Product Description

Trace, document, record, and write your family's history with this easy-to-read, step-by-step authoritative guide.

Finally, here is the fun, easy-to-use guide that African Americans have been waiting for since Alex Haley published Roots more than twenty-five years ago. Written by the leading African American professional genealogist in the United States who teaches and lectures widely, Black Roots highlights some of the special problems, solutions, and sources unique to African Americans. Based on solid genealogical principles and designed for those who have little or no experience researching their family's past, but valuable to any genealogist, this book explains everything you need to get started, including: where to search close to home, where to write for records, how to make the best use of libraries and the Internet, and how to organize research, analyze historical documents, and write the family history.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #207366 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Amazon.com Review
The search for family origin has been a preoccupation of African Americans for centuries, long before Alex Haley's Roots. The task has become easier in recent years, thanks to the advent of the Internet and genealogy organizations. Now add Tony Burroughs's excellent primer, Black Roots, to the list of necessary research tools. Written for the general reader, Burroughs details the best methods and research techniques for mapping family histories, and explains how to navigate the endless labyrinths of myths, stories, omissions, and official records. "Genealogy is important for kids to know their heritage, who their ancestors are and what they accomplished," he writes. "If African American youngsters learn genealogy early enough, it can make a big difference in their lives. Genealogy can not only help kids understand the world but can give them respect for their elders, bridge generation gaps, and heal family wounds."

Using case histories as examples, Burroughs outlines six phases of African American genealogy: oral histories; family research to 1870; the identification of the last slave owner; the research of the owner's background; a trip to Africa; and research in Canada and the Caribbean. Burroughs shows how to research birth, marriage, and death certificates; obituaries; social security records; and even trace histories in other countries and across racial lines. With over 100 illustrations, photographs of real documents, and sample worksheets, Burroughs has put together a comprehensive guide for prospective genealogists. "Now that you have assumed the position of family historian, remember that it comes with responsibilities," he writes. "You are entrusted with the responsibility to trace your family history thoroughly and accurately." After all, your descendents are counting on you. --Eugene Holley Jr.

About the Author
Tony Burroughs is an internationally known genealogist, and author, who teaches genealogy at Chicago State University. He lectures throughout the United States on all aspects of genealogy, serves on the Board of Trustees for the Association of Professional Genealogists as well as other national boards, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the National Genealogical Society. He has traced two family lines back seven generations. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
from Part I: Fundamentals: The Building Blocks of African American Genealogy

Beginning a new venture can be either fun or frustrating. In any sport, game, hobby, or endeavor, you do not have to read a book, take a class, or have a tutor to learn a new skill. The old method of trial and error still works. This is true in genealogy as well as other disciplines. So I would never be one to say there is only one way to do genealogy and if you don't do it that way you won't be successful. But to me, trial and error can be very frustrating.

Experience has shown that if you learn the fundamentals in a new area and follow them, you will likely become more successful and at a faster pace. You can benefit from my mistakes and those of other genealogists. Of course, if you only believed in the trial-and-error method, you probably wouldn't be reading this book.

Through solving major problems of my own, pondering the problems of others, and studying genealogy and African American history, I have developed six distinct phases of African American genealogy. If you understand and master each phase before proceeding to the next one, I believe you will be very successful.

Remember that fundamental genealogy starts from the known and proceeds to the unknown, one generation at a time. You may have the name of an old ancestor, perhaps a great-great-grandparent who was a slave. You may or may not know much about this ancestor. If you haven't completed the stages that lead back to this ancestor, you are not prepared to research that ancestor. You will not have enough information to be successful. If you thoroughly cover these phases and steps, you will pick up information along the way that will be essential in researching this ancestor. You will then be in a much better position to research that ancestor when you get your research back that far.

