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During the struggle for civil rights, many brave men and women sacrificed their lives to improve the lives of Americans of all races. Unfortunately, because of lingering institutional racism in the South, the murders of these civil rights workers were not all investigated to their fullest, and quite a few went unsolved. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently announced its "Civil Rights-Era Cold Case Initiative," to try to identify the next-of-kin of some of the victims of these cases.

Many Civil War veterans and their widows or other dependents received pensions from the U. S. government for their support. For those researchers whose ancestors received pensions for service, these files are arguably the single richest record group in terms of information contained within them.

This column previously addressed the importance of the 1870 U. S. census in African-American research. As noted in that article, this was the first federal census after the end of the Civil War, and therefore the first record group to record personal information about former slaves nationwide. It was not, however, the earliest record group to do so in many localities. Many similar record groups were created that provide information about former slaves between 1865 and 1870.

Daniel Francis Kemp served as a Landsman in the United States Navy from September 26, 1862 until December 23, 1863, a year long commitment that the Navy extended to 15 months through bureaucratic snafus. During that time Daniel wrote regularly to his parents and sisters. The 34 letters presented here in "Your Affectionate Son" span 65 years and 2 centuries.

The PBS program "American Experience" is a wonderful series of documentaries about the history of the United States. The series also has a remarkable online presence, often creating unique sites for each episode of the series.