A Selected Bibliography for African American Research

Author

Instructional Books and Guides to Sources

  • African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War [E 251 D38]
  • African American Genealogical Research Reader [CS 21 A3 A45]
  • African-American Newspapers and Periodicals: a National Bibliography [Z 6944 N39 A37]
  • Black Family Research: Records of Post-Civil War Federal Agencies at the National Archives [CS 21 A3 N481]
  • Blockson, Charles Black Genealogy [CS 21 B55]
  • Burroughs, Tony Black Roots: a Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree [CS 21 A3 B87]
  • Byers, Paula K., ed. African-American Genealogical Sourcebook [CS 21 B932]
  • Century of Population Growth: From the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790-1900 [E 184 A1 C334]
  • Croom, Emily Anne Genealogist's Companion & Sourcebook [CS 16 C761]
  • Federation of Genealogical Societies Gateway to the Past: Conference for the Nation's Genealogists [CS 2 F42 G38]
  • Danky, James S., ed. African American Newspapers and Periodicals: a National Bibliography [Z 6944 N39 A37]
  • Fears, Mary L. Jackson Slave Ancestral Research [CS 21 F43]
  • Henritze, Barbara K. Bibliographic Checklist of African American Newspapers [Z 6941 H46]
  • Howell, Barbara Thompson How to Trace Your African American Roots [CS 21 H69]
  • Law, Nova African-American Genealogy Workbook for Beginners [CS 21 L38]
  • Lawson, Jacqueline A. An Index of African Americans Identified in Selected Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands [E 185.2 L39]
  • Lawson, Sandra M. Generations Past: A Selected List of Sources for Afro-American Genealogical Research [CS 21 L39]
  • Mather, Frank Lincoln, ed. Who's Who of the Colored Race: General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent [E 185.96 W6]
  • National Archives and Records Administration Black Studies: Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications [E 185 N39 U63]
  • National Genealogical Society Chesapeake Homecoming: Syllabus [CS 2 N37 C49]
  • Newman, Debra L. Black History: Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives [CS 16 N48]
  • Newman, Debra L. List of Black Servicemen Compiled from the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records [E 269 N3 N49]
  • Puckett, Nebell Niles Black Names in America: Origins & Usage [E 185.89 N3 P82]
  • Rhodes, Bertha N. Guide to African American Museums and Galleries in the United States [E 185 R46]
  • Rose, James M. Black Genesis [CS 21 R57]
  • Streets, David H. Slave Genealogy: A Research Guide with Case Studies [E 185.97 877]
  • Thackery, David T. Finding your African American Ancestors: a Beginner's Guide [CS 21 A3 T425]
  • Walton-Raji, Angela Y. Black Indian Genealogy Research: African American Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes [CS 21 W34]
  • Washington, Reginald Black Family Research: Records of Post-Civil War Federal Agencies at the National Archives [CS 21 A3 N481]
  • Witcher, Curt Bryan African American Genealogy: a Bibliography and Guide to Sources [CS 21 A3 W771]
  • Woodtor, Dee Parmer Finding a Place Called Home: a Guide to African-American Genealogy and Historical Identity [CS 21 A3 W69]
  • Young, Tommie Morton Afro-American Genealogy Sourcebook [E 185.96 Y67]

