Before They Were Ancestors (BTWA) is a family tree research company. Our ideal clients are African-American families looking to find more information about their ancestors who lived from 1870 until now. We’ve chosen the year 1870 because that is the year in which formerly enslaved Black people were first listed by name in the United States Census. In gathering documents and records of ancestors, if we can find clues that take us further than 1870, we will continue to research and gather as much information as possible even past the point of 1870.
We work with our clients for a minimum of six months to provide a thorough family tree research experience. We do not require our clients to take a DNA test as we focus our research on documents and records. Our goal is not to simply tell a client where they come from, but to tell our clients who they come from. In our research, we will use multiple resources to gather documents and records for our clients. These resources include popular family tree websites, The Freedmen’s Bureau records, and other online databases, as well as libraries, museums, churches, funeral homes, genealogical societies, historical societies, colleges & universities, county courthouses, and other genealogists and family tree researchers.
Our founder, Kavin Payne, is an African-American genealogist raised within a close-knit family from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. In 2007, he graduated from Mercer University with a degree in African-American Studies. During his senior year, he began conducting research on his family tree, eventually tracing his roots back to South Carolina in the late 1700s. After college, K.P. moved to Philadelphia where he became fascinated with Philadelphia’s own William Still – a Black abolitionist and conductor on the Underground Railroad. It’s in the spirit of William Still that our founder offers Before They Were Ancestors to Black families here in the United States of America.