The Alabama Department of Archives and History honored its highest-ranking female employee, reference department head and black history and genealogy specialist Frazine Taylor, with a retirement party attended by some 100 people on Monday, February 1. The Montgomery Advertiser covered the event and interviewed admiring colleagues including ADAH director Dr. Ed Bridges, who praised her professionalism and observed, “Frazine’s become a national leader in the field.”

Taylor noted that curiosity about her own ancestry inspired the writing of her book on how to use state records for genealogy research. Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama was published by NewSouth Books in 2008.

From the article:

“When I first came there were not a lot of African-Americans doing family history because they didn’t have the tools,” said Taylor. “I conducted workshops and other things to help provide [those] tools.”

She said most of her efforts were directed at helping families use the services Alabama Department of Archives and History provided to search for information they lacked about past generations. She said she has been able to trace her own family roots back to the 1850s.

Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama is available from NewSouth Books, Amazon.com, or your favorite retail or online bookseller.

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