New York

  • Bahn, Gilbert S. Slaves and Nonwhite Free Persons in the 1790 Census of New York [N.Y. G 17.41]
  • Brennan Robert W. Genealogical History of Black Families of Orange County, New York [N.Y. CO. OR1.94]
  • Brooks-Bertram, Peggy Uncrowned Queens: African American Women Community Builders of Western New York [N.Y. L B863.55]
  • Caro, Edythe Quinn "The Hills" in the Mid-Nineteenth Century: The History of a Rural Afro-American Community in Westchester County, New York [N.Y. CO. W522.68]
  • Day, Linda Rose Making a Way to Freedom: a History of African Americans on Long Island [L.I. G 6.6]
  • Dickenson, Richard B. Census Occupations of Afro-American Families in Staten Island, 1840-1875: We Too Have a Heritage [N.Y. CO R414.95]
  • Eichholz, Alice Free Black Heads of Household in the New York State Federal Census, 1790- 1830 [N.Y. G 17.4]
  • Freeman, Rhoda Golden The Free Negro in New York City in the Era Before the Civil War [N.Y. L M314.97 F66]
  • Gaines, Edith The Charity Society, 1794-1994: History of the Charity Society of Jericho and Westbury Friends Monthly Meeting [N.Y. CO N187.6]
  • Heidgerd, William Black History in New Paltz [N.Y. L N471.51]
  • Hobart, George H. The Negro Churches of Manhattan: a Study Made in 1930 [N.Y.C G 37.11]
  • Hodges, Graham Russell Root & Branch: African Americans in New York and East Jersey, 1613-1863 [N.Y.C. G 152.1]
  • Kobrin, David The Black Minority in Early New York [N.Y. G 17.25]
  • Kruger, Vivienne L. Born to Run: The Slave Family in Early New York [N.Y. G 17.2]
  • Merrill, Arch The Underground: Freedom's Road & Other Upstate Tales [N.Y. G 17.3]
  • Meyers, Carol M. Early New York State Census Records, 1663-1772 [N.Y. G 13.1]
  • Mosley, Lois A.H. Sandy Ground Memories: Including Family Stories by Other Sandy Grounders [N.Y. L ST29.97 M853]
  • Naylor, Natalie A., ed. Exploring African-American History: Long Island & Beyond [L.I. G 30]
  • Osofsky, Gilbert Harlem, the Making of a Ghetto: Negro New York, 1890-1930 [N.Y. L M314.68 H373]
  • Phelan, Helene C. And Why Not Every Man? An Account of Slavery, The Underground Railroad, and the Road to Freedom in New York's Southern Tier [N.Y. G 66.902]
  • Schoener, Allon Harlem On My Mind: Cultural Capital of Black America, 1900-1968 [N.Y. L M314.68 H372]
  • Voices from the Front Line: New York's African American Statesmen of the Underground Railroad Freedom Trail and the United States Colored Troops Organized in the Empire State, 1863-1865 [N.Y. G 91 A461]
  • Walker, George E. Afro-American in New York City, 1827-1860 [N.Y. L M314.97 W34]
  • Wilson, Sherrill D. New York City's African Slave Owners: a Social and Material Culture History [N.Y. L M314.97 W54]
  • Zeller, Nancy Anne McClure, ed. A Beautiful & Fruitful Place: Selected Rensselaerswijck Papers [N.Y. G 55.57]

Northern States

  • Book of Black Birth in Bergen County, N.J., Between 1804 and 1844, as Recorded in the Bergen County Clerk's Office in Hackensack [N.J. L B453.35]
  • Brown, Barbara W. Black Roots in Southeastern Connecticut, 1650-1900 [Conn. G 86.1]
  • Caralho, Joseph Black Families in Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1650-1855 [Mass. L H186.8]
  • Dickenson, R. Boulton A Genealogical/Documentary Perspective of Princeton Black History, Based on "Reminiscences . . ." (1913) by Anna Bustill Smith [N.J. L P936.7]
  • Dorman, Franklin A. Twenty Families of Color in Massachusetts, 1742-1998 [Mass. G 83]
  • Jacobus, Donald Lines The Waterman Family [G W 3133]
  • Moss, George H. Jr., ed. Manumission Book of Monmouth Co., New Jersey [N.J. L M752.52]
  • Moss, George H. Jr., ed. Black Birth Book of Monmouth Co., New Jersey 1804-1848 [N.J. L M752.51]
  • National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution Minority Military Service: Connecticut, 1775-1783 [Conn. G 39.15]
  • National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution Minority Military Service: Maine, 1775-1783 [Maine G 5.7]
  • National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution Minority Military Service: Massachusetts [Mass. G 34.5]
  • National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution Minority Military Service: New Hampshire-Vermont, 1775-1783 [N.E. G 3.5]
  • National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution Minority Military Service: Rhode Island, 1775-1783 [R.I. G 12.6]
  • Price, Clement Alexander Freedom Not Far Distant: A Documentary History of Afro-Americans in New Jersey [N.J. 1.1 v. 16]
  • Rose, James M. and Barbara W. Brown Tapestry: A Living History of the Black Family in Southeastern Connecticut [Conn. G 86]
  • Smith, James Avery The History of the Black Population of Amherst, Massachusetts, 1728-1870 [Mass. L AM47.6]
  • Stapp, Carol Buchalter Afro-Americans in Antebellum Boston: An Analysis of Probate Records [Mass. L BOS. 160]
  • Yoshpe, Harry B. Record of Slave Manumissions in Albany, 1800-28 [N.Y. L AL13.98]
  • Yoshpe, Harry B. Record of Slave Manumissions in New York During the Colonial and Early National Periods [N.Y. L M314.97 Y6]

