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).
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.”
The presentations will be pre-recorded but the speakers will answer questions in the chat for 10 minutes at the end of the premiere. The videos will remain online on YouTube afterwards. Links to the videos and associated handouts are at NARA’s 2023 National Archives Genealogy Series.
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 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.”
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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
Bundle of records from “Records of Clerks, Wagonmasters, and Printers Employed at Various Posts, 1865-66 (National Archives Identifier 4707062), prior to digitization.
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?
The Twelve Key 