African American Census

For black Americans the census may hold the only records they can find of their ancestors. Researchers should start with their most recent ancestor using AccessGenealogy’s Census Records main census records area, as the census taken after the civil war (1870 onwards) enumerated all blacks as they did whites. The following census records are for those decades before, and consist of free persons of color who were enumerated with all other free people, mortality schedules which provides specific details around the deaths during the year prior to the census, state population schedules (state census) which in Alabama’s situation, was taken in 1866, and the 1850 and 1860 slave schedules, which were a count of slaves that often depicted the first name of the slave, along with the “owner” of the slave. You will actually have to know the “owner” of your slave ancestor and his location to find them in the slave schedules.