CHESAPEAKE — Conducting African-American genealogy will be the focus of an upcoming program at the Chesapeake branch of the Briggs-Lawrence Library as part of Black History Month.

“If they were slaves, you don’t have a record of their existence prior to the emancipation, unless their owners kept records,” Lori Shaffer of the library said.

There was a slave census but it simply listed the number of slaves and possibly ages, not names.

The Freedman’s Bureau, a post-emancipation government agency, was the first to record marriages after slaves were freed.

“If they were married in slave days there was no record of marriages or births,” Shaffer said.

Also African-American cemeteries often had no markings because of the poverty of the families.

At the class will be a power point presentation on how to do this type of genealogy, including a book participates can take with them on completion of the class.

This is the second year for the course, which will be given at the main branch as well.

Participants will also get information about how through DNA African-Americans can trace their roots back to African tribes.

The class will be at the Chesapeake branch at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, and at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11 at the main library.