxSGS is proud to offer 11 classes focusing on African American research at our 2016 Family History Conference in Dallas later this month!
We strive to bring you the best possible program each year, packed with valuable learning opportunities. Those interested in learning more about African American research will benefit greatly from many of the sessions and workshops in our extended schedule–classes focusing on methodology, strategies, record types, repositories, and tools. However, certain types of research often require a more specialized focus.
We look forward to seeing you in Dallas!
Deborah A. Abbott, Ph.D.
Strategies & Techniques of Slave Research
Learn how to analyze various documents for clues and resources needed to recreate an African American’s journey from freedom to slavery to identifying potential slave owner(s). Through a case study, the importance of using census records, cluster/collateral research and understanding social and historical history in genealogy research will be emphasized.
- Date: Friday, October 28, 2016
- Time: 8:30am – 9:30am
Manuscripts & Special Collections in HBCU Libraries
The libraries and archives of Historical Black Colleges and Universities hold a gold mine of records relative to the lives of former slaves and newly emancipated African Americans. Most HBCU’s were established after the Civil War and are located in the former slave states and territories, but there are exceptions, with a few being established in the north. Learn the unique records that are held by HBCU’s and are not available any place else.
- Date: Sunday, October 30, 2016
- Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Nick Cimino
Anatomy of a Slave Narrative–The Recollections of Agatha Babino
Nick will demonstrate how to use information provided in a slave narrative to open the door to genealogical records that tell the rest of the story. The narrative of Agatha Babino from Beaumont, Texas is notable for including the vital details of her life including the names and residences of both parents, all of her siblings and their slave owners.
- Date: Saturday, October 29, 2016
- Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Reconstructing the 1870 Neighborhood
The 1870 census was the first in American history to enumerate African Americans. A complete examination of the community depicted in the 1870 census is crucial to surmounting the brick wall that faces African Americans researching slave ancestors. Study of the 1870 census is also vitally important to a new historical understanding of the complex relationships of ancestors, both black and white in the Reconstruction period.
- Date: Sunday, October 30, 2016
- Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Janet Lovelace, Ph.D.
African American Courthouse Records
In some states, historic African American records are in separate books. Learn where to search for land and vital records, court proceedings, and probate documents at the courthouse.
- Date: Sunday, October 30, 2016
- Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Timothy N. Pinnick
And the Church Said Amen! African American Religious Research
Locating information on African American congregations can be extremely frustrating due to the lack of effective record keeping. However there are a variety of records that can help you overcome the lack record preservation at the local level.
- Date: Saturday, October 29, 2016
- Time: 5:00pm-6:00pm
Maximizing Your Research: African American Research in University Libraries
Rarely will a researcher find such diversity of resources as they are apt to find at a university library. Rich microfilm collections, remarkable databases, and extended research hours are just a few of the reasons you’ll soon be hooked!
- Date: Friday, October 28, 2016
- Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Researching African Americans in Civilian Conservation Camp Newspapers
Description – CCC newspapers were a fixture in the thousands of camps across the country in the 1930s and 1940s. Many of them survived to provide a great source of information and compliment the 2012 release of the 1940 census.
- Date: Sunday, October 30, 2016
- Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Diane L. Richard
Freedmen’s Bureau Records–More Valuable to Anyone’s Southern Research Than You Might Have Thought
We overlook records that we think pertain to only one group of people. Though an excellent resource for information on freed slaves, these records cover many southerners from DE to TX – including ex‐soldiers, impoverished widows, and destitute parents.
- Date: Friday, October 28, 2016
- Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm
Get Excited About your Pre-1870 African American Research
Researching emancipated slaves and their ancestors before 1870 can be extremely challenging and not necessarily impossible. We’ll explore records where you just might find them!
- Date: Friday, October 28, 2016
- Time: 5:00pm-6:00pm
Ari Wilkins
Plantation Records
Learn about the Southern Antebellum Plantation Records–their value, how they are organized, and how to search the collection.
- Date: Friday, October 28, 2016
- Time: 10:00am – 11:00am
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