HISTORY+Ancestry: Lincoln’s Legacy: Uncovering the Stories of African American Ancestors

Family history research can be challenging for African Americans due to the long history of slavery in the U.S. and the lack of documentation about those who were enslaved. HISTORY and Ancestry have teamed up several times over the years, with the 2022 doc “Lincoln” offering the perfect opportunity to assist the African American community with genealogy. Ancestry unveiled the world’s largest digitized and searchable collection of Freedmen’s Bureau and Freedman’s Bank records to date, with more than 3.5M records available for anyone to search for free. The Freedmen’s Bureau was established in the late 1800s by Congress to provide practical aid to 4 million newly freed African Americans in their transition from slavery to freedom. HISTORY’s creative team and Ancestry’s team of professional genealogists partnered to create original short-form content focusing on stories of diversity and history. “Lincoln’s Legacy: Uncovering the Stories of African American Ancestors” is a custom-branded three-episode miniseries that tells the personal stories of formerly enslaved African Americans and their connection to our 16th President. The partnership resulted in brand memorability that was 94% higher and drove consideration and recommendation for Ancestry.

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