Finding Enslaved Ancestors & Build an African American Family Tree

[@nytn]

Aimee, your sweet personality and generous spirit just jumps off the screen. Thank you for how you handle everything, I hope I can send some more people your way who are looking for their family

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you so much!!

[@realsmh8823]

Sorry to disappoint you. That's not happening!!!#real natives

[@CzarPanamera420]

​@@AncestryAimeeI read all the slave records... ALL the slave owners were marked B for black or M for Mulatto which were just light skinned Blacks. Not one white or Native slave owner.

[@jeremiahdavisj]

@@CzarPanamera420show me the link because I’m pretty sure that is not true and you may have read it wrong

[@Hogan31500]

I discovered two of the owners of my 4th great grandfather. When he was about 10, he was bequeathed to his former owners grandson. Ended up taking his last owners name. I used Wills, Slave Schedules, Census’s, and a Family Bible. Took a long time but I’m so happy I put the work in.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you for adding that!

[@racquelraiford7173]

Wow, you didn't give up! GREAT JOB, you've given me EXCELLENT direction. Thank you🎉🎉❤

[@thewordsmith5440]

How did you narrow down your search for Wills?

[@gayemoore5650]

In this video, you spoke of the Civil War Pension. I have hit pay dirt twice using widow's pension files. The first time, I found my cousin's 5th great-grandfather. There was a Civil War Widow's pension file. It was years before I realized that I could send to obtain more than the card on Ancestry. Who Knew? LOL I ordered my cousin's 4th great-grandmother's widow's pension file. I received 50 pages back. In the papers the widow listed her name, what plantation she was born on, how many times she had been "married", who her father was, who her slaveowner was and by george, after talking to my history major son, I found that my cousin's paternal 4th gr grandmother was a slave to Charles Coatney Pinkney a signer of the Constitution. So so much history that I learned. The second time, I found my own 4th great-grandfather as a free colored in Virginia. I, once again was able to find my info through a Civil War Widow's Pension file.

[@AncestryAimee]

Love this!!! Thank you so much adding the wonderful details you found in pension files!

[@tanelise4673]

Wow! You really got lucky with that one. I rec'd the pension file for my great grandfather and no mention of slave life whatsoever. Huge disappointment. That was why I ordered the file. I did learn of 2 children I didn't know he had, and wondered why he didn't mention one of them!

[@michaelwillis3589]

Thank you, Aimee, for this video. You have bought new life and energy to my genealogy search. I have hit a brick wall, especially for the 1870 census. Thank you for the redirection. Stay well.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you Michael. I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

[@robincunningham6119]

I have been researching my African American ancestors. Thank you for putting this video out. I learned a few new nuggets that I'm going to try!

[@AncestryAimee]

You’re welcome. Hope they help!

[@Senseshouldbesocommon]

Excellent post! I set aside my own tree for a while to help a friend start his. This new information is exactly what I needed! Thanks so much for your timely video.

[@AncestryAimee]

Glad it was helpful!

[@daniel.mackin]

Oh wow, Aimee, what a great video, so much info packed in, thanks for all your hard work in putting it together!

[@AncestryAimee]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SpecialiBe]

Next thing the Bible says don’t worry with Genealogy but I had already gotten mine did.

[@letlovereign]

Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge, i look forward to this video. Peace and blessings to you and your ancestors

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you! Hope it helps you!

[@plee6223]

You really did a great job with this video. I think nothing beats having an open mind. You never know where your research will lead. The antebellum period created complex relationships, and you should be open and prepared to find the unexpected. This is something I learned doing my own African American genealogical research.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you for adding this! You are right about finding the unexpected.

[@roxanneharrison3774]

Thank you so much Aimee..you are a wealth of knowledge. Your a good teacher and speaker.❤❤

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you so much!

[@pelenaka]

Thank you for this video. I'm working on a friend's tree who is African- American. Watching this I realize I'm am pretty much clueless. Thank you for the clues !

[@AncestryAimee]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tj8816]

I appreciate your transparency with this video. Its a sensitive subject, but your expertise is so helpful. Thank you!!!

[@AncestryAimee]

You are so welcome! Glad this is helpful.

[@bjduncan9704]

I am just getting started on this journey. Thank you Aimee for getting me off to a good start. I’m starting in 1950 and working backwards.

[@AncestryAimee]

Perfect! Good luck!

