Uniting Slaves After The Civil War

                 In the few years after the civil war and during the Reconstruction, African Americans searched for their family members in hope of reuniting with them. During slave-auctions, many slaves were sold and stripped away from their parents and siblings at young ages; husbands and wives could be separated as well. Because of this, free blacks looked to reunite with their loved ones.

              In order to spread awareness of the search for family, African Americans entered their family members in newspaper advertisements. These ads would state the location of the slave, the slave's previous owner, and the time they had last seen each other. A few of these newspapers included Christian Reader (Philadelphia), Black Republican (New Orleans), South Carolina Leader, and more.  In an attempt to assist the freed slaves, members of the Freedmen's Bureau would help organize groups to look for a certain family member, but most of the time these advertisements remained unanswered and ignored. However, the number of ads inputted during this time showed the impact slavery had on the relationship of family members as well as the strength African Americans possessed since they did not give up on the idea of reuniting with their lost relatives. In 1865, one slave had walked more than 600 miles in search of his wife and children from Georgia to North Carolina.

          The determination and passion African Americans represented while searching for their loved ones had grown as freed slaves were granted independence. This new economic independence would allow freed blacks to raise their families on their own land which inspired many previous slaves to attempt at reuniting with their family members. However, most children, spouses, and siblings that were written about in the newspapers usually remained lost.




Written by Ragan Krames, P4     

Sources: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/02/22/516651689/after-slavery-searching-for-loved-ones-in-wanted-ads