Week Five at MSA

The Legacy of Slavery is getting a new database!!! IT gave us a sneak preview last week. The Archives staff has been working hard to improve the user interface and the backend management of data. I’ve got my own form for entering data about the Maryland State Colonization Society. I’ll discuss the new database in greater depth when it launches for the public.

During the past week, I’ve been working on stripping the 1870 US Census for Dorchester County of data about blacks and mulattoes (vocabulary of the time). This is part of the Legacy of Slavery’s US Department of Education funded grant to study the Underground Railroad in five counties of the Eastern Shore (Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot). This information is entered into the abovementioned database, allowing users to cross-reference records about enslaved, free, and freed blacks from 1830-1880.

We’re also working on finalizing an online exhibit about fugitive slaves. The website’s launch will coincide with Maryland’s Emancipation Day on November 1, the 1864 date when Maryland’s constitution abolished slavery.

Krystal