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Freedman's Project Media Scan
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Freedmen’s Bureau Records of 4 million former slaves released today
Jun 19, 2015 | The Washington Post
By Hamil R. Harris
The National Archives, in cooperation with with FamilySearch International, a subsidiary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Smithsonian Institution, is releasing 1.5 million digitized images that contain the names of up to 4 million former slaves collected by agents of the Freedman’s Bureau at the end of the Civil War. -
Slavery records will soon be easily searchable online
Jun 19, 2015 | USA Today
By Yamiche Alcindor
Millions of previously hard-to-access records on freed enslaved African Americans collected just after the start of the U.S. Civil War will soon be easily searchable online, likely allowing millions of people to trace their ancestry back farther than ever before. -
Group traces steps of freed slaves, now needs your help
Jun 19, 2015 | KMTV
By Deborah Tuft
In 2001, the largest collection of searchable African-American Civil War records came to light and those records came from the Freedmen Bureau bank, it’s job was to help newly freed slaves. Now 14 years later and a total of 4-million indexes later, volunteers need your help to index about a million more people. -
African Americans soon will have access to their Civil War-era family records
Jun 19, 2015 | Lancaster Online
By Cindy Stauffer
FamilySearch, the world's largest genealogy organization, is digitally releasing 4 million historical records from the Freedmen's Bureau. It also is launching a national volunteer effort to index those records, according to a press release. -
Millions of genealogical records of African-American ancestors released
Jun 19, 2015 | The Daily Herald
By Genelle Pugmire
On Friday, the 150th anniversary of the freeing of the slaves after the Civil War, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the release of more than four million Civil War-era free slave records. -
LDS Church, FamilySearch launch project to index Freedmen’s Bureau records of 4 million former slaves
Jun 19, 2015 | Desert News
By Tad Walch
n a June tenth announcement Friday in Los Angeles that generated widespread excitement and jubilant parties nationwide, the LDS Church, FamilySearch.org and African-American history organizations announced the joint Freedmen’s Bureau Project, an effort to digitize 1.5 million handwritten records about former slaves and make them available online at a new website,discover freedmen.org. -
Mormons head up effort to make available records of 4 million former black slaves
Jun 19, 2015 | The Salt Lake Tribune
By Lee Davidson
On the 150th anniversary of "Juneteenth," the final freeing of slaves after the Civil War, the LDS Church announced Friday a project to emancipate from obscurity key records of about 4 million former slaves' families and lives. -
Topekan helps make announcement about Freedmen's Bureau Project, which helps African Americans connect with ancestors
| The Topeka Capital-Journal
By Ann Maria Bush
Topekan Sherri Camp on Friday joined other speakers in Los Angeles to announce the digital release of 4 million Freedmen’s Bureau historical records and the launch of a nationwide volunteer indexing effort. The goal of the Freedmen’s Bureau Project is to help African Americans reconnect with their Civil War-era ancestors -
Historic Freedmen’s Bureau records now available online
Jun 19, 2015 | The Dallas Morning News
By Jeff Mosier
Records documenting the successes and struggles and the ordinary and extraordinary lives of as many as 4 million freed slaves have recently been posted online. And with help from an army of volunteers, the records could be indexed and searchable within a year.
Top Tier Media
Local Media
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Freedmen’s Bureau Records of 4 million former slaves released today
Jun 19, 2015 | The Washington Post
By Hamil R. Harris
The National Archives, in cooperation with with FamilySearch International, a subsidiary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Smithsonian Institution, is releasing 1.5 million digitized images that contain the names of up to 4 million former slaves collected by agents of the Freedman’s Bureau at the end of the Civil War.
The release of information, called a “treasure trove,” by genealogical groups, coincides with the 150th anniversary of the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas. On June 19, 1865 a Union general in Galveston, read aloud the contents of “General Order No. 3″, announcing the total emancipation of slaves, even though the Emancipation Proclamation has gone into effect two and a half years earlier.
The Freedmen’s Bureau was organized to assist freedmen in 15 states and the District of Columbia after the war. The bureau opened schools, managed hospitals and gave support to an estimated 4 million slaves. The 1.5 million images released Friday are from the actual reports filed by the 900 agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau who were located across the country.
