Searching | Browsing | Working with what you find | Contents
Searching
Online genealogical research is largely about searching through record collections. Because of the different ways that records are collected and stored, as well as the different kinds of sources—such as books—that we make available, how you search in ProQuest African American Genealogy varies.
Searching Record Collections
A 'collection' is a set of a particular kind of records. Collections that you can search in ProQuest African American Heritage include:
You can search across all collections at once, or search them separately.
Search tips and rules
Whether you are searching across all collections, or searching a single collection, the following tips and rules apply.
- Narrowing your search — On a search page that provides multiple boxes for you to type, and multiple lists from which you can select — always enter or select as much information as you have. The more information you can enter, the more focused your search will be, increasing the likelihood that you will find records about people you are interested in. This technique of providing more search information to zero in on what you want is frequently referred to as narrowing your search. For example, if you only enter a last name and a first name, you will get many more results to page through than if you were to also select a state. Similarly, if you provide even more information, such as adding a date range, you will make your search even narrower and more focused.
If you are getting too many results, try narrowing your search. - Broadening your search — As the term suggests, broadening your search is just the opposite of narrowing. By providing less search information, for example by leaving the State drop-down value at the default All rather than specifying a particular state, you will get many more results.
If you are getting too few results, try broadening your search. - Unless you are certain of the spelling of a Last Name, select Soundex from the Last Name Spelling drop-down. Soundex will direct the search engine to return records that match not just what you entered, but also last names that sound similar to what you entered, but are spelled differently. For example, if you entered Wilson with Soundex selected, your results may contain similar last names such as Wilkens, Wilkson, and Willson. The default selection on the drop-down is Exact, which means just that — if you enter Wilson, you will get only records that contain Wilson...spelled exactly that way.
- In any box on a search form, you can enter any combination of both letter (alpha) and number (numeric) characters.
- It does not make any difference whether you capitalize or don't capitalize letters that you enter. The search engine will interpret the characters the same way. For example, 'Henderson' will be interpreted the same as 'henderson.' This behavior is often called case insensitive, as opposed to case sensitive...where it does matter if you enter characters in uppercase or lowercase.
- Each page of your search results can contain a maximum of 100 records.
Search All Collections
- Enter as much information about the person as you know.
- Click Search.
You can search across all available collections from two places in ProQuest African American Heritage:
- From the search form in the sidebar on the product homepage. The product homepage displays when you click Home on the navigation bar.
- From the main search page that displays when you click Search on the navigation bar.
Simply enter or specify as much information as you know and click Search. Things to know include:
- Year Range — Enter years as four-digit numbers. For example, 1891. If you want to specify only a single year, you can do any of the following:
- Enter the year in only the To field, leaving From blank.
- Enter the year in only the From field, leaving To blank.
- Enter the same year in both the To and the From fields.
- Clear Search — Click this button to remove any information you typed in the search fields, and reset all of the drop-downs (such as State) to their default values.
- Review the tips and rules for searching the collections.
All Collections — Search Results
Your search results include:
- The total number of results your search returned in all available collections.
- The number of results in each collection.
You can:
- Click the collection name in the Collection column to display the results from that collection.
- Click the icon in the About the Collection column to read a brief description.
- Click the Refine Search button in the left sidebar to return to the search form and modify (refine) your search.
- Click the Go to Main Search link in the left sidebar to create a new search.
If your search returned no results:
- Check your spelling.
- Select Soundex from the Last Name Spelling drop-down, to broaden your search.
- Also broaden your search by removing a first name for example.
Search Birth, Marriage, Death records
There are currently two record types available:
- Cohabitation records (North Carolina)
- Marriage records (North Carolina and West Virginia)
Things to know about searching Birth, Marriage, Death records:
- You must enter or select at least one value—such as a Last Name or State to get results.
- If you provide enough search detail, a results list of matching records will display.
- If you do not provide enough search detail, you will need to make those selections in your search results by clicking State or County links before a list of matching records displays.
- ProQuest African American Heritage returns a maximum of 1,000 matching records for display. If your search returns more than 1,000 records, a message displays offering suggestions about how you can refine your search to make it more focused.
