Key Websites: Links of Interest

African American Genealogy Sites – Free

SankofaGen Wiki

Resources for the slave trade, historical documents and a database (wiki format)

African American Cemeteries Online

Includes extensive cemetery transcriptions for the Lowcountry Southeast

Christine’s Genealogy Website | Who are your people?

Directories of searchable databases, extensive transcriptions relevant to the Lowcountry, new historical documents coming online here daily

The Freedmen’s Bureau Online

Transcriptions of Freedmen’s Bureau records for several states, from Christine’s Genealogy Website. Extensive transcriptions for Lowcountry FL, GA and SC. A must for your Lowcountry research toolkit

The Large Slaveholder Project

Essential starting point for identifying slaveholders by state

US African American Griots

USGenWeb special project: document database and more

African-Native American Genealogy

From Angela Walton-Raji, this site celebrates the Oklahoma Freedmen and all blended families with African and Native American histories.

Lest We Forget

From Bennie J. McRea, Jr. – The untold history of America. History, culture, preservation efforts, and current events of African-Americans and other ethnic groups.

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South Carolina Resources


SCIWAY.com

SCIWAY is your essential starting point for state and county-level links for South Carolina. The definitive list of South Carolina genealogy links!

Lowcountry Digital Library

The Lowcountry Digital Library digitizes and makes accessible unique local resources that document the history and culture of the region. Their expanded digital library provides all patrons with access to information through local, state, regional, national, and international electronic networks.

South Carolina Digital Library

The South Carolina Digital Library (SCDL) is a collaborative effort that includes South Carolina’s schools, libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions. SCDL’s mission is to encourage collaborators to create, maintain, and promote digital collections that represent South Carolina’s historical and cultural resources.

Lowcountry Africana: South Carolina Slave Records on Fold3

South Carolina Estate Inventories and Bills of Sale, 1732-1872 contain thousands of images of estate inventories which list assets of property owners in Charleston, South Carolina. The records include the names of hundreds of plantations and thousands of enslaved ancestors.

South Carolina USGenWeb Project

A large collection of online resources and records for South Carolina Research

U.S. Colored Troops Organized in South Carolina

Of the colored soldiers who joined the Union effort, more than 5,000 were recruited from the state of South Carolina, comprising the enlisted ranks of six infantry regiments (21st, 33rd, 34th, 103rd, 104th and 128th) and one artillery battery (Battery “G”, 2nd Light Artillery Regiment). John Raymond Gourdin shares hundreds of documents that document the history of these regiments.

African Americans in the South Carolina Room

A rich collection of documents shared by E.E. Vaughn

Georgetown Digital Library

The Georgetown County Digital Library provides the opportunity to explore the unique and diverse history of the people and places that shaped Georgetown County. Explore the past through rare photographs, newspapers, real estate indentures, journals and letters.

Greenville County Library South Carolina Room – Genealogy & History

The Carolina First South Carolina Room in the Hughes Main Library has an extensive collection of material to assist researchers interested in historical and genealogical research. While the major focus of the collection is Greenville and the Upstate, there are many sources for other locations in South Carolina and other states.

Furman University: Special Collections and Archives

Special Collections and Archives contains six distinct sections: Furman University Archives, Manuscript Collections, South Carolina Baptist Historical Collection, South Carolina Poetry Archives, Special Collections for Music, and Book Collections (Baptist, Furman, and Special Collections). Also see their Digital Collections

Old Edgefield District Genealogical Society

The purpose of the OEDGS is to promote genealogical and historical research in Old Edgefield District. To this end, the Society maintains a large collection of newspapers (both hard copies and microfilm); many Old Edgefield County records, such as probate records (wills and deeds), censuses and mortality tables. There is an extensive collection of more than 2,000 family histories (Bible records, newspaper clippings, letters, lineage charts, diary excerpts, and other information) as well, with new titles being acquired regularly. Many of these histories were donated by the authors or by family members.

African American Research and Studies Heritage Library Foundation

Hilton Head, SC

The Library’s collections are excellent for researching the origins of African-American families in this country from before the Civil War era down to the present time. They encompass both historical and genealogical data, with the richest material information on South Carolina and the Lowcountry region.

