Family History Resources – African American

The African American Family History Resource page is an in-progress list of resources for researching African American families

Associations and Organizations

• African American Genealogy Group – Greater Philadelphia area
• African American Historical Society of South Central Pennsylvania
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) – National organization
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Philadelphia / Family Quest Society
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society – Pittsburgh
• African American Museum of Philadelphia

General Resources

• Genealogy Research for African Americans (video) – Timothy Wilson with Virginia Currents

1870 Census and Pre-1870

• 1838 Census of Black Philadelphia
• African American Family History Research: Breaking the 1870 Brick Wall – Ancestry
• African Presence in Pennsylvania – Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project
• Black History: African American Genealogy Before 1870 (video) – Suffolk Public Library
• Black Genealogy at the Friends Historical Library – Swarthmore College. Includes manumissions, 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, and Association for the Care of Colored Orphans
• Free At Last? Slavery in Pittsburgh in the 18th and 19th Centuries – University of Pittsburgh
• Free African American Communities of Franklin County and the Underground Railroad
• The Ganges Families
• Hidden in Plain Sight – The History of Slavery in Haverford Township (video)
• Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery (Information Wanted)
• Last Seen: A New Tool for Black Genealogy (video) – New Jersey State Library
• Penn & Slavery Project – University of Pennsylvania. History of the university’s connections to slavery and scientific racism
• Pennsylvania Abolition Society and the Free Black Community – Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• Philadelphia African American Census, 1847 – Swarthmore College
• Philadelphia Congregations – Manumissions, 1772-1790 – Historic Philadelphia Congregations
• Register of Slaves, ca. 1783-1830, Bucks County, Pa
• The Slave Dwelling Project – Slavery in Pennsylvania
• William Still’s Underground Railroad – Historical Society of Pennsylvania. “Family Ties on the Underground Railroad,” “…a prototype for an interactive website that presents transcripts and digital facsimiles of Still’s manuscript journal and published book, carefully researched biographies, and other contextual annotation and materials.”

Cemeteries

• Historic Eden Cemetery (Philadelphia, PA)

Churches

• Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Philadelphia, PA) – Presbyterian Historical Society

DNA and Genetic Genealogy

• DNA and Genealogy (video) – Genealogy QuickStart with Shamele Jordon
• Helping African Americans Trace Slaveholding Ancestors Using DNA (video) – FamilySearch

Family Projects

• The Ganges Families

Informational Sites

• African American Census Schedules – Rootsweb Wiki
• Freedmen’s Bureau – National Archives

Newspapers

• Philadelphia Tribune Newspaper Archive (1912-1924)

Pennsylvania

• African American Collections at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• African American Genealogy Group – Greater Philadelphia area
• African American Historical Society of South Central Pennsylvania
• African American Museum of Philadelphia
• African Americans in Indiana County – Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• African Americans in Pennsylvania – Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
• African Presence in Pennsylvania – Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Philadelphia / Family Quest Society
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society – Pittsburgh
• Black Genealogy at the Friends Historical Library – Swarthmore College. Includes manumissions, 1847 Philadelphia African American Census, and Association for the Care of Colored Orphans
• Central Pennsylvania African American Museum – Artifacts now at Albright College
• Charles Blockson Collection – Temple Africology and African American Studies
• Chester PA Roots – African American Research
• Free African American Communities of Franklin County and the Underground Railroad
• Free At Last? Slavery in Pittsburgh in the 18th and 19th Centuries – University of Pittsburgh
• The Ganges Families
• Guide to African American Resources at the Pennsylvania State Archives
• Hidden in Plain Sight – The History of Slavery in Haverford Township (video)
• Historic Eden Cemetery (Philadelphia, PA)
• The Library Company of Philadelphia: African Americana
• Mapping DuBois, The Seventh Ward – Congregations of the 7th Ward – The Ward: Race and Class in Du Bois’ Seventh Ward
• Mapping DuBois, The Seventh Ward – Map – The Ward: Race and Class in Du Bois’ Seventh Ward
• Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Philadelphia, PA) – Presbyterian Historical Society
• Penn & Slavery Project – University of Pennsylvania. History of the university’s connections to slavery and scientific racism
• Pennsylvania Abolition Society and the Free Black Community – Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• Philadelphia Area Archives Research Portal – African Americans
• Philadelphia Congregations – Manumissions, 1772-1790 – Historic Philadelphia Congregations
• Philadelphia Tribune Newspaper Archive (1912-1924)
• Register of Slaves, ca. 1783-1830, Bucks County, Pa
• Researching African Americans in PA (video) – Dean Henry on Denys Allen’s Pennsylvania Ancestors podcast
• The Slave Dwelling Project – Slavery in Pennsylvania
• University of Pittsburgh Archives Special Collections
• William Still’s Underground Railroad – Historical Society of Pennsylvania. “Family Ties on the Underground Railroad,” “…a prototype for an interactive website that presents transcripts and digital facsimiles of Still’s manuscript journal and published book, carefully researched biographies, and other contextual annotation and materials.”

Resource Guides

• African American Collections at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• African American Program – Heinz History Center
• African Americans in Pennsylvania – Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
• Charles Blockson Collection – Temple Africology and African American Studies
• Guide to African American Resources at the Pennsylvania State Archives
• The Library Company of Philadelphia: African Americana
• Philadelphia Area Archives Research Portal – African Americans
• University of Pittsburgh Archives Special Collections

Slavery and Underground Railroad

• African Presence in Pennsylvania – Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project
• Free At Last? Slavery in Pittsburgh in the 18th and 19th Centuries – University of Pittsburgh
• Free African American Communities of Franklin County and the Underground Railroad
• Hidden in Plain Sight – The History of Slavery in Haverford Township (video)
• Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery (Information Wanted)
• Last Seen: A New Tool for Black Genealogy (video) – New Jersey State Library
• Penn & Slavery Project – University of Pennsylvania. History of the university’s connections to slavery and scientific racism
• Pennsylvania Abolition Society and the Free Black Community – Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• Philadelphia Congregations – Manumissions, 1772-1790 – Historic Philadelphia Congregations
• Register of Slaves, ca. 1783-1830, Bucks County, Pa
• The Slave Dwelling Project – Slavery in Pennsylvania
• William Still’s Underground Railroad – Historical Society of Pennsylvania. “Family Ties on the Underground Railroad,” “…a prototype for an interactive website that presents transcripts and digital facsimiles of Still’s manuscript journal and published book, carefully researched biographies, and other contextual annotation and materials.”

Image citation: Du Bois, W. E. B. , Collector. African American family posed for portrait seated on lawn. Georgia, 1899. [or 1900] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/99472441/