- Click the Show more search options link at the bottom of the search form to access additional search options for either Cohabitation or Marriage records.
- Click the Hide more search options link to remove the additional search options from view.
Birth, Marriage, Death — Search Results
On the search form, you selected either Cohabitation or Marriage. After selecting one of those record types, and provided the search criteria you entered and selected was specific enough, a list of matching records displays. You can:
- Click any link in the Last Name column to display the corresponding record image.
- Click any of the results column headers to sort your results on that header. For example, Age or Spouse First Name. Click the header a second time to reverse the sort order. For example, clicking the State header sorts your results from A to Z. Clicking the State header a second time sorts your results from Z to A.
- Select the checkbox in the first column to add the corresponding item to My Notebook.
- Click the Refine Search button in the left sidebar to return to the search form and modify (refine) your search.
- Click the Go to Main Search link in the left sidebar to create a new search.
- Click the Select from list links corresponding to County, Origin (cohabitation), or Place of Marriage to select from alphabetically-ordered master lists in out databases.
If your search did not include a State your search results are not a list of matching records. Depending on what you did not include in your search, you can:
- Click the Cohabitation or Marriage link in the header to return a list of matching records if the total number is shown as less than 1,000. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
- Click a State or County link to display a list of matching records. If the total number of available records within either selection is shown as less than 1,000 a list of matching records will display. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
If your search returned no results:
- Check your spelling.
- Select Soundex from the Last Name Spelling drop-down, to broaden your search.
- Also broaden your search by removing a first name for example.
Search the U.S. Federal Census
First conducted in 1790, the U.S. Federal Census has occurred every ten years since then. The 1860 Federal Census was the first to recognize and count African Americans as individual citizens. For that reason, we provide searchable records here for census years 1860 and forward only. The records available here include only those for individuals whose race is recorded as Black or Mulatto. (All census years, starting with 1790, are available for browsing.)
- Enter or select as much information as you know.
- Click Search.
Things to know about searching the Federal Census:
- You must enter or select at least one value—such as a Last Name, State, or Census Year—to get results.
- If you provide enough search detail, including a Last Name, Census Year, State, and County—a results list of matching records will display.
- If you do not provide enough search detail—such as not selecting a State or Census Year—you will need to make those selections in your search results, by clicking Census Year, State, or County links before a list of matching records displays.
- ProQuest African American Heritage returns a maximum of 1,000 matching Federal Census records for display. If your search returns more than 1,000 records, a message displays offering suggestions about how you can refine your search to make it more focused.
- Click the Show more search options link beneath the State drop-down to access additional search options, including Age, Sex, Race, and Birthplace
- Click the Hide more search options link to remove the additional search options from view.
- Age, sex, race, and birthplace are available only for 1850 forward (with the exception of 1890). Entering values in these fields will return results for 1850 and forward only.
- Fire destroyed most of the 1890 census. Age, sex, race, and birthplace values for 1890 are all shown as 'Not Recorded.'
Some 1890 records for the District of Columbia and the following ten states are available:
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Click the Select from list links corresponding to County, Location, and Birthplace to select from alphabetically-ordered master lists of all counties, locations, and birthplaces in our Federal Census database.
- Review the tips and rules for searching collections.
Federal Census — Search Results
If your search included: Last Name, Census Year, State, and County, your search results are a list of matching records. You can:
- Click any link in the Last Name column to display the corresponding record image.
- Click any of the results column headers to sort your results on that header. For example, State or Age. Click the header a second time to reverse the sort order. For example, clicking the Age header sorts your results from youngest age to oldest. Clicking the Age header a second time sorts your results from oldest age to youngest.
If your search did not include one or more of: Last Name, Census Year, State, or County, your search results are not a list of matching records. Depending on what you did not include in your search, you can:
- Click the US Federal Census link in the header to return a list of matching records if the total number is shown as less than 1,000. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
- Click a Census Year in the first column to display a list of matching records. If the total number is shown as less than 1,000. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
- Click the Expand by State link corresponding to a year, and then select a county.
