National Park Service Brochures and Genealogical Research

As I was cataloging, one of the folded brochures that individuals often pick up at various places in the National Park Service, I was impressed with the amount of background information that the brochure presented that would be useful for genealogists. This particular brochure was for the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York. It's SUDOC classification is I 29.21:AF 8. Unfortunately this brochure is not available electronically so you'll have to visit a government documents repository to locate it. Here's a partial listing of some of the items a genealogical researcher might find in this brochure:

• Partial listing of countries from which early Africans came to colonial America
• Brief description of the rights of "company slaves" in 1626 in New Amsterdam
• Information on a 1644 petition which granted a limited amount of "freedom" to some
• Effect of the English taking control of New Amsterdam in 1664 on slavery
• Description of typical duties of men, women, and children enslaved in New York
• Information on the "Negros Buriel Ground" (as it was called on a 1755 map)
• Laws regarding burial of blacks, African funerals, etc.
• Information on the archaeological finds that brought this location and its "residents" back into prominence