[@vickiejones7085]

This is really great information, thank you for sharing

[@AncestryAimee]

You are so welcome

[@TaylorBlack420]

The fact that we even have to go through this is BS and will not go unpunished

[@AncestryAimee]

🥲

[@TaylorBlack420]

@@AncestryAimee 🕴

[@jeremiahdavisj]

I’m currently researching my 3rd great grandma Ella Stephens born sometime in the 1840s. She lived in Dougherty County, Georgia with her family but then they all moved to Brooks County, Georgia. Her and her parent’s birth location varies from Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina. In the 1900 census it said she was divorced so I don’t know 100% who her husband is. There are also neighbors with the surname who could possibly be related to her husband. It also said she had 16 children total but 4 are still living but I have only been able to find her daughter Susan Stephens born in 1870 which is my 2nd great grandma. I may have found an 1870 and 1880 census for her listing other children but I haven’t yet proven those are the same people. The informant on her death certificate, her eldest grandchild, said her parents are Elizah Herbert and Amy Dorty. I’m wondering what I can do to find more about Ella. Thanks for the video!

[@AncestryAimee]

If you want you can sign up for coaching. I have a group on 2nd Thursday that is mostly focused on African American research. Go here and click membership: www.patreon.com/aimeecross

[@HoneySnowflake]

This is very helpful. I've been able to discover as far as 1910(just starting out). I've already ran into brick walls with name misspellings and even race changed. From mixed to negro.

[@AncestryAimee]

So glad to hear this video has been helpful! Good luck!!

[@user-uu5ni3re3n]

I am an Australian with one African American 2xgr grandfather. I have no other American ancestors and no idea who he was at all but I have much of his DNA thanks to DNA testing of many of my family members to establish his African yDNA and autosomal DNA. We have very close 2nd to 3rd cousin matches to various members of an African American family in Georgia and established that there is no DNA matching to their slave holder however I had found evidence of some of the enslaved had previously belonged to a slave holder in North Carolina who was not related. There I found the DNA matches to that slave holder's family in North Carolina. I must say that in 30 years of genealogy research this side is the most complicated genealogy I have ever done. Thank you

[@AncestryAimee]

Wow! Great work!

[@GoldieMay]

So good, Aimee! I took lots of notes!

[@AncestryAimee]

I'm so glad! Thanks!

[@pocu321]

As long as I have been watching your videos I have always thought you were bi-racial. I was kind of shocked when you said you weren't. :)

[@AncestryAimee]

One of my African American friends when she saw some of the kinky curly hair I have on my head said “You have some black somewhere in you!” So maybe I am!!! 😀

[@nailahdawkins]

​@@AncestryAimee Yes, your profile pictured had me thinking you could pass for Black or biracial - or it could be the lighting also! Thank you so much for the tips 🙌🏾 🙌🏾!!

[@ebonypamt]

awesome and helpful video. Thanks so much Aimee!

[@AncestryAimee]

You're so welcome! Glad it’s helpful. 😃👍

[@armagedon0264]

My second great grandmother was the last slave on my mother's side....I just never understood how they could treat my people so cruel even after slavery.

[@AncestryAimee]

It’s terrible.

[@armagedon0264]

@@AncestryAimee it's sick

[@user-uy5em7nm3k]

Very good points in this video but what if you have a hard time even tracing an ancestor through the census. I have an ancestor born 1865 that I only can find record of in the 1920,1930, and 1940 census. Prior to that, I can not find my ancestor at all.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you. I would spend a lot of time where they are in 1920 and see what clues you find. I suspect they family relocated prior to that and you are just looking in the wrong location.

[@mpaige7081]

Thank you

[@AncestryAimee]

You're welcome

[@cindy376]

Awesome video. I received a package from the National Archives concerning my 3rd great grandfather who was a Sgt. in the US Colored Troops. I received records from the National Archives that unlock a lot of information.

[@AncestryAimee]

That’s wonderful!!! What a treasure!

[@doubleutee2100]

Hello Aimee. I have a very curious question for you. I do watch a lot of ancestry videos from Black Americans, and there's something that has left me stumped. Many Black Americans get East European/Baltic/Finland - Northwestern Russia in their results. Where do you speculate that is coming from? Those European nations were NOT involved in the slavery thing, so why is it there? I have two/three speculations, and let's see if you agree. 1) The eastern portion/region of Germany genetically is Slavic, because Germany is made up of various European tribes (East/West/Northern) to form that nation, so the Eastern European/Baltic (because I believe Prussia once covered that eastern region of Lithuania/Baltic) could be a carryover, and that's why it's found in Black Americans. Actually, Masaman did a video on this, and that one along with one or two others are still on KZbin; 2) European nations fought these old wars with one another, and forcibly "mixed" to bring this ancestry later on to the U.S.; or 3) That Eastern European could be mixed up or confused with Ashkenazi DNA, since both lived in the same regions, and the DNA resembles one another, so that may account for why Black Americans often get East European/Slavic results. There is one more speculation I may add: 4) Polish mixing with Haitians after the war against Napoleon's soldiers saw some of those Haitians immigrate into the Louisiana region during the 1800's, and that could account for some of the Slavic DNA I'm witnessing. Any or all of these scenarios sound like possibilities to you? I'll wait for your reply. Advanced thank you.