You can also:
- Click the Refine Search button in the left sidebar to return to the search form and modify (refine) your search.
- Click the Go to Main Search link in the left sidebar to create a new search.
- Select the checkbox in the first column to add the corresponding item to My Notebook.
If your search returned no results:
- Check your spelling.
- Select Soundex from the Last Name Spelling drop-down, to broaden your search.
- Also broaden your search by removing a first name for example.
Search Freedman's Bank records
The Freedman’s Bank (Freedman's Savings and Trust Company) was created in 1865 by the United States government to serve and encourage the African American community in the aftermath of the Civil War and emancipation. The bank operated until its failure in 1874. Its records provide information about the individuals and communities it served. The first branch opened in Baltimore, MD. In 1874, Frederick Douglas took on the job of president of Freedman's Bank in an unsuccessful attempt to guide it through a time of crisis brought on both by poor management and national economic depression.
- Enter as much information as you know.
- Click Search.
Freedman's Bank — Search Results
You can:
- Click any link in the Last Name column to display the corresponding record image.
- Click any of the results column headers to sort your results on that header. For example, Branch City or App(lication) Year. Click the header a second time to reverse the sort order. For example, clicking the Branch City header sorts your results from A to Z. Clicking the Branch City header a second time sorts your results from Z to A.
- Select the checkbox in the first column to add the corresponding item to My Notebook.
- Click the Refine Search button in the left sidebar to return to the search form and modify (refine) your search.
- Click the Go to Main Search link in the left sidebar to create a new search.
If your search returned no results:
- Check your spelling.
- Select Soundex from the Last Name Spelling drop-down, to broaden your search.
- Also broaden your search by removing a first name for example.
Search Military records
Military service is an important part of the African American experience. From the Revolutionary War through today's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, African Americans have distinguished themselves in the service of the United States—in all branches of the military. Military Records includes three collections:
- World War I Draft Registrations — America entered World War I on April 6, 1917. Out of the total 24 million U.S. draft registrations from 1917 and 1918, nearly 2,000,000 records—representing African Americans registrations—are available here.
- World War II Draft Registrations — The so-called 'old man's registration' of 1942, this is the only one of seven World War II draft registrations currently available to the public. (Privacy laws determine when records are made public.) The men included in this registration were between the ages of 45 and 64, and although required to register, were deemed too old to serve.
WWII Record Availability — Records for the following states (and Puerto Rico) are complete.
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
WWII Record Availability — Records for the following states are incomplete.
- Arkansas
- California
- Indiana
- New York
- Ohio
WWII Record Availability — The vast majority of records for the following states were destroyed by fire and are therefore unavailable.
- Alabama
- Florida
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- U.S. Colored Troops Service Records — The compiled records of volunteer Union soldiers who served with the United States Colored Troops from 1861–1865.
To search Military records:
- Select Draft Registrations or Service from the Record Type drop list.
- Enter or select as much information as you know. (If you select Draft Registrations, use the Registration Year drop-down to focus on either WWI or WWII registrations.)
- Click Search.
Things to know about searching Military records:
WWII draft registrations cards are also two-sided.
The front of the card recorded the following information:
The back of the card recorded the following information:
- You must enter or select at least one value—such as a Last Name, First Name, or State—to get results.
- Only 50% of U.S. Colored Troops Service records include a state name. To find records that do not reference a state name, select All or Not Recorded from the State drop-list.
- Only 53% of U.S. Colored Troops Service records include a year. To find records that do not reference a year, leave the Year Range boxes blank.
- There were three separate draft registrations for WWI.
