Memorial to Honor World War Veterans

Although Memorial Day has passed, it is never too late to tell of a massive sculpture that is to be installed in Washington D.C.’s Pershing Park in 2024.

Sabin Howard’s sculpture will consist of five tableaux about a U.S. soldier in World War I and called “Battle Scene.” For now, the site features a photograph of 20 sculpted figures and a full scale drawing. Smithsonian Magazine has posted Jeff MacGregor’s beautiful article about this memorial at https://tinyurl.com/255hrnpn. The project is also being documented on YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/2p9yb5ab. “One sculptor and his team of artists take on the epic project of conveying the century-old conflict through a massive bronze installation.”

National Archives Helps Beginning Genealogists

The records held by The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) include census, military, immigration, naturalization and land records. NARA has posted information about these records and how to access them at https://tinyurl.com/2x2uzmak. “Start Your Genealogy Research: Introduction to NARA Resources” is intended for beginning genealogists, but advanced researchers would be wise to check this website as well since it includes links to many helpful videos and other resources including tips, books, articles, tutorials and guides.

Slaves & slaveholders named in censuses

Tom Blake has posted “Large Slaveholders of 1860” and “African American Surname Matches from 1870” at https://tinyurl.com/ywh4jwc4. Blake has included an Introduction and Purpose of the site, who can make use of the site, updates and other helpful links. The site includes interesting statistics. For example, “There are currently 8,395 surname/County combinations and 11,020 individual slaveholder names on the large slaveholder lists, representing a total of 792,219 slaves in 158 counties (parishes in Louisiana) in 10 states.”

Library of Congress posts slave stories

At https://tinyurl.com/mr266bu8 The Library of Congress has posted “Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories.” The recordings of former slaves took place between 1932 and 1975 in nine states.

The audios include an interview with Billy McCrea, Jasper, Tex., 1940; Fountain Hughes, Baltimore, Md.; Alice Gaston, Gee’s Bend, Ala., 1941; Dave White, St. Simons Island, Ga.; and Susan A. Quall, Johns Island, S.C. “The individuals documented in this presentation have much to say about living as African Americas from the 1870s to the 1930s, and beyond.”

It should be noted “that an additional 2300 non-audio interviews with ex-slaves are available online: ‘Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1938,’” at https://tinyurl.com/ywnpba2b.