Do you remember how long it took to get the 1930 U.S. Census records online? When the 1940 U.S. Census was released, FamilySearch.org and a number of other institutions were ready with a crowdsourcing project. What is crowdsourcing? Merriam-Webster defines it as “the process of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, especially an online community, rather than from employees or suppliers”. A massive effort was launched in 2012 and the 1930 census was indexed in record time. Since then FamilySearch.org volunteers have indexed 1,337,978,297 records from around the world.
We all benefit from projects such as these.
Now, the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Park Service are partnering to index records of Soldiers from the U.S. – Mexican War. If you are interested in this indexing project, read the press release below. I was delighted to see that the Project Coordinator is a fellow Floridian.
Here is the press release announcing the project:
August 8, 2016 – Austin, TX. and Brownsville, TX. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and the National Park Service’s Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park announce a partnership to develop a searchable database of more than 130,000 soldiers of the U.S.-Mexican War. The database will allow descendants of U.S. soldiers to connect to their personal history and help Palo Alto commemorate and tell the stories of these soldiers. After the database is developed, unit histories, digitized documents, and information on U.S.-Mexican War soldiers will be added. Efforts will also be made to include names and information about Mexican soldiers in this war. “FGS is thrilled to partner with the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Park for this important preservation project,” said FGS President D. Joshua Taylor. “We look forward to working with our member societies and volunteers to provide new access to records for those researching the Mexican War.” Palo Alto Battlefield is also pleased with the partnership. “National Parks tell the stories of America,” said Superintendent Mark Spier. “Palo Alto Battlefield is excited to have the opportunity to work with the Federation of Genealogical Societies to tell the stories of the thousands of soldiers who served in the U.S.-Mexican War.” To help bring these soldiers’ stories to life and to be a part of this momentous preservation project, indexing volunteers should contact Project Coordinator Patricia Rand, The Villages, FL, at projects@fgs.org. The Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Park Service previously partnered together in 1999 for the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System database project where FGS volunteers completed data entry for more than five million names. The efforts of the CWSS project can now be experienced on the NPS Civil War website. About the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park enjoys the unique distinction in the National Park Service of being the only unit to interpret the U.S.-Mexican War. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.
SAGS members who volunteer, please add your name in the comments section for this post.
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