slavery

Genealogists are very familiar with the importance of newspapers in their search of family history. They have often been described as the "diaries" of a community, providing notices of deaths, births and marriages; murders and crime; political news, local events, etc. In general newspapers usually serve a geographical community, but also can target a group with a specific ethnic, social or political interest. Early African American and Anti-Slavery newspapers are examples of the latter type of publication and both are valuable resources for African American genealogy research, providing both biographical information and a glimpse into nineteenth century African American life. Read More

It’s perhaps a little ironic that history is coming alive at a graveyard. In south Bibb County near the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, archaeologists have been working since April on behalf of the Georgia Department of Transportation to uncover a cemetery of unmarked graves. Originally, it was thought that the cemetery served as the final resting place only for the slaves who worked on the McArthur family plantation. But Hugh Matternes, a mortuary archaeologist for New South Associates, pointed to recent evidence found at the grave sites — including bits of pottery and a metal coffin handle — that indicate that black families continued to use the site as a burial plot once slaves were freed. Read More

Woodstock, Virginia, resident Phoebe Kilby suspected there was a connection between her white family and the black Kilbys who lived in nearby Front Royal. After confirming through research that her family had once owned the ancestors of the Front Royal Kilbys as slaves, she decided to make contact with Betty Kilby, an African American, and begin a dialogue as a way of personally addressing what some describe as America’s original sin: African slavery. Read More