Citizen Archivist Missions
Ready to start tagging and transcribing? We've curated these topical missions to help you jump in and contribute! Click on a topic that interests you, and it will bring you right to those historical records in our Catalog. Tagging and transcribing makes these records more accessible to everyone. New missions are added and updated regularly, so check back often to see what’s new.
New to the National Archives' Citizen Archivist program? Learn how to register and get started and view the video How to Transcribe in the National Archives Catalog and other how-to videos on the Resources page if you need instructions.
Looking for a previous mission? Visit Mission History
ATTENTION:
- Users need to log in and log out of their Catalog accounts each day so that if our developers make any code changes to the Catalog overnight, your account and Citizen Archivist experience will work properly.
Revolutionary War Pension Files Transcription and Tagging Missions
Join the transcription mission! Join the tagging mission!
Questions? Email us at citizenarchivist@nara.gov
Outside the Box Missions
Up for a challenge or something different? We often have records that require special work in order to make them more accessible.
New to the National Archives' Citizen Archivist program? Learn how to register and get started.
Already have an account? Login here.
Chinese Heritage
Help us transcribe and tag records! We need your help transcribing these immigration records and tagging very specific details. Please read the instructions on the mission page carefully and begin contributing.
Featured Court Case
U.S. v. Sherman Booth
This is a criminal case in which defendant, abolitionist Sherman Booth, is charged with "obstructing, resisting and opposing the execution of process, and aiding, abetting and assisting the escape of Joshua Glover" from the Milwaukee County, Wisconsin jail. Glover, an escaped enslaved person, was jailed when his enslaver Benjamin Garland came north and under the Fugitive Slave Act attempted to recover him. Booth with other Wisconsin abolitionists surrounded the jail, broke down the door, and rescued Glover by allowing him to escape. Booth was found guilty and sentenced to serve one month in jail, and to pay the cost of prosecution and a fine of $1,000. Booth appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and they unanimously declared the Fugitive Slave Act unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision. Yet the Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to file the U.S. Court's mandate upholding the Fugitive Slave Act. Booth served out his jail term, but spent 10 months imprisoned for failure to pay the fine and prosecution costs. President James Buchanan pardoned Booth on March 2, 1861.
Transcriber Task Force
Seeking expert transcribers! We’ve gathered records that have tricky elements for our expert transcribers. Here's what we'd like you to do:
- Complete difficult transcriptions
- Help decipher words that are marked [illegible]
- Convert notations of [?] [unreadable] or similar to [illegible]. We ask that you do this so that we’re consistent in how we indicate difficult words.
1950 Census Transcription Projects
The 1950 Census is here! We're looking for help transcribing the initial name index for the 1950 Census. While you can transcribe any name or any page within the 1950 Census, we've identified several specific areas where we'd like your help transcribing.
What are other Citizen Archivists talking about on History Hub?
- I am trying to find some information on Pauline Quilty, born Birmingham 1938. Mother’s name Christina Quilty
- Trying to find out information on my uncle's military records he was in the Marines
- I have a civil war revolver with initials stamped on the butt of the grip. Is there any way to find out who it might of been?
- Cut and Paste Symbols are Such a Help!
- service records