For many African Americans , trying to get selective information about their family history can be difficult if their posterity were formerly enslaved hoi polloi . However , Ancestry.comis looking to make the search far easier by providing detached on-line access to trillion of digitize records thatcan helptrace the liveliness of Black citizens see all the way of life back to the years straight off after theCivil War .
This data comes from the record of theFreedmen ’s Bureau , a projection set in motion in 1865 that sought to assist millions of former enslaved contraband people and poor white citizens in the South gain access to food , education , and housing follow the war . Part of this program also admit the cosmos of theFreedman ’s Saving Bankin March 1865 , which was a financial origination dedicated to helping formerly enslave people manage their money . The banking concern records were monumental and had information like household members ' full names and nascence particular date . In these archives , you ’ll also find marriage certificates , letters , and labor contracts from the Freedmen ’s Bureau .
Before these programs were found , enslaved mass and African Americans were n’t even counted accurately in the nosecount , go away information incomplete , erroneous , or nonexistent . That ’s why these track record are an invaluable imagination for citizenry see to trace their family history .
These criminal record — complete with proper names and other information — were preserved byThe National Archives and Records Administration . For years , theSmithsonian Institutionhas worked to transcribe the entropy , partnering up with programs and volunteers to digitize everything available to them . ( In fact , they are still digitizing records today and are currentlyaccepting Volunteer . ) The Leslie Townes Hope is that a partnership with Ancestry.com will accord wider accessibility to the records and allow category to find out more about their history .
In a press release from Ancestry.com , professional genealogistNicka Sewell - Smithsaid that “ free access to this collection will enable meaningful Black folk history discoveries for generations to come . ” The database has more than 3.5 million disc that can help many African Americans distinguish their lineage . For anyone interested in seek the free collection , headhere .
