SAN ANTONIO — At the Bexar County Spanish Archives, documents span centuries. With a little assistance, folks can discover their family history. 

“Once you get started, you cannot stop,” Lisa Jackson said. “It gets very, very, very addictive.”

Jackson enjoys researching genealogy. It’s something she picked up from her mother’s family.

“Her family, they’re historians,” Jackson said. “And they’ve been historians since they came out of slavery. They’ve been writing their family history.”

As an amateur genealogist, she often sends people to downtown San Antonio — to the Bexar County Clerks Archives where they can start piecing together their family’s story.

“We can try to give you some research assistance and give you a sort of shot in the arm,” said Bexar County archivist Dr. David Carlson.

Artifacts like a chair labeled "for a Negro woman" are in the county archives of the Juneteenth exhibit. And documents predating the end of slavery.

“Documents that are marked here in orange are slave sales,” said Dr. Carlson.

Jackson assumed there was no record of her family here since they didn’t move to San Antonio until the 1950s. But reading the slave narrative of a local man revealed something.

“Did he just say they were owned by Goodlow?” Jackson questioned. “And they brought the slaves from Mississippi. All of this is clicking because this is what I know.”

Jackson found out that she’s the descendant of children who were enslaved by the Goodlow, alternately spelled "Goodloe," family. They were sold just five days before Juneteenth. 

“And he was of the appropriate age to be my Willie Goodlow," Jackson said. “My great-great-grandfather.”

Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark says June isn’t the only time folks can come to the archives. These documents can be viewed anytime they’re open.

“We do free genealogy, free family search,” said Adame-Clark. “We don’t charge you for any of this. We really want you to empower your family, empower yourself and learn the history that did exist.”

Jackson's plans to keep researching, hopefully finding her ancestors in Africa.

“Our story is my story,” she said. “My story is your story. It’s American history and you can’t put it in a closet. You can’t hide it. Or at least you shouldn’t.”