[@AncestryAimee]

Great question. You pose some interesting possibilities. To be honest, I’ve often thought it was because of interracial relations. Unfortunately, many of the enslaved became pregnant by white men. We are all such a mix of ethnicities now. I’ve just attributed it to that.

[@doubleutee2100]

@@AncestryAimee Okey doke. Thanks again for the input.

[@tanelise4673]

I located my 3X great grandparents on an estate inventory. There was a final sale bill along with the division of land but no record for the division of slaves, nor was there a dower record. I can only assume the enslaved stayed within the family. I've read that sometimes people do not file a deed if the enslaved stayed within the family. Still digging

[@AncestryAimee]

Good luck! I hope you can find more!

[@tanelise4673]

Aimee, I'm sure this is a dumb question but I'm gonna ask it anyway. I have an 1875 marriage record for a couple who both went by the surname of their mother, but in later records used the surname of their fathers. How should I list them on their Ancestry profile? I'm thinking the name they used in the earliest record. I have another person who bounced back and forth on birth certificates for her children between her father's surname and her mother's surname. Isn't this hard enough already??? Lol

[@AncestryAimee]

Not a silly question! It’s a good one. Really you can do whatever you want but I think I would go with you and use the earliest name. I’d be sure to mark it in the comments so others see it and know it does make sense!

[@tanelise4673]

@@AncestryAimee ok thank you. I'm doing a family tree as a surprise to a friend so I know nothing about her family, and of course can't ask bc it's a surprise. I was trying to reconcile documents and saw a tree where someone attached census records for 2 ppl who had the same first name but different last names. When I dug into her tree I figured it out. Still more confirming to do. I don't like to look at other people's trees bc so many of them are wrong, plus I like the journey of figuring it out. In this instance, someone had just a lite more information than I did 😃

[@free-hawk5112]

Aimmee I had a first Cuz that looks exactly like You, You could be her be her identical twin. We called her Pinky because she looked Creole.

[@AncestryAimee]

Wow! I do have French ancestry. Maybe that's it!

[@doubleutee8867]

I became interested in doing what you were saying, and here's an interesting problem I ran into. First, I'll say this, I believe like Ancestry DNA, MyHeritage DNA also uses DNA microclusters (Ancestry DNA uses clusters), and family trees to create genetic groups. So, with MyHeritage DNA at the great grandparents stage, the names differ than the names on the 'Family Search's account that I created; however, both trees have the correct name of my direct paternal grandfather. Now I'm at a quandary, since I'm unsure what direction to move in. My father is deceased, and my aunt is no help, and I'm sure the rest of his siblings would act the same way. Do you believe this could cause my genetic groups to be inaccurate?

[@AncestryAimee]

They do use trees and so those types of results are only as good as the trees and when people copy other people’s trees… you can get errors. The people in a group are definitely related, but the question becomes who is their common ancestor.

[@AncestryAimee]

Do traditional genealogy (using records) as far back as possible to confirm.

[@doubleutee8867]

@@AncestryAimee Your reply makes so much sense, because unlike MyHeritage DNA & Ancestry DNA, 23andMe doesn't use trees, and their genetic groups are strictly based on DNA. Common ancestor. That's the focal point. Thank you so much.

[@doubleutee8867]

@@AncestryAimee I tried that using the internet alone. Okey doke, guess I gotta try again. God bless you and thanks for the reply.

[@robertsmiley2207]

I've gotten more information over the phone than I could find on ancestry and the records don't always line up with the oral stories unfortunately

[@AncestryAimee]

That’s hard and good. Yet that statement doesn’t make sense. It’s hard when the records don’t line up. Are the stories wrong or is it a lack of records which is always the case in AA (African American) research. But it’s wonderful you have the oral histories. I often find those histories have nuggets of truth but details get messed up over the years.

[@robertsmiley2207]

It's up to me to discover the the truth but me being a Scorpio ♏ that comes easy we are natural born detectives and there is a grain of truth in every family story so I let them lie 🤥 knowing I will still find out what the complete story is but it is hard genealogy isn't supposed to be easy that's what makes it fun in my opinion I like the mystery aspect

[@tanelise4673]

You're lucky if there was a Freedmens Bureau Field office in the county where your relatives lived. There wasn't one in Trigg county KY where my people were so I guess I have to go on a wild goose chase to find out where they might have gone to get assistance. 😮

[@AncestryAimee]

Yes. Definitely check to see where the nearest offices were. Now that many of the records are on Ancestry it’s a bit easier to do some initial cursory searches.