- June 5, 1917, for men between the ages of 21 and 31
- June 5, 1918, for men who reached age 21 after June 5, 1917
- September 12, 1918, for men age 18–45
- With some variations, all three WWI registrations collected most of the following basic information on two-sided cards:
- Name
- Home address
- Date of birth
- Age
- Marital status
- Occupation
- Name and address of employer
- Citizenship status
- Citizen of what country
- Race
- Eye color
- Hair color
- Height
- Build
- City/county and state of the local draft board
- Name
- Place of residence
- Mailing address
- Telephone
- Age in Years; Date of Birth
- Place of Birth
- Name and Address of Person Who Will Always Know Your Address
- Employer’s Name and Address
- Place of Employment or Business
- Race
- Height
- Weight
- Eyes
- Hair
- Complexion
- WWI and WWII draft registration records available here do not consistently adhere to National Archives naming/numbering conventions. For this reason, we caution against using the series and roll information displayed for these records to order or view microfilm from the National Archives.
- As you explore WWI draft registration cards, you'll notice that the lower left corner is usually missing. Although not practiced through the entirety of the draft, the registrar was, for a time, asked to tear the corner off if, 'this person is of African descent.'
- ProQuest African American Heritage returns a maximum of 1,000 matching Military records for display. If your search returns more than 1,000 records, a message displays offering suggestions about how you can refine your search to make it more focused.
- Click the Show more search options link beneath the State drop-down to access additional search options, including Birth Date and Birthplace.
- Click the Hide more search options link to remove the additional search options from view.
- Click the Select from list link corresponding to Birthplace or Unit to select from alphabetically-ordered master lists in our Military records database.
- Review the tips and rules for searching collections.
Military Records — Search Results
When you conduct a search, and then click through a state, county, or 'not recorded' link () with a corresponding record number less than 1,000, your search results are a list of matching records. You can:
- Click any link in the Last Name column to display the corresponding record image.
- Click any of the results column headers to sort your results on that header. For example, State or Age. Click the header a second time to reverse the sort order. For example, clicking the Age header sorts your results from youngest age to oldest. Clicking the Age header a second time sorts your results from oldest age to youngest.
Searching military records will require you to drill down at least to the state or county level to display a listing of matching records. Things to know include:
- Click the Draft Registration or Service Records link in the header to return a list of matching records if the total number is shown as less than 1,000. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
- Click a state name to display a list of matching records when the the total number is shown as less than 1,000. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
- For Draft Registrations, click the Expand by County link corresponding to a State. If the number of records is less than 1,000, a list of matching records will display. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
- Important: WWII draft registrations do not include 'County.' Consequently, if you select a state and then run a search of 1942 draft registrations only, the results list will show a single line item titled Not Recorded beneath the state name. (Depending on your search criteria, you may also see 'Not Recorded' displayed as the first line of your results—above a county list—when you specify a state and run your search against 'All' draft registrations. The records displayed when you click Not Recorded will be overwhelmingly from WWII.) If the number of records shown with Not Recorded is less than 1,000, a list of matching records will display. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search. WWI draft registrations do include 'County.'
You can also:
- Click the Refine Search button in the left sidebar to return to the search form and modify (refine) your search.
- Click the Go to Main Search link in the left sidebar to create a new search.
- Select the checkbox in the first column to add the corresponding item to My Notebook.
If your search returned no results:
- Check your spelling.
- Select Soundex from the Last Name Spelling drop-down, to broaden your search.
- Broaden your search by removing a first name for example.
- Remember that the only WWII draft registration available is the so-called 'old man's registration.' These were men who although too old to serve in 1942, were still required to register. If you are looking for uncles, grandfathers, or other relatives or persons who you know served in WWII, you will have to wait until those draft registration cards begin to become available to the public beginning sometime around 2012.
Search Slaves and Free(d) Persons of Color registers
Slaves and Free(d) Persons of Color registers form an invaluable collection with its roots in the institution of slavery. Although free persons of color were just that, free...that didn't mean that states didn't want to keep track of who was living where. By registering, African Americans of the time had 'papers' that they were required to provide in order to prove they were indeed, free. Prior to 1865, numerous states required that slaves and free(d) persons of color register with the county or city clerk. These registers are often helpful in African American genealogical research before the 1870 census. The registers cover approximately the years 1780 to 1866. The collection currently includes:
- Louisiana — Registers of both freed slaves and persons of color who were born free, having never been enslaved.
- Ohio — Registers of free blacks living in Ohio, most of them former slaves primarily from North Carolina and Virginia.
