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Slave manifests offer link to ancestors

Charlie Carr watched as at least 15 friends were thrown overboard because the ship was too heavy. He was shipped from Africa to Georgia 50 years after the overseas slave trade was supposed to have been abolished in 1808. And he fought in the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War but never was able to secure a pension for his family.

Emma Davis-Hamilton thinks she is part of Carr's family. She learned about the man, who may be related to her grandfather, after finding his slave records from 150 years ago.

On Saturday, 14,000 slave manifests like the ones Davis-Hamilton found will be unveiled at the Atlanta Black Family History Symposium at the National Archives for the Southeast Region in Morrow, in Clayton County.

The documents track slaves in the late 18th century and the 19th century who came to Savannah, Mobile, Charleston, Beaufort or Jekyll Island — like Davis-Hamilton's family. There are also some manifests from Africa.
Read entire article at Atlanta Journal-Constitution