Website revised and index by surname up

Hi folks!

I've been playing around with the website lately and have made some changes. Almost all the information on the main page has been removed and used to create an "About Us" type of page, divided into sections "About the Project", "About the Website", and "About the Transcriptions", and I'll probably add and "About Me" and "Announcements" section later. Please feel free to take a look at the new main page and leave comments here if you think it's good or how it can be improved for functionality. I like the top part of the page the best, links to the blog, dictionary of terms, surname index, and "about us" right at top so you don't have to go searching for that. I really detest websites that make you search for information like that which should be right at your fingertips.

The other news is that I now have a surname index up! The index includes ALL names (white and black) that are mentioned in all transcribed documents. The index is alphabetical by surname, then given name, and then county. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do the index and the way it is now seems to work. Let me know if you have any suggestions for improvement. I'll take all suggestions into consideration, but if it's more work than the way it is now to enter new names, I'll probably pass because the index is very time consuming.

Website is up!

Hi folks,

I've been working on a website for the past 6 months or so. It's been very slow going due to a somewhat hectic life, but I finally have it up and running and the first 18 documents ready. The address is http://www.freeaainnc.com/. What this site is, is transcriptions of documents I've come across during my research of FPOC in antebellum N.C. I started transcribing these about 5 years ago, so they all appear a little bit different (source info located at the top or bottom of the page, etc.), but they all include the source information so you can request copies from the State Archives of North Carolina (which is where these all come from).

So far, I have over 100 documents to transcribe (and more keep coming), but it's slow progress and I hope to get at least 1 document a week added to the website. Right now, the first page you go to has information about the website and at the bottom, you can click to enter a temporary index. As I work on the site, eventually all of the information on the main page will be used for an "About this site" page and the information of the temporary index will be moved to the main page in a more user friendly format (please feel free to give feedback on how I can make it more user friendly). Soon, I hope to create a surname index that will include all names mentioned in the records, whether the record is concerning them or not. I will also be adding a dictionary of terms to help explain different terms used throughout the records. **note, be sure to bookmark the main page, not the temporary index because once I move the data, that page will be gone**

Initially, I planned to add all the transcriptions to this blog, but I decided I would create a separate website. My plan is put the transcriptions on the website and now use the blog to talk about the history of FPOC in antebellum NC and possibly highlight transcriptions that I think are valuable to understanding the life and times of FPOC in antebellum NC.

request, a new chart, and an announcement

Hi folks,

I have 3 things for this entry.

First of all, I just discovered I had a bunch of replies that I did not realize were there. Some of the requests were for personal assistance, but not email address was left. Please, if you would like me to repond, leave your email address if the following format (so you don't get increased spam) userid (at) whatever.huh such as freeaainnc (at) ncalhn.org (which is my email address. This will hopefully help keep you from getting more spam and also make it so I can respond to you 1 on 1 and work with you that way. You can also email me directly if you still don't feel comfortable with posting your email address.

Now for my news!
I recently got into a debate with a person about the south having more free blacks from the 1790-1860 census. I created a chart to help prove my point and you all are available to use this, just be aware that it is copyrighted (the format, not the actual content because the data itself is not copyrightable for anyone). It is available online at: http://www.ncalhn.org/fpoccensusstats1790-1860.pdf. It turns out that the main problem the person has with this is that the research is done using census data, which is admittedly not very reliable, at least when it comes to names and age, but I also believe it to be the best source we have on population data for the entire country during the time given. The census is not perfect, but until a time machine is invented and we can go back and count every single person for ourselves, it's the best source we have for population statistical data.

Finally, I am WAAAAAYYYYYYY behind on the new website. I'm pushing back the date to September 2nd, 2008 when it will be available (day after labor day). Hopefully I can meet that at least. My goal is to have 50 transcribe documents on the site before I open it up.

Announcements

Hi Folks!

I know I haven't posted anything in a LONG time, I apologize, I've just been so stressed out with school. I have 2 announcements concerning this blog:

First off, I don't plan to post anything new here until I graduate in May. I apologize for that, but with school, I'm just spread too thin.

Secondly, I made a decision to start a new website (and not just blog) that will tie into this blog. I'll post the website address once I get it up, but look for it Summer 2008 (probably July). My plan is to use the website itself for transcribed documents and the blog for insights into the research project itself (insights into specific documents, historical events, etc.).

That's it for now. Thanks all for checking out my blog and your support!

Mariages Bonds of Free Persons of Color

Hi folks, here are some marriage bonds I copied from books of marriage bonds at the State Archives of North Carolina. This are arranged by County. I do not have all the counties, only a few, and these are only for marriages before 1866. For the last one in Orange County, they were not marked as (col.) as the others, but they are included because I know they were free persons of color. I've kept the text of the actual entry as it was listed in the books, but the format is off because of the limitations of blogspot. Page number refers to the page number in that particular county's book. The name of the book is in italics and the archives do no use call number for their books.

Caswell County Marriage Bonds

Groom	Bride	Date	Bondsman and Witnesses	page
Stevens, William x (col.)	Rosetta Hughes (col.)	11 June 1859	Johns (x) Freeman md. 11 June 1859 by N. M. Lewis, J.P.	295

Nash County Marriage Bonds

Groom	Bride	Date	Bondsman and Witnesses	page
Boon, Nathan	Frances Scott	31 Jan. 1859	Ira W. Futrell (w) Isaac Peele C.C.C.	19
Boon, William	Eliza Francis Boon	22 Dec. 1852	Shadrach -x- Boon (w) Wm. H. Hughes D.O.	20

Orange County Marriage Bonds

Groom	Bride	Date	Bondsman and Witnesses	page
Stewart, Ruffin	Elizabeth Bibby	30 Aug. 1838	Robert x Mitchell (w) J. Taylor	379

Petition From the Inhabitants of Granville County, 1771 - The Source

Hi folks,

It's been brought to my attention that I didn't list the source for this petition posted on June 4, 2007. I'm really sorry, that was just a big oversight on my part. Here is the source citation:

Location: North Carolina State Archives
Collection: General Assembly Session Records
Novemer-December, 1771, Box #5
Lower House Papers
Petitions Rejected or not Acted on
Petition from the inhabitants of Granville
1771, Entd.

I believe I originally found the transcription of the petition in either the Colonial Records of North Carolina or The State Records of North Carolina by Walter Clark and William L. Saunder. They are both considered the same series of 26 volumes, I believe Saunders did the Colonial Records of North Carolina part of the series, which was then continued by Clark as the State Records of North Carolina. Unfortunately, this was one of the very first documents I found and I didn't record where it was in those books. I will try to look that up this week and add that information. There were actually quite a few petitions either about free Blacks or that free Blacks signed and I found the originals to them all in Clark and Saunders series.

Sorry I haven't posted anything new...

Hi Folks,

I just wanted to apologize for being MIA lately. School is really taking its toll on me this semester so I doubt I'll be able to post anything new on here until December.