The Six Phases of African American Genealogy

1. Gather Oral History and Family Records
2. Research the Family to 1870
3. Identify the Last Slave Owner
4. Research the Slave Owner and Slavery
5. Go Back to Africa
6. Research Canada and the Caribbean

Phase I -- Gather Oral History and Family Records

We've said genealogy starts with ourselves and proceeds backward. You are the first link in your family tree. So genealogy begins with recalling and recording things about yourself and beginning to write your autobiography. Next you'll need to interview your parents and other older relatives, pumping them for information. You'll then look at things lying around the house in trunks, attics, basements, bookcases, and shoe boxes that can add to knowledge of your family tree. Things like family papers, records, photos, and souvenirs. To sort out all this data, you'll organize it into genealogy charts that trace bloodlines and group people in family units. All these things are parts of beginning genealogy.

Phase II -- Research the Family to 1870

After you exhaust sources at home, you'll venture out to locate records in the community. The objective is to research your family back to 1870. This is a key date because most African Americans were enslaved prior to the Civil War. But not all African Americans were enslaved before the Civil War. There were more than 200,000 free Blacks in the North and another 200,000 free in the South prior to the Civil War. Unfortunately, many genealogists assume their ancestors were slaves and run into a brick wall because their ancestors were actually free prior to the Emancipation Proclamation.

Additional beginning sources include records in cemeteries and funeral homes, birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce records, obituaries, published biographies and family histories, old city directories and telephone directories, Social Security records, and U.S. Census records.

Intermediate sources include records of wills, probates, estates, real estate, taxes, voter registrations, schools, churches, places of employment, military service, and civil and criminal courts. The intermediate phase also includes studying U.S. history, African American history, local history, and military history.

Phase III -- Identify the Last Slave Owner

Once researchers have thoroughly completed the above records and traced their pedigree to 1870, they've arrived at the advanced stage of research. Unfortunately, many more people think they are there before they actually are. Just because you have identified an ancestor who lived in 1870 or earlier does not mean you have qualified for the advanced stage. Only after you have thoroughly exhausted the records and historical research listed above have you progressed to the advanced stage.

Once here, if your ancestors were enslaved, you have to identify the name of the last slave owner. This may sound unusual because we've all been led to believe our surnames came from the slave owner. But remember, genealogy is based on fact, not assumptions and rumor. Most African Americans are not as fortunate as Alex Haley to have the name of the slave owner passed down from generation to generation. They will have to look to specific sources to identify who was the last slave owner prior to emancipation. Even if the name of the slave owner has been passed down through the oral history of your family, you'll need to search for documentary evidence to verify it. Slave genealogy cannot be done without the name of the former slave owner.

You'll need to study the history of Reconstruction and then research Reconstruction-era sources for evidence of your ancestors and records that identify the name of the last slave owner. You'll also need to study Civil War history and records generated by the Civil War.

Phase IV -- Research the Slave Owner and Slavery

Once the name of the last slave owner is identified, the next step is to research the history of slavery and understand the conditions, laws, customs, and practices that governed slavery and enslaved Africans. This subject is not taught in detail in school, so you must study it. Then you need to research the slave owner to see what he did with his property, because slaves were property -- bought, sold, and traded like hogs, cattle, and tools. At this point you are doing the genealogy of the slave owner as well as the genealogy of the slave. It's double work.

Phase V -- Go Back to Africa

The next phase is to look for clues and mentions of slave origins in Africa. Again, you will have to look for bits and pieces of evidence. You cannot rely on family rumors or facial features that have been altered through several generations and many years of evolution and intermixing with other races. Many people of African descent have been here for over three hundred years. You'll need to study the slave trade and the Middle Passage, which brought slaves from Africa to America.

Phase VI -- Research Canada and the Caribbean

Some of you will discover your ancestors did not come to America directly from Africa; they came from the Caribbean. So you'll need to study the migrations of enslaved Africans from Africa to the Caribbean to America. You'll then search for records indicating origins in the Caribbean and then from Africa to the Caribbean.

You may discover your ancestors came to the United States from Canada. You'll have to study the Underground Railroad and trace your ancestors back and forth across the border and then to Africa or the Caribbean. But you must study the history before searching for your ancestors.

