June 13-18, 2010

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Course 8:
Researching African-American Ancestors: Slave & Reconstruction Era Records

This course will focus on the records that were created during slavery, duped the "peculiar institution," in the south, and the records that were created afterwards during the reconstruction period. Because of the uniqueness of this period and the volume of records created, it will be impossible to cover all of the material in 2010, therefore, the subject of this course will continue in 2012.

While each state's experiences with slavery and reconstruction might have been similar, there were also events and instances that created distinct stories and records. Each state had unique laws, revolts, customary practices, and recollected descriptions regarding relationships among slaves, free blacks, white slave owners, and white non-slave owners. For the same reasons, reconstruction-era records are often hard to locate without guidance. This course will help attendees to locate records created in these two periods: Slavery (1522-1865) and Reconstruction (1865-1876).

Faculty:

• Taylor, Frazine K. – Coordinator
• Abbott, Deborah A.
• Billingsley, Carolyn Earle
• Coleman, Patricia
• Davis-Hamilton, Emma
• Gillins, Sharon Batiste
• Hager, Ruth Ann Abels
• Johnson, Ahmed
• Jordon, Shamele
• Meyers, Kelvin L.
• Pinnick, Tim
• Spruill, Larry H.
• Washington
• Wilkins, Ari

Monday

• 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.: Course Introduction (Taylor)
• 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.: New World Africans and the Transformative Experience of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (Spruill)
• 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.: Morning Break
• 10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: Reconstruction 101: A Primer for African American Researchers (Pinnick)
• 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch
• 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.: Reconstruction 102: Books, Articles, and Online Resources (Computer Lab) (Pinnick)
• 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Freedmen's Bureau Work Contracts -- Case Studies from Texas (Gillins)
• 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.: Using Your Tax List Wisely: Getting all you can from a Tax List (Meyers)

Tuesday

• 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.: Q & A (Taylor)
• 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.: Abolition Society Records (Jordon)
• 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.: Morning Break
• 10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: One Place Study: Free People Of Color (Jordon)
• 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch
• 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.: African American Collection on Ancestry.com (Arnold)
• 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Voices from the Past: Using Manuscripts (Abbott)
• 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.: Slaves and The Southern Claims Commission (Gillins)
• 6:30 p.m.: Family History Center Field Trip (Coleman)

Wednesday

• 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.: Q & A (Taylor)
• 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.: Law Library (Taylor)
• 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.: Morning Break
• 10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: Genealogical Organization (Jordon)
• 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch
• 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.: Manifests of Slave Shipments Along the Waterways, 1808-1864 (Davis-Hamilton)
• 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Let No Man Put Asunder: Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Records (Washington)
• 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.: African Americans and the Cholera Epidemic of 1873: A Case Study (Pinnick)

Thursday

• 8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.: Q & A (Taylor)
• 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.: Genealogical Computing (Jordon)
• 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.: Morning Break
• 10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: Kinship Connection (Billingsley)
• 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Lunch
• 1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.: African American Records at the Library of Congress (Johnson)
• 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Eyewitness to American History (Wilkins)
• 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.: Civil War Provost Marshall Records for Civilians (Hager)

Friday

• 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.: Work Session (Taylor)
• 9:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: Using Land Records in Slave Research: Case Study (Abbott)
• 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.: Et Cetera: Miscellaneous Records (Taylor)