genealogy

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.

Welcome to The Twelve Key

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This site lists historical and genealogical publications by Claire Prechtel Kluskens, a senior reference and projects archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, DC.

Claire served as Registrar (1996-98) and as a Director (1998-2000) on the National Genealogical Society Board of Directors. She attended the National Institute on Genealogical Research in 1994 and has spoken at NIGR, NGS, FGS, and elsewhere.

Why name this site The Twelve Key? In the days of yore, the National Archives issued each archivist a metal key with the number 12 engraved upon it. This key provided access to all the unclassified stacks where records were held. Obviously this key has long since been replaced by other security devices. (And no, I have no idea what keys 1 through 11 were used for).

The articles on this site provide intellectual knowledge that enable the reader to access archival records. Thus it seemed fittingly symbolic to choose “12 key” for its name.

And the green color for this site? It’s a few shades lighter than the olive drab green originally painted on stack doors, shelves, and so forth, that is still seen in many locations throughout the National Archives Building.