Friends of the City of Raleigh Museum is presenting a virtual African American Genealogy Symposium on Saturday, February 12th, and Sunday, February 13th, 2022.
It’s free to attend, but pre-registration is required.
Learn about more Black History Month events throughout the Triangle.
On Saturday, the sessions will feature researchers and scholars presenting little known archival resources that help connect families through enslavement periods. Register here for the Saturday symposium.
On Sunday, members of the public can sign up for one-hour slots to virtually meet with genealogy volunteers from the Wake County Genealogical Society and the Wake County chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, to get started on their own family research. Register here for a time slot on Sunday.
African American Genealogy Symposium
Saturday, February 12th, 2022
10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Register
10 am – Welcome and Introduction
10:30 – 11:30am Connecting the Dots: Hunter Family Project
This presentation will be made by members of the Ned Hunter family who will share their use of DNA test results to trace their roots from Nigeria and Cameroon to America. They will share the use of legal documents to trace their roots to Wake County and to Spring Hill Plantation at Dorothea Dix Park. In addition to discussing the challenges of 18th century ancestry tracing, the family will share their goal to have the Spring Hill Plantation enslaved story remembered at Dix Park.
11:45 – 12:45pm Slave Petitions Project at UNC-Greensboro – Dr. Loren Schwinger
Established in 1991, the Race and Slavery Petitions Project was designed to locate, collect, organize, and publish all extant legislative petitions relevant to slavery, and a selected group of county court petitions from the fifteen former slaveholding states and the District of Columbia, during the period from the American Revolution through the Civil War.
1:00 – 1:45pm Runaway Advertisements in North Carolina- Dr. Freddie Parker
Published in 1994, Stealing a Little Freedom: Advertisements for Slave Runaways in North Carolina, 1791-1840), is a compilation of 2,145 newspaper notices for nearly 2,700 slaves who ran away from their owners in North Carolina collected by NCCU history professor emeritus Freddie Parker. Slave owners in North Carolina used the state’s press as a last resort to aid them in retrieving their escaped property. The advertisements are rich in detail, and provide important information about the men, women, and children who were slaves in North Carolina, frequently including their name, complexion, weight, height, scars or whip marks, and other physical descriptions
2:00 – 2:45pm From Naming to Knowing: Uncovering the Capitol’s Enslaved Laborers -NC State Capital Staff
Over the past fifteen years, the interpretation of the state Capitol evolved to include enslaved people, but few specifics were known. The Capitol’s staff have made enormous strides in researching, documenting, and building individual narratives for the nearly 140 enslaved workers employed at the Capitol. This session will present this multi-year project, emphasize the research methods used to compile information, and discuss how this type of research can connect our historic spaces to underrepresented or marginalized communities. The session will discuss the impact this undertaking had upon us as researchers, emphasizing the emotions we felt during an extended and intense study of historical trauma. We will also discuss plans for this research – which include a publicly searchable website and connection with descendants in the wider community.
African American Genealogy Symposium — Private Genealogy Sessions
Sunday, February 13th, 2022
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Register
Meet virtually with genealogy volunteers from the Wake County Genealogical Society and the Wake County chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society to get started on your own family research or discuss difficult topics.
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More Black History Month Events
Check out a list of Black History Month events and sites in the Triangle, or look at a quick list here:
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