- This event has passed.
Southern Ancestors—Black and White in the Freedmen’s Bureau: A Rich Resource for Researching Southern Ancestors
February 23 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm CST
Sharon Batiste Gillins has been actively involved in genealogical research and teaching for more than 30 years. She frequently delivers lectures and workshops at regional genealogy conferences and national genealogy institutes. Her research and teaching focus on African Americans in the 19th Century through the mid-20th century, including the Freedmen’s Bureau, Southern Claims Commission, probate records, and Juneteenth history to reveal the lives of enslaved persons, free people of color, and southern planters. Her work with slave-era manuscripts encourages more open communication and information exchange between families holding private manuscripts that document the presence of enslavers and/or enslaved people.
She has taught at many of the country’s most recognized genealogy conferences and institutes, including the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), RootsTech, and numerous regional genealogy societies and research groups. Ms. Gillins is recognized for her research in Freedmen’s Bureau Records and is the author of several published articles on the subject.