Jodi Hoover of Digital Maryland kindly took the time to answer questions and discuss their projects and experience using the platform with Sara Brumfield of FromThePage.
Jodi Hoover is the Librarian Supervisor II of Digital Resources at the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the supervisor of Digital Maryland.
First, tell us about your documents.
Our current projects involve two ledger books from the Mutual Benefit Society of Baltimore. The Mutual Benefit Society was the first Black-owned insurance company in the state of Maryland and operated in Baltimore from 1903 until 1977, when it merged with another insurance company. It provided weekly sick benefits, death benefits, and health insurance primarily for African-Americans in Baltimore and Maryland. The Mutual Benefit Society was founded by Harry O’Neill Wilson Sr., a successful African-American banker, real estate developer, and philanthropist. He was widely considered to be one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Maryland during the early twentieth century.
The two ledgers are in the collection of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American Culture and History. The Life Register contains information for insurance policies opened between March 1918 and September 1919. The Death Register contains information about insurance benefits paid out between June 1938 and December 1947. Both contain a wealth of information for genealogists and other researchers.
What are your goals for the projects?
The primary goal, of course, is to make these records accessible and searchable. Scanning was one step but only the most dedicated of researchers would skim through the hundreds of pages on the off chance of finding relevant information. The Death Register contains information like location and cause of death that would seem to have research applications beyond family history research. Getting this information in a usable format is important. I'd also like to increase awareness about the Mutual Benefit Society and the contributions of Harry O’Neill Wilson Sr.
How are you recruiting or finding volunteers/collaborators?
A couple of different ways, we hosted a virtual volunteer event and have a recording to send to any interested parties. I am often asked to present about the Digital Maryland project so I take every opportunity I have to talk about the transcription project. There are always people who are interested in learning more. One of the great things about FromThePage is that there is an engaged community of volunteers built in so even without trying, we had people working on the project. We are about 5 months in and have a better sense of how it all works so I think we are ready to ramp up recruiting!
Can you share your experience using FromThePage?
Our experience has been really great so far. Overall our project was easy to set up and you all have been very responsive when we have questions. Considering that these ledgers have hundreds of pages and are probably not the easiest transcription project, we have made more progress than I had any right to expect. Any portion that gets transcribed is more than we would have been able to do on our own.
What advice would you give to other institutions thinking about running a similar project?
Try it out! We intend to set up more projects, and I think this is a great way to make records accessible while also giving a platform to engage your community members who are interested in being involved.
Anything else you'd like to tell us?
Like many organizations, we have staffing constraints and ever-shifting priorities. My main reservation with starting a FromThePage project was that the project would spiral out of control, and we wouldn't have the staff capacity to manage it. Instead, the platform has made it possible to wrap everything into our workflows in a way that makes sense and allows for a flexible pace.
Have a project you're considering to contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage? Schedule a call with Ben and Sara.