Genealogies of African American Families in South Western New York State, 1830-1955.Thomas A. Entzminger. Genealogies of African American Families in South Western New York State, 1830-1955. Aurora, CO: Thaaron Publications, 2002, 182 p.

Unbeknownst to most people, including many scholars of western New York history, persons of African ancestry have played a role in the region's life and culture from the earliest days of European exploration. Although their numbers were always small, African Americans have been a part of the social environment of western New York from the revolutionary period onward. Thomas A. Entzminger, a retired native son of the region, has made a unique and valuable contribution to scholarship in this area.

Genealogies of African American Families in South Western New York State, documents the existence of nearly five hundred African American and mixed race families living in the Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua county region of rural western New York, dating back to the earliest days of the state. Except for possible slave ancestors or Underground Railroad passages, most of the families listed in this book do not appear in the local histories of the region. They and their contributions are only mentioned anecdotally, if at all, in the centennial, sesquicentennial, and bicentennial celebrations of the villages and towns along the Southern Tier. Unless one were born and raised in the area, one would probably not be aware of the fact that a thriving African American community has existed in the area for generations. It is only by combing through the census records, as Thomas Entzminger has done, that one becomes aware of the scope of this phenomenon. This publication chronicles generation after generation being born, growing up, raising families, growing old, and dying in the towns and villages of Friendship, Wellsville, Scio and Wirt in Allegany County; Olean, Portville, and Allegany in Cattaraugus County; or Jamestown, Mayville, and Dunkirk in Chautauqua County. (return)  (Review from webpage below and submitted by Dave Fish.