Hollis Gentry, a genealogist with Smithsonian Institution, said they were very interested in partnering with the church and genealogical groups to make records available to a wider audience. “One of the biggest challenges in researching the Freedmen’s Bureau records are the number of handwritten reports that are in the form of letters. The agents may have been reporting on deaths or marriages.”
“Because the Freedmen’s Bureau was an agency within the government the records have been in the custody of the National Archives and available only in Washington DC.,” Gentry said. “Now 1.5 million images have been scanned in and digitized and we estimate that they contain the names of upto 4 million slaves.
“We would like to have all of the names of the Freedmen indexed by the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture,” Gentry said. “By the Fall of 2016 when the museum is scheduled to open.”
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Slavery records will soon be easily searchable online
Jun 19, 2015 | USA Today
By Yamiche Alcindor
Millions of previously hard-to-access records on freed enslaved African Americans collected just after the start of the U.S. Civil War will soon be easily searchable online, likely allowing millions of people to trace their ancestry back farther than ever before.
FamilySearch, a large genealogy organization, announced Friday that in collaboration with several other organizations it will digitally release records collected through the Freedmen's Bureau and launch a nationwide volunteer effort to make the records searchable by indexing them by 2016.
Genealogists and historians call the move a tremendous step in helping the nation learn more about its past and a unique opportunity for millions to reconnect with ancestors and find living family members.
The records also come as the nation continues to discuss racial identity and the case of Rachel Dolezal, a woman who is biologically white but identifies as black. Dolezal stepped down as president of the Spokane NAACP amid questions about her racial identity.
In hashtags, social media forums and in lively discussions, people continue to debate how to define race and what role lineage plays in ethnicity. The Freedmen's Bureau records serve to further that conversation and illustrate how complex race remains, said Mark Anthony Neal, an African and African-American studies professor at Duke University.
"The big question of America is this question of racial identity," he said. "Rachel (Dolezal) brings that to the forefront in ways that we hadn't imagined before."
The Freedmen's Bureau obtained handwritten, personal information about an estimated 4 million newly freed enslaved people, including details about who previously owned them, marriage and family history, military service, banking practices and hospital and property records.
Experts say such information will unearth a treasure trove of information that many African Americans have longed to learn about for hundreds of years.
"The records serve as a bridge to slavery and freedom," said Hollis Gentry, of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which will showcase the records when it opens next year. "You can look at some of the original documents that were created at the time when these people were living. They are the earliest of recordings of people who were formerly enslaved. We get a sense of their voice. We get a sense of their desires, their goals, their dreams, their hopes."
Gentry and others involved in the project say the records will allow all Americans to learn how the United States transformed society after slavery ended. However, they stress they will need the public's help to index the records, which they believe could take six to nine months.
Organized near the end of the Civil War and following the passage of the 13th Amendment, the Freedmen's Bureau operated from 1865 to 1872 in 15 states and the District of Columbia. It opened schools, managed hospitals, rationed food and clothing and even solemnized marriages. As a result, it collected information on millions.
Sharon Leslie Morgan, founder of Our Black Ancestry Foundation, a non-profit that aims to provide resources for African-American genealogical research, said the indexing is very important and will give some people a sense of confidence as they learn about their family's triumphs and struggles.
Prior to the 1870 U.S. Census, black people were classified as property without last names and as a result, finding information about black families before that year is extremely hard, she said. In addition, the records, which will now be online, were before only accessible by physically visiting places such as the National Archives and reading through hundreds of pages.
"There is a longing inside all of us human beings to know where you came from and who you belong to and who your people are," Morgan said. "And, for black people in America that is particularly intense because we were taken away from our original homeland. Our identities were changed. Our families were severed. Our cultural traditions were frustrated."
Following Friday's announcement, volunteers will work with FamilySearch, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society and the California African American Museum to make the histories easy to find for free online searches, Thom Reed of FamilySearch said.
Keisha Bentley-Edwards, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies race, adolescence and academic and social development, thinks the records will make some feel more confident.
"When you are able to look at your own family and see the triumphs that may have occurred in your family both as result of and despite slavery, I think it will be a very empowering experience," she said.