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Georgia Resources


Georgia’s Virtual Vault

The Georgia Virtual Vault is your portal to some of Georgia’s most important historical documents, from 1733 to the present. The Virtual Vault provides virtual access to historic Georgia manuscripts, photographs, maps, and government records housed in the state archives.

Georgia Archives

Records and resource guides from the GA state archives

Genealogy and Family History of the Southeastern U.S.

Comprehensive in Georgia family and county histories, the H. Ross Arnold Jr. library at the Kenan Research Center contains 4,000 volumes regarding genealogy and family history of the American Southeast. The library also contains substantial holdings pertaining to North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama genealogy.

Ex-Slave Marriages to 1876

By David E. Paterson: In 1865, after emancipation, William A. Cobb, the Ordinary for Upson County, was confronted with the unprecedented requirement to issue marriage licenses to ex-slaves. He composed his own marriage license form which differed from that given to whites in that it asked the marrying official to supply, not only the names of the bride and groom, but also the names of their previous owners. Cobb used this unique marriage license form from October 1865 until the end of December 1869; thereafter, reverting to the same form for colored marriages as was used for white marriages.

Georgia African American Cemeteries

From Access Genealogy, a comprehensive list of links for GA cemeteries

Georgia Statewide Indexes and Collections

From FamilySearch. In the United States, information about your ancestors is often found in town and county records. If you know which state but not the town or county your ancestor lived in, check these statewide indexes to find the town or county. Then search records for that town or county. The indexes and collections listed in this guide index various sources of information, such as histories, vital records, biographies, tax lists, immigration records, etc.

Georgia Deaths, 1928-1930

Searchable online at FamilySearch, name Index and images of Georgia statewide deaths. Original records are arranged chronogically by year and then by certificate numbers.

Georgia Marriages, 1808-1967

Name index to marriage records from the state of Georgia. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 1,152,385 records. Due to privacy laws, recent records may not be displayed. The year range represents most of the records. A few records may be earlier or later.

USGenWeb Archives: Georgia

An extensive collection of records for every county in Georgia. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page to access the thousands of county-level records there!

Georgia County Formation Maps

Track changes in county boundaries over time

Kenan Research Center

The Kenan Research Center, public archive and research facility, collects primary and secondary source materials in all formats conveying the history of Atlanta and the culture of the American south.

Georgia FamilySearch Wiki

Find many more Georgia records and resources to further your research!

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Florida Resources


Florida African-American Heritage

From the FLGenWeb Project

State Archives of Florida

Florida Memory Project

The Florida Memory Project website presents a selection of digitized historical records that illustrate significant moments in Florida history, education resources for students of all ages and archival collections for historical research.

Florida Births and Christenings, 1880-1935

Searchable at FamilySearch online, name index to birth, baptism and christening records from the state of Florida. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 28,301 records.

Florida Deaths, 1877-1939

Searchable online from FamilySearch, name index to death and burial records from the state of Florida. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 24,800 records.

Florida Marriages, 1837-1974

Name index to marriage records from the state of Florida. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the Family History Library and Family History Centers. This set contains 860,110 records.

Florida State Census, 1885

Schedules of the Census of Florida taken by that state in 1885. All counties then in the state are represented with the exception of Alachua, Clay, Columbia and Nassau. The 1885 Florida State Census is comprised of four schedules – Population, Agriculture, Manufactures and Mortality. Population schedules are available for all counties, but there are no agriculture, manufactures or mortality schedules for some counties. This collection coincides with NARA publication M845.

Florida State Census, 1935

Population census for the State of Florida for the year 1935. This 1935 Florida State Census is an every-name list of the state’s inhabitants. The census is arranged alphabetically by county and then geographically by election precinct. All counties within the state are represented, although some election precincts are missing. The collection details include an estimated precinct locality that is based on the census precinct number within a county.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

Hosted by the Library of Congress. Search, view and download newspaper pages from 1900 to 1910 from CA, DC, FL, KY, NY, UT and VA

MyCemeteries.com

Detailed information and driving directions for Florida cemeteries, by county

Florida County Formation Maps

Track changes in county boundaries over time

Jacksonville City Directories, 1867-1925

Online images at the Jacksonville Public Library

FamilySearch Wiki

Find many more Florida records and resources to further your research!

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