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Register 8 Seats Remaining
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, Memorial Hall Library is hosting a small group project to help transcribe Revolutionary War pension documents.
The National Archives has digitized and made available thousands of 18th and 19th century United States military service pension applications and other records such as bounty land warrants and surviving family information.
At this time, there are thousands of handwritten pages pertaining to the service pensions of Massachusetts soldiers in need of transcription. The project requires that transcribers be able to read cursive and be curious and motivated to decipher older script styles.
Project participants must have basic computer skills such as keyboarding and navigating websites. Participants are required to have an email account and make a free account on the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) catalog site. Training will be provided, and laptop computers will be available. Participants are welcome to bring their own computers.
We will meet twice in the month of April to learn how to transcribe and work together to transcribe records that contain valuable details about Revolutionary War veterans and their families such as rank, unit, period of service, age, residence, date and place of marriage, and date and place of death of service member and their spouse. Also, within these records, you may find copies of marriage or other family records, information pertaining to military activities or details about soldiers' lives, along with letters, diaries, or family trees.
At the end of the second meeting, we will consider continuing the project in May and/or recruiting new participants. This is a fun way to contribute to preserving vital genealogical and historical details—such as soldiers' names, service records, and family stories—while fostering researchers ability to discover hidden stories in time for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution which is fast approaching. Join us!
Questions? Email Stephanie Aude, Reference Librarian saude@mhl.org or call 978-623-8436.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Library Program--Adults |
