When first inserted into a Windows PC, the CD-ROM starts with an introduction page that lists the disk’s contents and also gives an excellent overview of Black history. The introduction also points out, "other 1870 census indexes for African Americans have been created on CD-ROM, but only for a limited number of states. The Heritage Quest index is the first to include all African American heads of household in the entire country."

The introduction then gives a history lesson on black immigration, primarily focusing on the slave trade. It points out that African traders and explorers crossed the Atlantic prior to Columbus’ famed voyage. These African voyagers traded and developed cordial relations with indigenous peoples in the Americas and sometimes became a part of their communities. One accomplished Black voyager, named Pedro Alonso Nino, was a navigator on Columbus’ first voyage. Unlike many who were to follow, he came to the Americas as a free man.

Major European slave trade with Africa dates back at least 50 years prior to Columbus's first voyage. In 1442, Portuguese explorers returned from Africa with gold dust and a cargo of 10 Africans. Forty years later, the Portuguese (and later, the Dutch and English) set up a trading post on Africa's Guinea coast. Called "Elmina," it was originally built for trading in gold, ivory, and other resources, but it later became a secure harbor for ships exporting slaves. Early exports were to Europe, but the trade soon expanded to Central and South America. The early American colonies were quick to import slaves, and by the year 1700 slave labor was common throughout the southern colonies and, to a lesser degree, in the northern colonies.

The introduction to the CD-ROM goes on to describe the growth of slavery in the United States, the slavery issues that caused division within the country, the escape of slaves to northern states and to Canada, the U.S. Civil War, emancipation and the ensuing mass migrations to the north. The introduction continues with a description of genealogy research and especially the contrast of genealogy versus history. While obviously closely related, the two still differ significantly.

Of course, the 1870 U.S. Federal Census is extremely important to Black genealogists because it was the first to record the names of all Black persons. Previous census records had recorded names of free Blacks, but not those who were enslaved. By 1870, all Blacks were free, so the census enumerators recorded the names of each person.

The "African Americans in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census" CD-ROM includes electronic reprints of past articles published in Heritage Quest Magazine, written by many of today’s leading experts in the field:

• "Finding African Americans: How to Search Focusing on First Names" by Tony Burroughs
• "Sources for Black Genealogy" by Shirley Hogan
• "Tracing Your Black Roots" by Shirley Hogan
• "Registers of Signatures of the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company" by Jeanne Cannella Schmitzer
• "Some Former Slaves and Their Masters" by Robert S. Davis Jr.
• "Georgia Reconstruction Sources of Genealogical Value" by Robert S. Davis Jr.
• "Post Civil War: 'Colored' Voter Registrations from Cooke County, Texas" by L.M. Hannon
• "Finding Mima Pickens: South Carolina, 1763-1868" by Kenneth A. Whitney

After spending some time in the introduction and looking at some of the reference articles, I moved on to the actual database on this CD-ROM disk. This database contains an index to the 1,672,417 African American households in 1870 America. While the title says "African Americans," the data on the CD-ROM disk also includes mulattoes (those of mixed ancestry). This CD provides indexed information for heads of household, all males over 50, all females over 70, and anyone living in a household but with a different surname than that of the head of household. Each entry includes:

• Name
• Age
• Gender
• Race (Black or Mulatto)
• Birthplace
• County of residence
• Locality of residence—usually shown as a township, city, ward, or post office.
• Roll number—the roll number the National Archives has assigned to this specific roll of film.

The user interface of this CD-ROM was simple. Enter whatever information you are looking for and the software will then display all the entries that match. For instance, I entered a birthplace of "Africa" and the software quickly displayed 1,748 entries showing a birthplace of "Africa." I found that I could enter several pieces of information to narrow the search, such as all the entries listing a birthplace of Africa and a residence in Georgia plus a last name of Williams. The software then displays all entries that match the three parameters I entered.

As usual, I first looked for entries of my own surname. I had previously found a number of Black families with the name Eastman, but I was surprised at how many families were listed in the 1870 census. Here is a typical entry, showing the data available:

• Surname: Eastman
• Given Name: John
• Age: 20
• Gender: M
• Race: Black
• Birthplace: Maine
• County: Sagadahoc
• Locality: Phippsburg
• Series: M593
• Roll: 557
• Part: 1
• Page: 397

The above information is valuable to a genealogist, of course, but remember that this CD-ROM contains an index, not the complete records. As this index shows, anyone interested in John Eastman of Phippsburg, Maine will want to rent the U.S. National Archives microfilm reel number 557 of the M593 series and then look at page 397 in section #1. The viewer will then be able to obtain even more information about John Eastman, including other members of the household as well as his neighbors. Keep in mind that this index only covers those who are heads of household, all males over 50, all females over 70, and anyone with a different surname. Therefore, we can guess that John Eastman was either a head of household or a resident in someone else’s home. The reader will not know which until he or she looks at the microfilm copy of the original records.

I found the database search software to be easy to use and very intuitive. Heritage Quest includes a tiny user’s manual with the CD-ROM disk, but I never found any reason to open it. The program also has a very good online help file that should answer most questions.

I was a bit disappointed that I could not find any method of printing the information or of cutting-and-pasting it into another Windows application. I could quickly read the information on the screen but could not find any method of exporting it, other than manually re-typing the information. Even the listing above for John Eastman had to be re-typed into this newsletter. If you are looking for a few individuals, this will not be much of a handicap. However, if you have a project of finding all the people of a particular surname or of a particular town or county, you may find this to be a significant hindrance.

The "African Americans in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census" CD-ROM disk requires Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000, a 100 megahertz or faster Pentium processor, 16 megabytes of RAM memory, and a 4-speed or faster CD-ROM drive. I tested it on a 600-MHz Pentium III system with 128 megabytes of RAM memory running Windows 2000. I suspect it will also operate on a Macintosh that has SoftWindows or a similar Windows emulator for Macintosh installed. However, I did not test that combination, and the Mac user should be aware that Heritage Quest does not guarantee such compatibility.

All in all, the "African Americans in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census" CD-ROM disk is an excellent resource for Black genealogists, local genealogy societies, or any genealogy library. The CD-ROM disk is available for $39.95 (U.S. funds) plus taxes and shipping. Members of the Heritage Quest Research Club may purchase it for $35.96. The Heritage Quest Research Club is sort of a "frequent buyer’s club."

Heritage Quest is also offering an African American Heritage Kit that includes this CD-ROM disk bundled with the book "Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree" by Tony Burroughs. I reviewed that new book in last week’s newsletter; that review is available online. The retail price of this book and CD-ROM bundle is $55.90 (U.S. funds), although it is listed on sale right now for $47.95. Members of the Heritage Quest Research Club may purchase the bundle for $45.55.

For more information about the "African Americans in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census" CD-ROM disk or to order it securely online, go to HeritageQuest.com.