JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================^K" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?H: SZtFG4Q:>HQ1 D5TBG=i-i[(Osz<>ӈĽ~p+s+^G$" $-.t5 n?+ Vx`Iu7Y+d n@d"dd{ iBhڍi8ߟƬk3}*NY#WctJNjfxWk3YnJzY). frf]=@k.5؇bU$hZB$Q!i%yo`+׼RxnO+O]4ۃ{2 ?x:'ӽv:^t23mkep:Bnr)yw [oR)ꍌo=+MԘ2yoVl>Vt)VrW?C[js2io=Hni07Z`qiV}=GCBi _dHPV-{Q*A5r94|o].ĵ6pZ7N7kPO*B$I3U氵j6&Ux8$͸@)Y@r[uȂWGME]sv0%>ۥU9#Rsjr q=*Ȫ[ @qUW8YԖсO6;#vcIT׍U!ǓZec^Ŋˮw# UvҽKf %SڕFx2?RKNGsBtZ1< ʃ:M2cVք_RVcc\>/M<Кa@Hێ{Ѓ2J}Ex֋{k{v_:HD|q6Fa9Q~֙=(MII=*Mc4 *Ql_ZE3 that deserves to be connected.<br>The Freedman s Bank was a Washington D.C. bank that was chartered in 1865. Its purpose was to offer financial freedom to legions of blacks, including many victimized by slavery. An estimated 70,000 customers opened and closed accounts at Freedman s Bank, with deposits totaling more than $57 million. Nine years later, the bank collapsed through mismanagement and fraud, ruining the dreams of their trusting customers.<br>Despite the bank s tragic financial history, its legacy of record keeping remains priceless. An estimated 10 million African-Americans living today have ancestors who deposited money in Freedman s Bank. Bank workers recorded the names and family relationships of account holders in an effort to establish bank customers identities. In doing so, they created the largest single repository of lineage-linked, African-American records thought to exist. <br>Family history researchers have long known abou