After Slavery, Searching For Loved Ones In Wanted Ads

In the waning years of the Civil War, advertisements like this began appearing in newspapers around the country: “INFORMATION WANTED By a mother concerning her children.

• Ari Shapiro
• npr

“Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, who now resides in Marysville, California was formerly owned to-gether with her children, vis: Lydia, William, Allen, and Parker, by one John Petty, who lived about six miles from the town of Woodbury…

• After Slavery, Searching…