The city will be taking on a project to make the historical records of thousands of formerly enslaved New Yorkers who lived in the five boroughs when the practice of slavery was legal here accessible to the public, and the team is looking for volunteers to help, Mayor Adams announced Thursday.
Led by the New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), the project will transcribe digitized historical records dating from 1660 to 1827, which will help historians and everyday New Yorkers locate the records of enslaved New Yorkers and possibly trace familial roots.
The announcement comes as the city celebrates Black History Month as well as the city’s 400th anniversary this year. To accomplish the project, the Adams administration is looking for volunteers to help transcribe the digital records and help create searchable data.
“We cannot build a better, brighter future without first acknowledging and accepting our past,” said Mayor Adams. “This ambitious project allows everyday New Yorkers to understand the history of enslaved people who shaped our city into what it is today. For too long, enslaved people were forgotten and lost to the past. Today, with projects like this, we shed a light on their story, learn their names, and ensure that time does not leave them behind again.”
“This first phase of the transcription project will make available records documenting enslaved people in New York City, and subsequent phases we’ll be adding more records,” DORIS Commissioner Pauline Toole. “This is part of the Municipal Archives and Library initiative to engage communities with the historical records of the city.”
The Municipal Archives — a division within DORIS — which preserves and makes available city government records dating from 1636 to the present, has currently identified and digitized nine volumes of records from towns in Brooklyn, Queens, and Westchester counties, dating from 1660 to 1838. The documents include birth certificates naming enslaved children and documents that granted enslaved individuals their freedom.
The archived volumes range from 200 to 500 pages of both original documents and hand-written transcriptions of records. Volunteers who assist in the project will use the transcription service From the Page to enter each volume into a form that DORIS will then use to publish into a searchable guide.
The transcribed data will be easily searchable and will help researchers, as well as the general public, locate and view records of thousands of formerly enslaved New Yorkers who lived in New York City that would otherwise be difficult to trace.
“The history of enslaved New Yorkers is an essential part of our city’s story—one that must be preserved and made accessible,” said New York City Councilmember Dr. Nantasha Williams. “I commend Mayor Adams and the Department of Records and Information Services for this initiative to transcribe and digitize these records, ensuring the voices of those once enslaved are not lost to time. This effort deepens our understanding of the past and helps New Yorkers connect with their history. I encourage everyone to support this project by volunteering or engaging with these records as we work toward a fuller, more honest representation of our shared history.”
To learn more about the project, visit the digital archive, or volunteer, New Yorkers can visit archives.nyc.
