What is the Kindex Archive?
The Kindex Archive (bristerep.kindex.org) is the official Brister English Project archive-a collaborative digital platform for preserving and making accessible historical records related to Black genealogy. From slavery records and freedom papers to census data and church records, we're building a comprehensive archive that centers the stories of our ancestors.
Every document transcribed, every record indexed, and every story preserved helps future generations find their people in the records that tried to erase them.
How You Can Contribute
Help convert handwritten historical documents into searchable text. No experience required-we provide training and support.
Create searchable indexes for census records, vital records, and other genealogical documents to help researchers find their ancestors.
Upload historical documents from your own research or family collections to help others discover their roots.
Participate in community events where we work together to transcribe large collections of records in focused sessions.
Help ensure accuracy by reviewing transcriptions and verifying indexed information against original documents.
Use the archive to research your own family history and connect with others researching the same families or communities.
Current Collections
Our archive includes transcriptions and indexes of various historical record types, with new collections added regularly.
- • Slave schedules and bills of sale
- • Estate inventories and wills
- • Plantation records and ledgers
- • Manumission documents
- • Free papers and certificates
- • Freedmen's Bureau records
- • 1870 census (first to list formerly enslaved)
- • Earlier census records with enslaved persons
- • State and local census materials
- • Church records and membership rolls
- • Cemetery and burial records
- • Local historical documents