Mark O'Connell, a psychotherapist who researches and writes about identity, adds that people of all races find power in family histories. "The more connected we are to something strong and heroic and dignified from our ancestors' past, the more we can feel capable of being that way in our own lives," he said.
Meanwhile, Morgan has spent a lifetime searching for her family roots, discovering the name of a black great grandmother born around 1800 and a white great grandfather born in 1670. She believes these records being disseminated throughout the country will serve a purpose for future generations.
"In order for us to deal with contemporary issues that we have today – racism, black boys being shot down in the streets – you have to confront the past," she said. "The land was stolen from the Native Americans. The labor was provided for free by African slaves. The entire foundation of American capitalism is based on slavery, on a free labor market. People don't want to deal with that and you have to."
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Group traces steps of freed slaves, now needs your help
Jun 19, 2015 | KMTV
By Deborah Tuft
An American Civil Era Group, set out to help Emancipated slaves get on their feet again and the group that group is called the Freedmen's Bureau.
There were 4-million slaves who were freed after after the Emancipation.
In 2001, the largest collection of searchable African-American Civil War records came to light and those records came from the Freedmen Bureau bank, it’s job was to help newly freed slaves.
“They help reunite families, clothe and fed them, educated the illiterate,” said Cheryl Gardner with the Latter Day Saints, who is helping spearhead a national indexing effort.
Back then, there were also 460,000 records painstakingly sifted through - person by person and trek by trek.
“They’ve been with the Smithsonian for 150 years, FamilySearch acquired them, FamilySearch is a huge data base,” Gardner said.
Now 14 years later and a total of 4-million indexes later, volunteers need your help to index about a million more people.
“This is history in the making, their ancestors, these people, who made them who they are,” Gardner concluded.
The Nationwide index efforts are expected to take another year and can all be done online here.
In addition, the records will be showcased at the Smithsonians Newest African-American museum in late 2016.
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African Americans soon will have access to their Civil War-era family records
Jun 19, 2015 | Lancaster Online
By Cindy Stauffer
Area African-American residents soon will have online access to genealogy records from their Civil War-era ancestors, courtesy of a new effort to organize those records.
FamilySearch, the world's largest genealogy organization, is digitally releasing 4 million historical records from the Freedmen's Bureau. It also is launching a national volunteer effort to index those records, according to a press release.
The release was highlighted Friday at an event at the National Civil War Museum, 1 Lincoln Circle, Harrisburg.
Trained people will be on hand to demonstrate the indexing of the records before and after the event.
The Freedmen's Bureau was organized near the end of the Civil War to assist newly freed slaves in 15 states and the District of Columbia. As the bureau opened schools, managed hospitals, and rationed food and clothing, it also gathered handwritten, personal information about African Americans, including marriage and family information, military service, school attendance and property records.
The goal is to have the Freedmen's Bureau records fully indexed in time for the opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in late 2016.
Volunteers are being sought to search and index the records over the next year, so they will be available for free online searches.
Potential volunteers who would like to help with indexing may emailfreedmenprojecthbg@gmail.com.
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Millions of genealogical records of African-American ancestors released
Jun 19, 2015 | The Daily Herald
By Genelle Pugmire
He grew up in Dayton, Ohio, didn’t know much of his father, and had little knowledge of who his ancestors were, but today Wain Myers is celebrating, thanks to The Freedmen's Bureau Project and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On Friday, the 150th anniversary of the freeing of the slaves after the Civil War, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the release of more than four million Civil War-era free slave records.
The press conference was broadcast live from The California African American Museum in Los Angeles.
Christofferson took a moment at the beginning of his address to pay respects to the victims and families of the Charleston, South Carolina shootings Wednesday.
"In the wake of the tragic shootings, our prayers are with the victims," Christofferson said. "We pray all who mourn can find peace in God."
Christofferson, said of the Freedmen's Bureau Project that rather than focusing on the tragedy that broke families apart, the world should look at the history being made that will bring families together.
"On paper, there is potential to reunite the black family torn apart by slavery," Christofferson said.
He added that the black community can come together to create a wonderful tool to unite its own family.
FamilySearch, the largest genealogy organization in the world, in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society and the California African American Museum, are working together to make these records available and accessible online for those interested in their ancestry.
