TAKING THE FIRST STEP 

The first step to learning about your Black Red Roots is always to check your own personal resources to determine what is available to you before venturing out to other outside resources. What this statement means is that there is an enormous wealth of information within your own family.

Many families over the years have had a formal or informal historian. This person tracks the family births, deaths, marriages, and locations of family members. This person keeps records through saving newspaper clippings, photographs, letters, and other memorabilia. All of these items are important in searching for your family black and red roots.  

A treasure chest of information can most importantly be found in family Bibles. In the front of these Bibles is not only the owner of the Bible and perhaps when it was received but also a space for family genealogy or family records. Additionally, there is generally not a family Bible that does not have within its pages many hand written notes, book marks, photographs with names or dates written on the back, programs from Church services, ribbons, pressed flowers, and many other items that give clues to family ancestry.  

Each of these items has a history that must be investigated to learn more about your family tree. Next, find the oldest living family member or members and request to talk with them about their life, recollections of what has happened over time within the family, and question them about any items you might have found that appear to have significance to learning about your family in general and your black and red roots specifically.  

Article by CherokeeCloud 

Written September 2, 2006