Nine African Americans — two women and seven children — were posed amid a laundry day setting in a rare Civil War-era photograph. The handwritten caption identified them only as “Felix Richards Slaves” and the location as Volusia, near Alexandria, Va. Could their true identities be established? In this case study, historian and genealogist Amy Bertsch discusses a variety of sources, including probate records, a chancery suit, Civil War pension applications, and the former enslaver’s federal compensation claim, she used to identify the individuals in the photo, which is now at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She explores how these records can yield new discoveries for family historians and she also demonstrates the importance of researching the enslaver’s family when conducting African American family research.
About the presenter
Amy Bertsch is a historian specializing in African American and Virginia history who has taught in the Public History and Historic Preservation certificate program at Northern Virginia Community College. She previously worked in public history at the Office of Historic Alexandria which operates the City of Alexandria’s museums, historic sites, archives, and archaeology program. Amy has an M.A. in history from Sam Houston State University and is a regular participant at the Virginia Forum, an annual statewide history conference. She has presented at the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society’s annual conferences and her recent work includes the article “Lost Potters of Loudoun County, Virginia: The Gardner-Duncan Family” published in the Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts and chapters for two books which are currently under review.
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