Database of 4m enslaved people records goes online
The gist
Ancestry put nearly 4 million records of enslaved people online for free.
Descendants can now search names, ages and family links for the first time.
How it unfolded
- Sep 22, 2026Ancestry announced and launched a free online collection of 3,959,833 enslavement register records from 1813–1840, spanning 20 former British colonies, digitized from original manuscripts at The National Archives of the UK and fully indexed and searchable for the first time.
- Sep 22, 2026A Facebook Live session at 2 p.m. MT with Nicka Sewell-Smith and Dr. Suzanne Francis-Brown was held on the official Ancestry Facebook page.
- Oct 21, 2026A virtual community event and panel is scheduled.