Although the search for African American ancestry prior to the Civil War is challenging, the difficulties are not always insurmountable. Finding Your African American Ancestors takes you through your ancestors' transition from slavery to freedom, and helps you find them using the federal census, plantation records, and other helpful sources. The book also considers ways to locate runaway slave advertisements, to identify an ancestor's military regiment, and to access the valuable information from The Freedman's Savings and Trust records.

This book lists the ancestors approved by the National Society Colonial Dames XVIIC for members who joined chapters in the Arizona Society. The book is a great reference for individuals researching their ancestry and for those individuals wishing to join the Society.