About This Project
This database is the result of a partnership with the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association of Deerfield, Massachusetts’ African Americans in the Record: Evidence from 18th Century Massachusetts database. PVMA is committed to help voice the unheard and little-known lives of New England’s African American and Afro-Indigenous people, free and enslaved, through our on-going project, African Americans in Early Rural New England. Since 2000, researchers at the PVMA have discovered and transcribed over 2,800 18th- century sources identifying free and enslaved African Americans, including account and daybooks, church, medical, vital, and military records, and more, from Deerfield and surrounding towns. The website was programmed by Don Button and designed by Juliet Jacobson of Digital Gizmo. Technical assistance was provided by Dr. David Eve and student interns at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Further information about this restorative work, including core team members who worked on this site read
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Timothy Neumann, PVMA executive director, directs the African Americans in Early Rural New England initiative. The African Americans in the Record: Evidence from 18th Century Massachusetts website was programmed by Don Button and designed by Juliet Jacobson of Digital Gizmo. Historians Dr. Barbara Mathews and Lynne Manring identified sources, researched, transcribed, and added biographical details, where available, and interpretative notes. Librarians David Proper, David Bosse, and Jeanne Solensky assisted with research; Jeanne Sojka is project manager; Nicholas Webb worked on image production; Ellen White scanned primary sources and did data entry; Mary Hawks researched and transcribed many original entries; Sheila Damkoehler assisted with data entry into a spreadsheet; Clark Flynt researched; Dr. Darlene Marshall, researched and organized materials; Dr. Joanne Melish provided historic consultations; and Suzanne Flynt oversaw curatorial elements. Technical assistance was provided by Dr. David Eve and student interns Roland Bruso, Paolo Kareh, and Marie Balen at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.