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Before You Begin: Set Your Intention

You're not building a family tree for nostalgia. You're investigating your family's participation in America's foundational violence. The absence of family stories about slavery may itself be evidence - many white families have systematically erased this history.

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Your Goal

Uncover ways in which your family participated in America’s foundational violence so you can take meaningful action toward repair.

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Step 1: Gather What You Know

• Your full name, parents, grandparents (including maiden names)
• Any family locations, especially in Southern or border states
• Set up Ancestry.com account or use library access </aside>

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Step 2: Work Backwards Through Census Records

Start with 1940 Census

• Find relatives alive in 1940
• Note their birth years and locations
• Identify their parents if listed

Continue to 1920, 1910, 1900, 1880, and 1870

• Follow family lines backward
• Pay special attention to location patterns - were ancestors consistently in slave-holding regions?
• Note any wealth accumulation or property ownership
• You can skip 1890 (destroyed in fire)
• Look for dramatic changes in family wealth or property between 1860-1870 </aside>

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Step 3: The Key Search - 1860 and 1850 Slave Schedules

How to Find Them on Ancestry.com:

1. Go to "Search" → "Card Catalog"
2. Search "slave schedules" + your ancestor's state
3. Search by county where your ancestors lived

What You're Looking For:

• Your ancestor's name as "slave owner"
• Number of enslaved people by age and gender

Cross-Reference Strategy:

• Compare 1850 and 1860 slave schedules for the same person </aside>

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Step 4: Dig Deeper with Property Records

Estate Records and Wills

• Search Ancestry's probate collections
• Look for enslaved people listed by name in inheritance documents
• Check for sales of enslaved people to settle debts

Tax Records

• Search for property tax records listing enslaved people
• Note assessed values and annual taxes paid on human property

Land Records

• Large land acquisitions often correlate with enslaved labor
• Look for plantation or farm property descriptions </aside>

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Step 5: Expand Your Understanding of Complicity

Even If You Don't Find Direct Ownership:

• Economic ties: Did ancestors work in cotton, tobacco, shipping, banking?
• Geographic benefit: Did they live in communities built by enslaved labor?
• Political participation: Look for voting records or local office holding in pro-slavery areas </aside>

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Step 6: Share and Take Action

Processing Your Discoveries:

• Expect shock at family silence about this history
• Understand that your ancestors were part of a system, and that system's effects continue
• Consider a spiritual framework: your ancestors may now be working through you to repair the harm they caused

Move Toward Reparations:

• Research reparations organizations in areas where your family enslaved people
• Consider direct financial contributions proportional to documented family wealth from slavery
• Support policy changes that address ongoing racial wealth gaps
• Share your discoveries to break the cycle of white family silence </aside>

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Remember: Partial Discoveries Are Still Victories

Every document you find helps restore the historical record. Your willingness to confront this truth honors both the enslaved people your family harmed and the possibility of repair. This work is about responsibility and the ability to effect real change, not guilt. What matters is what you do with what you discover.

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