Researching African American Genealogy at Dayton Metro Library

Selected bibliography of materials available for African American Genealogy at the Dayton Metro Library Main Library As early as 1810, 26 of 383 of the residents of Dayton were African Americans. † Migration patterns vary, of course, but many African Americans came to the Dayton area from the south during and soon after World War I. The most common routes were from Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, with some Kentucky and Tennessee. Many of the descendants I have talked to have specified that the Birmingham area was a point of departure for their family circa WWI.

General materials and How to Books

Burroughs, Tony. Black roots : a beginner's guide to tracing the African American family tree. Genealogy Collection B91 B972B 2001.

Gates, Henry Louis. African American lives Ref B0009 A258 2004. DVD 973.0496 A258.

Gates, Henry Louis. Finding Oprah's roots finding your own. African American Collection B91072 G259F 2007. DVD B91072 F494.

Howell, Barbara Thompson . How to trace your African-American roots : discovering your unique history. Genealogy Collection B91 H859H 1998.

Jamison, Sandra Lee. Finding your people : an African-American guide to discovering your roots Genealogy Collection, B91 J32F 1999.

Lennon, Rachel Mills. Tracing ancestors among the Five Civilized Tribes. Genealogy Collection B9373 L567T 2002. (Fairly often, many African Americans have been told they are part Indian or they may have been inaccurately enumerated with Native Americans).

Rose, James M. Black genesis : a resource book for African-American genealogy Genealogy Collection B91 R796B 2003.

Smith, Franklin Carter. A genealogist's guide to discovering your African-American ancestors : how to find and record your unique heritage Genealogy Collection B91 S647G 2003

White, James E.. Roots recovered! : the how to guide for tracing African-American and West Indian roots back to Africa and going there for free or on a shoestring budget. Genealogy Collection B91 W585R 2004.

AAHGS news : the bi-monthly newsletter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.

African American Genealogy Group of the Miami Valley Newsletter.

Oral History Books

Greene, Bob. To our children’s children. Genealogy Collection B91 G799T.

Hill, Ruth. Guide to the transcripts of the black women oral history project. Storage B072 G946.

Federal

Washington, Reginald. Black family research : records of post-Civil War federal agencies at the National Archives. Government Documents. AE 1.124:108/2003.

Ohio general call number Gen R 977.1

Austin, Charles Mosley. Black people in Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, from November 1802 - July 1887. Gen Reference 977.172 A935B

Austin, Charles Mosley. Historical record of African Americans in Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio : beginning in 1802. Genealogy Reference977.172 A935HR 1997.

Fuller, Sara The Ohio black history guide. Storage 301.451 F968O.

Nitchman, Paul E. Blacks in Ohio, 1880. Genealogy Reference 977.1 N728B.

Peters, Margaret. Dayton's African American heritage : a pictorial history. Genealogy Reference 977.173 P482D 2005

Alabama general call number 976.1

Alabama Society. Daughters of the American Revolution. Index to Alabama Wills 1808-1870. Gen R 976.1 D238I 1999.

Davis, Robert Scott. Tracing your Alabama past. Genealogy Collection 976.1 D263T 2003.

Taylor, Frazine K. Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama. Genealogy Collection 976.1 T241R 2008.

Georgia general call number 975.8 Austin, Jeannette Holland. Index to Georgia wills. Genealogy Reference B93758 A936I 1985.

Austin, Jeannette Holland. Georgia intestate records. Genealogy Reference B93758 A936G 1986.

Cox, Jack. 1850 Census of Georgia Slave Owners. Gen Reference 975.8 C877E 1999.

Kentucky general call number 976.9

Mississippi general call number 976.2

Green, Linda L. Mississippi 1860 agricultural census. Gen Reference 976.2 G796M 2002.

Tennessee general call number 976.8

Virginia Morales, Leslie Anderson. Virginia slave births index. 1853-1865. Gen R 975.5 V8177 2007.

Websites

Ancestry Library Edition Database. Be sure to examine federal censuses, slave censuses, and birth, death, and marriage records for Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, etc. Available in-library only or by individual subscription.

Afrigenesis http://www.afrigeneas.com/

African American Genealogy Group of the Miami Valley http://www.aaggmv.org/ This public site is not frequently updated, but they have a very active “members only” site.

Alabama Archives http://www.archives.state.al.us/

Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ Emphasis on African American Sailors

Dayton Obituary Index http://www.daytonmetrolibrary.org/research-a-databases/history-a-genealogy/resources/hobits/

Directory of African American genealogy sites http://www.cyndislist.com/african.htm

Family Search Freedman’s Bureau Records. www.familysearch.org Click on Advanced Search and go to the list of all databases, including the Freedman’s Bureau.

Lincoln Society of Dayton http://www.lincolnsocietyofdayton.org/index.php

National Geographic Genographic Project http://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/

Randolph Slaves of Miami County http://www.tdn-net.com/genealogy/randolphs/randolphs.htm

Southern Historical Press http://www.southernhistoricalpress.com/ Especially useful for pre-emancipation records.

WPA Slave Narratives http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snintro00.html

† Historical Census Browser http://fisher.lib.Virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus † Austin, Charles Mosley. Black people in Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, from November 1802 - July 1887. Gen Reference 977.172 A935B

Dayton Metro Library 215 E Third St Dayton, OH 45402 www.daytonmetrolibrary.org history@daytonmetrolibrary.org slw Mar 2011