- Pennsylvannia — Registers of slaves only. The registers frequently include only a first name for individual slaves, along with the full name of the slave owner. A very common practice of the day was for slaves to take the last name of their owner. The Slaves and Free(d) Persons of Color search page allows you to search using the slave owner name.
To search Slaves and Free(d) People of Color registers:
- Select Registers from the Record Type drop list.
- Enter or select as much information as you know.
- Click Search.
Things to know about searching Slaves and Free(d) People of Color registers:
- You must enter or select at least one value—such as a Last Name, First Name, or State—to get results.
- Registers from Pennsylvannia are for slaves only. Only first names are shown for slaves; no last names were recorded. However, both first and last names are shown for the corresponding slave owner. Since many slaves took the owner's last name as their own, you might be able to pair a slave's recorded first name with their owner's last name and find an ancestor. Click the Show more search options link to access the Slave Owner Last Name field.
- Also accessible when you click Show more search options is a field labeled Origin. This field is most useful for Louisiana and Ohio registers.
- Ohio registers include both first and last names for former slaves who moved to the state, from primarily Virginia and North Carolina.
- ProQuest African American Heritage returns a maximum of 1,000 matching Slaves and Free(d) Persons of Color records for display. If your search returns more than 1,000 records, a message displays offering suggestions about how you can refine your search to make it more focused.
- Click the Show more search options link beneath the Year Recorded field to access additional search options, including Age Range and Slave Owner First/Last names.
- Click the Hide more search options link to remove the additional search options from view.
- Click the Select from list link corresponding to County or Origin to select from alphabetically-ordered master lists in our database.
- Review the tips and rules for searching collections.
Slave and Free(d) Persons of Color registers — Search Results
When you conduct a search, and then click through a state, county, or 'not recorded' link (with a corresponding record number less than 1,000), your search results are a list of matching records. You can:
- Click any link in the Last Name column to display the corresponding record image.
- Click any of the results column headers to sort your results on that header. For example, State or Age. Click the header a second time to reverse the sort order. For example, clicking the Age header sorts your results from youngest age to oldest. Clicking the Age header a second time sorts your results from oldest age to youngest.
Searching Slave and Free(d) Persons of Color registers will require you to drill down at least to the state or county level to display a listing of matching records. Things to know include:
- Click the Registers link in the header to return a list of matching records if the total number is shown as less than 1,000. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
- Click a state name to display a list of matching records when the the total number is shown as less than 1,000. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
- Click the Expand by County link corresponding to a State to show the number of matching records by county. Click a county name (or Not Recorded if available), to display a list of matching records, if under 1,000. If the number is greater than 1,000, you will have to refine your search.
You can also:
- Click the Refine Search button in the left sidebar to return to the search form and modify (refine) your search.
- Click the Go to Main Search link in the left sidebar to create a new search.
- Select the checkbox in the first column to add the corresponding item to My Notebook.
If your search returned no results:
- Check your spelling.
- Select Soundex from the Last Name Spelling drop-down, to broaden your search.
- Broaden your search by removing a first name for example.
Searching Publications
ProQuest African American Heritage provides a library of reference and how-to books. The library will grow over time.
- Enter or select as much information as you know.
- Click Search.
Things to know about searching publications:
- You must enter or select at least one value, such as a Person Name or Place Name, to get results.
- Click the Show more search options link beneath the Keywords box to access additional search options, including Title, Author, and Publisher.
- Click the Hide more search options to remove the additional search options from view.
- Click the Select from list links corresponding to Author, Publisher, and Subject to select from alphabetically-ordered master lists of all authors, publishers, and subjects in our publications database.
- Support for the following Boolean search operators: AND, OR (the default), AND NOT.
- AND — Example war AND Virginia AND lincoln will find publications that contain all three words.
- OR — Example war OR Virginia OR lincoln will find publications that contain any or all of the three words. If you enter more than one word, and do not surround the words with double quotes, OR is the default behavior.
- AND NOT — Example war AND NOT civil will find publications that contain war, but not civil.