The project also is seeking help from the public with indexing millions of images.
The Freedmen's Bureau of Records began at the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865. Freedmen's helped four million newly freed men and women build a new foundation and create lives. The bureau formalized marriages for the first time, and recorded thousands of stories of black families.
These records became the property of the National Archives. FamilySearch obtained 1,100 rolls of microfilmed information so they could be recorded digitally.
Myers said it’s hard to comprehend that finally African-American families will be able to connect to their ancestors and understand who they are and where they came from.
“We don’t know our lineage, our heritage,” Myers said. “We’re hard pressed to find our grandparents. For me, this is huge.”
Myers joined the LDS Church in 1995. He said many kind people have talked with him over the years about genealogy and have shared their research experiences.
“Deep down inside, I just wanted to say ‘well hooray for you,’” Myers said. “When I found out about the Freedmen's Bureau Project, it gives me more hope.”
Myers said many African-Americans will have to retrain their brains and have hope they will find a connection to their past.
“So many of us barely know our grandparents,” Myers said. “So many of our parents are ashamed of their history, a lot of times information doesn’t get passed down. This is just huge for us.
“This is a very emotional thing. It’s much needed, much desired and will help progress our community. When you don’t have a sense of who you are, there are so many missing pieces. You don’t have a standard. A place on which to base your goals or say 'my grandfather did this.' You can’t say this look (I got from grandpa) or this gesture (came from great-grandma).”
“There is a great desire for everyone to know their family,” said Kim Farah, LDS Church spokeswoman. “We recognize these are very important records.”
In 2001, FamilySearch was able to digitize bank records from the Freedman's Bank. The bank was established after the Civil War, but collapsed because of fraud. However, in the process of opening accounts, newly freed slaves would give their oral history.
How is this different than the Freedman's Bank project? According to Farah, the Freedmen's Bureau records are 10 times larger, more comprehensive, and tell entire stories as four million slaves became American citizens.
“Everyone needs to know who they are,” said Diane Watson, former U.S. Representative and U.S. Ambassador. “They need to know something about their background. They need to know the traits that run through their lines. The Freedmen’s Project will fill in those gaps.”
Now that records are digitized, it will be much easier for volunteers to index names and information for genealogical research. The goal is to have the project done within the next nine months. The goal with the Smithsonian is to have these records ready by 2016 for the opening of the new National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“Now that we have these records that came through national archives, we want to help individuals to overcome the brick wall of research,” said Thom Reed, of FamilySearch. “We are calling for volunteers, those who have ties to these records, the African-American community.
“The indexing of these records will allow many African-Americans to create a link to their Civil War-era ancestors for the first time. This effort will bring to life the names of those who came before us and honor their great legacy, and will allow us to connect our families past and present.”
Hollis Gentry with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, said the museum is a very interested partner in the Freedmen's Bureau Project.
“Indexing will enable historians to access a treasure trove,” Gentry said. “This will provide a database of names for researchers who have reached brick walls. It will also help identify 900 bureau agents who helped them transition from slaves to citizens.”
Myers said that while some African-Americans might be suspect of the LDS Church's involvement, he said he hopes that most will see this as a portal bringing families over the ages together.
“Many will see this as an awesome opportunity,” Myers said. “I’m glad it’s the LDS Church. Look what they’ve done with genealogy.”
For more information, visit www.discoverfreedmen.org.
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Jun 19, 2015 | Desert News
By Tad Walch
The descendants of African-American slaves now can join a remarkable project that may help them discover their roots.
In a June tenth announcement Friday in Los Angeles that generated widespread excitement and jubilant parties nationwide, the LDS Church, FamilySearch.org and African-American history organizations announced the joint Freedmen’s Bureau Project, an effort to digitize 1.5 million handwritten records about former slaves and make them available online at a new website,discover freedmen.org.
The excitement on the 150th anniversary of Emancipation Day was muted by a backdrop of mourning in the black community over the shooting deaths of nine worshippers at a church in Charleson, South Carolina, on Wednesday night.
"There, unfortunately, we saw hate," Elder D. Todd Christofferson, an LDS Church leader, said at the beginning of the press conference. "Here today, we see love."
