Family history research begins before a researcher arrives at the State Archives, courthouse or other records repository. A researcher should know the name of the relative, where they may have lived and when they lived. Frequently, this information can be obtained from older relatives or family papers. Approximately 70 percent of the researchers using the Mississippi Department of Archives and History are searching for their family history. A growing number of these researchers are African-American. Searching for African-American families involves two distinct research approaches. These approaches correspond to the change in legal status of many African-Americans before and after the Civil War. This presentation is geared to the resources available at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
Anne Webster is a retired archivist at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.