World War I

NARA’s 2025 Genealogy Series

clairekluskens Anti-Obscurant, Crime and Criminals, Document Conservation, Finding Records at NARA, immigration, military records, Modern Military Records, NARA, NARA--RG 75, NARA--RG 85, Native Americans, photographs, World War I, World War II , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The National Archives and Records Administration has announced the lineup of speakers and topics for its 2025 Genealogy Series. Presentations premiere at specific times but are then available 24/7 on YouTube. Mark your calendar now! It’s free! No registration required! This year’s schedule includes:

Mythbusting the Legend of the Baker Twins

clairekluskens Modern Military Records, NARA, women, World War I , , , , , ,

Through compelling and thorough research, Donna Vojvodich, Historian for the U.S. Coast Guard’s SPARS Stories History Program, busts a fun but sadly persistent erroneous legend of the alleged service of the Baker twins during World War I. They were not the “first” women to serve in the Coast Guard. In fact, the Baker twins didn’t serve at all.

The honor of first goes to Myrtle Hazard, who held the rating of electrician first class (E1) and enlisted in January 1918.

You can read all about it in “The Long Blue Line: The Baker Twins—Re-searching the first female Coasties – or were they?” online at https://www.mycg.uscg.mil/News/Article/3311017/.

This is yet another example of our need, as serious family historians, to not accept other people’s unsupported conclusions as fact. We must instead carefully examine both textual and photographic records, do careful analysis, and base our conclusions on facts, not wishful thinking.

Alien Enemy Index, 1917-1919, is Now Online

clairekluskens NARA, NARA--RG 60, naturalization, World War I , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recently completed digitization of the Alien Enemy Index, 1917–1919 (National Archives Identifier [NAID] 602456), that contains 57,722 index cards that document U.S. government interest in – and actions concerning – enemy aliens during the First World War.  Enemy aliens were citizens of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. You can read more about this index and the related records at “The Alien Enemy Index, 1917-1919, is Now Digitized!” at https://historyhub.history.gov/genealogy/b/genealogy-blog/posts/the-alien-enemy-index-1917-1919-is-now-digitized.

The map below, courtesy of Australia’s Digital Classroom, shows the European boundaries of the Central Powers whose citizens were considered enemy aliens.

Search Tips: When searching the Enemy Alien Index in NARA’s Catalog, keep in mind that the first name of some aliens are abbreviated, such as “Chas.” for Charles or “Robt.” for Robert. Therefore, if searching by first and last name yields no results, search by surname only, or even by first name only for unusual first names.  Also consider searching by alternate spellings of a surname if you get no results.  In addition, some women are listed by their husband’s name, such as Mrs. Theodore Zeigler (NAID 296756836). You can also browse through an entire file unit (there are 23 file units), but be sure to set the “Sort by” order to either “Title (Alphabetically, A-Z)” or “Title (Alphabetically, Z-A)” instead of “Most Relevant.”    

Map URL: https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/images/map-showing-first-world-war-alliances

2023 National Archives Genealogy Series

clairekluskens American Civil War (1861-65), Federal Employees, Finding Records at NARA, military records, Modern Military Records, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, World War I , , , , , , ,

NARA’s 2023 National Archives Genealogy Series, https://www.archives.gov/calendar/genealogy-series/2023, which begins on YouTube on May 3 and continues through June 14, will focus this year on military and civilian public service. The following presentations are scheduled to premiere:

May 3 at 1 p.m. ETWelcome and Introductions – Acting Archivist Debra Wall
May 3 at 1:05 p.m. ETCivilians at War:  Records of Participation in U.S. Military Conflicts – Claire Kluskens
May 10 at 1 p.m. ETBasic Military Records at the National Archives: Revolutionary War to 1917 – John Deeben
May 17 at 1 p.m. ETNational Archives at St. Louis: Understanding the 1973 Fire and Its Impact on Genealogical Research – Eric Kilgore
May 31 at 1 p.m. ETCivilian Conservation Corps Indian Division on the Reservation – Cody White
June 7 at 1 p.m. ETAccessing and Understanding Korean War Army Unit Records – Rachel Salyer
June 14 at 1 p.m. ETPlanning, Techniques, and Strategies for Preserving Family Collections and Stories – Sara Holmes
June 14 at 1:55 p.m. ETClosing Remarks – Chris Naylor

The presentations will be pre-recorded but the speakers will answer questions in the chat for 10 minutes at the end of the premiere. The videos will remain online on YouTube afterwards. Links to the videos and associated handouts are at NARA’s 2023 National Archives Genealogy Series.

See you online!

