LDS gift opens up a
vast new path for African-American genealogical treasurers
Index of nearly 2
million names given to the Smithsonian.
Up to now,
genealogical research on African-American families often ran into a dead end
after the search reached back to 1870, the first census that documented newly
freed slaves as U.S. citizens.
The LDS church donated
an indexed database of the Freed African-Americans which can now bridge the gap
between freedom and slavery and reunite, on paper, families that were once torn
apart by slavery.
FamilySearch’s team
also uncovered and indexed the names of 1,781,463 people found in marriage and
hospital registers, education efforts, census
lists, labor contracts, and apprenticeship lists. This is the largest collection of records that
impact the African-American population today.
The bureau records present the genealogist and social historians with an
unequaled wealth of information about matters as varied as issuing food and
clothing, investigating racial conformations, settling freedmen on abandoned or
confiscated lands and establishing schools. The bureau helped secure deeds to
property so people could build schools.
The indexing team
attracted volunteers from the 36 chapters of the Afro-American Historical and
Genealogical Society, black colleges and churches, and any organization that
might have an interest.
Source: Sunday, December 11, 2016, Salt Lake
Tribune.
The messages I learned from this article:
A group of dedicated volunteers can organize various sources
of data and compile significant data.
It is heartwarming to know that this information will be of great value
to many families. Continue sharing your
personal knowledge and resources; that is what genealogy and family history is
all about. The more we share the more we
learn. The numerous records used in this search can always open doors.
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