Thought list-members would be interested in the following announcement:

In honor of Black History Month 2005, the Family History Centers of Central
Virginia are pleased to offer two special community seminars that detail the
history of the Freedmen?s Bureau and Freedman?s Bank and their application
to genealogical research.

The seminar -- "Whispers from the Dust: The Freedmen Records and African
American Family History" -- will be presented in Richmond on Saturday,
February 5 at 10 a.m. at the Richmond Family History Center, 5600 Monument
Avenue in Richmond.

The same seminar will be presented in Waynesboro on Saturday, February 19 at
1:00 p.m. at the Waynesboro Family History Center, 2825 Jefferson Lane.

There is no charge for either seminar. Free copies of the Freedman?s Bank CD
and other research aids will be made available to seminar attendees.
Following the seminars, attendees are invited to visit the Family History
Centers and look up their ancestors with the assistance of volunteer Center
staff.

The records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (the
Freedmen's Bureau) and the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company (the
Freedman's Bank), established by Abraham Lincoln just one month before his
assassination, provide the earliest comprehensive glimpse into the lives of
nearly four million slaves, turned freedmen, and black soldiers who fought
with the North in the Civil War. Records of the Freedman's Bank are
available on CD and the records of the Freedmen's Bureau are currently being
filmed by the National Archives.

Flyers (in pdf files) announcing each seminar can be downloaded by going to
the following urls:

For the Richmond seminar: http://66.165.153.73/freedmen/freedmensflyer.pdf
For the Waynesboro seminar: http://66.165.153.73/freedmen/freedmensflyerw.pdf

The Family History Centers are sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.

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