[@tanelise4673]

@@AncestryAimee some of the offices were very far but I have to realize they didn't walk and perhaps were put on trains

[@pocu321]

I've been researching the Ingram family of Grayson County, Texas for over a year. Around 1878 they all moved north into the Indian Territory. On the 1870 census there are six people. Three are from North Carolina. Three were born in Alabama. All of the white farmers around them have no connection to the Carolinas or Alabama. As part of the very early Texas settlements, many of them came from the Arkansas and Tennessee area and sometimes Ohio. The only thing that makes sense on this census as to who the enslaver can possibly be is that the older freedmen were very often born in South Carolina. Many of them are named Potts. Potts was known to be the enslaver of the most slaves in Grayson County. Oddly, I can't find any related probate or any biographies or books anywhere on this family that might shed some light on the first names of the enslaved. Traveling to Grayson county to look at records is not a financial option at the moment. To add, I can't find any Freedmen's Bureau records for Grayson county. There are no veterans of this generation. All of the very helpful record sets that seem to help so many others just don't seem to apply to Grayson County. At least not for this family. The one Ingram farmer in the area according to tax records paid no tax records on any slaves in any year so that theory went out the window. Do I still need to trace every farming family in the Grayson County (specifically the Pottsboro area) to narrow down who it could be? Is that the only way? I did find recently that the two oldest childre of Alfred (the Ingram in my friend's direct line) are buried in the Potts slave cemetery, the only two of four graves that are still above water (Lake Texoma). It may indicate Potts as the enslaver but it could have also been one of the only two (that I have found) cemetery options for black families in that time-frame. I guess this is more of a frustration rant. :) :) Thank you so much for this video.

[@pocu321]

I just bought the handout. Thank you!

[@AncestryAimee]

Frustration understandable! You are right, there was transportation to Texas often arranged through the Freedman's Bureau. I would spend more time in that record set (free on Ancestry). Look for your names in question in North Carolina and Alabama, and perhaps South Carolina. If you can find a group with the same given names together, that would be very helpful. I think in your case, I would look at the other "blacks" or "mulattos" in the area (in Texas) and see if you can't find more about them. They are part of the FAN club (friends, associates and neighbors) and they very well could have traveled together settling the area in Grayson County. I hope this helps! I would also encourage you to find the genealogy groups (particularly African American groups) in Grayson Co., Dallas Co. has a group, and then the Texas genealogy association too. I am sure there are some that have researched the area that would be a tremendous help. Good luck!

[@AncestryAimee]

Thank you!

[@tanelise4673]

Hi Aimee do you happen to know how I can find out about how old an enslaved male might have been in 1790 whose value was 85 British Pounds? I located my 3X great grandfather, Ned, on an estate inventory from 1853. The enslaver's father died in 1790 and his inventory also listed an enslaved male named Ned, which I assumed initially this was the same person but the age is off about 12 years (diff between 1790 and the age on the 1870 census). Either this is a cruel coincidence (lol) or Ned is older than we thought. FYI 2 ppl on the 1790 inventory were an 18 month old male valued at 25 British Pounds and a 36 year old woman valued at 40 British pounds. Got that from a Bill of Sale. This is the document that's making me take a second look If I need to pay you for your answer I'll be more than happy to schedule an appt! Thank you!!!

[@AncestryAimee]

I’m not sure about values in 1790. It’s hard to tell because they varied for so many reasons, not just age. It could be health, if they knew a trade like blacksmithing, or even varied by location. I usually compare the values to the others in that document and then look at other papers / estates in that area and time period. The age gap is tough too! He could easily be either the same person or with that spread a different person! It’s so hard and frustrating! Email me and we can chat some more. You’re sure doing a terrific job though!

[@tanelise4673]

@@AncestryAimee Great! I sure will. I'm taking half the day off on Friday, so I'll probably email you then

[@mauricecudjo775]

African American isn't a thing. The spell is up. We know who we are. Enslaved American Indians. The Spell is Up. Not Black, Not African American It's American Indian.

[@nichelle-marquese743]

@mauricecudjo I would give you 100 thumbs up if I could. They just gotta keep this ish going

[@mauricecudjo775]

@nichelle-marquese743 As long as we speak up and inform, we are doing our part. Peace&Love

[@JonDoeNeace]

No it isn't.

[@thewordsmith5440]

I'm African American but I want to also find my white Irish ancestor I have his first and last name.

