Introduction to Military Records at the National Archives

This year the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will host a Virtual Genealogy Fair on September 3–4, 2013. As part of the planned programming, the Virtual Fair will include introductory sessions on civilian and military records at NARA that are useful for genealogical research. Military service, of course, represents one of the major aspects … Continue reading Introduction to Military Records at the National Archives

Family Tree Friday: Census Bureau exhibit at the 1926 U.S. Sesquicentennial Exhibition, Part I

Today's post comes from guest blogger Doug Remley, who is a student research room technician in Research Services (RD-DC) at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.  Doug offers a history lesson on how the Census Bureau celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  Future posts will include some of the unique findings … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Census Bureau exhibit at the 1926 U.S. Sesquicentennial Exhibition, Part I

Family Tree Friday: War of 1812 certificates of discharge

In this post I'd like to highlight a particular set of records that probably don't get as much attention as they deserve: certificates of discharge for Regular Army soldiers from the War of 1812.  The most likely reason for the slight attention these wonderful records receive is likely the fact that only a small portion … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: War of 1812 certificates of discharge

Family Tree Friday: War of 1812 Pension Files Online

June 18, 2012--the anniversary of the U.S. declaration of war against Great Britain--marked the official start of the bicentennial of the War of 1812.  To help celebrate that anniversary and bring attention to one of America's lesser known conflicts, let's take a look at some of the records of that war, starting with an essential … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: War of 1812 Pension Files Online

Family Tree Friday: More 1940 Census Workshop Sessions

Due to popular demand, we're offering additional 1940 Census workshops at the National Archives Building in DC next week. Join us every day at 3 pm in Room G-25. We'll discuss various ways you can get started with the 1940 Census. Each session will be approximately 30 minutes long. MondayApril 9 3:00 pm: Tips for … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: More 1940 Census Workshop Sessions

Family Tree Friday: Interesting facts about the 1940 Census

Here is another entry from guest blogger Diane Petro, Archives Technician in the Archives I Research Support Branch (RD-DC), Research Services, Archival Operations – Washington, DC.  Diane helps staff the research rooms at the National Archives Building and has also been working on reference activities relating to the upcoming 1940 Census release. Time is moving … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Interesting facts about the 1940 Census

Family Tree Friday: The 1940 Census and Social Security

With the growing hype surrounding the upcoming release of the 1940 Census, it has come to the attention of Archives staff that some misinformation may be starting to appear regarding what type of information you will find in the census and how it will be searchable.  One such tidbit that recently showed up online alleged … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: The 1940 Census and Social Security

Family Tree Friday: The 1940 Census–Were You at Work (Part 2)

This week’s post comes once again from guest blogger Diane Petro, who is an Archives Technician in the Archives I Research Support Branch (RD-DC), Research Services, Archival Operations – Washington, DC.  Diane helps staff the research rooms at the National Archives Building and has also been working on reference activities relating to the upcoming 1940 … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: The 1940 Census–Were You at Work (Part 2)

Family Tree Friday: Land records (Part 2) – Eastern vs. Western public land states

Now that we established the difference between Public and Private Land States in my previous post, let's take a look at the different search paths to locate information about Public Land patents.  The main point to discern is whether you are dealing with an Eastern or Western public land state, because the relevant records are … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Land records (Part 2) – Eastern vs. Western public land states

Family Tree Friday: 1940 Census – Following the instructions (of the enumerators!)

This week's blog post comes once again from guest blogger Diane Petro, Archives Technician in the Research Support Branch at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.  Diane is working on reference activities relating to the upcoming 1940 census release. Researchers often go to the Instructions to the Enumerator when trying to interpret a question … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: 1940 Census – Following the instructions (of the enumerators!)