Finding Your Historical and Genealogical Roots 

Sponsored by Prince George’s County Council Member, Deni Taveras (District 2) in partnership with the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System, The Prince George’s County Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, and the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center.

This series of workshops will teach participants the fundamentals of African-American historical and genealogical research. The sessions will provide the attendees with a step-by-step “how to” into tracing African-American lineage. They will show participants how to identify sources, records, and other tools needed to organize and manage research materials.

Hyattsville Library – 6530 Adelphi Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20782

 

 

Slave Records

TUE, 5/10/16 – 7-8:30 pm

For many African Americans, the slavery era is the most difficult to research. There were no census records, no marriage records, no birth or death records for the majority of persons of African descent prior to 1870.  Most enslaved people did not even have a surname and had often been separated from friends and family. Finding ancestry in these cases can be daunting. The workshop will provide some methodology on how one might sort through available data on the slaveholders’ family to break through some of the brick walls surrounding this era.

 

DNA in Genealogical Research

SAT, 6/4/16 – 2-3:30 pm

This workshop will compliment other research, such as, visiting cemeteries, libraries, courthouses, archives, and newspapers by helping the students to fill in some of the gaps in their family trees.  Science and technology have made it easier for African Americans to get an idea about their origins. In addition, dozens of companies now offer to examine your DNA or DeoxyriboNucleic Acid to help you learn more about your ancestry.  (DeoxyriboNucleic Acid is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms.  Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA.  Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus where it is called nuclear DNA, but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria or mtDNA.)  The instructor will provide the participants with information regarding genetic testing companies. These companies may help the family historian determine country of origin, ethnicities, unknown relatives and other useful information about your heritage.