Black Slavery Emancipation Research in Northern States - James W. Petty

Join Genealogist Jim W. Petty for a discussion of his research on Black Slavery Emancipation Research in the Northern States and learn about the four categories of records that provide genealogical data on enslaved people in Northern states before the Civil War.

Beginning in 2010, Jim became interested in African American Genealogy Studies upon following client genealogy into the Slave culture of Rhode Island.  Upon learning about the concept of Slavery in all States in America, and the eventual “gradual emancipation” of Black Slaves in each of the Northern States, he realized that a product of the emancipation movement was the creation of Slave birth records from as early as 1777, and continuing until national emancipation in 1865.  These records led to the keeping of other records relating to African Americans in the Northern States, which will hopefully become a resource for researchers throughout the United States.  

Currently Jim has been collecting and abstracting Slave Birth Records for the State of New Jersey from 1804 to 1865, with the goal of publishing his findings during the 2015-2016 sesquicentennial of Slave Emancipation in the U.S. (1865-1866).  

Jim has a degree in Genealogy Technology from Brigham Young University, and has been certified as a Genealogist and a Genealogy Records Searcher by the Board for the Certification of Genealogists (1984-2015), and accredited by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Genealogists (1972-2015).