Almost Disappeared
Almost Disappeared: Unearthing My Family History is a blog dedicated to preserving and interpreting African American family history through original genealogical and historical research. Drawing upon more than twenty years of research, this blog combines archival records, oral history, military and pension files, land records, newspapers, and historical analysis to reconstruct the lives of families whose stories have often been overlooked or forgotten. All the branches of my family, uprooted from Africa to the United States, converged in one place – Woodville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi. These families were then scattered throughout Louisiana, and with the onset of the Civil War, ran away or migrated to Chicago and other places.
I am proud to add my voice to those who feel they have been chosen to call the names of their ancestors and tell their stories. I hope this blog will provide ideas and resources to others, especially those whose families may have been enslaved on the same plantations, so that our ancestors will always be remembered.
Alvin Blakes
Alvin Blakes is a genealogist, public historian, and independent researcher specializing in African American family history, with a focus on enslaved families, Civil War military service, migration patterns, and post-emancipation communities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and the broader American South. His research traces his own family history from Woodville, Wilkinson County, Mississippi, back to the late 1700s in the eastern United States.
Alvin is President of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) and serves on the Board of Directors of the Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage (SDUSMP). He is also affiliated with the Dallas Genealogical Society’s African American Genealogy Interest Group and the Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago (AAGHSC).
He contributed two homesteader narratives to Black Homesteaders of the South (2022). His research methods were featured in Family Tree Magazine as a case study on researching enslaved ancestors through military records, pension files, oral testimony, and local historical sources.
Alvin has appeared on Research at the National Archives and Beyond, Genealogy Quick Start TV, and Nurturing Our Roots Genealogy Discussions, and has presented lectures and workshops for AAHGS and SDUSMP conferences, the African American Civil War Museum, and genealogy organizations nationwide.
He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University and had a long professional career as a Mechanical Design Engineering Manager.
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Alvin D. Blakes, “Title of Article,” Almost Disappeared: Unearthing My Family History, Month Day, Year. https://almostdisappeared.com/article-url.
Example: Alvin D. Blakes, “William Grant Still of Woodville, Mississippi,” Almost Disappeared: Unearthing My Family History, July 16, 2026. https://almostdisappeared.com.
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