"We pray that all who mourn may find the peace that comes only from God," added Elder Christofferson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Emancipation in 1865 freed about 4 million slaves. To help them transition from slavery to freedom, the U.S. government set up the Freedmen’s Bureau to provide food, housing, education, medical care and more. The bureau generated 1.5 million records, the first of any kind about many of those former slaves.
“African-Americans who tried to research their family history before 1870 hit a brick wall because before 1870 their ancestors who were slaves and showed up as ticks or hash marks on paper,” said Paul Nauta, spokesman for FamilySearch. “They didn’t not have a name. The slave master would just have tick marks.”
The press conference was streamed live online and included simultaneous gatherings at 31 other locations, including the Underground Railroad Museum and the National Civil War Museum.
The Freedmen's Bureau records are similar to but separate from the Freedmen's Bank records that have been available online at FamilySearch.org since 2001.
Elder Christofferson recalled participating in the 2001 press conference where the LDS Church and FamilySearch announced the completion of the project that indexed the 67,000 account records of the Freedmen's Bank, which helped freed slaves with their new financial opportunities.
The bank collapsed due to mismanagement and fraud, but the records have become an important source of information for many black families. More than 94,100 unique visitors have accessed the records at FamilySearch.org in the past year.
"Happily," Elder Christofferson said Friday, "this time the (Freedmen's Bureau) records are 10 times greater, with 4 million names. And this time, the black community is combining with a wonderful tool to make the records available to all."
He said the records can help "reunite the black family that was once torn apart by slavery."
The project is a partnership between FamilySearch, the largest genealogy organization in the world; the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society; and the California African American Museum.
Leaders of these groups and others say the records have the ability to become transformative and healing for black Americans, who regularly hit what they repeatedly called a "brick wall" when trying to research ancestors prior to the 1870 U.S. census, the first census to include blacks.
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Mormons head up effort to make available records of 4 million former black slaves
Jun 19, 2015 | The Salt Lake Tribune
By Lee Davidson
On the 150th anniversary of "Juneteenth," the final freeing of slaves after the Civil War, the LDS Church announced Friday a project to emancipate from obscurity key records of about 4 million former slaves' families and lives.
The Utah-based faith digitized and now will lead efforts to index — for easy online researching by name — records of the Freedmen's Bureau, an agency Congress created at the end of the war to help the first generation of African-Americans experience freedom.
LDS apostle D. Todd Christofferson called on the nation's African-Americans to help with that project — and said many of their groups already have signed on. He said they will "potentially reunite the black family that was once torn apart by slavery."
Speaking in Los Angeles at the California African American Museum, he urged finishing the indexing of 1.4 million digitized records before completion next year of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the famed mall in Washington, D.C.
Indexing allows easy searches by name, date or place, enabling descendants to proceed directly to a document that mentions an ancestor. Otherwise, researchers would need to read every record to search for a familiar name.
"The black community is uniting to create a wonderful tool with which to discover its own family," Christofferson said. Information about the project and how to volunteer is available online at discoverfreedmen.org.
Christofferson said the records contain a treasure of genealogy and historical information.
"The bureau helped reunite families, opened schools to educate the illiterate, managed hospitals, supervised labor contracts, rationed food and clothing, and even formalized marriages. In the process, the bureau gathered handwritten information on African-Americans," he said. "These are personal, sometimes-difficult accounts to read at a turning point in our nation's history when our forebears were struggling with their own humanity. But what one also sees in these records is triumph, hope and resilience. What a great testimony to the sheer will and determination of this generation."
Hollis Gentry, genealogy specialist at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, said, "These are the earliest of recordings of people who were formerly enslaved. We get a sense of their voice. We get a sense of their desires, their goals, their dreams, their hopes."
Thom Reed, marketing director at the LDS-sponsored FamilySearch International, the world's largest genealogy organization, said, "These records will open a window that we've never had opened before" and may reveal the lives of freed slaves in ways "similar to what the Rosetta stone did" to decode ancient languages.
Reed said many African-Americans, including himself, have up to now "run into a brick wall" because it is difficult to find any genealogy before the 1870 Census, the first to list former slaves. He hopes to use the new records to find earlier generations.
