Genealogy at a Glance: African American Genealogy Research

Nothing will get you going faster in African American genealogical research than this Genealogy at a Glance& publication. In just four pages, Michael Hait, author of the popular CD The Family History Research Toolkit, lays out the basic elements of African American research, boiling the subject down to its essence and allowing you to grasp the fundamentals of African American research at a glance.

Hait explains that there are three imperatives in African American genealogical research: (1) you must begin with interviews of family members; (2) you must check records of birth, marriage, and death; and (3) you must check federal census records, especially the crucial 1870 census, which was the first census to include information on former slaves.