Research Resources

The African American Gateway, created by the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library, provides access to research resources organized by U.S. states, U.S. regions, other countries, and subjects. The site serves as a directory of web resources and bibliographies to help researchers locate information for specific geographic areas and topics related to African American genealogy.

African American Heritage from the National Archives provides research guidance for exploring the African American experience through federal records. The page includes information on slavery, military service, the Freedmen's Bureau, the Freedman's Bank, civil rights, census records, and other historical records, along with research guides, online resources, educational materials, and access to National Archives collections that document African American history.

AfriGeneas is a free website dedicated to African American genealogy and African ancestry research in the Americas. The site combines searchable genealogy databases with an active research community through message boards, mailing lists, and genealogy chats. Researchers will also find surname, marriage, death, and slave record databases, along with state, world, and other genealogy resources.

The Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving African-ancestored family history, genealogy, and cultural diversity. The website provides genealogy resources, educational programs, publications, research guidance, and information about local chapters, conferences, and other opportunities to learn and collaborate with researchers.

The Digital Library on American Slavery is a free research resource from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro that brings together searchable databases documenting slavery in the American South. Collections include slave deeds, runaway slave advertisements, legislative and court petitions, and related records that identify enslaved people, enslavers, and free people of color by name. The site also provides digital images, transcripts, and searchable indexes for many records.

Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade is a free, searchable database that brings together records from numerous projects documenting the lives of people connected with the historical slave trade. Researchers can search for enslaved individuals, enslavers, slave traders, and others appearing in historical records, while exploring linked biographies, events, places, and relationships drawn from a growing collection of datasets.

SlaveVoyages is a collaborative digital resource documenting the transatlantic and intra-American slave trades. Researchers can search databases of more than 36,000 slave voyages, explore records of enslaved Africans, view historical maps and images, and use interactive tools to study the history of the Atlantic slave trade.