This book covers in detail only the beginning steps of genealogical research, Phase I and half of Phase II. To be most successful, these steps, or fundamentals, should be followed in sequence. I know some of you may already have done one or two of the items on this list. For example, some of you may already have talked to older relatives. You may already know three, four, or five generations of your family history from family discussions or from attending family reunions. That is good because you will need that information. You have a head start. Some of you may even have been to the National Archives to research census records but not completed earlier steps, such as obtaining birth and death certificates. Even though you have a head start on some research, you should use these fundamentals. You should read each chapter in detail because it will probably mention things you have not done, things you didn't fully understand, or things you never even thought about. You will probably need to go back to one of your earlier sources to obtain additional information.

When researchers get stuck researching an ancestor, it is often the result of skipping over fundamental steps. Others might not have been thorough in completing various steps. The process is very similar to spring training in professional baseball. Players learn the fundamentals and practice executing them perfectly, over and over again. No matter how experienced a ball player is, every spring he reports to camp and repeats the fundamentals.

Copyright © 2001 by Tony Burroughs

Customer Reviews

"Trapped"- One Way or Another
Black Roots delivers far beyond the stated expectations. Not only is it a one of a kind comprehensive guide for the new genealogist, but serves as a corrective resource for the more advanced researcher. Unlike traditional guides, Mr.Burroughs'largely first person, experiential accounts are so genuine, that he effortlessly, fervently and even humorously, challenges the reader to explore self, family and the human experience in general. He sets forth thirty-four(34) "traps" that the beginning genealogist should avoid, which is a unique feature to a genealogical guide. Traps are interspersed throughout the chapters and reviewed together in the appendix. One can surmise that some of these traps evolved from Mr. Burroughs' early personal blunders. Although the Book's title addresses African American research, his expert advice transcends culture/ethnicity.

Black Roots borders on over-kill; so, readers who shy away from intensity may not get beyond the first twenty-five pages. Mr. Burroughs states that his book is limited in scope, yet he leaves no stone unturned. His dictate for scientific methodology, discipline and tenacity throughout, may be somewhat intimidating to the faint hearted new researcher who thinks genealogy is "merely a hobby". Although he shares plenty of motivational lifts such as "Have fun and Don't give up", some may not see any amusement in the phrase,"the study of..." On the other hand, it would be difficult not to be trapped by Mr. Burroughs' fire and passion for the study of...genealogy.

A Genealogy Classic in the Making
"Black Roots," by renown Black genealogists Tony Burroughs is without doubt the best "how-to" book on getting started in African American genealogy that has been written for the beginner. Bringing to bear his wide experience as a teacher, lecturer, and researcher, Mr Burroughs addresses in detail all of the traditional, as well as non-traditional, elements that make for searching, researching, and documenting a genealogy as well as family history. This book is extremely well written, illustrated, and organized; suitable for use for individual study as well as classroom use. In addition to containg numerous clear examples for his narratives in its twenty chapters, the book also has a set of excellent appendixes covering: a glossary, acronyms, traps, a short biography of Robert Elliott Burroughs (one of the "skeletons" all genealogists find, and the author's uncle), a directory of sources, and an excellent bibliography. If one buys only one book this year, I strongly recommend: "Black Roots," by Tony Burroughs.

Priceless info
Having researched my own family history for the past two years, I anxiuosly read Mr. Burroughs' book after meeting him at a book signing. And it is through my own experiences that I can reccommend this book for the beginning and advanced genealogist, and even for those with a passing interest in family history.

The book validated many of the steps that I had already taken, and offered guidelines for increasing the depth of my research. Moreover, the book walks you from the research gathering stage into the synthesis and publication stages, which seem to be the toughest for all.

As far as African-American genealogy, Mr. Burroughs focuses on the importance of oral history and the special problems of tracing family history through slavery.

I WISH THAT I HAD THIS BOOK WHEN I STARTED! But, I am glad that I have it now.