Last Seen is recovering stories of families separated in the domestic slave trade. Formerly enslaved people placed these ads hoping to reconnect with family and loved ones for decades following emancipation. The ads serve as testaments to their enduring hope and determination to regain what was taken from them. As of today, we have recovered 4618 ads.

Mapping the Ads

Formerly enslaved people placed ads looking for loved ones from all over the United States and sometimes from as far away as Africa. Explore the map to see the locations of those placing ads or locations where ads appeared.

Explore mapped ads Browse mapped timeline

Genealogy Success Stories

Read what genealogists are finding in Last Seen Ads.

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Beverly Y. Smith found Moriah, her great-great-grandmother, and Minerva, her great-great-aunt

Beverly Y. Smith created Last Seen Wearing, a series of quilts that reflects the passion of searching for her ancestors.

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Kellye Hawkins found a family in New Bern, North Carolina

In two separate ads, Daniel Rouse of New Bern, NC, asked for help finding his ten year old son, General,...

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Ellecia L. Gant found Elsie, her first cousin, five times removed

Ellecia Gant found her first cousin, five times removed, in an Information Wanted ad placed in the Christian Recorder on...

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Reverend Mark Kelly Tyler found his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Rev. Jesse Devine

Using information his grandmother passed down to him, Reverend Mark Kelly Tyler, pastor at Philadelphia's Mother Bethel AME Church, found...

Short Stories for Children
10-14 years

Read and share these stories with your 5th to 8th graders.

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In Search of Joshua Glover

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Alma and Alice

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Looking for Her Children

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The History of the “Last Seen” Archive and The Christian Recorder Newspaper

Lesson Plans
Created by and for Teachers

Explore lesson plans created and field tested by K-12 teachers.

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Monique McKenney.pdf

Love & Marriage: The Search for Husbands and Wives after Emancipation

This 3-day curriculum unit asks students to consider the importance of family and how family separation in slavery disrupted enslaved people’s…

LaMonique Adom_ Memory Box- Hope for Last Seen[51].pdf

Creating a Memory Box with the Last Seen Archive

As a supplemental lesson for the Slavery/Emancipation Human Rights unit as well as our Social Emotional Learning unit, students will explore articles,…

Historical Trends and Patterns in the Search for Family.pdf

Analyzing Historical Trends & Patterns in the Search for Family after Slavery

This lesson asks students to analyze Last Seen ads to develop a claim (thesis statement) about the historical trends and patterns they observe in…

Judith _Najera Lesson_version without links.pdf

Family Separations Then & Now

This lesson has been designed to illustrate the similarities between historical events and contemporary issues regarding family separation.…

Tell Us Your Story

Did you find a family member? We love hearing from our users about how The Last Seen Project has helped them fill in their family tree. Share your story with us.