The Names of 1.8 Million Emancipated Slaves Are Now Searchable

[Caca-faat]

Did y’all sign up and start using this yet?

I having trouble getting any useful info from this. I could find my grandmother and then it links her to somewhat accurate records of family members but it’s all people I know about. Not sure how to correlate any of this to ancestors

If you are using family search make sure you speak to family first, they will have peoples real names, your dead Aunt Junie may actually be named Patricia. Lots of people get called nick names your whole life and you don't know. Make sure you get accurate locations and do some math to match up birth and death years, the information may need to be deciphered a bit. I suggest you do your search with an older family member present. You will also find some confusing information that will need to be deciphered by a family elder for example, when I did my search it turns out that 3 sisters from the same family married 3 brothers in my family. Confusing AF. If that's what you are referring to I hope the above info helps.

 

[Crude Abolitionist]

ADOS RISING

 

[K.O.N.Y]

my great grandma on my moms side. Was born in 1905 and lived to 2010. Meaning someone alive in the twenty-tens had slaves in their immediate family

This will be easy for me

 

[Maude]

Any way to search plantations for your last name for possible records. I can make it back to the late 1800s That generation didn't have birthday records. Been at a brick wall for a while

 

[GoAggieGo.]

I already know where my family settled and what plantation etc

it’s very easy to trace

I know the plantations on my daddy’s side when it comes to my grandmother, or atleast I’ve narrowed it down to 2 locations. It was either the Hairston plantations in Lowndes County MS, or the one in High Point NC. I believe it was Lowndes County, because my grandmother would tell us stories on how her great grandfather, my Papa Hairston, made the the trek from Mississippi to NC with only $40 in hand

 

[BaileyPark31]

Great thread!

 

[Fade Runner 2049]

Liberia was purchased and founded by African Americans in the 1800s, it wasn't an original country and is the only country that has an exact square footage through purchase. Many former African American slaves went to live there, which would be why they would have "European sounding surnames" Below is a link. What is ironic is the same African Americans more or less enslaved the indigenous population to build up the country of Liberia.



Key Moments in the History of Liberia

Repped.


The furthest I’ve been able to trace back is to a great great grandfather who was born in Liberia in 1836 and sold at Jamestown Slave auction in 1846

 

[xoxodede]

Any way to search plantations for your last name for possible records. I can make it back to the late 1800s That generation didn't have birthday records. Been at a brick wall for a while

You will have to put some research in.

A few recommendations...

- look at the counties or area on the Census where they last resided and search Google for Plantations in that county.

Tip: Many of the "plantations" are just regular homes or small farms. Also, not all of our ancestors were on Plantations. Some were enslaved in a "urban" landscape.

Although over 90% of American enslaved lived in rural areas, the other enslaved made up at least 20% of the populations of most Southern cities.

- Look through Will and Estate Records in those counties and surrounding counties for surnames you find familiar. You may have to call those counties and ask where you can access those records or request them to search for specific surnames for you. If you do request, it can take some months to hear back.

Tip: Remember, we all have more than a few surnames attached to us due to both sides of our families and even on one side of a family. So, look for more than one surname you know is in your family.

- True on them not having Birth Records, but many ... most have death records. Look for them. Many have their parents listed on them. Atleast one parent is usually listed.

Also, know that you can order death certificates for $15-$35 from the state they died -- or where you think they were born or were at the last time they appeared on the Census.

Below are a few resources on plantations but honestly you have to do local research cause many of the places our ancestors were enslaved were not classified as "plantations" - they were just enslaved by demonic families with regular ass houses.

Let me know if you need some more ideas to break down the wall.

List of plantations in the United States - Wikipedia

Ward Plantation - Barnwell County, South Carolina SC

 

[Justin Nitsuj]

The year done started off great for us

 

[IllmaticDelta]

This is interesting, I wonder how many of those freedmen left America
Iv always wanted to know why my Surname is Cole
We are the Saro of Nigeria

the link to your surname/group is most likely from Sierra Leone Creoles

The Sierra Leone Creole people (or Krio people in the Krio language) is an ethnic group in Sierra Leone. The Creole people are descendants of freed African American, West Indian, and Liberated African slaves who settled in the Western Area of Sierra Leone between 1787 and about 1885. The colony was established by the British, supported by abolitionists, under the Sierra Leone Company as a place for freedmen. The settlers called their new settlement Freetown.[2] Today, the Creoles comprise 1.3% of the population of Sierra Leone.[1]

