Genealogical reconstruction depended on local informal networks rather than institutions

Evidence

To Rose Shiver, a woman I call sister and soulmate, I believe that the stars had to align perfectly to bring us together as friends. I searched the South, calling and connecting with educational and academic institutions throughout the greater Columbia area. I found no one more informed or resourceful than you. I must publicly acknowledge that were it not for you, I could not have placed my ancestors on land owned by the slaveholder Benjamin Franklin Taylor. You are also responsible for my meeting with Dr. Edmund Taylor, the linear descendant of the man who enslaved our ancestors. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 1388

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the recurring theme in this reading project: formal archives and institutions failed; informal human networks succeeded.