Alabama African American Records

African American genealogical research often presents additional difficulties because record keeping for Black individuals was limited before the Civil War. For this reason, a separate section devoted to African American resources is appropriate, similar to the approach taken for Native American research, which faces comparable challenges. The resources linked from this page provide the principal sources currently available for researching Black genealogy in Alabama.

Although progress has been made in recent years, African American genealogy still requires careful, methodical work. New publications, bibliographies, and guides issued by genealogical societies and interest groups have improved access to relevant information, but the first step remains the same: organizing personal materials and applying standard research practices.

Researching African American families involves two broad periods, divided by the Civil War. Methods used for tracing enslaved individuals differ significantly from those used for white families or free African Americans before emancipation. After the war, African Americans appear in most of the same record types as white families, and research techniques largely converge.

Archives, Libraries and Societies

National Archives

Alabama Archives

Online Alabama Archives

Libraries

Societies

Biographies

Alabama African American Cemeteries

  • Access Genealogy’s Alabama Cemetery Records
    The most complete coverage of Cemetery records available on the web. They are broken down by county. We do know know if there are African Americans in these cemeteries, so you should browse them for ancestors also.

Alabama African American Census Records

Church Records

Court Records

History

Military Records

Miscellaneous

Native Americans and Freedman

Alabama Slave Owner Records

Surnames

Vital Records

Collection

AccessGenealogy. Black Genealogy. Web.

3 thoughts on “Alabama African American Records”

  1. I really appreciate all the hard work that was put in for this site. I will add this site as a tool for my researching of my King relatives. It was a great pleasure to know that Simon King my Great Great Great Grandfather was a Free Negro. I’m interested in any information on the King relatives from Perry County Alabama. Please keep up the excellent work.

    Reply

  2. I am looking for some family information on my Great Great Great Grandmother her name was Della (Debra) Harris, I believe she was named after the slave owner. She lived in Girard Alabama which was renamed Phoenix City Alabama. Any information will do thanks.

    Sincerely,
    Claudia

    Reply

  3. I have been able to reach all the way to the 12th century for both of my paternal grandparents and my maternal grandmother, but when it comes to my maternal grandfather from whom our Native (Cherokee) bloodline is derived (from his maternal side), I can’t seem to make any headway.

    His mother, Nancy Hardly/Hardley, would likely have been the carrier of that Native bloodline, but I can find her on no rolls that I’ve checked.

    I’ve taken to looking into the possibility of a Black/Negro connection for my grandfather, and did indeed find a Robinson amongst either the Freedmen or adoption applications.

    The Native faction is so very difficult to trace if you don’t have interfamily cooperation 🙁

    Any suggestions?

    Thanks,
    Peggy, “Nellie’s Grand”

    Reply

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