Digitizing Foundational African American Records
Digitizing key African American genealogical & historical records.
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Project Overview
Scanning Priorities by Record Type
FIRST PRIORITY: USCT Pension Applications
The U.S. Colored Troops (USCT) pension applications were part of the process through which African American soldiers who served in the Union Army during the Civil War (1861–1865), and their widows and children, sought financial compensation for their military service. After the war, many veterans were eligible for pensions due to their service, but the process was often complicated and lengthy.
The majority of these files have never been digitized. This work will add to the 1K USCT Pension Applications currently digitized by the Center for Family History at the IAAM.
SECOND PRIORITY: Buffalo Soldiers Files
Buffalo Soldiers pension applications refer to the process through which African American soldiers, known as Buffalo Soldiers, who served in the U.S. Army during the post-Civil War era, applied for pensions due to their military service. The term "Buffalo Soldiers" was coined in the late 19th century to describe African American soldiers primarily serving in the western frontier, particularly in the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments.
Like the USCT Pension Applications, these files have never been digitized.
African American Homesteaders Land Files
Black homesteaders' land files refer to the records and documents related to African Americans who participated in the U.S. Homestead Act of 1862. The Homestead Act provided free land to settlers who would cultivate and improve it, and African Americans, despite facing racial discrimination, actively pursued this opportunity to acquire land, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This is another set of African American files that have not been digitized.
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