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Researching Your Enslaver Ancestors

Join us for a FREE virtual program on January 13 at 2:30 p.m. ET!

Know your ancestors were enslavers, or suspect they might have been? This session will provide an overview of the process: From preparation and research, to sharing your findings and continuing reparative practice in a real, grounded way. You'll leave with a structure to guide you in bringing long-hidden and critically important information to light.

Martha Runnette was born and raised in Pennsylvania and now lives in Colorado, where she continues to trace the many branches of her family who had moved west. Her deeper research began after her father passed away, when she traced her lineage more closely and confirmed that her ancestors were enslavers. That evidence led her to reparative genealogy.

In addition to client research, Martha volunteers with the US Black Heritage Project on Wikitree and is a member of NSCDA-PA, NSDAR and several genealogical and historical societies. She is engaged in ongoing advanced coursework in genealogical method, reparative best practice and evidence analysis, and has a background in large-scale project management. In 2026, she will launch Root & Repair, a hands-on workshop for white genealogists examining possible enslaver history with accuracy and care.

She is currently researching her Quaker ancestor, Gov. Henry Bull of Rhode Island, and the people he and his family enslaved.