- Wildcard support:
- Use an asterisk — to match zero or more characters. For example: Mer* will find Merril, Merrit, and Meredith.
You cannot use an asterisk as one of the first three characters of a search term. - Use a question mark — to match exactly one character. For example: W?lson will find Wilson and Wylson.
You cannot use a question mark as the first character of a search term.
- Search for an exact phrase by surrounding terms in double quotes. For example, "Freedman's Bank" will find occurrences of that exact phrase. Without the quotes, your search would return pages that contain either Freedman's or Bank.
Publications — Search Results
Your search results are presented as a table of publication that contain hits on your search term(s).
You can:
- Click a publication title link to display its citation and table of contents.
- Select the checkbox to add the citation for the corresponding book to My Notebook.
- Use the Sort by drop-down at the upper right of the page to re-order your search results. The default sort order is Best Match, which means the first publication title listed contains the most matches to your search terms. Other sort options include:
- Author
- Title
- Publication Date (ascending)
- Publication Date (descending)
If your search returned no results:
- Check your spelling.
- Try browsing available publications. Click Browse Publications in the left sidebar.
Searching Black Genesis
Black Genesis is a Special Online Edition of the book written by James M. Rose, Ph.D. and Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., CG. It is sub-titled "A Resource Book for African-American Genealogy." It is presented in ProQuest African American Heritage as a searchable (and browseable) Acrobat PDF. The book provides both background and guidance about African American genealogy. However, the largest portion of the book is given over to detailing what resources are available in each state (presented alphabetically), as well as Canada and the West Indies. The book is rich with links to Internet resources.
- Enter one or more words, or a phrase.
- Click Search.
Things to know about searching Black Genesis:
- Support for the following Boolean search operators: AND, OR (the default), AND NOT.
- AND — Example war AND Virginia AND lincoln will find pages that contain all three words.
- OR — Example war OR Virginia OR lincoln will find pages that contain any or all of the three words. If you enter more than one word, and do not surround the words with double quotes, OR is the default behavior.
- AND NOT — Example war AND NOT civil will find pages that contain war, but not civil.
- Wildcard support:
- Use an asterisk — to match zero or more characters. For example: Mer* will find Merril, Merrit, and Meredith.
You cannot use an asterisk as one of the first three characters of a search term. - Use a question mark — to match exactly one character. For example: W?lson will find Wilson and Wylson.
You cannot use a question mark as the first character of a search term.
- Search for an exact phrase by surrounding terms in double quotes. For example, "Freedman's Bank" will find occurrences of that exact phrase. Without the quotes, your search would return pages that contain either Freedman's or Bank.
Black Genesis — Search Results
Your search results are presented as a table containing the number of hits (matches), and the corresponding section of the book they were found in.
- The number in the Search term hits column is a link. Click the link to go to the first page in the section that contains the first hit.
- The section name in the Section column is a link. Click the link to go to the first page in that section.
- Select the checkbox to add the book citation to My Notebook.
- Click the Go to First Search Hit link to display the first book page that contains a hit.
If your search returned no results:
- Check your spelling.
- If you've entered multiple keywords, try removing one or more of them to broaden your search.
- Consider browsing Black Genesis. Click Browse the Table of Contents ont eh main Black Genesis page.
Your Search History
All of the searches that you conduct during your current session are recorded on the Search History page. A Search History link is available in the navigation bar at the top right of every page. If you do not interact—no searching, browsing, moving between pages, etc.—with ProQuest African American Heritage for a period of 30 minutes or longer, your session will automatically end and your search history is deleted.
Searches you've run appear listed under headers identifying where in the product you ran them from:
- All Collections — a search of all available record collections, run from either the homepage or the main Search page
- Census
- Freedman's Bank
- Publications
- Black Genesis
You can do three things on the Search History page:
- Under the heading Your Search, click a link to display the corresponding search form with all your terms and selections in place. You can re-run or modify the search.
- Under the heading Your Results, click a link to display the results corresponding to the search shown in the Your Search column.
- Click the Clear History link in the upper right of the page to delete your search history. All of your searches will be removed from the page.