14th Annual African American Genealogy Seminar

The 14th Annual African American Genealogy Seminar will be held on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at the FamilySearch Library in Sacramento from 8:00am-4:00pm. Our keynote speaker is nationally known family historian, Patricia Bayonne Johnson and her topic will be My Story: Jesuit Slaves in The Family. While researching her family history, Mrs. Bayonne-Johnson discovered her ancestors were "sold down the river" to Louisiana by the Jesuits at Georgetown University. The priests needed money to save the university from financial ruin. Her address will include slavery, reparations, parish records, Catholic church records, Louisiana research, university records, ship manifests and so much more. Mrs. Bayonne-Johnson has been featured in the New York Post, Washington Times and The New Orleans Advocate. We are thrilled to have special guest Thom Reed, Deputy Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch International as our morning speaker. He will highlight which tools are freely available on FamilySearch for African American research and new projects focused on assisting people of African descent document their family histories. In addition to one-on-one research assistance in the library, we will have classes on DNA, Beginning Genealogy, Military Records and more. We are pleased to present new classes on African Americans on the Railroad, Black Creeks, Fisk Jubilee Singers, Family Heirlooms, African Americans & Cherokees, Buffalo Soldiers and Making a Documentary. Sacramento artist, Dr. Monica Crooks, will present a new collection of her breathtaking artwork which was specifically created for this African American Genealogy Seminar. Quilts by SIsters Quilting Collective. African American artifacts by Carl Davis.