Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society: Black History Month - Databases and websites dedicated to slave and soldiers

This database is the latest step by the Virginia Historical Society to increase access to its varied collections relating to Virginians of African descent. Since its founding in 1831, the VHS has collected unpublished manuscripts, a collection that now numbers more than 8 million processed items.

http://unknownnolonger.vahistorical.org/

Fold3 is proud to announce Free access to our Black History Collection in honor of Black History Month. This collection includes many enlightening historical records documenting African American achievements since the earliest days of our nation, and will be available the entire month of February.

As soon as black soldiers were recruited to serve the Union in 1863, records were generated to document their service including Compiled Service Records for the U.S. Colored Troops and, ultimately, pension files. The pension file index cards, like this one for Joel Bedenbaugh, include a soldier's rank, company, and regiment within the U.S.C. Infantry, his pension numbers, and sometimes a death date, 24 August 1913, in this case. Private Bedenbaugh's 16-page service record also includes his enlistment record from when he joined up in Dayton, Ohio, in 1864.

http://go.fold3.com/blackhistory/?iid=1343

Southern Claims Commission files are petitions by southerners who lost property to Union troops during the Civil War, including many blacks, like William and Louisa Ferguson. Though freeborn, Louisa was not only the wife of a slave, but also the daughter of George Washington's carpenter, also a slave. Their claim for compensation of $150 for the loss of a horse was denied, but Louisa's tales of Union and Confederate troops in the vicinity includes her encounters with the rebels and her service to the Union hospital nearby. A transcription of her file is here.

Explore these and thousands of other records documenting the history of African Americans in the U.S., from before the Civil War to the War in Vietnam. Join us as we recognize Black History Month and provide free* access to the Black History Collection on Fold3.

2024 Program Schedule

January 6, 2024 - America's Extension Service - Resources for Genealogy - Georga Foster
February - Original Courthouse History Forums- Members are encouraged to attend.
March - Darrelll Jabin - Oregons Traveling Historian- March 23, 2024
June 10, 2024 - Hood River Museum Meetup - 1:00pm
July/August - Summer Break
September 14, 2024 - Solutions To Geneaogical Research In Todays Economy
October 5, 2024 - Thomas MacEntee LIVE
Nov. 9, 2024 - FamilySearch Workshop -LDS LIbrary
December- No Program- Merry Christmas

Pioneers of The West

Header Photo: Helen Lundeberg created this painting while employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program that employed artists during the Great Depression. Like other WPA artists, Lundeberg depicted a hopeful view of the United States during a time of turmoil and uncertainty by showing a dreamlike image of western expansion. The group of pioneers, with their backs to the viewer, follows an ox-drawn wagon into a valley. The monumental figures appear strong and assured in their forward progress. Rising mountains melt into the sun. Lundeberg's style of mixing fantastic images with reality is evident in the background: The pink, rolling mountains blend into the orange, pink, and bluish haze of the sky; it is difficult to determine where the mountains end and the sky begins. The careful use of space and dreamlike elements in Pioneers of the West is representative of Lundeberg's postsurrealist style. This movement, derived from surrealism, purposely combined fantasy with reality and was predominantly found on the West Coast. (Helen Lundeberg, Pioneers of the West, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1985.8.27) GSA: Information and images created or owned by the GSA unless otherwise indicated, are considered in the public domain. They may be distributed or copied as permitted by applicable law.