SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - In honor of Black History Month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the release of Freedman's Bank Records on CD, a unique searchable database documenting several generations of African Americans immediately following the Civil War.

The completion of the 11-year project was announced by Church officials during a teleconference between Salt Lake City and Washington D.C. News conferences were also held across the nation in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Raleigh, Miami and St. Louis.

The Freedman's Bank project began in 1989 when Marie Taylor, an employee of the Family and Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, found the original microfilms of the records. She immediately recognized their significance: "When I discovered the Freedman's Bank records I envisioned African Americans breaking the chains of slavery and forging the bonds of families."

Congress chartered the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company in 1865 to benefit ex-slaves, but it was anything but beneficial. After former slaves deposited more than $57 million in the bank, it collapsed because of mismanagement and outright fraud, devastating the African American community.

Now, more than 100 years later, there is a silver lining to the disaster. In an effort to establish bank patrons' identities, bank workers at the time recorded the names and family relationships of account holders, sometimes taking brief oral histories. In the process they created the largest single repository of lineage-linked African-American records known to exist. It's estimated that 8-10 million African Americans living today have ancestors who deposited money in the Freedman's Bank.

Many genealogical researchers were aware of the existence of the Freedman's Bank records, but little use had been made of the data because it lacked effective indexes. The records presented an irresistible challenge for Taylor, who soon enlisted the help of her friend Darius Gray. Together they embarked on a lengthy, personal project to unlock the information trapped in the records.

Taylor asked inmates at the Utah State Prison, South Point Correctional Facility, to participate in the challenging project. The Church had previously established a family history center at the prison, where inmates voluntarily donate their time to family history projects. The one-of-a-kind facility occupies three rooms filled with microfilm readers, microfiche readers and 30 computer stations.

The inmates extracted, linked and automated the 480,000 names contained in the Freedman's Bank records. The entire process involved approximately 550 inmates who vied for the opportunity to contribute their free time to the project. Theirs was a freewill gift—not a prison work assignment.

Gray said of the project, "The depositors of the Freedman Bank were former slaves—men and women who had little education, little money, and little anticipation of what the future would ultimately yield. But today they can be found, remembered and appreciated by those who enjoy a very different life."

The Freedman's Bank Records CD is available at cost for $6.50. It can be ordered over the Internet or by calling Church distribution centers at 1-800-537-5971 and asking for item #50120.