It's a challenging genealogical journey to recover the names of enslaved ancestors. 1870 was the first time formerly enslaved African Americans were named on the federal census. The challenge is to find the names that can lead a person today to answers about their enslaved ancestors. In 1865, my second great-grandmother, Ann Harris, married Nelson Roach in Guilford County, NC. We both then wondered who was Nelson Roach, the man I thought was my second great-grandfather.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 24, 2024 20:06 UTC