“The Minnesota Digital Library recently added some oral history interviews with descendants of abolitionists who lived in Minnesota prior to the Civil War. They were shared by a new contributing organization called “Project Get Outdoors.”

“Many of them were associated with the Underground Railroad. The long-term goal of this project is to work with local county historical societies and cemetery associations to create a Freedom Trail highlighting the stories of these early civil rights activists and their final resting places.”

I saw this announcement in a newsletter for libraries, Minitex, from the University of Minnesota Libraries and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. The 12 oral histories are online and free on the Minnesota Digital Library. The interviewees do not all live in Minnesota and some of the interviews are with historians researching the time period. The interviews may be downloaded and are accompanied by transcripts.

I need to continue listening to interesting histories. I wonder how many of my fellow family historians might have stories to contribute? Did the project reach out to genealogical organizations and their members? 

 

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