Black History Month: Greenville County libraries help African Americans research genealogy

Royale Bonds, Greenville News
·2 min read
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Marie Mason wants to know more about her family's roots and heritage.

The Greenville County Library System is helping residents, like Mason, get started on their own genealogical research.

On Wednesday, Mason attended an African American Genealogy event at Berea Public Library (Sarah Dobey Jones Branch).

"I am now in the stage of the elder of the family. I'm just trying to get information to our younger generation and let them know where our families come from, who we originated from and let Generation X know that we have legacies and we have families that done things and we need to be proud of our heritage," Mason said.

Librarian Ashley Bright talks about African-American genealogy at Greenville's Berea (Sarah Dobey Jones) Branch library on Feb. 8, 2023. Edward Watkins, center, and his sister Brenda W. Brock, to his right, came to get tips on how to trance their family's history.
Librarian Ashley Bright talks about African-American genealogy at Greenville's Berea (Sarah Dobey Jones) Branch library on Feb. 8, 2023. Edward Watkins, center, and his sister Brenda W. Brock, to his right, came to get tips on how to trance their family's history.

The African American Genealogy event is part of Greenville County libraries' Black History Month event series. Ashley Bright, librarian at The South Carolina Room, uses the series to give an introduction on how to get started on genealogy research. Bright has worked in genealogy research for 15 years. During the event, she explains which records to search, how to search through different records and presents challenges that are specific to this research.

"Everyone has a story worth telling, even if that story is hard to find," Bright said. "A lot of people struggle but it is worth it."

Here's why it's difficult for African Americans to research genealogy

There's a struggle getting information past 1865 or 1870 in research. Unless your ancestors were free prior to 1865, they wouldn't appear in the census by name until 1870, Bright said.

To find records of ancestors, people have to check unorthodox records. Dig into church records, which would include enslaved persons' christenings and records of membership, mortgage records can include enslaved people as collateral and deeds of gifts could include enslaved people as gifts and newspapers can list enslaved people for various reasons.

Librarian Ashley Bright talks about African-American genealogy at Greenville's Berea (Sarah Dobey Jones) Branch library on Feb. 8, 2023. Edward Watkins, center, and his sister, Brenda W. Brock, came to get tips on how to trance their family's history.
Librarian Ashley Bright talks about African-American genealogy at Greenville's Berea (Sarah Dobey Jones) Branch library on Feb. 8, 2023. Edward Watkins, center, and his sister, Brenda W. Brock, came to get tips on how to trance their family's history.

Despite the obstacles, Mason is determined to find out more about her ancestry.

"I think it's very important because you have to know where you come from. If you don't have a place of stability, a foundation, roots, you don't know who you are," Mason said.

At the South Carolina Room, you can Book a Librarian for an hour of individualized research assistance.

The next African American genealogy event will be Thursday, Feb. 9 at the Travelers Rest branch, and Friday, Feb. 10 at the Pelham Road location.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: African American Genealogy events at Greenville county libraries