Hi Nadine,

One of the saddest and most frustrating things about researching African American family history, is that our ancestors who were slaves were not identified by name on the censuses before 1870.

Finding information on freedmen can also be challenging. For instance, I found a list of 1832 Black residents in the back of a city directory printed some 40 years later. So, you'll probably have to do a bit of detective work to find more information about your ancestors.

There are websites like Afrigeneas that have information about slave research and freedmen. There are also books like Dee Parmer Woodtor's Finding a Place Called Home that are very helpful. I'm sure other readers of this list can give you more specific help than I can.

Most of all, don't give up!