FamilySearch used 30,000 pages of pensions transcribed by our Citizen Archivists to teach their AI language model how to transcribe this 19th Century cursive writing. The Partner Contributed transcriptions generated by their AI language model for the entire series will now be available as Extracted Text in the National Archives Catalog.
We’re sure you have lots of questions about what this means for the Revolutionary War Pension File Transcription project. We have lots of answers and a video tutorial!
Does this mean you no longer need volunteers?
We still need YOU! There is a big role for the community to play in the review and clean-up of the AI extracted text. We purposefully placed this AI extracted text in the Extracted Text panel because it is not considered a transcription until a human volunteer interacts with it. We also know that it isn’t perfect. Extracted text is a tool, if you wish to use it, to help you transcribe a record. A page is not considered transcribed until the text has been copied to the transcription panel, reviewed against the handwritten record, edited, and saved.
How exactly do I use Extracted Text?
We have a video tutorial showing you how to use extracted text for transcription:
If a page has been transcribed, can I still use the Extracted Text?
Yes. Extracted text is an excellent way to clean up a transcription that may have text that was illegible. You can navigate to a page and open both the Transcription Panel and Extracted Text panel side by side. You can compare the text and place the transcription under edit to make any necessary changes.
Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 5470, Peter Hartless, Va., page 7, National Archives Identifier 54811787
What if I don’t want to use Extracted Text?
You are not required to use this new tool.
What should I be editing to fix the AI Extracted Text?
AI Extracted Text transcribes exactly what it sees, but it does make mistakes. Besides correcting those mistakes, we need our volunteers to fix these common issues:
Hyphenated words - many words are hyphenated so that they can continue on the next line. Please remove the hyphen.
Stray marks - delete any stay marks that are stray characters in the Extracted Text.
Misspellings in the original document - You will find misspellings of common words in the pension files. If you are able to identify the word, you should leave the misspelled word in the transcription and add the correct spelling next to it in brackets.
For example in this pension this word “tour” spelled as “tower.” This can be transcribed as: this tower [tour]. He was marched
Will you use AI for other missions or records?
Yes, we are working to identify additional series of records in the Catalog that are good candidates for AI-generated transcription projects.
What else can I do?
As you transcribe the pension files you will find inconsistencies in the way a veteran may name a siege or battle, or even the spelling of the names of generals. You can increase discoverability by tagging records. Please join our Revolutionary War Pension File Tagging Mission - be sure to read the instructions carefully and tag records with our suggested tags. You can even tag the pension files if you can’t read cursive. Simply read the typed transcription to find battles, people and topics to tag from our list of suggested tags.
Are you up for a challenge?
Each week our Citizen Archivists transcribe 3,000 +/- pages of pension files. We think the addition of AI Extracted Text can increase the number of pages transcribed. We challenge Citizen Archivists to transcribe 15,000 pages before our next newsletter on December 12th (we will not send a newsletter on Thanksgiving Day).
How many pages will you transcribe to help meet this challenge?
Have you checked out our new page highlighting stories from the pension files? A link to Stories from the Pension Files can be found on the transcription mission page. The list will be updated on a regular basis to share veterans’ experiences you have transcribed. Come back often to explore some new discoveries.
Julius Deming was in charge of supplying the entire Army under General Washington for fresh beef and mutton while on York Island. He details his work as a purchasing commissary. He was required to keep a suitable number of beef cattle on the island in case of emergency, hire and pay the catchers for killing the cattle, to weigh and deliver the quarters of beef, to sell the hides, and to take care of and dispose of the tallow.
William Harrison was inoculated at Valley Forge, fought at the Battles of Germantown, Brandywine, and Monmouth. At the Pee Dee River, a British officer wounded him in the head with a sword, and he was shot in the leg at the Battle of Guildford Courthouse.
At the start of the Revolution, Cuff (Blanchard) Chambers was enslaved by Samuel Blanchard of Dover, Massachusetts. He was in the Battle of Bunker Hill and due to his service he was given his freedom. After he was freed, he assumed his mother's name of Chambers.