Gentry said she did exactly that — and used the records to track several ancestors, including one that settled a town in Kentucky now named for him. It "helped me find details about their transition from slavery to freedom. I hope that will be replicated by all researchers who come to those records looking for details about their family."
"We are part of making history. This will change the fabric of genealogy for African-Americans," said Sherri Camp, vice president of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.
Jannah Scott, deputy director or the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, thanked The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for buying, digitizing and now indexing copies of the records — calling it an act of affection coming two days after the hate shown in the Charleston, S.C., murders of worshipers at a black church.
"It is an act of love," she said.
It is not the first time the LDS Church has helped bring to light similar records. In 2001, it indexed and made available records of the similar-sounding Freedman's Bank, a separate organization that financially helped former slaves. It had only about a tenth the amount of records of the current project.
Christofferson said the church is involved in genealogy because it believes families are forever linked and that knowing the sacrifices of ancestors helps those living now. Mormons also perform ordinances, such as baptism, on behalf of ancestors in LDS temples with the belief that those forebears can accept or reject them in the next life.
The LDS Church was a target of past criticism for not allowing black males to hold its priesthood. Mormon leaders lifted that ban in 1978, helping to spur rapid LDS growth places such as Africa and Brazil.
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| The Topeka Capital-Journal
By Ann Maria Bush
Topekan Sherri Camp on Friday joined other speakers in Los Angeles to announce the digital release of 4 million Freedmen’s Bureau historical records and the launch of a nationwide volunteer indexing effort.
The goal of the Freedmen’s Bureau Project is to help African Americans reconnect with their Civil War-era ancestors.
“This is a chance to make history,” Camp said.
She said it is an opportunity to reach into the past and bring to light the histories of African American families.
Camp is a genealogy librarian at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library and is vice president of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.
The announcement, which was viewed by about 16 people via television Friday at TSCPL, took place at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. The announcement happened on Juneteenth, which is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.
TSCPL was recently designated a FamilySearch affiliate library, which means that patrons have greater and more convenient access to a wealth of genealogical resources. FamilySearch manages the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
FamilySearch is working in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and the California African American Museum to make records available and accessible by taking raw records, extracting the information and indexing them to make them easily searchable online.
Ramona Brice, who is a member of the Kansas Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, and her son attended the library’s event to learn more about the Freedmen’s Bureau Project.
“It’s an exciting time,” Brice said. “We’d like to know who we are and where we came from.”
Brice began researching her family several years ago. She was able to find information on one of her grandfathers, Marshala G. Newman, who was born in Virginia to a slave and a Native American chief.
“His mother was sold six months before the Emancipation Proclamation with her baby daughter in her arms,” Brice said.
She tracked Newman to Osawatomie in 1865. However, she hasn’t been able to find information on her great-grandmother or her aunt.
Brice is hoping the Freedmen’s Bureau Project will help her in her search for family history.
The Freedmen’s Bureau was organized near the end of the American Civil War to assist newly freed slaves in 15 states and the District of Columbia. The bureau from 1865 to 1872 opened schools, managed hospitals, rationed food and clothing and performed marriages. During this time, the bureau gathered handwritten, personal information, such as marriage and family information, military service, banking, school, hospital and property records on about 4 million African Americans.
“The indexing of these records will allow many African Americans to create a link to their Civil War-era ancestors for the first time,” Thom Reed, of FamilySearch, said in a news release. “This effort will bring to life the names of those who came before us and honor their great legacy and will allow us to connect our families past and present.”
Volunteers with each of the project organizations — as well as the general public who are interested — will search and index records, making the information, details and histories discoverable for free online genealogical searches.
The goal is to have the records fully indexed in time for the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in late 2016.
“It only takes a little training for anyone with a computer and internet access to join the project,” a news release said. “Additionally, assistance will be available at FamilySearch centers throughout the nation.”
After viewing the announcement Friday at TSCPL, attendees were able to view some of the Freedmen’s Bureau records online and learn how to help with the indexing.
It took 11 years to index the first 10 percent of the Freedmen’s Bureau records, according to FamilySearch.
In 2001, FamilySearch indexed the Freedman’s Bank records, comprising more than 460,000 historical records. It became one of the largest collections of searchable Civil War-era African American records.
