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.
genealogy
A Gem You’ve Never Heard Of
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.
Recent NARA Staff Blog Posts
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!
Census Statistics
Census statistics and data are used a variety of ways in historical, academic, and genealogical research. Examples: How many people lived in the town in which I was born? How has the population of a particular ethnic group changed in this town over the years?
The data people want today isn’t always the data that was collected – or the data was collected but not compiled in a format that is readily accessible today. Research has its challenges!
A new NARA blog post, “Where to Find Census Statistics,” at https://historyhub.history.gov/community/genealogy/census-records/blog/2022/09/13/where-to-find-census-statistics is a first step in providing some guidance to researchers. If you have other suggestions, I’d be glad to hear them.
Webinars by the Department of the Interior Library
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
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!
Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1881-1907
Need some help figuring out how to find and access correspondence in Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs? Rose Buchanan, Archivist and Subject Matters Expert for Native American Related Records, has a recent blog post on Accessing the Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1881-1907, at https://historyhub.history.gov/community/american-indian-records/blog/2022/08/09/accessing-the-letters-received-by-the-office-of-indian-affairs-1881-1907 that will help you get started! From there, you can also easily access other blog posts by Rose as well as Cody White, NARA’s other Subject Matters Expert for Native American Related Records.
43 Million More Images Uploaded to the National Archives Catalog Since June 2021
NARA’s “Record Group Explorer” page at https://www.archives.gov/findingaid/record-group-explorer is a good place to get information on the number of digital images available in NARA’s online Catalog at https://catalog.archives.gov/ as well as the immense quantities of textual records that exist. As of July 2022, there are 179,271,436 images in the National Archives Catalog – or approximately 1.541% of 11.6 Billion textual records. (And that’s only textual records: that count does not include motion pictures, audio recordings, or data files).
Just over a year ago, in June 2021, there were 135,404,569 images in the National Archives Catalog, or about 1.175% of an estimated 11,524,683,948 textual records. That’s an increase of over 43 million digital images in a little over a year! Progress! (Back in June 2020, those numbers stood at 109,384,656 images or .95% out of an estimated 11,509,956,576 textual records).
Want to follow along and see what’s added? The “What’s New in the National Archives Catalog” page at https://www.archives.gov/research/catalog/whats-new links to record series to which digital images have been added – and may also highlight a few interesting items.
Digitization is a slow process. Records are typically one-of-a-kind items that may be fragile, bound into volumes, or otherwise unsuitable for “high speed” automatic sheet-feeding imaging systems. Records may require unfolding; removal of staples, pins, clips, and other fasteners; repair by trained records conservators; and other preparation for imaging, such as arrangement and new or improved description. Just consider the handling care required for the bundle of records shown below, which was just a small part of a small series, Records of Clerks, Wagonmasters, and Printers Employed at Various Posts, 1865-66 (National Archives Identifier 4707062), from Record Group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General.
This small series is fully digitized. Each individual file unit is now is described in the National Archives Catalog by the name of the commanding officer and his geographic location, which vastly improves discoverability by researchers: see the screen shot below, which shows a few of the 389 file titles.
What records will you discover online in the National Archives Catalog?
Memorial Day Remembrance: Beneath His Shirt Sleeves
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!
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
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!
The Twelve Key 