Knowing how hard it can be to trace my ancestors who came to America from Europe, I can imagine the frustration of those who seek their history from Africa.
I ran across this announcement of a new resource for researching those with African origins who were brought to the Americas on slave boats. Perhaps, this will turn out to be helpful to those who are seeking their family history and roots from that area and timeframe.
New Website to Trace Origins of Enslaved Africans
/PRNewswire/ -- Little is known of the ancestry of Africans pulled into the trans-Atlantic slave trade. A new website, launched at Emory University this week, aims to change that. The African-Origins (http://www.african-origins.org) website provides a rare glimpse of the identities of Africans aboard early nineteenth-century slaving vessels, and through this information, the possibility of tracing the origins of millions of other Africans forcibly transported to the Americas. Public participation will be critical to piecing together this missing history.
Visitors to African-Origins can search an online database of Africans liberated from slaving vessels, with such details as gender, age, African port of departure, and, most importantly, an African name. Because names used within African languages and social groups have remained fairly consistent over the last two centuries, the thousands of names listed in this database are clues to the linguistic and ethnic origins of the Africans on board these vessels.
Scholars are now looking for help in identifying the modern counterparts of these names and the languages and ethnicities with which they are likely associated. Through the African-Origins website, those with knowledge of African languages and cultural naming practices can suggest these links. By taking a few minutes to search and listen for familiar names and contribute a modern counterpart, language, and ethnic group, members of the public can help identify the language, ethnic and geographic origins of people listed in these registers, and subsequently the likely origins of millions of other unnamed Africans enslaved during this period.
With these insights, scholars serving as editors of the database can consider the range of possible languages and groups affiliated with a name alongside historical research of peoples' locations and movements across Africa. As contributions are received and analyzed, new information will be added to the African-Origins database on the likely language and ethnicity of each individual. Visitors to the site will eventually be able to search for Africans by linguistic group and view maps of the historical locations of people pulled into the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
To find out more about the African Origins project or contact the project team, visit http://www.african-origins.org or email african-origins@emory.edu.
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Ahh, genealogy. What trips our ancestors took!
©2011 AS Eldredge
Ahhh, genealogy. A glimpse of the past shows of what I am made.....
Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Founders to go Online
Thought you'd enjoy knowing this fun little tidbit from the National Archives......
National Archives to Put the Founders Online
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the grantmaking arm of the National Archives, is pleased to announce a cooperative agreement with The University of Virginia (UVA) Press to make freely available online the historical documents of the Founders of the United States of America.
The NHPRC and UVA Press will create a new web site which provides access to the fully annotated published papers of key figures in the nation’s Founding era. The project is designed to include the papers of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin. The National Historical Publications and Records Commission will provide funding in the amount of up to $2 million for the UVA Press to undertake the work on the published papers.
Through this web resource, users will be able to read, browse, and search tens of thousands of documents from the Founding Era. A prototype web site including the contents of 154 volumes drawn from print editions of the papers of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison will be prepared by October 2011. The fully public version will be launched by June 2012 and will also include the 27 volumes of the Papers of Alexander Hamilton. By June 2013, the Founders Online expects to add the 39 published volumes of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin. The new resource will include the complete contents of 242 printed volumes, including all of the existing document transcriptions and the editors’ explanatory notes.
“This new archive of the Founding Era will revolutionize our understanding,” said David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, “by creating for the first time a free and fully searchable collection of the Founders’ own words in the context of their time. As scholars and statesmen debate the meaning of documents such as the Constitution and Bill of Rights, they can turn to the originals and the wit and wisdom of the Founders’ own debates. And we can only express our gratitude for the effort of dedicated editors and scholars to create this work, a national monument to the founding of our nation.”
This award to help the University of Virginia Press create a new online presence for the papers of our nation's founders is great news for the University and for scholars everywhere," said University President Teresa Sullivan. "For ten years, the Press has built on the pioneering vision of U.Va. faculty to harness digital technology in the service of scholarship and education through the Rotunda imprint. As a public university, we applaud the leadership of the National Archives in bringing this important archive to life. Making these materials available to the public for free reflects the core values of the University and indeed of our nation's founding generation, whose words will now be readily available to teachers, students, and citizens.”
Historian Ron Chernow, author of the recent biography Washington: A Life, said, “Unfortunately, the Founders have become remote and abstract, when in fact they are rich, full-blooded, and fiery characters. This new site will not only help students learn more deeply and develop a visceral love and respect for this era, but it will stimulate interest in history for teachers, too, and will reconnect them to primary sources.”
