Today we have published Volume 2: Surnames E-J for the database, Massachusetts: Biographical Entries of People of African Descent in New Bedford and Coastal Towns Also Once Part of Dartmouth (Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven). This update adds 13,603 names, 430 pages, and 7,005 records to the 10 Million Names Project. This database now consists of two volumes, and additional volumes will be added in the coming months.
Historian Kathryn Grover, author of The Fugitive’s Gibraltar: Escaping Slaves and Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts, compiled biographical entries of every person indicated as a person of color in New Bedford and historic Dartmouth (that is, Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven) through 1860. New Bedford was considered a major whaling port during the 19th century, as well as a significant stop on the Underground Railroad. Many freedom seekers settled there after escaping enslavement.
This database is presented as part of the 10 Million Names Project. To learn more about 10 Million Names, please visit the project website. Thank you to Kathryn Grover for kindly donating the data used in this project, and to the many volunteers who indexed the entries and helped make this database possible.
Please note: This database is available to all American Ancestors members, including Guest Members, at no cost. Consider membership.