You're very welcome, Joyce. Just some additional notes... It looks like the witnesses at Henry & Alice's wedding was Henry's sister Laura and her husband Barzillai Hoyt Custer. It looks like BW should be BH. I've never seen the name Barzillai before this but I see it is a biblical name. More interesting is that in the 1900 census, Laura is living with her son William and her mother Roseana, next to Henry and Alice. Laura is listed as being married but in the same year, her husband B Hoyt Custer is enumerated at Eaton Rapids, Eaton County Michigan, also married but living separately, hmmm. As for the marriage cert for the black couple in Ohio, I think that Ohio was a bit more sympathetic to blacks, hence the nice cert. Personally, I would start my search using the various censuses available but depending on the circumstances, it will probably get much harder to look for them as you get nearer the Civil War. It all depends on what their status was before, during and after the war. If they had been slaves earlier, those records are quite sparse. On the other hand, if they became free persons early on, you are sure to have better luck. I've noticed more and more information become available online when it comes to researching Afro-American ancestry but as of yet, I haven't had a need to utilize any of the current tools. Personally, I would start with googling known names and locations. A good search hint when searching via Google, is to just enter a surname, then a tilde (~) and the word genealogy. Don't leave any spaces. In place of a surname, you can use a full name, first and last but you need to use quotation marks around the names. Here are a few of examples; smith~genealogy "john smith"~genealogy "john smith"~genealogy+michigan Using this hint will narrow your hits dramatically! Good Luck & SISU! John in Racine WI Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:13:16 -0800 (PST) > From: Joyce Hunt <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [MI-GENEALOGY] wedding Rogers, Henry A and Knapp, Alice > To: [email protected] > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > Thanks so much!! > > You have a great way to find information. I basically wanted what you > gave me. Makes the certificate so much more appreciated. AND, you are > right....it was 86 not 87. > > I have a certificate of a black couple married in southern Ohio....where > do I start to find out about them? I find it interesting that given the > social thinking of the early 1900's there would be a nice certificate with > pictures of black people. > > Again....thanks! > > John <[email protected]> wrote: > Joyce- > > I don't know what additional information you're looking for, it looks like > you already have the bulk of the info. However, I have found two different > online sources that state that Henry A Rogers, born in Erie County PA, and > Alice Knapp, born in Wayne County MI, were married September 12, 1886 in > Ionia Michigan, not in 1887 as you originally posted. > > According to the 1900 Census, Berlin Twsp, Ionia County MI, enumerated as > RODGERS, Henry was born April 1859 in PA, Alice was born May 1865 in MI > and > their daughter Nellie N> was born August 1890 in MI. > > Henry's sister and mother are enumerated right after Henry and his family. > > Good Luck & SISU! > John in Racine WI > > > > Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 06:40:22 -0800 (PST) > > From: Joyce Hunt > > Subject: [MI-GENEALOGY] wedding Rogers, Henry A and Knapp, Alice > > To: [email protected] > > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > > > I would like to have information on the wedding of Henry Rogers and > Alice > > Knapp married on September 12, 1887. > > > > The groom was from Berlin Ionia and the bride from Orange Ionia, > > Michiagan. > > > > The minister was Oramil E Wightman and witnesses were BW Custer and > Laura > > A Custer. > > > > Thanks! > > > > Joyce Hunt, Ohio