MORROW — Secretary of State Cathy Cox announced the release of a new version of the Georgia Archives’ popular Virtual Vault. “The Virtual Vault is a portal to some of the state’s richest historical records, and today’s release makes access even easier,” said Cox.

First launched in 2005, the Virtual Vault allows students, teachers, researchers, genealogists and the general public to search thousands of digital images of historic maps, photographs, wills, Confederate army records, early tax digests and other records. The new vault contains over 50,000 images, many of which have never been available. Secretary Cox said that she expects the number of records to grow to 70,000 within the next few months.

According to Archives Director David Carmicheal, the Archives Web site has been especially popular with teachers and students. “We provide online access to records that have shaped Georgia, from our Colonial Charter to Governor Vandiver’s Public Education Address in 1961.” Carmichael expects the new version of the Virtual Vault to continue to be popular with students while making records available to others, such as genealogists. “The new version allows users to search all of the collections at one time. It’s a very powerful tool for researchers.”

The online tool contains images of more than 25,000 Confederate Pension Applications and another 2,000 Confederate army oaths and discharges; 1,400 colonial wills; and thousands of pre-1800 tax digests. According to Cox, much of the scanning was done by student interns from Clayton State University, which is adjacent to the State Archives building. “The Archives received generous grants from the R.J. Taylor Foundation, the Georgia Genealogical Society and the Alfred Holt Colquitt Chapter of the UDC, which were used to pay the interns. It has been cost-effective for taxpayers and a great learning experience for students.”

Users may see the new Virtual Vault by visiting www.GeorgiaArchives.org and clicking on the Virtual Vault logo.

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