The remarkable effort to extract and computerize the Freedman’s Bank records into a searchable database involved approximately 550 inmates over the course
of 11 years at the Utah State Prison’s South Point Family History Center. The project not only yielded a significant research tool for African Americans but also
gave inmates the opportunity to donate their time. One inmate wrote of his experience: "I believe that selfishness is the foundation of crime; therefore service to
others has to be the cure. Family history in the Utah State Prison allows this to happen."
The inmates were first approached about the Freedman’s Bank records in 1989 when project co-directors Marie Taylor and Darius Gray realized they needed a
stable source of skilled workers to complete the lengthy extraction project. The inmates’ willingness to donate their free time to this project was so great that a
waiting list became necessary. A complete set of the microfilmed Freedman’s Bank records was soon ordered for the prison, a core group of inmates was
trained, and work began in earnest.
For the inmates, the task was much more complex than merely extracting 480,000 names to form an index. For example, many Freedman’s Bank records
showed no surname because following slavery, many African Americans considered several surnames before deciding which one they would keep. Thanks to
the inmates’ painstaking work, the new searchable database is indexed so that users can find these individuals in family units.
Here’s how the extraction process worked. Key pieces of information from each bank record were copied by hand onto a card--once by an "A" extractor and
again by a "B" extractor. The work of both extractors was compared to create an "input-data set," which then was entered into a computer database. The
computer verified the information by matching "A" and "B" entries. A third person resolved discrepancies by rechecking original records. The extracted
information was supplemented by information found in the 1870 United States federal census.
The Freedman’s Bank indexing project is one of several family history research projects conducted at the South Point Family History Center since the center’s
inception in 1988. The South Point Family History Center resulted when a handful of inmates attended a family history class sponsored by The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. In just over a decade, the center has grown to occupy three rooms filled with microfilm readers, microfiche readers and thirty
computer stations staffed by five inmate clerks. A 1992 study showed an average of 74 inmates actively participating in the program each month.
Warden Clint Friel said: "It’s good that the inmates have had the opportunity to work on this and volunteer for it. Hopefully it will give them a sense of pride, a
sense of gratification, something they can feel proud of, knowing they have helped other people." This sentiment was echoed in a letter written by an inmate: "It
always felt invigorating to go down to the family history center to do this work, no matter how tired or worn out I felt at the beginning. There seemed to be almost
an immediate reward in doing this work. I was very happy to do it."
In fact, the center was such a success, prison officials incorporated it into the Department of Corrections’ life skills curriculum for inmates. They recognized that
inmates were engaged in an activity that enhanced literacy and taught basic computer skills--skills that could help them once they were released from prison.
One former inmate is currently employed full-time by a genealogical research firm, earning a livelihood from the skills he learned at the South Point facility.
According to Gray, the support of Utah State Prison officials and the hard work of the inmates were key factors in successfully meeting the project’s objective.
He said, "Through them a resource has been created whereby thousands of African Americans may now find a link to their kindred dead and better know who
they are today by looking at those who came before."
A letter dated 17 March 1997 and signed by 47 inmates and volunteers reads: "We anxiously await the completion of this database (the Freedman’s Bank
records) and hope that people everywhere will use it to search out their ancestors. For most do not realize what it is like to be in bondage. Again we do thank
you for allowing us to serve with you on this project and do so in memory of our God, our freedom, our peace, our wives, our children and our ancestors."
The South Point family history program is voluntary and nondenominational. All inmates are eligible to participate after they complete a screening process and
sign a contract to follow center policies. No monies are received from the State of Utah to support the program. Rather, all associated costs have been covered
by financial contributions from the inmates, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and private individuals.
