Debra Blacklock-Sloan
- Family History Research
- Speaking / Presenting
- Writing /Publishing
- Family History Research
- Tutor / Coach
- Family History Research
- Methodology & Resources
- Available for in-person events
- Available for virtual events
- Author/Writer
- Event / Reunion / Travel Planning
- Heir & Probate Search
- House Historian / Local History
- Mineral & Property Rights
- Oral Historian
Debra Blacklock-Sloan is a professional genealogist and historical researcher with over thirty years of experience. She is also a native Houstonian and 5th generation Texan who has traced her paternal ancestral roots to Rusk County, (East Texas); Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina. Her maternal ancestral roots are in the West Indies and Louisiana. She is very passionate about helping African Americans find their ancestors and is genuinely at home in any courthouse, library or archives. Over the years she has presented local workshops on African-American family research and has been featured in several newspapers and publications such as African-American News & Issues, Houston Chronicle, Houston Defender, Tre Magazine, the Texas Historical Commission s, Medallion Magazine and the Texas Historical Foundation s Texas Heritage Magazine. She has also appeared on radio and Great Day Houston segments where she researched talk show host Debra Duncan s maternal and paternal ancestors.
Services
Debra Blacklock-Sloan's genealogical focus is: researching the African-American family to 1870; identifying the last slaveholder and his family; identifying enslaved ancestors. Her additional services include lecturer; African-American historical sites tour guide, historical research and oral history interviewer. She also presents workshops on beginning genealogy.
Geographic Specialties
South, Midwest, Southwest, North
I will conduct research anywhere in the United States.
I had the privilege of working with Debra on the Bernardo Plantation Archaeology Project. Our task was to locate current individuals who were descended from those who were enslaved on the plantation. It was the reverse of a normal genealogical project in that we started in the past and came forward in time, instead of starting with the current generation and going backward. We had some limited data on the slaves from 1831 to 1858, and from this Debra was able to identify several families listed in the 1870 census - the first to provide last names for formerly enslaved persons. Using her extensive knowledge of obscure information sources in addition to censuses, coupled with an amazing sense of deductive reasoning for where and how to look, she quickly filled in the gaps and developed an impressive record of current descendants of the Bernardo slaves. Then she contacted some of these individuals and conducted oral interviews to complete their family histories. Using old land records and other sources, she put together the history of where these families lived in 1870 - the land they owned and farmed, and what crops and livestock they raised. She even identified the plantation in Louisiana on which two of the older family members were born before coming to Texas. One of her identified lines traces back to a group of individuals who were born in Africa and landed in America where they were sold as slaves in 1818. For Debra, blind alleys do not exist. They are only paths with a temporary blockade, through which her determined search of alternative sources of information will finally open the way. Her outgoing and affable personality allows her to reach out to others who may not be family members but can provide key information. During our work together she gained my utmost respect for her genealogical research skills, and it is with complete confidence that I am able to wholeheartedly recommend her services in this field. James Woodrick, historian and author of: Bernardo - Crossroads, Social Center and Agricultural Showcase of Early Texas Austin County-Colonial Capital of Texas
Beginning African-American Genealogy
Finding the Last Slaveholder
Challenges of African-American Genealogy
African- American Handbook of Texas articles
Beginning African-American Genealogy
The Importance of Doing African- American Family History Research
Challenges of African-American Genealogy
Finding the Last Slaveholder
The History of Juneteenth in Houston
- 21st Century
- 20th Century
- 19th Century
Member: Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.-Willie Lee Gay H-Town Chapter; Harris County Historical Commission, Harris County African-American Cultural Heritage Commission and Historic Oak Park Cemetery Board