When it comes to researching enslaved people, finding the slavery-related documents they may appear in is a critical part of this type of research. That’s pretty self-evident. What may not be so readily apparent is deciphering the information that is contained in these documents. An enslaver’s probate records – his or her last will and testament, codicils, and estate inventories – are pretty straightforward documents. If the genealogy gods are with us, these documents can also spell out family relationships among the enslaved people who are cited in probate records.
Random lists of enslaved people are where things can become challenging when it comes to deciphering the information stand-alone lists contain. What may appear to be just a list of enslaved people can yield important genealogical information to the trained eye.
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://genealogyadventures.net/2020/08/25/using-slave-lists-in-your-enslaved-ancestors-research/