In conjunction with entering into the cooperative agreement, Archivist David S. Ferriero also announced the appointment of three leading scholars to a special Founding Fathers Advisory Committee. The three members are Edward L. Ayers, President of University of Richmond, and leading scholar on the Civil War and American South; Mary Beth Norton, Professor of American History at Cornell University, and leading scholar on the social and political era of the 17th and 18th century America; and David Hackett Fisher, Professor of History at Brandeis, a leading scholar on the colonial era and Pulitzer Prize-winner author of Washington’s Crossing (2004). The Committee will advise the Archivist on the progress of the Founders’ editorial projects, and it is scheduled to meet at the National Archives on December 13, 2010.
Ahhh, genealogy. So much reading, so little time.....
©2010 AS Eldredge
National Archives to Put the Founders Online
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the grantmaking arm of the National Archives, is pleased to announce a cooperative agreement with The University of Virginia (UVA) Press to make freely available online the historical documents of the Founders of the United States of America.
The NHPRC and UVA Press will create a new web site which provides access to the fully annotated published papers of key figures in the nation’s Founding era. The project is designed to include the papers of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin. The National Historical Publications and Records Commission will provide funding in the amount of up to $2 million for the UVA Press to undertake the work on the published papers.
Through this web resource, users will be able to read, browse, and search tens of thousands of documents from the Founding Era. A prototype web site including the contents of 154 volumes drawn from print editions of the papers of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison will be prepared by October 2011. The fully public version will be launched by June 2012 and will also include the 27 volumes of the Papers of Alexander Hamilton. By June 2013, the Founders Online expects to add the 39 published volumes of the Papers of Benjamin Franklin. The new resource will include the complete contents of 242 printed volumes, including all of the existing document transcriptions and the editors’ explanatory notes.
“This new archive of the Founding Era will revolutionize our understanding,” said David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, “by creating for the first time a free and fully searchable collection of the Founders’ own words in the context of their time. As scholars and statesmen debate the meaning of documents such as the Constitution and Bill of Rights, they can turn to the originals and the wit and wisdom of the Founders’ own debates. And we can only express our gratitude for the effort of dedicated editors and scholars to create this work, a national monument to the founding of our nation.”
This award to help the University of Virginia Press create a new online presence for the papers of our nation's founders is great news for the University and for scholars everywhere," said University President Teresa Sullivan. "For ten years, the Press has built on the pioneering vision of U.Va. faculty to harness digital technology in the service of scholarship and education through the Rotunda imprint. As a public university, we applaud the leadership of the National Archives in bringing this important archive to life. Making these materials available to the public for free reflects the core values of the University and indeed of our nation's founding generation, whose words will now be readily available to teachers, students, and citizens.”
Historian Ron Chernow, author of the recent biography Washington: A Life, said, “Unfortunately, the Founders have become remote and abstract, when in fact they are rich, full-blooded, and fiery characters. This new site will not only help students learn more deeply and develop a visceral love and respect for this era, but it will stimulate interest in history for teachers, too, and will reconnect them to primary sources.”
In conjunction with entering into the cooperative agreement, Archivist David S. Ferriero also announced the appointment of three leading scholars to a special Founding Fathers Advisory Committee. The three members are Edward L. Ayers, President of University of Richmond, and leading scholar on the Civil War and American South; Mary Beth Norton, Professor of American History at Cornell University, and leading scholar on the social and political era of the 17th and 18th century America; and David Hackett Fisher, Professor of History at Brandeis, a leading scholar on the colonial era and Pulitzer Prize-winner author of Washington’s Crossing (2004). The Committee will advise the Archivist on the progress of the Founders’ editorial projects, and it is scheduled to meet at the National Archives on December 13, 2010.
Ahhh, genealogy. So much reading, so little time.....
©2010 AS Eldredge
Sunday, June 21, 2009
UK 1911 Census Online
Here's a boost for those searching their family genealogy in the United Kingdom.
Entire 1911 Census now Available Online for the First Time
Research commissioned by 1911census.co.uk reveals nearly a quarter of the population (23%) have now actively researched their family tree*, with 2.9 million people having visited 1911census.co.uk to research their own ancestors’ census records since the website went live in January this year**. The pastime is now just as popular as participating in team sports and overtaking other popular hobbies such as making Twitter posts and blogging (11%) and bingo (13%).
Following the initial release of the Southern English records in January 2009, the website now hosts the complete 1911 census records for people living in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. What’s more, for the first time in a British census, full details are available of British Army personnel and their families stationed overseas. There were 135,866 people serving in the British Army and 36,804 people serving in the Royal Navy across the British Empire in 1911, including 69,785 serving in India.
Christine Webber, psychotherapist and lifecoach, says: “Being able to find out how our grandparents and great-grandparents lived gives our own lives some extra perspective, and also helps us to understand ourselves better. The ability to delve into what our relatives were doing almost a hundred years ago is fascinating. It also helps us to get a sense of our own place in history. I think that getting in touch with your own roots is a very valuable and healing thing to do. So, this is a most exciting development.”
