Southern Ancestors of North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee

For those of us who have ancestry dating back to Colonial times, it can be terribly confusing which “state” our ancestors hailed from. If you were told that your ancestors came from Georgia back in America’s earliest years, it’s important to know that back then some of what we know as Alabama and Mississippi were known as Georgia. If your family history says your people were from North Carolina, when America only had thirteen states, North Carolina included Tennessee. If Colonial family lore tells you that your ancestors came from Virginia, you’ll need to look at Kentucky and West Virginia on the map to get an accurate depiction of the geographical area where they lived.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the Civil War Era Historic Romance, Black Pansy:

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Pansy-Suellen-Ocean/dp/1484900278

Can’t Find Info on an Ancestor? Maybe She Was a Slave.

The Underground Railroad mentions Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, time and time again as territories of bondage for African-Americans. During the 1850’s the office of the UGRR in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom in Canada and sometimes New York and Boston. It’s difficult to piece together history if all we have is a name, a birthplace and a birth year. Some don’t even have that. Mississippi and Louisiana are well-known slave states but remember that Virginia and Maryland were as well.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy V – Black, White and Hamite; Ancestors of Color in Our Family Trees.  Available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/153518972X

Tracing African American Ancestors Through Slave Narratives

Before the Civil War, escaping African American Slaves aided by the Underground Railroad, took on new names, an “alias.” Archer Barlow became Emmet Robbins and Rose Anna Tonnell became Maria Hyde. Children born of the parents with new names had the new names on their birth record. No doubt, those who escaped bondage wanted to put the past behind and not be found by former slave owners. Except for a variety of records being scanned onto the Internet, it is extremely difficult to trace African American ancestors. The name change creates more obstacles. But keep reading everything you can find. I found the examples of aliases listed in, “The Underground Railroad A Record Of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters…” by William Still. It’s a free ebook that I found on Amazon Kindle Books. It’s filled with stories and names. I highly recommend it.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy V – Black, White and Hamite; Ancestors of Color in Our Family Trees.  Available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/153518972X