Char McCargo Bah

Char McCargo Bah has two undergraduate degrees and a certificate in Legal Research Investigation. Char was recently selected for the 2009 Alexandria History Award for her work on the Freedmen Cemetery in Alexandria, VA. She has been doing genealogical research since 1981 and has been a contributing author for three books and she is a columnist of Char's Corner for the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) newsletter.

Char holds membership in a dozen or more genealogical societies including National Genealogical Society (NGS), Virginia Genealogical Society (VGS) and AAHGS. Her most recent television appears has been on the 2009 FOX5-TV Tracing the Roots of Your Family Tree and 2007 PBS History Detectives. Her most recent radio interview was in 2007 with BBC radio station in London.

Char has lectured throughout the east coast and she currently works with the City of Alexandria, Virginia on the Freedmen Cemetery Descendant Project and she is a volunteer genealogist for the Alexandria Black History Museum. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Articles by this author

• An Effective Oral History Interview with African Americans

"Ancestors are watching and they will take you in the right direction—when it is time."—Char McCargo Bah

I specialize in all aspects of African American genealogy.

I was influenced by Alex Haley's book and movie —"Roots." I was able to join an African American Genealogical Society that started in 1981. This organization helped me to enhance my skills in genealogy.

My most surprising genealogical find is confirming that a German client was my second cousin who was left in Germany in WWII.

This question is hard to answer because I always wanted to research all the great African Americans entertainers and intellectuals. Why, I think most of these people came from humble beginners and along the way they left behind many relatives who do not know that they are related to them. I would like to bring these two groups together through genealogy