[@AncestryAimee]

Those Irish ones can be tough to find their place of origin but it is possible! Gather all you can in the U.S. first before going to Ireland.

[@guleet75]

Aimee are you part African American ?!

[@AncestryAimee]

Nope. I have just ended up doing work for clients.

[@Universityofuncommonsense]

She definitely looks mixed race

[@Universityofuncommonsense]

I was also wondering

[@AncestryAimee]

@@Universityofuncommonsense I actually should amend that - I haven't discovered I am yet and my DNA doesn't indicate it... but you never know!

[@Universityofuncommonsense]

@@AncestryAimee thanks for responding. I was thinking Cajun or Creole heritage some where.

[@blackface703]

No such thing as an "african American". American Indians were reclassified as many things. That reclassification term was just the last one since 1988.

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks for adding your thoughts.

[@laverledugger1563]

Stop your disrespect you fool

[@JonDoeNeace]

Ok but the original Census defined Black as being of all or mostly African origin. So it's the same meaning.

[@blackface703]

@@JonDoeNeace no it isnt the same meaning. You have to understand real history. There is no census with "African" on it though it does say of "African descent". However, the colonizers know that they found "swarthy, olive, ebony, dark, black" people here when they arrived. The ASSUMPTION/theory was that "they mustve come from Africa". How when we were found, HERE!

[@JonDoeNeace]

@@blackface703 There's no evidence of it.

[@dfaz333]

My 6th g grandparents were indentured mulattoe servants. All of the neighbors were listed as black ir mulattoes with only a few white families in Edgecombe NC. I've searched for years to find the family beyond the 6th- Sadly, nothing. The mullatoes were supposedly Indian descendants of either of Scottish or Black and Indian or black and Scottish. Very difficult. The oldest photo we can find is definitely Indian, not African but only God knows. 😂

[@AncestryAimee]

That's good to know! Even if they are African, those records are so tough to find! But it should be known that people of Native American descent were often listed as black or mulatto. It was a judgment call of the census taker (silly huh?) - they marked color based on what they thought - black for darker skin and mulatto for lighter.

[@kimbalmack6938]

I have the same issue. Ancestors were mullatoe - born in the late 1700's. Believed to be indians. All of their descendants were free. Just don't know if they were enslaved. I will check the records of the white people that lived around them. Thank you Aimee.

[@caramelapple4053]

⁠That’s what they were calling family members from the same family based on skin tone and caste. Your ancestor, more than likely, was native to this land as my family is and has always been from North America, once known as India Superior. The lower lands near the Gulf Coast all the way down to Honduras was considered the West Indies. This is as much as I have found in my own research. A lot of the stories that have been repeated over and over again in US history are a complete lie. Many of us are from here.

[@dfaz333]

@@caramelapple4053 Thank you. I think you're correct. Maybe one day, we can figure it out.

[@user-jl1qd2be1k]

Why don't you find your history of Slavery history?

[@AncestryAimee]

Not sure what you mean

[@MadisonBillySeries]

Iam INDIAN only

[@AncestryAimee]

Wow. I don’t know anyone personally that has only Indian DNA.

[@wluke5136]

You are not from Africa

[@AncestryAimee]

Nope not according to my DNA

[@MrJoemcmillan64]

Sooooo you look like some of my black family.....

[@shaqlobo4297]

😂😂😂😂😂 ain’t no way

[@AncestryAimee]

?

[@lilzae4848]

Black people could never know there true family trees honestly.

[@AncestryAimee]

I don’t think that’s true. They can know a lot. White people can’t know sometimes too. It just depends what walls you hit. The benefit of learning about your ancestors is worth the effort. You never know what you will find.

[@lilzae4848]

@AncestryAimee lol so tell how do we find are correct family tree especially a lot black folks who was killed who was slaves and the children who got separated from their families?

[@AncestryAimee]

@lilzae4848 it is so difficult. But you can find them sometimes in probate and other records indicating relationships. It is difficult and may not be found but when relationships are identified it is more the sweeter.

[@lilzae4848]

@AncestryAimee tru enough but for the black culture it will never be correct? Especially when you had white master sleeping with there house slaves impregnated them? What about the towns they slaughter men, women, children burn towns down. How can the black race know there correct family tree if they lied about are race are kings and queens that was already in America every culture has black DNA so we would never know are true family tree

[@JonDoeNeace]

At some point, people aren't registered anywhere, either under Slave Schedules OR under Free Black Registrys so I don't know where to go with someone who just appeared from nowhere, obviously take an educated guess how they got there and who put them there, considering they're of Black African origin. But there's still no evidence of anything.