African American Griots

West African Griots are historians, storytellers, traditional praise singers and musicians. Their roles are hereditary and their surnames identify them as Griots. For example, Toumani Diabate of Mali comes from 70 generations of Griots. His father, Sidiki Diabate was considered the “King of the Kora” in Guinea, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali and The Gambia. When he died, memorials were held in each of these countries, attended by foreign diplomats, government officials and musicians. The most famous Griot in each of these countries was chosen to preside over the memorials and to celebrate the life of Sidiki Diabate by “singing his praises” and recounting his life story.
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This site is dedicated to assisting anyone in pursuit of their African-American ancestry by being an archive for African-American records of historical proportion such as Emancipation Orders, Deeds, Wills, Family Records and more. Our goal is to provide free genealogical research data for anyone in search of their family.

Site Contents

Surname Registry - a registry of surnames being researched, state and county and researcher.
Queries - Persons, families or a topic being researched as a request for information by researchers.
Freedmen's Bureau - Freedman's Savings and Trust Company 1865 -1874 partial listing of depositors
Military - documents, records and registry and resources pertaining to african-americans in the military up to 1945 on this site
Probate - land records, tax deeds, slave notices, slave sales and Will extractions for various States and Counties-
Vitals Records Index - Partial listing of submitted marriage, birth and death records
Treasured Photos from the Past - submitted photos from researchers of their ancestors

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African American Online Archives We Love to Visit

USGenWeb Project - This site has genealogy and history records for all 50 states and special projects. It is run by voluteers and is always in need of more. This website is free and has maps, death records, estate extracts, state and local records to name a few that are important in researching.

Africana Heritage - This site is sponsored by the University of South Florida and is a great resource. It has a research library which includes but not limited to DNA research, Freedman's Bureau Contracts and Family Lineages. Various states are represented and there are numerous databases to search.

This site is dependent on researchers' generous contributions. It is free and shall remain free. All records, original documents, photos, sources and research notes, etc., remain
the property of the submitter and will not be sold or transferred to other sites. They may not be reproduced in any form or placed on any other website without written consent
from the original contributor. We do not research for anyone. The information that is posted on the site is all that we offer. Please contact the researcher if an
email address is offered. If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or files you would like to contribute, please contact us.

African American Griots is dedicated to our loved ones who paved the way for this generation, generations that came before us and generations to follow. It is through their desire to be the best that they could be that we are able to remember them in a positive light and glimpse into the life that they lead. Thank you to all of the researchers of genealogy for all of their hard work, pride, joy and diligence in the to uncover the past and make it available for others. Our ancestors speak through those who are diligently working to uncover what others have chosen to not to speak of in a world where knowledge is power.