family history

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

Release of the 1960 Census is just 9.5 Years Away

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The release of the 1960 census is just 9.5 years away and the National Archives has begun a 1960 census blog post series with the first post, “1960 Census:  NARA’s Already Working Toward 2032” at https://historyhub.history.gov/community/genealogy/census-records/blog/2022/10/14/1960-census-nara-s-already-working-toward-2032.

A Gem You’ve Never Heard Of

clairekluskens Anti-Obscurant, Finding Records at NARA, NARA , , , , , ,

OK, before I tell you what the gem is, I need to give you a little background.

Did you know that the National Archives includes a library within its walls? Yes, indeed: It’s the “Archives Library Information Center” which has the acronym of ALIC.  It’s at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland (“Archives 2”), and is open to researchers as well as staff.  ALIC’s collections focus on archival science and books and periodicals relating to the records in NARA’s custody.

Neither you or I have time to read all the historical periodicals currently being published for great articles about persons, places, things, or events pertinent to the lives of our ancestors.  ALIC’s librarian does a little bit of that work for you, however, by compiling a Quarterly Compilation of Periodical Literature that focuses on identifying articles that cite records in NARA’s custody.  That means footnotes that might lead you to more information!

The Quarterly Compilation of Periodical Literature: 2022 (https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/periodicals/nara-citations/2022) includes – for just the first three quarters of this year – 454 articles on a broad range of topics, such as:

  • The dimensions of a Continental Army haversack like one your ancestor may have lugged around during the Revolutionary War.
  • The forgotten black coal miners of southern Wyoming.
  • Addiction to opium by Civil War veterans.
  • Marine Corps justice during the Civil War.
  • Federal compensation for property lost during the War of 1812.
  • Sicilian immigration to Braxos County, Texas, 1871-1921.

Each entry in the Quarterly Compilation includes the author; article title; journal with volume, page numbers, and date of publication; and the NARA Record Groups (RGs) or presidential libraries cited by the author. One example would be:  “Becker, Ann.  “The Revolutionary War Pension Act of 1818.”  Historical Journal of Massachusetts 47, no. 2 (Summer 2019): 98-137.  RG015/RG046/RG233.”

The Quarterly Compilation dates all the way back to 2010.  In addition to these annual lists, however, the ALIC librarian has also compiled the articles into lists by Presidential Library or Record Group cluster, such as Genealogical, Old Army, Old Navy, Maritime, and many others.  These lists can help you hone in on specific topics of interest.

Now what?  You’ve searched the lists and made note of some great-sounding articles.  What then?  The reference librarian and/or Inter-Library Loan (ILL) Librarian at your own public library should be able to help you locate online or obtain off-line copies of the articles.  Still having trouble?  Reach out to the ALIC librarian; there’s an email address on the main ALIC webpage.

ALIC-QComp

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!

Webinars by the Department of the Interior Library

clairekluskens land records, law / legal research, NARA--RG 49, women , , , , , , , , ,

There are several upcoming webinars sponsored by the Department of the Interior Library that should be of interest to genealogical researchers. For information, see https://www.doi.gov/library/programs/training-sessions. It is necessary to contact the DOI Library in advance of each session for access information.

A Room for the Night

clairekluskens Anti-Obscurant, Finding Records at NARA, NARA--RG 79 , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are you researching someone who owned a hotel, motel, or inn? Did you find someone enumerated in the census at one of those locations? Did your ancestor frequent a tavern at a local inn? If so, you might learn more about the structure and its history in the records of the National Register of Historic Places!

Archives Specialist John LeGloahec takes us on a brief trip through some of those records in “A Room for the Night – Hotels, Motels, and Inns Found in the Records of the National Register of Historic Places” (NRHP) at https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2022/07/21/a-room-for-the-night-hotels-motels-and-inns-found-in-the-records-of-the-national-register-of-historic-places/.

John’s post helps you dig into the descriptions of over 23,000 properties with the term hotel, motel, or inn in their title in the National Archives Catalog. We promise there’s no check-out time: You can stay in the NARA Catalog as long as you like!

Memorial Day Remembrance: Beneath His Shirt Sleeves

clairekluskens African-American Genealogy and History, American Civil War (1861-65), NARA--RG 15 , , , , , , , , , , ,

On this Memorial Day, as we remember the fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives to defend our freedoms and preserve one United States of America, I respectfully direct your attention to an excellent two-part article by archives specialist Jackie Budell entitled “Beneath His Shirt Sleeves: Evidence of Injury” with Part I here and Part II here. This article highlights the sacrifice and stories of eight Union Civil War veterans who lost most – or part – of an arm during their war service.

1950 Census Website Improvement:  Transcribed Names are Now Shown in Search Results!

clairekluskens census, Finding Records at NARA, NARA--RG 29 , , , , , , , ,

On May 17, 2022, NARA’s 1950 Census website development team made a wonderful improvement to the name search feature.  Names transcribed by humans are now shown in the search results above and below the census page image.  What does this mean?  Let’s look at an example.

Let’s search for Mildred Lauska in Ohio.  Fortunately, some human transcribed her name.

Here’s the search result showing both OCR (optical character recognition) results AND human transcription results above the census page image in the upper right under “Matched Name(s).”  (Click on the image for a bigger view.)’

Mildred Lauska, ED 92-47, with search result above the census page image

Here’s the same search result showing both OCR (optical character recognition) results AND human transcription results below the census page.  (Click on the image for a bigger view.)

  • The OCR results generated by “Machine Learning (AI) Extracted Names” are shown first:  Only Mildred’s husband, “Lauska melvins” is boldfaced because OCR had not transcribed Mildred or their daughters Joanne and Judith.
  • The “User Contributed Transcriptions” are shown second:  All persons with the Lauska surname shown in bold:  Melvin Lauska, Mildred Lauska, Joanne Lauska, and Judith Lauska.

Mildred Lauska, ED 92-47, with search result below the census page image

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Important Takeaways:

  • Thank you for your transcriptions!  They matter!  They significantly improve the search results!  In the Lauska family example, all four members of the household can easily be found instead of just one.
  • Now You Can See Everyone’s Transcriptions at Work!  Yay!
  • Narrowing your name search to include state and county always better if the name was significantly misread by the OCR and has not been transcribed, or contains common names (John, Smith, and so forth!)
  • Thank you for your suggestions for website improvements!

ICYMI: 50 Million Images Added to NARA’s Catalog Since August 2020

clairekluskens Finding Records at NARA, NARA , , , , , , , , , ,

With all the excitement and preparation for the 1950 census over the past several months, you may have missed it: Millions of images of textual records keep being added to NARA’s online Catalog.

According to NARA’s “Record Group Explorer” webpage, as of March 2022 there are 161,492,780 scans online representing 1.393% of the approximate estimated total of 11.5 billion textual pages in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration.

One month earlier, in February 2022, that number was 159,188,420 images: so in just one month, 2,304,360 images were added!

Back in August 2020, there were 111,114,108 images in the Catalog, so in 18 months, 50,378,672 images were added.

Fifty million, that’s a pretty big number. Considering that this growth happened during a pandemic that limited staff access to the buildings – and to the records – that’s pretty impressive.