User:Beccac1229/Sandbox52

= African American Resources =

In genealogy, always start with the known and work toward the unknown.

The first step in African American research is to interview relatives. Older relatives may have names, dates, or places essential to extending the family line backwards, information that may not have been found elsewhere. In many instances, African American families kept fewer paper records than other families, making the knowledge of relatives especially important. While photographs may be scarce, the memory of an ancestor may provide the same, essential information.

In the interview process:
 * Make sure to record it in good quality
 * Schedule interviews, don't just show up - and tell them about the topics you want to discuss
 * Think of questions beforehand (to get the information you want)
 * Important things to learn about: trades, hobbies, goals, religion, physical descriptions, jobs
 * Important things to learn about: locations of homes, who owned them, who was in the family, role of grandparents
 * Important things to learn about: family stories about the slave days, was their great-grandfather a slave, did your family name come from a white plantation owner, etc.
 * Make sure to record this as well as names, dates, places, and other clues
 * Learn more about the relative before interviewing, so you can ask the right questions and so you know what to expect

In addition to interviewing relatives, gathering home sources is also essential. Such sources include: bibles, newspaper clippings, birth/marriage/death certificates, diaries, letters, scrapbooks, and other memorabilia. Look in the homes of parents, other close relatives, and in cemeteries where family members were buried.

Next, look at the census. The federal census is the next place to look. The 1870 census was the first time in which all African Americans were listed by name. Before 1870, only freed blacks were listed in the census. The census lists families together, so by finding an ancestor in the census, their family relationships (after 1880), along with names, ages, and birthplaces, is also found. Occupations are also listed. For more information about the census, see African American Census.