AAHGS (Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society)_Official Blog: Did Grandpa Work for the Railroad?

In honor of Father's Day, I wanted to dedicate this blog to all the African American men that worked for the railroad system. The U.S. railroad system is second only to the United States government in the employment of African American men. America’s first steam locomotive made its debut in 1830, and over the next two decades railroad tracks linked many cities on the East Coast. By 1850, some 9,000 miles of track had been laid east of the Missouri River. Hundreds of thousands of enslaved men were used for the labor of these railroad tracks. The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 chartered the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies. Following the end of the Civil War many African American men continued to work on this project connecting the east and west.

In the early 20th century there were many railroad companies such as Northern Pacific Railway Company, Kansas City Southern Railroad Company, Missouri Union Pacific Railroad Company, Norfolk Southern, and the Pullman Car Company. All of these companies continued to employee African American men for various jobs including carpenter, painter, car oiler, baggage handler, porter, and blacksmith. Because of these small and larger railroads across the U.S. there are some very valuable employee records that can assist with genealogy and family history research. While some records may have been lost or destroyed, many records were archived and are available to the public.

Employee records can provide the employees' full name, birth date, address, name of a close relative (for emergencies), tenure of employment, and job title. Also included would be pension applications, pension appeals, and accident or incident reports.

Do you have a relative that worked for the railroad? Have you been able to find some interesting documents about the railroad in your research? Please let us know how you found your information. We would love to hear about who worked for the railroad in your family!