Black Families of Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1650-1865, 2nd Edtion

This extensively researched and expanded volume chronicles the lives of African American individuals and families who lived in the area now known as Hampden County in western Massachusetts between the years 1650 and 1865. Author Joseph Carvalho III has relied on a wide variety of sources-including church records, ministers' journals, family papers, court records, newspapers, U.S. and Massachusetts census reports, military and pension records, city directories, and cemetery records-to piece together family relationships. As a result of this additional research, the revised edition includes noteworthy new material. This compilation of genealogical, biographical, and historical information not only brings these individuals to life but also provides the student of regional black history with a comprehensive view of the community at a pivotal time in history. Carvalho's first edition of Black Families in Hampden County created a model for grassroots-level studies of African-American life. His second edition has now significantly raised the bar for thorough and creative use of historical resources. -Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, Samford University Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research This new edition is a must for any serious student of African American History. Joe Carvalho's painstaking research into one county's journey from slavery to fighting for freedom is a must read and a fantastic reference. -Wayne E. Phaneuf, executive editor of The Republican and local historian . . . a rich and revealing portrait of the evolution of the African American community in a significant area of New England. -L. Mara Dodge, editor of Historical Journal of Massachusetts Winner of the 2012 Historical Journal of Massachusetts Editor's Choice Award