genealogy research

Obscure people and records

clairekluskens Anti-Obscurant, Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

Barbara Vines Little, editor of the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, introduces the current issue (Vol. 53, No. 4, November 2015) with her message, “On the Trail of the Obscure.” She says that “Readers will find this issue replete with the types of records best suited to following the tracks of people who often leave little trace of their presence in a given area.” For researchers seeking hard-to-locate individuals from the late 1700s, the various rent rolls, store ledgers, personal property tax lists, and military clothing accounts published therein may indeed provide vital clues and links.

Obscurity works both ways. Not only do the records contain obscure individuals, the records themselves are obscure–records that the average genealogist with Virginia roots is unlikely to know about. The Virginia Genealogical Society serves the genealogical community well in making unusual records more accessible through its publications.

“Not well known” is one of several definitions of “obscure.” A related word is “obscurant.” As a noun, it’s a person who strives to prevent the increase and spread of knowledge, or, a person who obscures. As an adjective, it means tending to make obscure.

There are so many obscure records in the National Archives that are worthy of greater attention by researchers. Thus, I am launching a periodic series of Anti-Obscurant posts to shed light on some of the many obscure Federal records held by the National Archives and Records Administration. It should be educational for us all.

Are You Hearing Voices?

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You could be. It might be the voice of an ancestor speaking to you directly about his or her life. Don’t worry, you’re not losing your mind. That voice may be speaking to you from testimony in a court case file, claims file, military pension file, investigative file, or immigration case file. Finding it may take a bit of work–and luck–but it might exist. “In Their Own Words: Family Stories in the National Archives.” Vol. 41, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec. 2015): 34-35, 37 takes a brief look at a few types of “case file” records in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration that contain ancestral voices.

Online Records – Carded Marriage Records

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The images of the cards in the record series, “Carded Marriage Records, 1883-1916” are now online. This series, which is part of Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, consists of cards with the following information: name of man, his rank or occupation, and unit to which he belonged; name of woman, her age and birthplace; date and place of marriage; name of medical officer who signed the report; and, sometimes, the date of report. Some of the marriages were performed at civilian locations off-post. If the woman was the daughter of an Army officer, his name, rank, and unit may also be noted. The information on these cards was copied by clerks from the original reports submitted by post medical officers. One of the clerks who wrote these cards had excessively ornate handwriting that is often difficult to interpret.

These records may help descendants of the 898 marriages included in this series locate an otherwise difficult-to-find marriage–for example, if their Regular Army ancestor married at an unexpected location.

These records have been placed online as a part of the continuing effort of the National Archives to make more records available online through its Catalog of holdings.

More Post Office Department Records

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The records of the Post Office Department (Record Group 28) can be useful for learning about ancestors who were postal employees, the communities in which they lived, and, of course, the operation of the mail system. As a part of NARA’s ongoing mission to provide greater access to the records in its custody, staff at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, continue to add descriptions for RG 28 record series to the online National Archives Catalog. Here’s a list of some 133 record series for which descriptions were added to the Catalog in recent months.

Civil War Union Prisoner of War Claims for Money Taken by the Confederates

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One of the many relatively obscure record series in the National Archives is “Claims Made for Money Taken from Federal Prisoners of War Confined in Confederate Prisons” (NAID 615449) in Record Group 249, Records of the Office of the Commissary General of Prisoners, 1861–1905. Researchers will find this list of claimants useful. The NGS article, “The Rebs Took My Money!” describes these records and the claims of William R. Davidson, David Williams, William H. Bogart, and Mathias Nero. An article about Andersonville Prisoner George Langworthy of Geauga County, Ohio, transcribes Langworthy’s claim letter and tells how his claim was handled. Updated 8 October 2015.

Lewis Miller, Coppersmith

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Ancestors with common surnames like Miller can be frustrating and complex to research. Lewis Miller of Painesville, Ohio, had a relatively uncommon given name and an unusual occupation. This combination helped “connect the dots” from his final residence in Painesville, Ohio, to earlier residences in New York City and Ontario/Yates Counties (NY). It also helped link him to other relatives. This article in Lakelines, the newsletter of the Lake County (Ohio) Genealogical Society, discusses some of the newspaper articles and advertisements that made these connections possible.