Genealogies of African American Families in South Western New York State, 1830-1955.

Biddle, Stanton

Thomas A. Entzminger. Genealogies of African American Families in South Western New York State, 1830-1955. Aurora, CO: Thaaron Publications, 2002, 182 p.

Unbeknownst to most people, including many scholars of western New York history, persons of African ancestry have played a role in the region's life and culture from the earliest days of European exploration. Although their numbers were always small, African Americans have been a part of the social environment of western New York from the revolutionary period onward. Thomas A. Entzminger, a retired native son of the region, has made a unique and valuable contribution to scholarship in this area.

Genealogies of African American Families in South Western New York State, documents the existence of nearly five hundred African American and mixed race families living in the Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua county region of rural western New York, dating back to the earliest days of the state. Except for possible slave ancestors or Underground Railroad passages, most of the families listed in this book do not appear in the local histories of the region. They and their contributions are only mentioned anecdotally, if at all, in the centennial, sesquicentennial, and bicentennial celebrations of the villages and towns along the Southern Tier. Unless one were born and raised in the area, one would probably not be aware of the fact that a thriving African American community has existed in the area for generations. It is only by combing through the census records, as Thomas Entzminger has done, that one becomes aware of the scope of this phenomenon. This publication chronicles generation after generation being born, growing up, raising families, growing old, and dying in the towns and villages of Friendship, Wellsville, Scio and Wirt in Allegany County; Olean, Portville, and Allegany in Cattaraugus County; or Jamestown, Mayville, and Dunkirk in Chautauqua County.

According to Carter G. Woodson's Free Negro Heads of Families in the United States in 1830, there were 105 blacks living in the three county area covered by the book (68 in Allegany Co., 12 in Cattaraugus Co., and 25 in Chautauqua Co.). By the Federal Census report of 1930 the numbers had grown to 1,108 (169 in Allegany Co., 468 in Cattaraugus Co., and 471 in Chautauqua Co.), but African Americans continued to represent less than one per cent of the total population. Even today, with a 2000 population of 4,302 (361 in Allegany Co., 890 in Cattaraugus Co., and 3,051 in Chautauqua Co.) African Americans represent 1.56% per cent of the 273,632 combined population of the three counties.

Entzminger organizes the families by county, then by town or village and finally by surname. There are cross references connecting families to their relatives in different towns and counties. For some families Entzminger's entry consists merely of the name of the head of household and the name of the spouse with approximate birth date and birth state. For others, the entry documents a family's existence over several generations, many for four generations, some for five, and a couple (the Stewarts and the Entzmingers) for six generations. Most entries include birth dates and locations, marriage dates and locations, and death dates and locations.

The first appendix is an index of over 630 heads of households listing cities or towns, and census enumeration dates from the Federal Census reports of 1870-1930. The second appendix lists 181 lodgers, giving their names, census date, city, county, age occupations, state born, landlord name, landlord occupation, and whether lodgers are renters or living with employers. This appendix is important because, in the words of the author "housing and transportation were limited in the agrarian society of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many farm hands and domestic workers lived with their employers. Others found lodging in the homes of folks who were fortunate enough to own a 'spare room''.

Although this is a unique and wonderful book, a word of caution is warranted for those consulting this volume. Much of the information in the publication comes directly from Federal Census records, Social Security Death Records, and cemetery records filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, and is therefore relatively reliable. However, in other instances, the author has had to rely upon less credible sources and has inadvertently combined individuals and families who do not belong together or merged individuals from different generations together. One needs to consider the potential source of specific information before deciding how much weight to give it. The author admits these possibilities for error and welcomes corrections. He can be reached at 12620 E. Wesley Place, Aurora, CO 80014.

This book should be owned by every public library and historical or genealogical society within the three county region. It should also be held by every reputable genealogical research collection in the country.

Bibliography on African Americans in Southwestern New York:

Banner-Haley, Charles T. "An Extended Community: Sketches of Afro-American History in Three Counties Along New York State's Southern Tier, 1890-1980," Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, Vol. 13, No. 1, January 1989. pp. 5-18. [Discusses African American communities in the three counties adjoining the ones included in Entzminger's book, Steuben, Chemung, and Broome counties.]

Eichholz, Alice and James M. Rose. Free Black Heads of Households in the New York State Federal Census, 1790-1830. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1981, 301p.

Farley, Ena L. "The African American Presence in the History of Western New York" In The African American Presence in New York State History: Four Regional History Surveys. Edited by Monroe Fordham. Albany, NY: The New York African American Institute, State University of New York, January 1989. pp. 79-110.

Phelan, Helene C. And Why Not Every Man? An Account of Slavery, the Underground Railroad, and the Road to Freedom in New York's Southern Tier. Almond, NY: Helene C. Phelan, 1987. 247p.

Woodson, Carter G. Free Negro Heads of Families in the United States in 1830; together with a Brief Treatment of the Free Negro. Washington, DC: The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc., 1925.

Stanton Biddle

Baruch College CUNY