Tracing your African Roots
If you have an interest in researching African American Genealogy whether to discover your heritage, a part of academic work or merely out of personal curiosity, then your best bet to locate information quickly and efficiently is to make use of the internet. There are a number of websites dedicated to African American Genealogy, providing practical advice and resources to help researchers of all types find the information they need. It is important to appreciate however that whilst the internet is an awesome tool at your disposal, it is by no means the only one you should use or rely upon, and if you do....then your research will be extremely limited at best. Ideally, the internet should be used to track down appropriate sources of further research which can then be followed up and pursued at your convenience.
What are some of the areas that the internet can assist with in regards to African American Genealogy?
- Access to numerous databases which will contain surnames of your ancestors and relevant people.
- Access to internet communities (known in internet parlance as “forums”) which are dedicated to research in this field.
- Access to essential records such as birth, marriage and death certificates.
The internet is also ideal for locating cost effective websites which sell appropriate materials and resources for further study, for example guidebooks and sociology papers/articles dedicated to the topic of African American Genealogy.
Earlier within the article, we mentioned how records such as birth and death records can considerably assist the researcher in their studies, and there can be no denying that such records are crucial to the success of any African American Genealogy research project. It is important to note that for a variety of reasons it will not be possible to access all the information you require from one source, and so multiple sources must be relied upon.
You may want to consider getting in touch with local churches, courthouses and registry offices to gain access to records, and there is one tool in particular that will prove to be especially helpful in your research: social security death index. This powerful resource will provide you with a wealth of information including the last known residence of the person whom you are searching for, the last benefit that they were in receipt of as well as their dates of birth and death respectively.