Colleagues [with apologies for cross-posting]:
I wanted to share the digital project that DePaul University Special Collections and Archives recently completed. The Slavery Acknowledgement Project features financial records and correspondence documenting the use of enslaved labor in the building and operation of two Vincentian educational institutions in Missouri in the 19th century.
The Slavery Acknowledgement Project contains digitized versions of materials held in the Vincentian Archives along with transcriptions and indexing that greatly improve access to the records. Computer-generated transcripts are available for each page (created by Handwritten Text Recognition in the Quartex software). Records with references to enslaved or free persons were further transcribed and corrected by Special Collections and Archives staff to improve search accuracy and access, with these transcriptions included in the "Item Details" field. References to individual people are followed through the records and noted under the separate "People" tab, enabling family ties to be documented.
The project is a complement to and extension of the work done by the DePaul University Task Force to Address the Vincentians' Relationship to Slavery (2021-2023). It was completed with existing Special Collections and Archives staff with supplemental funding for digitization and software from the DePaul University Library and the DePaul University Division of Mission and Ministry. DePaul University Special Collections and Archives is the steward of the Vincentian Archives, with legal ownership of the materials retained by the Congregation of the Mission, Western Province (the Vincentians).
We welcome any questions or comments about this project - technical, philosophical, practical, financial - and submitting an email inquiry will allow us to route it to the appropriate SPCA staff member for a response.
Jamie Nelson
Head of Special Collections and Archives
DePaul University, Chicago
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Jamie Nelson
Head of Special Collections & Archives
DePaul University Special Collections and Archives
Chicago IL
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