Recently, a colleague of mine received a reference request that highlights a common misperception some people have regarding original records. The request involved a researcher who complained that their family name had been misspelled on the 1930 census and they wanted the National Archives to “fix” the mistake. Now, most expert researchers know that original … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Preserving the integrity of original records…including the mistakes!
Author: dstokes
Family Tree Friday: Vital Statistics in Military Records
In a previous blog post, my colleague Katherine talked about vital statistics that sometimes show up in federal records. I thought it might be worthwhile to point out that, under specific circumstances, vital records were also intentionally created by the government, particularly the U.S. military. In our vast collection of records relating to 19th-century military forts--all … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Vital Statistics in Military Records
Family Tree Friday: Navigating federal records about ethnic groups–come prepared!
If you had the opportunity to attend NARA's 6th Annual Genealogy Fair last month, visitors were treated to a variety of lectures on the theme of "The World of Genealogy." The theme highlighted the ethnic diversity that is documented in specific federal records, whether they are newspapers published by Japanese-Americans through the War Relocation Authority during … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Navigating federal records about ethnic groups–come prepared!
Family Tree Friday: The last word on CMSR personal papers.
My last few posts have explored the compiled military service records (CMSRs) at the National Archives, highlighting in particular the extra information found in the records, especially the personal papers relating to individual soldiers such as enlistment and discharge forms, casualty sheets, or final statements of service. One last point to make is that personal … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: The last word on CMSR personal papers.
Family Tree Friday: Personal papers in compiled service records reveal important clues.
In my last blog post I explained how to decipher the information contained on a volunteer soldier's compiled military service record envelope or "jacket." Those jackets also indicate whether or not the service record includes any personal papers. Personal papers are individual documents such as an original enlistment paper, a casualty sheet, discharge certificate, or … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Personal papers in compiled service records reveal important clues.
Family Tree Friday: How to decipher compiled service record jackets.
Compiled military service records at the National Archives for the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) through the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) are filed in separate envelopes or jackets that contain basic information about the soldier. The example shown here for my ancestor Adam Dale (his surname is actually DEAL, which shows how spelling mistakes/variations can find their way … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: How to decipher compiled service record jackets.
Family Tree Friday: Vessel crew lists are part of immigration records.
Immigration records at the National Archives contain more than just information about passengers traveling into the United States from foreign ports. Quite often they also include accompanying lists of crewmen, both American and foreign-born, who worked on the vessels. These lists exist because of an early 19th-century law that required the masters of American vessels … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Vessel crew lists are part of immigration records.
Family Tree Friday: A few slave manifests still survive.
Since February is Black History Month, it seems appropriate to mention some of the lesser-known records that are available for African American research at the National Archives. Among those are vessel manifests that document the antebellum domestic slave trade. Even though Congress outlawed the slave trade in 1807, the law of course did not prohibit … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: A few slave manifests still survive.
Family Tree Friday: Congress granted pensions as private claims.
American citizens have always had the right under the U.S. Constitution to petition Congress directly to redress specific grievances or recoup financial losses resulting from government actions (such as private property damaged by the Union Army during the Civil War). In the 19th century, Americans commonly exercised this right, sending hundreds of thousands of private claims to … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: Congress granted pensions as private claims.
Family Tree Friday: More Info on Compiled Military Service Records.
In my previous blog I mentioned compiled military service records for volunteer soldiers. While CMSRs are generally recognized as the official record of a volunteer's military career, did you know they were NOT created at the time the soldier served? The War Department first created compiled service records in the early 1890s to help verify military … Continue reading Family Tree Friday: More Info on Compiled Military Service Records.