African American Resources for Connecticut

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United States

African American Genealogy

Connecticut

African American Resources

African American Online Genealogy Records

Online Resources

Record Collections

• DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch
• United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
• United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
• U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 ($)
• Connecticut Death Index, 1949-2001 - lists name, death date and place, residence, age, marital status, race, occupation, and father's surname.
• Connecticut Divorce Index, 1968-1997 - lists names, divorce date and place, marriage date and place, race, education level, birth date and place, previous marriages, residence, and more.

Digital Archives

• Tangled Roots: A Project Exploring the Histories of Americans of Irish Heritage and American of African Heritage.
• Research Guide to African-American Genealogical Resources at the Connecticut State Library

Lists of Sources

• African Ancestry in Connecticut (AfriGeneas)

History

• The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition
• Brown, Barbara W. and James M. Rose. Black Roots in Southeastern Connecticut, 1650-1900. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, 1980. FHL book 974.6 F2b At various libraries (WorldCat)
• Piersen, William D. Black Yankees: The Development of an Afro-American Subculture in Eighteenth Century New England. Amherst, Massachusetts : University of Massachusetts Press, 1988. FHL book 974 F2p
• Rose, James M. and Barbara W. Brown. Tapestry, a living history of the Blaack family in sourtheastern Connecticut. - New London : New London County Historical Society, 1979.- vi, 163p., E185.93.C7 R67 FHL fBook 974.6 F2r

Resources

Biographies

• Stewart, Daniel Y. Black New Haven: personal observations involving Colored people, Negroes, Blacks, Afro-Americans - 1st ed. -[S.l.:s.n.], c 1977 (New Haven: Advocate Pres). - 74 p. F104.N69 N337

Land and Property

• Tax Book of Land and Houses in Kent and Warren, Connecticut,December, 1799. NAID 88680304"...names of owners and taxes to be assessed on buildings, lands and slaves."

Military Records

• White, David O. Connecticut's Black Soldiers, 1775-1783. Chester, Connecticut : Pequot Press, 1973. FHL book 974.6 F2w

Newspapers

Runaway Connecticut, runaway advertisements for enslaved people in Connecticut

Reconstruction Records

Freedman’s Bank

An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and freed slaves. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:

• United States, Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874
• U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 ($)

Freedmen's Bureau

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist former slaves in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former masters and plantations, and current residences. For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of former slaves. These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

• DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Claim Records,1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Hospital and Medical Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts, Indenture and Apprenticeship Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Ration Records,1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau Records of Persons and Articles Hired, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Freedmen's Court Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Land and Property Records, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen's Complaints, 1865-1872
  • United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Superintendent of Education and of the Division of Education, 1865-1872

Other FamilySearch collections not included:

• United States Freedmen's Bureau Miscellaneous Records,1865-1872
• United States Freedmen's Bureau, Records of Freedmen, 1865-1872
• Arkansas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1864-1872 Images only.
• United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872 Images only. These reports primarily contain statistical and historical information.

Vital Records

Marriage

The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist former slaves in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the former slaves. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.

• United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872
• U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867

Death

• Connecticut Death Index, 1949-2001 - lists name, death date and place, residence, age, marital status, race, occupation, and father's surname.

Divorce

• Connecticut Divorce Index, 1968-1997 - lists names, divorce date and place, marriage date and place, race, education level, birth date and place, previous marriages, residence, and more.

Societies

The Great New Haven African American Historical Society
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent Street
New Haven, CT 06515
Website: Southern Connecticut State University

Family History Library