National Archives and Records Administration

Mythbusting the Legend of the Baker Twins

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Through compelling and thorough research, Donna Vojvodich, Historian for the U.S. Coast Guard’s SPARS Stories History Program, busts a fun but sadly persistent erroneous legend of the alleged service of the Baker twins during World War I. They were not the “first” women to serve in the Coast Guard. In fact, the Baker twins didn’t serve at all.

The honor of first goes to Myrtle Hazard, who held the rating of electrician first class (E1) and enlisted in January 1918.

You can read all about it in “The Long Blue Line: The Baker Twins—Re-searching the first female Coasties – or were they?” online at https://www.mycg.uscg.mil/News/Article/3311017/.

This is yet another example of our need, as serious family historians, to not accept other people’s unsupported conclusions as fact. We must instead carefully examine both textual and photographic records, do careful analysis, and base our conclusions on facts, not wishful thinking.

NARA’s Genealogy Series – May 21-June 25, 2024

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NARA’s annual Genealogy Series features staff experts speaking about records in National Archives custody. The 2024 series begins on May 21. This year’s line up includes:

  • Passport Records: Passport Applications at NARA, 1790s-1925 – May 21, 1 p.m. ET
  • After Their Service: Tracing the Lives of Native American Army Scouts – May 28, 1 p.m. ET
  • Captured German Records Related to American Prisoners of War During World War II – June 4, 1 p.m. ET
  • Alien Files (A-Files): Researching Immigrant Ancestors at the National Archives – June 18, 1 p.m. ET
  • World War II Enemy Alien Records Related to Japanese Americans at the National Archives – June 25, 1 p.m. ET

Don’t worry about missing the program! After their premiere, these videos will remain online on YouTube for future viewing.

Census of Black Persons in Princess Anne County, Virginia, 1863

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The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recently digitized an 1863 census of Black persons in Princess Anne County, Virginia, that was compiled by the Union Army. Taken seven years before the 1870 census, which is normally the earliest census upon which formerly enslaved persons were listed by name, this unique record provides a valuable early snapshot of the names, ages, employment, and other information about bond (enslaved), free, or contraband individuals and families. Read more about it at https://historyhub.history.gov/african-american-records/b/african-american-records-blog/posts/census-of-black-persons-in-princess-anne-county-virginia-1863 and view the records online at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/352794518.

What’s New in the National Archives Catalog?

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NARA has reintroduced a user-friendly “What’s New in the National Archives Catalog” page at https://www.archives.gov/research/catalog/whats-new. This webpage may highlight visually interesting items along with a list of:

  • Recent bulk uploads of descriptions of records
  • Recent bulk uploads of descriptions with images of records
  • Recent uploads of images to previously existing descriptions

The list shows the part of the NARA that holds the records and gives a direct link to where the records are in the Catalog. As should be expected, digital images of very large record series will usually be uploaded in increments over time (months or years), as digitization is accomplished. Digital images of very small series are normally uploaded all at once, such as the single volume series, List of Special Agents Who Collected Cotton Statistics, 1900 (National Archives Identifier 3318884).

What will you find that’s new and interesting to you?

Special Censuses of 15 U.S. Towns, 1932-1938

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Censuses “in-between” federal census years are always a bonus! Changes in families and neighborhoods can be more closely tracked. Missed or miss-enumerated families might be located.

NARA recently completed the digitization of a small series of off-year censuses called “Schedules of Municipal Population Enumerations, 1932-1938” (National Archives Identifier 2791185) that includes towns in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. These are the only municipal censuses conducted by the Census Bureau that are in NARA custody.

Read more details in the History Hub blog post, “Special Censuses of 15 U.S. Towns, 1932-1938.”

Mr. Cannon’s Trunk

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Titles given to archival record series (specific bodies of records that serve a particular function) usually have dull but clear names like

  • Letters Sent ….
  • Letters Received ….
  • Correspondence of ….
  • Claims Filed by ….
  • Reports ….
  • Accounts of ….

Record series titles normally don’t refer to the location in which the records had been stored. For example, one would not expect records to be titled “Records from the 15th Filing Cabinet” since that would not meaningfully describe their informational content. Recently, however, I discovered that there is at least one record series named after their former storage place. It is “Materials from the Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon’s Trunk, 1903-1909” (National Archives Identifier 5987062) which is part of Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Speaker Cannon was a powerful Speaker of the House and anyone doing research on Congress in the early 20th century should know who he was. And yes, you can see what his trunk looks like at “Trunk Used by Speaker Joseph Cannon” (National Archives Identifier 25465646).

Meet the Archivist: An Interview with Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen Shogan, July 24, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. EDT (virtual)

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You are invited! Join National Archives Foundation Executive Director Patrick Madden for a fireside chat with the new Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen Shogan. Viewers will learn more about her background and her vision for the National Archives. The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A. The event is online, free, and scheduled for Monday, July 24, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Register and submit your questions for Dr. Shogan at https://www.archivesfoundation.org/event/meet-the-archivist-an-interview-with-national-archives-foundation-executive-director-patrick-madden-and-archivist-of-the-united-states-dr-colleen-shogan/

Alien Enemy Index, 1917-1919, is Now Online

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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