WikiTree
African American Research
What is WikiTree?
WikiTree is a free, collaborative genealogy platform dedicated to building a single, shared family tree that connects every person in history. For African Americans, creating a WikiTree account offers a powerful opportunity to reclaim ancestral history, restore family connections disrupted by slavery, and preserve legacies for future generations.
By participating in WikiTree, users can link relatives to historical records such as slave schedules, Freedmen’s Bureau documents, and wills; collaborate with others researching similar lineages; and join initiatives like the U.S. Black Heritage Project, which is committed to documenting African American lives. The platform encourages accuracy, sourcing, and public storytelling, helping to elevate names and narratives often omitted from mainstream history.
Creating a free account allows African Americans to honor their ancestors, connect with distant cousins, and contribute to a global effort that empowers communities through truth and remembrance.
US Black Heritage Project
How Is the U.S. Black Heritage Project Different from Other WikiTree Projects?
While many WikiTree projects focus on specific locations, wars, or surname groups, the U.S. Black Heritage Project addresses the unique historical, social, and genealogical challenges faced by African Americans. What sets this project apart is its commitment to uncovering lives that were often left undocumented or misrecorded due to the legacy of slavery and systemic racism.
Here’s how the U.S. Black Heritage Project stands out from other projects:
- Focus on Enslaved and Formerly Enslaved People: Unlike most genealogy projects, this one prioritizes researching individuals who were enslaved, often beginning with limited information such as only a first name, age, or place on a bill of sale, will, or census record.
- Specialized Tools and Categories: It uses unique WikiTree categories such as Plantation Owners, USCT Soldiers, Freedmen’s Bureau Records, and Enslaved Persons, which are not commonly used in other projects. These help organize complex histories in ways that respect African American heritage and make research easier.
- Support for Breaking Brick Walls: The project provides strategies and guidance tailored to overcoming the “brick walls” African American genealogists often encounter due to gaps in historical records—especially pre-1870.
- Collaborative Research Environment: The project emphasizes community-building and collaboration, recognizing that African American genealogy often requires piecing together records across families, plantations, and oral traditions. It encourages group research, sourcing, and DNA collaboration.
- Culturally Aware and Historically Grounded: The language, approach, and standards are carefully designed to reflect cultural sensitivity, historical accuracy, and respect for the lives and identities of those who were often marginalized in traditional records.
In short, this project doesn’t just trace lineage—it helps restore identity, dignity, and visibility to those whose stories were systematically erased or hidden. It’s not just research; it’s reclamation.
US Black Heritage Project Instructional Videos
These videos are designed to help you explore the many features of WikiTree and understand the standards and processes specific to the U.S. Black Heritage Project.
How to Create A Profile
How to Edit A Profile
WikiTree Profile Enhancement Tool
If you’re working on African American lineages, slavery research, or Freedmen connections, understand the relevants of WikiTree categories and stickers and managing your GEDCOM responsibly.
What Are Categories
Every time someone adds a profile (like a person or family), they can also add categories to it. These categories tell us something important about that person—like where they lived, what they did, or what historical event they were part of. Examples below:
Category: Louisiana, Slaves, Category: Freedmen’s Bureau, Category: United States, Plantations
- Someone born in Alabama in 1890 might be in the category “Alabama, 1890s Births.”
- A formerly enslaved person might be in “Slaves of North Carolina” or “Freedmen’s Bureau Records.”
- A Civil War soldier could be in “United States Colored Troops, Company A, 54th Regiment.”
Upload GEDCOM To WikiTree
A GEDCOM (.ged) file is a standard format used by genealogy programs to store family trees. When you upload a GEDCOM to WikiTree:
- It allows you to import your family tree data from another platform (like Ancestry, RootsMagic, or Family Tree Maker).
- Collaboration: Other genealogists and distant cousins can see your work, add to it, or help verify sources.
The Use of WikiTree Stickers
Using stickers on African American profiles in WikiTree is a powerful way to honor, recognize, and preserve the unique and often overlooked stories of Black ancestors. These visual tags highlight key aspects of a person’s life—such as being formerly enslaved, serving in the United States Colored Troops, or appearing in Freedmen’s Bureau records—offering instant context that deepens the historical understanding of their experience.
Stickers help connect individuals to broader events like slavery, emancipation, migration, and military service, making them more visible within the global family tree. For descendants and researchers, stickers act as both a tribute and a research tool, linking profiles to larger projects and helping others find ancestors who share similar histories. They are especially important in African American genealogy, where documentation can be limited, because they restore dignity, identity, and place in the historical narrative.
How to Know If You Can Use a Sticker ?
Check the Sticker Description Page. Each sticker on WikiTree has its own page that explains:
- What the sticker is for
- Who it applies to
- What the code looks like
African-American Sticker
This Sticker may be used on any profile for a Black American who lived in the United States of America. It is meant to honor their Black heritage and their Black experience in the USA. It is not meant for worldwide use.
African Ancestry
This Sticker may be used for any person who has been identified as having African ancestry, including active WikiTree members. It may be used regardless of African country or ethnic group and is especially helpful for those who don't know which specific area of Africa they originate from.
US Civil War
This sticker is for use on profiles of American Civil War soldiers.
Key Additional Tools
- Black Genealogy Basics
- Connecting Enslaved Ancestors
- Creating Slave Owner Space Pages
- Discord - Getting Started
- Discord - Download
- Documenting Enslaved People in WikiTree
- Documenting Unnamed Enslaved Ancestors
- G2G: Wiki Genealogy Feed format and content
- How to Find Enslaved Ancestors
- Learning the Heritage Exchange System
WikiTree Sourcer Extension Intro and Overview
The WikiTree Sourcer is a free browser extension (available for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge) created by Rob Pavey and contributors. It’s designed to speed up your genealogical research by helping you seamlessly search for, extract, and cite sources while working on WikiTree.