Building on the Newberry exhibition, Photographing Freetowns: African-American Kentucky through the Lens of Helen Balfour Morrison, 1935-1946, internationally renowned genealogist Tony Burroughs will examine resources and methodology for researching ex-slaves and their descendants. If you discovered some of the Morrison photos were of your ancestors, what strategy would you use to research them? In spite of the millions and billions of records online, not all records are on the web. Integrating online sources with physical resources increases chances of genealogical success. See how the rich resources at Newberry Library complement what you'll find on the web.
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Tony Burroughs, the author of Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree, is founder and CEO of the Center for Black Genealogy and taught genealogy at Chicago State University for fifteen years. Burroughs researched Olympic Gold Medal sprint champion Michael Johnson’s family history and consulted on the Reverend Al Sharpton-Strom Thurmond genealogy; the Oprah Winfrey genealogy; African American Lives2; Who Do You Think You Are; and The Real Family of Jesus. He has consulted with Chicago Public Schools, New York Public Schools, Chicago City Colleges and Ancestry.com, and he lectures throughout the United States and Canada.
This Photographing Freetowns exhibition will be open through April 14, 2017. Explore slave narratives in the Newberry collection, and other collection items related to the exhibition.
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