Some early genealogy publications omitted information deemed unsavory

Recently, I was studying a 1966 publication of court minutes from Orange County, North Carolina. In analyzing it, I realized the editor of this well-abstracted book chose to omit references to bastardy bonds — that is, those documents that name the father of children whose parents were not married — and the names of the women who bore the children out of wedlock.

Others have reported that, when trying to search for occupations in the census on Ancestry.com, they noted some “unsavory” occupations, such as prostitute, were omitted from the search options. African American genealogists have long been aware that Black people were left out of the abstracts or indexes to some early published census reports. Many publishers of abstracts of deeds left out the names of slaves, thus making those people anonymous.

When one is at a library or archives using these early publications, you rarely have time to study the book and all its potential issues. But you should be aware: In the early years of genealogy, certain information was deemed unimportant or was intentionally left out, and we have no way of knowing what that might be. If I had not owned the 1966 volume I would not have had the time to study it.

DeKalb History Center programs

The DeKalb History Center (dekalbhistory.org) is beefing up its free, online programming during the pandemic, so check the website frequently. On November 24, Travis Swann Taylor will speak on his guidebook “111 Places in Atlanta That You Must Not Miss” during a Zoom meeting at noon; and, on December 8, Russell Clayton will speak on Athos Menaboni and the artist’s life and works, which are found all over Georgia. This will be another Zoom meeting at noon.

North Carolina Archives reopened

The North Carolina Archives (archives.ncdcr. gov) reopened by appointment on November 12. Check the website for more details.