Like their Americo-Liberian neighbors and sister ethnic group in Liberia, Creoles have varying degrees of European ancestry due to the close historical relations between the ethnicities through decades of indenture, slavery and sexual abuse, and voluntary unions and marriages in North America. Some have Native American ancestry as well. In Sierra Leone, some of the settlers intermarried with other English or Europeans. Through the Jamaican Maroons, some Creoles probably also have indigenous Jamaican Amerindian Taíno ancestry.[3] The Americo-Liberians and the Creoles are the only recognised ethnic group of African-American, Liberated African, and West Indian descent in West Africa. The Creole culture is primarily westernized. The only Sierra Leonean ethnic group whose culture is similar (in terms of its integration of Western culture) are the Sherbro, who had developed close connections with Europeans and English traders from the early years of contact. The Creoles as a class developed close relationships with the British colonial power; they became educated in British institutions and advanced to prominent leadership positions in Sierra Leone under British colonialism. Due to this history, the vast majority of Sierra Leone Creoles have European first names and/or surnames. Many have both British first names and surnames.

The vast majority of Creoles reside in Freetown and its surrounding Western Area region of Sierra Leone.[4] They are also Christian.[citation needed] From their mix of peoples, the Creoles developed what is now the native Krio language (a mixture of English, indigenous West African languages, and other European languages). It has been widely used for trade and communication among ethnic groups and is the most widely spoken language in Sierra Leone.[5]

Scholars have debated whether the Oku people are Creoles although some scholars consider the Oku people to be Creoles[citation needed]. However, Oku scholars such as Olumbe Bassir and Ramatoulie O. Othman distinguish between the Oku and the Creoles: The latter are a mixture of various African ethnic groups with some European and Amerindian ancestry, who brought Western culture with them and absorbed more from British colonial officials. By contrast, the Oku are principally of Yoruba descent and have traditionally maintained strong Yoruba and Muslim traditions. They also have more traditional African culture, and widely practice formal polygamy and, to a significant extent, practice female genital mutilation.

The Creoles settled across West Africa in the nineteenth century in communities such as Limbe, Cameroon, Conakry, Guinea, Banjul, Gambia, Lagos, Nigeria, Abeokuta, Calabar, Accra, Ghana, Cape Coast, Fernando Pó. The Krio language of the Creole people influenced other pidgins such as Cameroonian Pidgin English, Nigerian Pidgin English, and Pichinglis. Thus, the Aku people of the Gambia, the Saro of Nigeria, Fernandino people of Equatorial Guinea, are sub-ethnic groups or direct descendants of the Sierra Leone Creole people

related thread

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/afr...list-nova-scotion-sierre-leone-creole.597055/

 

[BaileyPark31]

Bump

 

[IllmaticDelta]

You mean European surname.

true for the most part but some are african rooted (im talking from slavery times) and some are made up from different things said slave, experienced

Former slaves often made up surnames based on their occupations. A Wessyngton slave named Bill who was the plantation’s blacksmith was known as Billy the Smith during slavery. After emancipation, he became William Smith. Another slave named Bill who attended the sheep became Bill Shepherd.

Surnames Used by African American Slaves « The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family’s Journey to Freedom

 

[Kasgoinjail]

the link to your surname/group is most likely from Sierra Leone Creoles



related thread

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/afr...list-nova-scotion-sierre-leone-creole.597055/

Good looking family

 

[IllmaticDelta]

BTW: if anyone has an ancestor who fought in the USCT - please make sure to check Pension records: USCT Pension Files: A Rich Resource for African American Genealogy | IAAM Center for Family History

Is this the full extent of what they have? I guess they're still adding to the database

There are 150 full pension files here. You may choose how many rows to display on each page.

United States Colored Troops (USCT) Pension Files | IAAM Center for Family History

 

[xoxodede]

Is this the full extent of what they have? I guess they're still adding to the database

There are 150 full pension files here. You may choose how many rows to display on each page.

United States Colored Troops (USCT) Pension Files | IAAM Center for Family History

Sadly, yes at this time. They are in need of transcribers.

Call for Transcribers of United States Colored Troops Documents

But, you may be able to find additional info on the Fold.com -- do the trial and pull/download the records.

Fold3 - Historical military records

You can also reach out to the National archives and ask/request records -- to see if there are any additional ones.

Black Soldiers in the Civil War