NORFOLK, Va. — Digitized records are helping to clear a path to ancestral discoveries for millions of African Americans. Today, there is a growing interest among descendants of enslaved people to trace their roots.
A genealogist and educator from Hampton Roads, Renate Yarborough Sanders has been researching for 30 years and has witnessed firsthand a remarkable shift in the accessibility of historical documents.
"There are so many records," Yarborough Sanders told 13News Now. "When I started 30 years ago, we didn't have access to all the records that are now available online or just have been brought to the light."
But she cautions that good old-fashioned research is like pounding the pavement.
“And if you really want to get right to it, you’ve got to go to the location to where those ancestors lived, get into those courthouses, go to the register of deeds office, get into those cemeteries, talk to people, go the libraries and visit your state archives.”
For more information on federal resources to find formerly enslaved ancestors, tap or click here.