Southern States

  • Bracey, Susan L. Life by the Roaring Roanoke: A History of Mecklenburg Co. Virginia [Virginia L M466.4]
  • Dickenson, Richard B. Entitled! Free Papers in Appalachia Concerning Ante-bellum Freeborn Negroes & Emancipated Blacks of Montgomery Co, Virginia [Virgina L M 766.3]
  • Heinegg, Paul Free African Americans of North Caroline and Virginia [South.States G 33]
  • Heinegg, Paul Slave Marriages in Northampton Co, North Carolina [N.C. L N812.5]
  • Houston, William R.M. Colonial Residents of Virginia's Eastern Shore [Virginia L AC27.41K]
  • Kemble, Frances Anne Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation, 1838-1839 [Georgia G 7]
  • Latimer, Frances Bibbins Register of Free Negroes, Northampton Co., Virginia, 1853-1861 [Virginia L N812.8]
  • Morgan, Edmund Sears American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia [Virginia G 99]
  • Pinkard, Ophelia Taylor Descendants of Shandy Wesley Jones & Evalina Love Jones: The Story of an African American Family of Tuscaloosa, Alabama [G J 7253]
  • Register of Free Negroes and Also of Dower Slaves, Brunswick County, Virginia 1803-1850 [Virginia L B838.6]
  • Registers of Free Blacks 1810-1864 Augusta County, Virginia and Staunton, Virginia [Virginia L AU45.21]
  • Schreiner-Yantis, Netti The 1787 Census of Virginia: An Accounting of the Name of Every White Male Tithable Over 21 Years; The Number of White Males Between 16 and 21 Years; The Number of Slaves Over 16 and Those Under 16 Years… [Virginia G 4.03]
  • Wynne, Frances Hollaway North Carolina Extant Voter Registrations of 1867 [N.C. G 27]

Central States

  • Hine, Darlene Clark When the Truth is Told: A History of Black Women's Culture and Community in Indiana, 1875-1950 [Ind. G 21]
  • Register of Black, Mulatto, and Poor Persons in Four Ohio Counties, 1791-1861 [Ohio G 10]

Manuscripts (available to members only)

  • 1870 African Americans in the U.S. Federal Census [CENSUS INDEXES 1870 COMP. DISK]
  • 1870: Asians, Australians, Mid Easterners & Africans in the U.S. Federal Census [CENSUS INDEXES 1870 COMP. DISK]
  • African American Genealogy, 1850-1880 [E 185.2 A37 COMP. DISK]
  • Alex Haley's Hoax [File (Afro-American)]
  • Carleton's Loyalist Index: a Select Index to the Names of Loyalists and Their Associates Contained in the British Headquarter's Papers, New York City, 1774-1783 and the Book of Negroes [E 277 C375 COMP. DISK ]
  • Death of a Black Dream [File (Afro-American)]
  • Early Records of the Methodist Episcopal Church [File (Methodist Episcopal Church, Flushing, N.Y.)]
  • Blackwell Family Slaves [File (Blackwell Family)]
  • Freedman's Bank Records [E 185.2 F75 COMP. DISK]
  • Saddle River Dutch Reformed Church & Cemetery [Locality Shelf 4 (N5 S23)]
  • Samuel Anderson-The Last Flatbush Slave [File 1 (AN241)]
  • We Are Family: Ancestors of Parker of Antigua, West Indies [Family Shelf (Parker)]

