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The reason people love superheroes is that, when done correctly, they are the perfect combination of our wildest…
Differing surnames and living arrangements complicate the search for the parents of an ancestor born during…
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An ancestor identified as black reportedly spoke a language of the Creek people. The family’s paper trail reflects…
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The largest manumission case in U.S. history led to a unique community in Virginia.
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My first real experience with the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. happened in 1980, just 12 years after his tragic…
On the trail of a great-great-grandfather from Louisiana who farmed in Texas at the height of Jim Crow.
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In 2016, former Oklahoma City Police Officer and rapist Daniel Holtzclaw was sentenced to 263 years in prison for…
A town lost to history and a family fracture are among the factors complicating a search for ancestors.
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A reader wants to know if and how the black and white branches of his family connected during slavery.
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A find in the 1860 census catches a reader by surprise, and points to a possible heritage that is subject to debate.
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Separating fact from fiction in a family’s oral tradition.
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A search for the Caribbean origins of a reader’s family takes a few surprising turns.
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Myrlie Evers-Williams once had a hard time understanding how her husband could still love their home state of…
Editor’s note: This piece speaks from the perspective of being biracial with black and white parents. I realize that…
In a common scenario for African Americans, the paper trail disappears once a reader gets to the 19th century.
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Let’s be clear: Nobody likes being told what to do. I hate it when my mortgage company sends me an email letting me…
Inspired by a shocking revelation on Professor Henry Louis Gates’ show, a woman wonders how to research her own…
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A reader wonders if her family originates from a unique coastal Southern community that has retained many West…
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Her mother-in-law’s paternal roots lie in what was once Texas’ richest county, made so off the backs of slaves.
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A grandfather made headlines for his various run-ins with the law, but his origins and racial identity are…
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