Honoring Our Ancestors Who Fought for Equality

This long holiday weekend, we honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who lived and died fighting for equal rights for everyone, regardless of how they looked, what they believed in, or where they came from. For all of us as genealogists, this seems like an appropriate time to think about and pay homage to our ancestors who lived and died fighting for equality and acceptance.

As you have worked on your family history, have you discovered abolitionists, suffragettes, or union organizers? Or, perhaps you know about soldiers in your family who have died defending democracy? If so, you may want to spend some time reading about and searching for records for the organizations or movements to which they belonged. Many of us descend from people who belonged to religious groups that were persecuted and have ancestors who were martyred for standing up for justice. Just like today, centuries ago, there were protestors against perceived wrongs and discriminatory laws. Perhaps your ancestors were among them.

So, how do you determine if an ancestor was also an activist? Probably the easiest records to search are those from the U.S. military. Although an ancestor may have been drafted, thousands of men (and women) volunteered to serve, and many were wounded and died for their patriotism. Military records are widely available at FamilySearch and Ancestry, and, with your St. Louis County Library card (and some other library districts as well), Fold3. In addition, many websites have biographical information on military veterans. Try Find a Grave for biographies and veteran designations, as well as sites specific to your ancestor’s branch of service.

Our ancestors, regardless of their racial identity, may have worked to end slavery in the U.S. Many records are available for you to explore covering those courageous individuals. You may want to start at the National Archives’ page on “The Black Abolitionist Papers” for access to a five-volume set that covers more than 14,000 documents by almost 300 Black men and women and covering not just the U.S. but the British Isles and Canada. If you find something of interest, you may be able to access it via ProQuest, another perk of some library cards. The "Digital Library on American Slavery" includes information from fifteen slave states and Washington, D.C., including those who were enslaved, their enslavers, free people of color and more—“detailed personal information about over 100 thousand individuals.” You can read more about what is available and search the records here.

Individual states also have collections, such as:

Pennsylvania

New England (includes New York and New Jersey)

Texas (includes dozens of links to other states and collections)

The Library of Congress holds many records that may help in your research of suffragettes. They hold the collection of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1839 to 1961 as well as those from the League of Women Voters and photographs of Women of Protest. You can find links and finding aids here. Additional information on women’s suffrage, including many photographs, are at the National Archives under "Women’s Rights." Check out the page, which includes links to other sites, at https://www.archives.gov/women/suffrage. Also check individual states, such as California’s Secretary of State’s page on women’s rights in that state.

"Suffragettes at White House," Bain News Service, c. 1915–1920. 

Photograph from the Library of Congress, public domain, https://www.loc.gov/resource/ggbain.23604/ 

Finally, if you had ancestors who were active in labor movements, you will want to look at the Society of American Archivists’ page on “Labor Archives in the United States and Canada.” This is a comprehensive directory of archival information organized by state (but not all states) with dozens of links to labor archives throughout the country and Canada. This is a wonderful site for discovering more on the history of the labor movement and where records are located. Find it here.

We hope you will discover new information about your activist ancestors and recognize the strength and bravery they showed as they fought against discrimination. That is surely one way of keeping Dr. King’s dream of equality alive in all of us.