Updated 4 May 2023

Recent NARA Staff Blog Posts

clairekluskens African-American Genealogy and History, Anti-Obscurant, immigration, Modern Military Records, World War I, World War II , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NARA has several regular blogs which are listed here: https://www.archives.gov/social-media/blogs, of which The Text Message, The Unwritten Record, Pieces of History, and Rediscovering Black History, will be of the most interest to genealogical researchers.

In addition, NARA’s designated subject matter experts (SMEs) also write blog posts several times a year that can be found on the History Hub. Recent examples include WWI Enemy Alien Registrations, Permits, and Enforcement by Elizabeth Burnes; Researching World War II Bombing Aerial Photography by Corbin Apkin; and NARA Records Pertaining to Free Blacks in the Antebellum Period (1763-1861) by Damani Davis. Check them out!

Death and Burial Practices in World War I and World War II

clairekluskens Modern Military Records, NARA--RG 92, World War I, World War II , , , , , , , , , , , ,

You’ll want to see a great presentation by Rick Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA, on Death and Burial Practices in World War I and World War II, a webinar on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars site. Rick walks you through the procedures used to identify, bury, and honor U.S. war dead, and the records created in that process. It’s free to all to view through 26 January 2021.

As the webinar description states: “Much of this webinar focuses on the process of collecting, identifying, and burying the dead, and the resulting records, including their genealogical significance. In World War I (1917–1918) there were 53,402 battle deaths, while in World War II (1941–1945) battle deaths rose to 291,557. There are 124,905 American war dead interred overseas. This webinar also addresses how the United States honors and memorializes those killed in battle, including the role of the American Battle Monuments Commission, the American Gold Star Mothers program, and the operation of the Army’s Grave Registration Service.”

Military Records for African-American Genealogy

clairekluskens African-American Genealogy and History, American Civil War (1861-65), Modern Military Records, NARA--RG 94, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, World War I, World War II , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Afro-American Historical Society’s 2018 Black History Month Genealogy Conference in Laurel, Maryland. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with Alice F. Harris and Bernice Bennett, and to meet Marvin T. Jones, Erwin Polk, and others. All lecture handouts are available on the conference website. Much of my handout, Military Records for African-American Genealogy: Suggestions for Researchers, is applicable to all researchers regardless of color. I hope you’ll find it useful.

P.S. Any advertisements that appear on this website/blog benefit WordPress not me. Just FYI.

The 1973 Fire: New Hope in Recovering Burned and Brittle Records

clairekluskens Modern Military Records, World War I, World War II , , , , , , , , , , ,

Most researchers have heard of the 1973 fire at the National Military Personnel Records Center in Saint Louis, Missouri, that destroyed 80% of certain Army personnel records for persons discharged from November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1960, and 75% of certain Air Force personnel records for persons discharged from September 25, 1947, to January 1,1964 (names alphabetically after Hubbard).

Records that were entirely consumed by fire are gone, but there is new hope for surviving highly burned or damaged records. There is amazing work being done by NARA’s Conservation Staff in Saint Louis to recover and make available records that were previously too fragile to handle. Preservation Specialist Ashley Cox shows and explains what’s being done in the 33 minute video, “A is for Archives, B is for Burn File” from the 2017 NARA Virtual Genealogy Fair.

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Internment of Enemy Aliens During World War I

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The internment of over 110,000 Japanese citizens and Americans of Japanese descent during World War II is well-known. In contrast, U.S. internment of over 6,000 German citizens and other enemy aliens during the First World War has been largely forgotten.

Was your ancestor interned? Read my article, “Internment of Enemy Aliens During World War I” for more information. I recommend starting with online newspaper databases which sometimes contain news reports about aliens arrested and detained. Then, you’ll want to locate federal records in the custody of the U.S. National Archives. My article will introduce you to available records and how to request record searches and copies.

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Photo: Enemy aliens interned at Fort Douglas, Utah, pass the time by building model ships. 165-WW-161C-94. NAID 31478939. American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs, 1917-18; Record Group 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs; National Archives at College Park, MD. 

Library of Congress Webinars Will Discuss World War I

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Our friends at the Library of Congress will highlight the Library’s World War I resources with a series of five free 40-minute webinars in Summer and Fall 2017. Registration is required for each event. After the webinars, the Library will make recordings of the sessions available at their site. Check back two weeks after the event to access the webinar.

Titles of the webinars are:
• Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I
• Over Here, Over There: Immigrant Veterans of World War I
• Woodrow Wilson Chooses War
• Lest Liberty Perish: Joseph Pennell and World War I
• Charles Hamilton Houston & World War I

Additional information, including how to register, can be found at https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/ world-war-i-american-experiences/events-and-resources/