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Question:I'm an African American, and I want to find out about my African roots. How do I go about searching or what are some good sites to find my slave ancestors?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'm an African American, and I want to find out about my African roots. How do I go about searching or what are some good sites to find my slave ancestors?

You could pinpoint the location of where your African ancestors came from through DNA testing. I have been researching my family tree since 2006. I have not been able to research as much lately because, I have been busy. You can begin tracing your family tree by talking with older members of your family. Go to your local library to use ancestry.com. It's usually free. You can find family members through the US Census. From there, go to the register of deed in your county . You can get copies (uncertified) of birth, marriage, and death certificates for a small fee. Through these documents, I have been able to trace back to my 4th great-grandparents and in one case my 5th great-grandparent. Tracing your family tree is a lot of work. But it is fun finding the information and when you do it's like finding treasure.

http://www.ancestry.com/

try them all!

Try a rootsweb mailing list on the subject, people there will share a common interest and should be able to point you in the right direction.

http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Et...

I am sure that you realize the uncountable number of genealogical websites! I am sure you will get many responses!!

I recommend "www.familysearch.org". It provides access to the largest genealogical library (and resources) in the world. You can download a very good (free) genealogical application, "PAF" to organize your research!

Also, go to your White Pages and look for the closest location of "The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints" look for one with a "FHC" (Family History Center) to you.

It has a totally unpaid-volunterr staff. The are trained to help you at no cost. Each groug has very knowledgeable people. You can use the microfilm and microfiche and computers for free. If the microfilm/fiche are not there you can pay a very small fee (for shipping, etc.) to have it sent to the FHE.

You can access photos of many, many original documents from all over the world.

I hope you take advantage of these resources - they will help you! Good luck!!

Don't forget the the miniseries based on Alex Haley's excellent book "Roots".

You need to start where your family is from. Check the geneology section at your local library. Are you in the South? If you are you should be able to locate slave papers at the library gen section. I did research for a friend of mine at work who is black. Found her familys slave records belonging to a local name and found her 4 time great grandmother came from Bahamas not Africa as did her husband.

Here is an excellent introductory guide on finding African-American roots:

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/docs/369...

I hope this helps. Good luck in your search!