Ancestry Expands Articles of Enslavement Collection

Today, Ancestry  announced the expansion of its Articles of Enslavement collection with more than 110,000 newly digitized and indexed newspaper articles relating to enslaved people in the U.S. between 1788 and 1867. This collection is part of the ongoing commitment by Ancestry to making culturally significant history— at risk of being lost or forgotten—available to everyone at no cost.

Building on the initial launch, this release nearly quadruples the original Articles of Enslavement collection, significantly expanding the number of individuals represented. The collection now references more than 750,000 people—those who were enslaved and those who participated in or profited from their enslavement.

Ancestry used proprietary advanced technology to analyze more than 540 million newspaper pages published before 1900 on Newspapers.com, which helped curate this specialized collection at scale. 

Given the sensitive nature of these materials and the physical age of the newspapers, we also conducted careful human review to ensure accuracy and respect. Viewing newspaper ads about enslaved people—and the often offensive language used to describe Black people—can be distressing or traumatic. As a way to approach these articles, readers might consider that each ad also suggests an individual’s desire for freedom and their resistance to the practices of that time period. 

How Newspaper Articles about Enslavement Help Family History Researchers

As the newspaper clippings shown here illustrate, these historical articles often include crucial details such as names, ages, physical descriptions, locations, and relationships. They may even highlight someone’s literacy skills, which were uncommon due to anti-literacy laws that targeted enslaved people. In many cases, the newspaper articles offer previously unavailable information that can help descendants of enslaved people trace their families prior to 1870, when formal records are often scarce or incomplete. 

Clues about Charles: Literate in English and French, Lived in St. Mary’s County, Maryland and New Orleans