ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS will be found in academic, public and private libraries, and historical organizations. If at all possible, start searching online to get an idea of what types of materials are held at the various locations. If there is not an online presence, then contact the library or historical organization for assistance. A list of Kentucky archival locations is at the very bottom of this column.
Pullams Slave Jail at 149 Broadway in Lexington, KY
Creator: E. B. Foley Date unknown
Lexington, Kentucky Photograph Albums
University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center
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Catharine Esten Cooke Hopson bible
One page includes a list of 19 slaves emancipated in 1865
Hopson Family Collection
University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
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- African American Church Records at FamilySearchChurch records can be compared to slave census schedules to find and double check for names and families.
- African American Genealogy Group of KentuckyThe group as initially conceived grew out of the frustrating exceptions encountered when researching Black history.
- Filson Historical Society in Louisville, KYThe Filson Historical Society, founded in 1884, is a privately supported historical society dedicated to preserving the history of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley Region.
- Kentucky Church Records at FamilySearchRecords and history may contain names of enslaved persons and early African American ministers and churches.
- Kentucky Colleges and UniversitiesContact the special collections and archive departments at the specific school.
- Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives in Frankfort, KYThe Kentucky State Digital Archives (KSDA) online portal provides direct access to Kentucky state and local government digital collections preserved by the Department for Libraries and Archives.
- Kentucky Freedman Bureau Records at FamilySearchThese records include letters and endorsements sent and received, account books, applications for rations, applications for relief, court records, labor contracts, registers of bounty claimants, registers of complaints, registers of contracts, registers of disbursements, registers of freedmen issued rations, registers of patients, reports, rosters of officers and employees, special and general orders and circulars received, special orders and circulars issued, records relating to claims, court trials, property restoration, and homesteads.
- Kentucky Genealogy and Historical SocietiesHistorical and genealogy societies do research for free or for a fee.
- Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort, KYThe Kentucky Historical Society is dedicated to providing historic perspective and context to current events, especially as we look to end racial injustice and systemic racism.
- Kentucky Public LibrariesThe list does not include government libraries or libraries at schools or universities. Public libraries have public records and obituaries.
Newspaper Archives
Local, national, and international newspapers - search for newspaper articles about slave owners and enslaved persons, as well as their family members and personal histories. Search also for runaway ads and reward notices.
EXAMPLE 1:
- NAME: Abraham
- SLAVE OWNER: Jacob Foley
- LOCATION: Lexington, Kentucky
- SOURCE: "Taken Up," Daily Commonwealth (Frankfort, KY), 01/17/1856
- SOURCE: Jacob Foley with 4 slaves enumerated in the 1860 Slave Schedule
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EXAMPLE 2:
- NAME: Dr. Robert Maxwell Johnson, 1826-1871
- BIRTH LOCATION: Lexington, Kentucky
- SLAVE OWNERS: Dorothea and the Rev. Dr. Honorable James Fishback
- SPOUSE: Mary Atkinson from Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
- DEATH LOCATION: Chatham, Ontario, Canada
- SOURCE: "Lecture on American Slavery," The Dundee Courier, (Scotland, UK), 10/20/1858, p.2.
- SOURCE: R. M. Johnson and family enumerated in the 1871 Canada Census
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Find Newspaper Archives
- 19th Century British Library NewspapersDigital facsimile images of both full pages and clipped articles from hundreds of 19th century U.S. newspapers.
- Google News ArchiveSearch newspapers back 200 years. Generate timelines of matching stories.Sources include Time.com, Factiva, HighBeam Research, Guardian Unlimited, AccessMyLibrary.com (Thomson Gale), and LexisNexis/Nexis Uni. In some cases the full-text is freely available (and searches can be restricted to these sources). In other cases, library subscriptions will provide access to the source full-text.
- Freedom on the MoveRediscovering The Stories Of Self-Liberating People. A database of fugitives from American Slavery.
- Runaway Slave Databases for Specific StatesThere are many online databases for specific state and regional projects that document advertisements for runaway slaves. A browser search using the term "runaway slaves" will bring up results with links to the sites.
- Runaway Slaves in Britain: bondage, freedom and race in the eighteenth centuryThe advertisements collected will allow readers to explore and understand the people identified in these advertisements as historical subjects in their own right, as individuals who challenged their status and condition.
- African American Newspapers, 1827-1998Now featuring 345 newspapers published in 36 states; full-text searchable.
- Kentucky Digital Newspapers ProgramKentucky's National Digital Newspaper Program (KY-NDNP) website offers comprehensive lists of the University of Kentucky's digitized historic newspapers available in both the Kentucky Digital Library and the Library of Congress' Chronicling America. The website also provides an extensive "how-to" on historic newspaper digitization per the NDNP specifications.
- Newspapers.comOur Newspapers.com portal provides online access to all the newspaper content digitized by University of Kentucky Libraries. It also includes public domain content from Newspapers.com.
Obituaries and Death Notices, and Colored Notes
Use the obituaries and death notices in newspapers to learn more about the names and lives of those who had been enslaved. These notices will sometimes be found in African American newspapers and in the "Colored Notes" section of other newspapers. "Colored Notes" was a segregated column or section of the newspaper that was reserved for news about African Americans. Learn more about the Colored Notes in Kentucky newspapers at the Notable Kentucky African Americans Database.
NOTE: In newspaper death notices, be aware that the formerly enslaved person's age may be grossly exaggerated with the claim of more than 100 years. The notice may also present the person as the most perfect soul who ever walked upon the earth. See the columnt to the left for newspaper archive sources.
EXAMPLES:
Title: An Aged Colored Citizen Gone.
Pub: The Frankfort Roundabout
Date: 07/25/1891
Page: 4
Title: Faithful Unto Death, He Sleeps Beside 'Old Marse"
Pub: The Lexington Herald
Date: April 4, 1914
Page: 5
Title: Negro, Born a Slave, Taken by Death
Pub: The Park City Daily News (Bowling Green, KY)
Date: 01/19/1941
Page: front page
Title: Man Born a Slave is Fatally Burned
Pub: Louisville Courier-Journal
Date: December 5, 1954
Page: 20
Information Wanted Ads
- Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery [database]Formerly enslaved people placed these ads hoping to reconnect with family and loved ones for decades following emancipation. The ads serve as testaments to their enduring hope and determination to regain what was taken from them.