In 2009, FamilySearch volunteers continued the efforts by indexing more than 800,000 Freedmen’s Bureau records from Virginia.
FamilySearch on Friday asked volunteers to help index the names of freedmen and refugees from about 1.5 million more documents in the bureau’s collection.
For more information on the project or to take part in the indexing, visit discoverfreedmen.org.
Dave Thomason, a Topeka counselor for the stake presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, attended the library event to share information and help recruit volunteers.
“It’s very easy to pick up,” he said of the process to help index. “It’s rewarding to know you are contributing to something that will last forever.”
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Historic Freedmen’s Bureau records now available online
Jun 19, 2015 | The Dallas Morning News
By Jeff Mosier
Records documenting the successes and struggles and the ordinary and extraordinary lives of as many as 4 million freed slaves have recently been posted online. And with help from an army of volunteers, the records could be indexed and searchable within a year.
A public-private collaboration has digitized Freedmen’s Bureau records — considered some of the most important of the Reconstruction era — that were previously available only on microfilm at selected locations. A Los Angeles news conference on Friday detailing the project will be broadcast to dozens of locations, including Dallas and McKinney.
“For many African-Americans researching their ancestors, these are some of the most valuable records,” said John Wylie, president of the Texas State Genealogical Society. “They document what people were doing immediately after emancipation. They solve a significant stumbling block in African-American family research.”
The national unveiling Friday coincides with Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the day in 1865 that a Union general brought word of the Emancipation Proclamation to Texas.
The bureau’s archive includes about 1.5 million records, ranging from single-page marriage certificates to reports that run many pages. The goal of the Freedmen’s Bureau Project is to one day make searching the archives as easy as browsing Web pages via Google.
“Other states have adopted Juneteenth as the day of freedom for a lot of African-Americans,” said genealogist Paul Beaty of Duncanville. “Releasing this information on this day is a wonderful thing.”
Beaty, a member of the African American Genealogy Interest Group, plans to attend the Friday news conference at the main branch of the Dallas Public Library. A similar public viewing will take place at the Family History Center at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2801 W. Eldorado Parkway in McKinney.
The project is a collaboration among the Mormon Church’s FamilySearch International, National Archives and Records Administration, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, and California African American Museum.
It wasn’t clear how much the project has cost.
1865 to 1872
The archives had already been scanned onto microfilm, and in 2001, FamilySearch indexed the bank records. Years later, volunteers indexed bureau records from Virginia.
The Freedmen’s Bureau, which had offices in 15 Southern states and the District of Columbia, operated from 1865 to 1872 to help manage the aftermath of the Civil War and the freeing of slaves. The documents include bank records, census data, school records, personal letters, crime reports and labor contracts.
Wylie said this is one of the more valuable historical archives. But he said it’s also one that’s often inaccessible or difficult.
Wylie, a retired professional genealogist, said there are books devoted entirely to explaining how to research Freedmen’s Bureau records. He said he sometimes subcontracted work to experts when he had projects requiring a search of those records.
For years, the records were available in various country museums, courthouses, libraries and other scattered locations. Although it was a federal program, it often was administrated locally and through the states.
Ari Wilkins, Dallas Public Library associate in the genealogy department, said these records are especially difficult to navigate since record keeping wasn’t standardized.
“A lot of times, there’s no rhyme or reason to what you’re looking at,” she said. “You’re just scanning through pages and pages and pages and pages, and you’re reading longhand at the same time too.”
‘Words can’t express’
An online tool is available for volunteers willing to help index the remaining documents. The documents and indexing tool can be found at discoverfreedmen.org.
The Dallas Public Library is planning a monthly Mix & Index event to assemble genealogists to socialize and index the records. It’s scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month.
“Words can’t express how excited I am about getting these documents online,” Beaty said. “It literally takes hours to sift through documents piece by piece. To be able to go to my computer and press Control F and search the entire document, it’s just beautiful.”
Wylie said the records help people go beyond just tracing their lineage. They allow them to create family narratives and understand earlier lives.
“Many people doing genealogy today aren’t measuring their success by how many generations they can go back or whether they make it back to Africa,” he said. “What motivates a great deal of people is to be the biographer of their courageous ancestors.”
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