History @ CUL

Free Access to Fold3’s Black History Records in February

In honor of Black History Month, Fold3 is providing free access in February to its Black History Collection.  The records, most of which have been scanned from the holdings of the National Archives.  Here is a sample of what is being made available:

• Court Slave Records for Washington, DC
• South Carolina Estate Inventories and Bills of Sale, 1732–1872
• US Colored Troops Civil War service records
• Southern Claims Commission records
• The Atlanta Constitution newspaper
• WWII Draft Registration Cards
• Military Intelligence files on Negro Subversion, 1917-1941

Some of the record sets, such as the Southern Claims Commission records (Southerners’ reimbursement claims for property Union troops seized during the Civil War) and WWII draft cards for older Americans, also cover non-African-Americans.

The Library investigated getting a site license to all of the Fold3 content, but the cost was remarkably high – especially considering that scans from the National Archives are scheduled to be added to Archives’s online holdings 5 years after they are made. The cost of an individual membership to Fold3 is quite low, however.  This free month is a good way to sample the type of material they have available.  You will have to register for a basic free membership to get access: just click on the blue box at the bottom of the Black History Collection homepage.

Comments

Comments are closed.