The National Genealogical Society honored two National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) staff members on May 25, 2025, during its recent conference held at Louisville, Kentucky.
Deceased NARA employee James Worris Moore was elected to the National Genealogy Hall of Fame, which honors outstanding genealogists whose achievements in American genealogy have had a great impact on the field and who have been deceased for at least five years. Their contributions to genealogy in this country need to be significant in a way that was unique, pioneering, or exemplary. Entries are judged by a panel of genealogists from various parts of the United States.
Mr. Moore was born in 1930 in North Carolina and died in 2019 in Maryland. During his 42-year career at the National Archives (1956-1998), he was a tireless advocate for genealogical research and record preservation. He was dedicated to ensuring public access to historical records, particularly military and pension files.
Moore began his career at the National Archives as an archivist in the old military reference section. Within a few years, he became chief of the military service staff and oversaw the handling of military service and pension file requests. Later, as director of the audiovisual archives division, he championed the use and preservation of underutilized audiovisual collections, including movies.
Moore was an indefatigable advocate for public access to genealogical records. During the early 1980s, when the US economy was in a severe recession, the National Archives could no longer afford to lend census microfilm to libraries. Moore understood how important these records were to genealogists. He proposed working with private companies to maintain accessibility for researchers. In 1984 the scope of his influence expanded when he was named assistant archivist for the newly established Office of Records Administration. During his time at the Office of Records Administration, he played a role in decisions regarding the retention of federal documents. Thanks to his lifelong work in archival service, Moore ensured that future generations could access a wealth of invaluable genealogical records. Well known genealogist Bernice Alexander Bennett read a letter of appreciation from Mr. Moore’s family.
Archivist Claire Kluskens, who recently retired from NARA as its subject matter expert for genealogy and census-related records, was a recipient of the NGS Fellow (FNGS) award, which recognizes outstanding work in service to NGS and in the field of genealogy. She published 60 articles in the NGS Magazine and NGS Quarterly and a similar number in local and state genealogical journals and other publications.
Two National Archives staff members previously received the FNGS designation:
(1) James Dent Walker (1978), who worked for the National Archives from 1944 to 1946, 1951 to 1957, and from the 1960s to 1979, was a nationally recognized authority on records in the National Archives useful for genealogical research. In particular, he specialized in military records, African-American genealogy, and was involved in the Archives’ genealogy education programs. In addition, founded the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.
(2) Meredith B. Colket, Jr. (1985), who worked at the National Archives from about 1941 to 1957, before serving as Director of the Western Reserve Historical Society (Cleveland, Ohio) from 1957 to 1980. In 1950, Colket founded and served as the first director of the genealogical education institute now known as the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed). He also coauthored the first edition, published in 1964, of the Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives.
