Archive detective: Frazine Taylor fills in Black family trees
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Sara Lang Staff writer
| Montgomery, Ala.
Frazine Taylor is a special kind of detective. She helps Black Alabamians unlock the secrets of their past.
In Alabama and beyond, many Black Americans hit a genealogy “brick wall” when researching their family history. That’s because the U.S. census didn’t start counting African Americans until 1870. That’s where Mrs. Taylor’s keen eye for overlooked clues comes in.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onBlack families hoping to trace their history face a wide range of obstacles. Frazine Taylor has dedicated her life to unlocking the past.
Tracing African American family history isn’t as simple as searching for a name. “[The historians] omitted the names of the enslaved people in the wills, the marriage records of Blacks; in other words, [they] overlooked the Black population,” says Mrs. Taylor. While those published records don’t contain evidence of the state’s Black history, they do contain references to wills and diaries of slaveholder families. A close reading of those sources held in the archives can bring new stories to light.
Thanks to her efforts, hundreds of African Americans have learned how to research their family history, filling important gaps that white-centric archival practices have left in the historical record. As amateur genealogist Gary Franklin puts it, “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“I had a gentleman just break down in tears,” says Frazine Taylor, recounting one of the most memorable moments of her career as a resource librarian, genealogist, and Alabama historian. A participant in one of her workshops had finally located his great-grandmother on the 1870 census record. “He said, ‘She does exist. She did exist,’” Mrs. Taylor recalls with a smile.
She is sitting at a table at Alabama State University, where she worked for four decades until she retired and where she still helps Black Alabamians recover lost branches of their family trees. Blue-framed glasses perched on her nose, she’s ready to examine records. On her feet are ballet flats perfect for perusing the stacks. Thanks to her efforts, hundreds of African Americans have learned how to research their family history, filling important gaps that white-centric archival practices have left in the historical record.
As a result of the work that has been done by archivists like Mrs. Taylor, and popularized by shows like Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s “Finding Your Roots” on PBS, African American genealogy has been brought to the forefront of academic focus.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onBlack families hoping to trace their history face a wide range of obstacles. Frazine Taylor has dedicated her life to unlocking the past.
But for many Black families, research comes to an abrupt halt when they hit the 1870 census, known as the genealogy “brick wall.” Prior to this first census after the Civil War, African Americans were considered legal property and rarely listed by name, only by number. That’s where Mrs. Taylor’s keen eye for overlooked clues comes in.
“No matter what corner of the state you go to, particularly for African American research, she is the resource,” says Mark Wilson, secretary of the Alabama Historical Association, who served under Mrs. Taylor when she became the first African American president of the association in late 2019.
Laying the path
Mrs. Taylor’s career has ranged from working as the co-head of ready reference for genealogy at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, to teaching colloquia and classes across the state, creating and leading workshops across the United States, providing research for films and TV shows, and leading numerous boards and committees. In 2022, she received the Dorothy Porter Wesley Award, a prestigious national recognition that lauds the efforts of information professionals working to preserve African American history and culture.
But to Mrs. Taylor, it all stems from the moment her interest in teaching others about genealogy was sparked. She had just started as a ready-reference librarian at the state archive in 1985 after earning her master’s degree. She noticed that Black visitors interested in researching their family trees had to wait until the only Black archivist – the only one interested in researching African American family history – was available.
“People were asking questions [about their families], and I didn’t have the answer,” she says. Tracing African American family history isn’t as simple as searching for a name. It takes training, skill, meticulous research, and knowing where and how to look. Mrs. Taylor points to a volume of published Alabama state records.
“[The historians] omitted the names of the enslaved people in the wills, the marriage records of Blacks; in other words, [they] overlooked the Black population,” says Mrs. Taylor. While those published records don’t contain evidence of the state’s Black history, they do contain references to wills and diaries of slaveholder families. A close reading of those sources held in the archives can bring new stories to light. For example, if a person knows the name of the enslaver who held an ancestor, the likelihood of finding the first name of some of the people they enslaved increases. Slowly, the dots start to connect.
Mrs. Taylor wanted to make it possible for African Americans to research on their own. So she created a census bibliography and designed checklists for filling in family trees. In 2008, she published “Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama: A Resource Guide.”
To her colleagues, Mrs. Taylor’s gentle and kind approach has had an effect on those who may have been intimidated or hesitant to dive into archival records, transforming the state archives into an institution that serves all of Alabama.
“Her warmth and graciousness of spirit helped her bring in and bring together and unify people that might have had difficulties before,” says Ed Bridges, former supervisor and director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. “Frazine was a huge part of making a major institutional change in terms of extending service to part of the population of Alabama that hadn’t been completely served,” he adds.
In high demand
And it’s not just Alabamians who have benefited from her guidance. Mrs. Taylor recalls the first time she was invited to speak outside of the state, in Chicago. Tony Burroughs, a leading genealogist in African American history, had contacted her because many Northern Black families were curious about their Southern roots. The response was enormous.
“They had about 200 to 300 people there,” recalls Mrs. Taylor. From there she developed an African American course for the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University and organized Alabama State University’s first genealogy colloquium in 2015.
“[Her work] has touched the lives of thousands of folks and millions of [TV] viewers all over the world,” says Tara White, assistant professor of African American history at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She adds that Mrs. Taylor’s book on genealogy is in such demand that it is sometimes on backorder.
It was at the Alabama State colloquium that amateur genealogist Gary Franklin had a revelation. As he walked down the founders’ hallway of the campus library, he spotted a framed picture of his great-great-grandfather, Alexander H. Curtis. He hadn’t known that Curtis was recognized as a Black founder of the university in 1867.
Alabama State was searching for descendants of the founders. So Mr. Franklin began to introduce his vast network of cousins to the university’s archivists. To this day, he still reaches out to Mrs. Taylor with research questions.
“All of that wouldn’t have happened in my own personal genealogical discoveries, certainly not as quickly, if Frazine had not hosted that colloquium at Alabama State,” says Mr. Franklin. “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
