Searching For Our North Carolina Ancestors

Researching ancestors believed to have been enslaved can be challenging, since the record trail is spotty prior to 1865. The 1870 federal population census, the first on which former slaves are listed by name, can be confusing because individuals with shared surnames may be family members or former owners. Even if one knows that an ancestor was born during slavery, work backwards from the most current census (currently 1940) to the earliest known record of the ancestor(s).

Searching all known and suspected family members' births, deaths, and marriages, often identifies connections not immediately obvious.

 

 

 

 

Co-habitation records – available at the county level -- not only indicate the number of years a couple has lived together as husband and wife but also confirm the family belief that the ancestor was born in slavery.

 

Other county records, such as deeds, estates, and tax lists, cemetery records, Bible records, and church records, can also contain valuable information. Freedmen’s Bureau, Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company records, and WPA slave narratives may also prove useful.

 

-> North Carolina Books on Slavery

 

-> North Carolina County Records

 

-> North Carolina Family Records

 

-> North Carolina Slave Narratives

 

-> North Carolina Slave Owners

 

-> North Carolina Slavery Plantations

 

-> North Carolina Slave Records