Recommended Website: 'African-Americans to Liberia, 1820-1904'

In the decades following the American Revolution, several northern states began the process of abolishing slavery. The subsequent growth of the population of free people of color led to a new movement at that time called “colonization.” Supported equally by freed slaves, free-born African-Americans, white abolitionists, and slaveowners fearful of a free black population, the colonization movement involved the emigration of free blacks back to Africa.

 

One of the earliest voyages was funded by the free African-American businessman and Quaker Paul Cuffe, in 1815-1816. On this voyage, at his own expense, Cuffe transported thirty-eight free people of color from the United States to Freetown in Sierra Leone, which was a British colony at that time.

 

Other early colonization efforts involved the transportation of willing free blacks to Haiti, but many of these colonists returned to the United States after witnessing the poverty prevalent in that young nation.

 

In 1816, the American Colonization Society was established in Washington, D. C., by several abolitionists. The general philosophy of the founders and early members was that racism in the United States would prevent emancipated slaves from fully assimilating into society, and that return to Africa would be preferable. Many freed slaves and free-born African-Americans during this time were the children or grandchildren of slaves born in Africa, and the opportunity to emigrate was certainly attractive. Beginning in 1821 and continuing for several decades, the ACS funded many colonization voyages to Liberia, a nation established specifically for this purpose.

 

Created with The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding software (TNG), the website “African-Americans to Liberia, 1820-1904,” uses over one hundred sources – mostly books and magazine or journal articles – to chronicle the lives of more than fifteen thousand free or freed African-Americans who were transported to the Liberian republic.

 

The site is password protected, but anyone can register for a free password and free access to the database.

 

The site’s home page contains the familiar First Name/Surname Search boxes, allowing for easy discovery of those one is researching. One can view in the information in several formats, including Individual View which displays all recorded information about each individual, including embedded Google Maps of the place of origination and the destination. For those who are recorded as members of families, both Ancestor and Descendant tree views are available. Each individual’s life can also be viewed against a timeline of Liberian history.

 

One of the more interesting new updates to the site are several “Reports” created to display the results of various searches, such as several by various religious denominations, occupations, or states of origin, as well as unique lists such as “Individuals who purchased their freedom,” “Manumissions by fathers,” and “Birthplace: Africa.” These lists will help to filter the database entries for researchers interested in historical analysis as well as those researching specific individuals.

 

Overall, this site is extremely well-done, though its reliance on secondary information rather than the original records of the American Colonization Society, available by subscription on Footnote.com, could be improved. However, for any descendants of these early American repatriates to Africa, or for descendants of those left behind in the United States, “African-Americans to Liberia, 1820-1904” is well worth the visit.