And it’s not just the older generation who are embracing the chance to discover more about their roots. Over a fifth (21% of under 35s and 35-55 year olds) have researched their family history in the past 12 months. People are turning to genealogy for a wide variety of reasons, from wanting to find out more about family stories that have been passed down through the generations (28%), to being inspired by TV shows like ‘Who Do Think You Are?’ and after a family event such as the birth of a new child (12%).
Women, however, are still leading the way when it comes to family history research as over one quarter (26%) are actively researching their family history, compared to only one fifth of men (20%).
The 1911census.co.uk website service has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives***. Completed by 36 million householders on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home as well as their relationship to the head of the household and the online records include images of our ancestors’ own handwriting. For the first time the enumerators’ summary books for the whole of England and Wales have also gone online today, recording details of all properties in the country in 1911 – a great resource for anyone interested in local history or house histories. The 1911 census records have been released three years earlier than the scheduled 2012 date as a result of public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians.
Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, says: ‘“We’re delighted that the final records have been uploaded from the 1911 census including the military records and the records for Wales, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands. We hope many generations will gain a huge amount of valuable information about their ancestors by consulting the records and that they’ll discover new chapters of their family history that they previously knew very little or nothing about.”
Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “It’s wonderful to see that so many people are discovering a new passion for family history through the 1911 census. Bringing this project to completion has been one of the most exciting events for us this year, and to know that so many people have been able to access part of their personal history online shows how valuable it can be to make these records available via the web.”
**Findmypast.com internal data
***In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012. The 1911 census is a special case at the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.
Entire 1911 Census now Available Online for the First Time
Research commissioned by 1911census.co.uk reveals nearly a quarter of the population (23%) have now actively researched their family tree*, with 2.9 million people having visited 1911census.co.uk to research their own ancestors’ census records since the website went live in January this year**. The pastime is now just as popular as participating in team sports and overtaking other popular hobbies such as making Twitter posts and blogging (11%) and bingo (13%).
Following the initial release of the Southern English records in January 2009, the website now hosts the complete 1911 census records for people living in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. What’s more, for the first time in a British census, full details are available of British Army personnel and their families stationed overseas. There were 135,866 people serving in the British Army and 36,804 people serving in the Royal Navy across the British Empire in 1911, including 69,785 serving in India.
Christine Webber, psychotherapist and lifecoach, says: “Being able to find out how our grandparents and great-grandparents lived gives our own lives some extra perspective, and also helps us to understand ourselves better. The ability to delve into what our relatives were doing almost a hundred years ago is fascinating. It also helps us to get a sense of our own place in history. I think that getting in touch with your own roots is a very valuable and healing thing to do. So, this is a most exciting development.”
And it’s not just the older generation who are embracing the chance to discover more about their roots. Over a fifth (21% of under 35s and 35-55 year olds) have researched their family history in the past 12 months. People are turning to genealogy for a wide variety of reasons, from wanting to find out more about family stories that have been passed down through the generations (28%), to being inspired by TV shows like ‘Who Do Think You Are?’ and after a family event such as the birth of a new child (12%).
Women, however, are still leading the way when it comes to family history research as over one quarter (26%) are actively researching their family history, compared to only one fifth of men (20%).
The 1911census.co.uk website service has been developed by UK-based family history website findmypast.com, owned by brightsolid, in association with The National Archives***. Completed by 36 million householders on Sunday, 2 April 1911, the census records show the name, age, place of birth, marital status and occupation of every resident in every home as well as their relationship to the head of the household and the online records include images of our ancestors’ own handwriting. For the first time the enumerators’ summary books for the whole of England and Wales have also gone online today, recording details of all properties in the country in 1911 – a great resource for anyone interested in local history or house histories. The 1911 census records have been released three years earlier than the scheduled 2012 date as a result of public demand for the 1911 census, which will be a key resource for family historians.
Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.com, says: ‘“We’re delighted that the final records have been uploaded from the 1911 census including the military records and the records for Wales, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands. We hope many generations will gain a huge amount of valuable information about their ancestors by consulting the records and that they’ll discover new chapters of their family history that they previously knew very little or nothing about.”
Oliver Morley, Director of Customer and Business Development at The National Archives, commented: “It’s wonderful to see that so many people are discovering a new passion for family history through the 1911 census. Bringing this project to completion has been one of the most exciting events for us this year, and to know that so many people have been able to access part of their personal history online shows how valuable it can be to make these records available via the web.”
**Findmypast.com internal data
***In line with data protection legislation, certain sensitive information relating to infirmity and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012. The 1911 census is a special case at the request of the Information Commissioner all records of infirmity as listed on the records (e.g. ‘deaf’, ‘dumb’, ‘blind’, ‘lunatic’ etc.) have been obscured and will not be available to view until January 2012.
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