Track: Ethnic – African American Research

Tracks at the TxSGS 2019 Family History Conference are designed to help you focus on a specific area of research or skill development. Use this information as you plan your schedule.

All lectures included in your registration if you sign up for the full conference. If your register for a single day, all lectures on that are included. Workshops are optional and have limited seating. You must register in advance. Lunches with speakers are also optional and must be purchased in advance. These may be selected during registration or added before September 30.

Ethnic – African American

African American research presents a host of unique challenges. Through an abundance of examples, topics in this track show how to follow a family through records, slaves through multiple owners, and where to find valuable resources that include wills, property records, the Freedmen Bureau, and more. See all tracks and learn more about speakers on our website. Register online now!

Friday, 9:00 am to 10:00 am – Breaking the Brick Wall: Researching in Black & White, Deborah Abbott
The most difficult part of genealogical research for African Americans is finding and identifying slave ancestors and their owners. Using case studies, we will start with twentieth century records and follow two families from freedom to slavery. Learn the records needed to take one family who remains in Georgia and the other which begins in Georgia and ends in Texas. (All levels)

Friday, 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm – Finding Calvin: Following My Enslaved Ancestor Through Multiple Owners, Renate Sanders
In this case study, the presenter demonstrates, step by step, how she first confirmed her ancestor’s status as enslaved and then, using exhaustive research techniques, followed him through 25 years of enslavement with several different owners. Participants will learn to use specific documents to identify and document the lives of enslaved individuals. (All levels)

Saturday, 10:30 am to 11:30 am – African American Ancestors in Wills, Probate, Land, and Property Records, Sharon Gillins
Wills, probate, land, and property records are inextricably linked. When a planter landowner dies, important assets such as land and enslaved people held as personal property must be identified and their disposition decided, usually passing to family members as heirs and legally recorded in the county. These records may lead to discovery of the last slave holder and close associates, an important step in researching beyond emancipation. (Intermediate)

Saturday, 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm – Finding The Last Slaveowner, Ari Wilkins
Locating the last slave owner is essential in African American research. Explore records that will help transition your research from 1870 into the Antebellum Era. (All levels)

Sunday, 10:30 am to 11:30 am – Navigating the Freedmen’s Bureau Records – Strategies for Research Success, Sharon Gillins
Discover the various options that researchers can use to access Freedmen’s Bureau records and the strengths and weaknesses of each medium. Understand the organization of the Bureau and its record-keeping practices in order to identify and locate the records required to support researcher’s goals. Use of the Descriptive Pamphlet is demonstrated as an important component of a focused, efficient research plan. (Intermediate)

For more African American Research, see this Methodology & Problem Solving Lecture:

Saturday, 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm – William Eckler & Charles Arthur: One Man, Two Lives, Patti Gillespie
William Eckler came to Texas to fight in the Indian Wars after the Civil War. Charles Arthur met and married his wife, started a family, and held his own as a free-born African American man in Decatur, Texas. Not until Charles Arthur applied for his federal military pension did the truth come out. Follow the facts, the documents, and the family truths of William Eckler and Charles Arthur in this presentation. (Intermediate)