General Histories

  • Ball, Edward Slaves in the Family [G B 2105]
  • Beach, Merrill A. From Valley Forge to Freedom: A Story of a Black Patriot [E 444 H38 B42]
  • Berlin, Ira Many Thousands Gone: the First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America [E 446 B49]
  • Ciment, James Atlas of African-American history [E 185 C55]
  • Douglass, Paul Black Apostle to Yankeeland: Egalitarian Catchold Who Overlived His Caste [N.E. G 45.1]
  • Gutman, Herbert G. The Black Family in Slavery & Freedom, 1750-1925 [E 185.86 G77]
  • Hodges, Graham Russell The Black Loyalist Directory: African Americans in Exile After the American Revolution [E 277 B57]
  • Quarles, Benjamin The Negro in the American Revolution [E 269 N3 Q37]
  • Schubert, Frank On the Trail of the Buffalo Soldier: Biographies of African Americans in the US Army, 1866-1917 [U 52 O5]
  • Shuffelton, Frank, ed. A Mixed Race: Ethnicity in Early America [PS 186 M58]

Biographies/Genealogies

  • Adams, Charles Franklin Richard Henry Dara: A Biography [E 415.9 D15 A12]
  • Birney, William James G. Birney, A History & His Times: The Genesis of the Republican Party with Some Account of Abolition Movements in the South before 1828 [E 340 B6 B62]
  • Child, Lydia Maria Isaac T. Happer: A True Life [E 449 H7]
  • Crosby, Ernest Howard Garrison, The Non-Resistant [E 449 G37 C76]
  • Newman, Richard "The Presence of the Lord": An Unpublished Sermon by Lemuel Haynes [BX 7260 H39 N48]
  • Sanburn, Franklin Benjamin Memoirs of John Brown, Written for Rev. Samuel Orcutt's History of Torrington, Ct. [CT 219 G76 v.4]
  • Still, James Early Recollections & Life of Dr. James Still, 1812-1885 [R 154 S8348 A33]
  • Tappan, Lewis The Life of Arthur Tappan [E 449 T16]
  • Wiencek, Henry The Hairstons: an American Family in Black and White [G H 1279]
  • Woolman, John Journals and Essay of John Woolman [BX 7795 W7 A3]
  • Wyman, Lillie Buffen Chace Elizabeth Buffum Chace, 1806-1899: Her Life and Environment [CT 275 C485 W8]

Periodicals

  • African American Historical and Genealogical Society Newsletter – Jean Sampson Scott Greater New York Chapter [E185.89 A35]
  • Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Newsletter [E 185.89 A36]
  • Journal of the Afro-American Historical Society [E 185.5 A35]
  • Long Island Griot [L.I. G 29]
  • New Jersey Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Newsletter [NJ G12.5]
  • Newsletter of the African Burial Ground & Five Points Archaeological Project [N.Y. L M314.97 U6]

Some Articles In The NYG&B Record

  • Abstracts of Early Black Manhattanites volume 116, number 2 (April 1985)
  • Abstracts of Early Black Manhattanites volume 116, number 3 (July 1985)
  • Swan J. Van Luane, Free Black, 17th Century, New York volume 125, number 2 (April 1994)

Compiled by Carla M. Moscoso, Library Assistant and
Catherine M. Ellard, Assistant Librarian

Note. The references listed in the excellent bibliography above are no longer available at the NYG&B Library. They are, however, available at the New York Public Library where our collection is now housed.

by Henry B. Hoff, CG, FASG, FGBS

Originally published in The New York Researcher, Winter 2010

© 2011 The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

All rights reserved.