Working notes
Amberly's Research Notebook
Research is a process with false starts. These entries publish the reasoning as it develops — including the searches that returned nothing.
From the research notebook ofAmberly R. Carter-Mills— Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist
- August 12, 2026Analysis
Following the enslavers' records without making the enslavers the story
- August 12, 2026Analysis
Why we are researching people who were enslaved alongside Hilliard
- August 11, 2026Conflict
The 1852 marriage date does not hold
- August 9, 2026Analysis
Reading record language, not identity
- August 9, 2026Analysis
What the records can prove about Hilliard's sale — and what they cannot yet tell us
- August 9, 2026Research Question
The collateral network in the 1855 notice
- August 8, 2026Analysis
Documenting the account is not documenting the event
- August 8, 2026Conflict
Reading the literacy conflict rather than resolving it
- August 8, 2026Field Note
A Note From the Descendant