Discovering Enslaved Ancestors Through Civil War Military Records

African American genealogists often refer to the 1870 “Brick Wall” as one of their biggest challenges. For Black genealogists with ancestral ties to the border states of Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Missouri, there are unique Civil War military records that may help you leap over that Brick Wall. With clues from military records, you may be able to find other records that mention your ancestors by name (probate records, deeds, church records, etc.) This session will provide a deep dive into these primary sources to find clues that may allow you to trace your family tree back several generations into the slavery era. We will use actual case studies of soldiers from border states to illustrate how this may be done.