African American Resources for Wisconsin

Introduction
A list of resources for African American research of ancestors who lived in Wisconsin.

Online Resources

 * Kansas African American Genealogy

History
Many African Americans settled in Wisconsin. They were trappers and boatmen in the 1700s. Settlers from the Southern states brought slaves with them. There were many free African-Americans in Wisconsin also. For more information, you may wish to contact:

Wisconsin Black Historical Society 2620 West Center Street Milwaukee, WI 53206 Telephone: 414-372-7677 Internet: http://www.wbhsm.org/

A helpful source for learning about African-Americans in Wisconsin is: Zachary Cooper, Black Settlers in Rural Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1997; Family History Library book ).

Cooper, Zachary. Black Settlers in Rural Wisconsin. - Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin. 1977. - E185.93.W58 C66 FHL book 977.5 Al #51

Negro Business Directory of the State of Wisconsin. - [Milwaukee: S.n., 1950/51-1953.54] 2 vol. E185.93W58 N4

Slave Movement During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

The few slaves that may have been in Wisconsin before the Civil War may be listed in the United States Census Slave Schedules.

Wisconsin was not highly populated before the Civil War but after the War movement brought all groups including the African American.


 * Black settlers in rural Wisconsin
 * Exodusters : black migration to Kansas after reconstruction
 * Blacks in Topeka, Kansas, 1865-1915 : a social history
 * First Presbyterian Church records, Pleasanton, Kansas, 1869-1900
 * Black towns and profit : promotion and development in the Trans-Appalachian West, 1877-1915
 * Narratives of African Americans in Kansas, 1870-1992 : beyond the Exodust movement

Cemeteries

 * African American Cemeteries Online

Military Records
Many of those involved in the Civil War moved after the War.


 * Researching African American Soldiers of the Civil War
 * Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War
 * Military history of African Americans

Archives and Libraries

 * Wisconsin Black Historical Society
 * Black History in Wisconsin by Wisconsin Historical Society
 * Kansas City Public Library Genealogy Link
 * Wisconsin Archives and Libraries

Societies

 * African-American-Genealogy-Society-Of-Milwaukee
 * Wisconsin Societies