One of the most interesting things about records in the U.S. National Archives is almost infinite diversity of materials that can be found. This post will highlight several small record series that have been digitized.

Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, is well known for genealogical gems like military service and pension files, but it also contains a variety of other records:

• Bibliography of Publications Concerning Inmates in Soldiers’ Homes, ca. 1913–ca. 1927, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/407305556.
• Records Relating to the Delaney House, 1914, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/407302072. This was a building in Washington, DC, that was used as a hospital during the Civil War. 
• Records Concerning Confederate Homes, 1919-1927, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/407302073, includes a list of Confederate homes existing at that time. 
• Summary Lists of Certificate Numbers Assigned to Pensioned Veterans, Navy Widows, and Army and Navy Widows, 1816–1924,  https://catalog.archives.gov/id/400216432. This series contains typescript lists that identify the dates upon which certain pension certificate numbers were assigned to pensioned veterans (“invalids”), 1816-1924; Navy widows, 1862-1910; and to widows, 1862-1924. The “widows” list includes certificate numbers issued to Army widows for 1862-August 1910 and both Army and Navy widows for August 1910-June 1924. These lists likely served as a quick reference aid to the approximate date when a certificate was issued. For example, if one wanted to know when Widow’s Certificate (WC) 190,000 was issued, the widow’s certificate list indicates it was issued sometime between June 3, 1880, when 188,500 was issued, and June 3, 1881, when 192,500 was issued.

Record Group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) includes many NARA microfilm publications because they are NARA work product.

• NARA Microfilm Publication M2156, Lists of Federal Prisoners of War Who Enlisted in the Confederate Army (1 roll, published 2012), https://catalog.archives.gov/id/470650567, was uploaded to the Catalog in RG 64 as National Archives work product but the images of records it contains are from Record Group 249, Records of the Commissary General of Prisoners.

Record Group 92, Office of the Quartermaster General

• Annual Reports Relating to the Army Transport Service, 1901,  https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2662956. relates to quartermaster activities that supported the U.S. Army during the Philippine-American War.

Record Group 393, Records of U.S. Army Continental Commands

• Census of Black Persons in Princess Anne County, Virginia, 1863, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/352794518, is a unique volume in NARA holdings. In this volume, H. H. Huff of Ovid, Seneca County, New York, recorded a census of black persons who resided in Princess Anne County, Virginia. Mr. Huff began taking the census on June 23, 1863, according to a paper glued to the inside front cover of the volume. The printed census form, which spans two facing pages, asked for each person’s name and the following information:
  • Sex – Male or female
  • Age – Under 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 45, or over 45
  • Condition – Bond (enslaved), free, or contraband
  • Residence – Permanent, transient, or how long within the lines
  • How Employed – On deserted farms, otherwise employed by the government, or not employed
  • Helped by the Government – Wholly or in Part
  • Color – Black or mixed Able to read [hash mark if yes]
  • Remarks – The “Remarks” column often indicates federal employment, either in general terms, such as “on entrenchment,” or specifically, such as “Ordnance Department.”
• List of Prisoners at Fort Jefferson (Florida) on March 31, 1866,  https://catalog.archives.gov/id/404788116, includes Dr. Samuel Mudd and other persons who assisted John Wilkes Booth after the assassination of Lincoln, as well as other military prisoners.
• Lists of Supplies on Hand, July 1847–October 1850 (at Fort Jefferson, Florida), https://catalog.archives.gov/id/404788104, could be of interest to military historians.

Record Group  395, Records of U.S. Army Overseas Operations and Commands, contains a lot of material relating to activities of both Filipino and U.S. personnel during the Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. These are just a few examples.

• Card List of Batson’s Scouts, July 1901, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/467258916.
• Register of a Census Taken in the Province of Tayabas, Philippines, June 1900–September 1900, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/400216440. Each entry includes the man’s name, age, marital status, bario of residence in Tayabas, occupation (“profession”), and the census certificate number and date of issuance. All the men were indicated to be natives of Luzon. No women are included.
• Register of Native Prisoners Confined, October 1900-May 1902, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/404788077, primarily contains a list of native (Filipino) prisoners of war confined at Balayan, Batangas, Philippine Islands. The men were captured from October 1900 to July 1901 and released by May 1902. The information was recorded across two facing pages and usually includes including each man’s name, age, residence, date of capture and by which officer, cause for which held, and “disposition” that is usually the date of release from confinement.
• Special Orders, May-September 1900, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/404788009, were issued by commanding officers of 4th U.S. Infantry from the “Headquarters, U.S. Troops” at Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines, and primarily concern special assignments of duty to specific military personnel.
• Special Orders, May-July 1901, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/404788041, were issued from the headquarters of the 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry, at Badoc, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, and primarily concern special assignments of duty to specific military personnel.