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.
National Archives
Legacy Finding Aids
Archival research requires the researcher to develop critical thinking skills–strategies for determining which records may be relevant, based on subject matter, geographical coverage, and time frame. And, of course, how did the person or subject of interest interact with the record-keeper.
The National Archives Catalog is NARA’s version of a modern finding aid, providing a means to search for record groups, record series, files, and even items.
It’s the archival version of an online library catalog, which lists all the books in a particular library. But NARA is not a library, and NARA is not full of books. NARA has records, and records are much different than books. And there’s a lot of stuff: 10 billion pages of textual records; 12 million maps, charts, and architectural and engineering drawings; 25 million still photographs and graphics; 24 million aerial photographs; 300,000 reels of motion picture film; 400,000 video and sound recordings; and 133 terabytes of electronic data. These are the permanently valuable records of the United States Federal Government.
The good thing about the the online National Archives Catalog is that it can, over time, be updated to include
- (1) more detailed information;
- (2) descriptions of files;
- (3) descriptions of items;
- (4) images of items, whole files, and even whole rolls of microfilm.
Every working day, archivists are adding more and more information to the Catalog. It is growing by leaps and bounds. Just understand that it will not, repeat not, be an “every name in every record” database in our lifetime.
The bad thing about the Catalog is that it doesn’t behave like an old fashioned finding aid, such as a Preliminary Inventory, which described records of a particular record group (Federal agency) in a logical hierarchical way. As a printed product, a Preliminary Inventory was something you could sit down and study at your leisure. The relationships between record series were easier to understand. The bad thing about printed products is that they can’t be updated very often, and the larger they are, the more expensive they are to produce.
Despite their limitations, the old NARA finding aids that were published decades ago can still be useful. The researcher just needs to remember that NARA has more record series for most record groups than were listed in the old finding aids, and that more up-to-date information is in the National Archives Catalog.
The Allen County Public Library has placed online searchable PDFs of over 50 NARA Preliminary Inventories as well as five Special Lists. They’ve also placed online descriptive pamphlets (DPs) for some NARA microfilm publications, most of which are also available on the NARA website for free through the “Order Online” system (click on microfilm tab). Updated 19 November 2015.
Online Records – Carded Marriage Records
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.
NARA Catalog Updated!
The National Archives Catalog was updated over the Labor Day weekend for the first time since April. Updates had been suspended due to technical difficulties, but hopefully the Catalog will again be updated on a regular basis henceforth.
I am not conversant with the full extent of the update, but it’s certain that there are many additional series descriptions, file description, item descriptions, and digital images. Here are some examples.
Digital image updates include Maps and Correspondence Relating to Minor Civil Divisions, 1940-1950 from the Bureau of the Census.
Numerous series descriptions for records in Record Group 28, Records of the Post Office Department, have also been added. These are records that the National Archives received after the publication of Arthur E. Hecht, et al., Preliminary Inventory 168, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Post Office Department, published in 1967. Watch for additional series and file descriptions to be added over the coming months.
File descriptions provide information about contents of specific files. For some examples, here’s a link to files described in the Records of the Post Office Department.
Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933
Any time money is involved, a record must be created. Successful pension applicants expected payment. Records were created to ensure that payment was timely, correct, and made to the right persons. Records also helped guard against theft and fraud. Read more about the 1907-1933 pension payment cards for Caroline S. Moulton, widow of George H. Moulton, 38th Massachusetts Infantry (Civil War). More information is in a longer article from this summer’s NGS Magazine. Updated 8 October 2015.
Congratulations to Reginald Washington, 2015 NGS Award of Merit recipient!
My former colleague, retired NARA African-American Genealogy Specialist Reginald Washington, was recently recognized by the National Genealogical Society for his contributions to the field of genealogy. Congratulations, Reggie! The honor is well deserved. Read on for more details from the NGS press release:
Arlington, VA, 19 May 2015—The National Genealogical Society (NGS) held its annual banquet on Friday evening, 15 May, at the NGS 2015 Family History Conference in Saint Charles, Missouri, to present awards that acknowledge and honor genealogical scholarship and service. Each year, these awards are presented to organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to NGS programs or have performed outstanding work in the field of genealogy, history, biography, or heraldry. This year, twelve awards were presented.
NGS Award of Merit
The Award of Merit is presented to an individual or non-profit genealogical or historical organization in recognition of exceptional contributions to the field of genealogy that have significantly aided research or increased interest in genealogy over a period of five or more years. The 2015 Award of Merit was presented to Reginald Washington of Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Washington’s contributions to the study and preservation of African-American records is truly exceptional. For three decades, he has introduced researchers to many little-known, but incredibly rich, record collections that are now staples for genealogical research. His labors have given researchers online access to a half-million documents from the files of the Southern Claims Commission and more than a million from the Freedmen’s Bureau and the Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company. Washington has taught at the National Institute for Genealogical Research and has been a popular draw at NGS conferences for two decades. He has published articles in the NGS Quarterly, in Prologue (the scholarly journal of the National Archives), and in popular magazines such as Ancestry. He authored the National Archives’ guide, Black Family Research … At the National Archives; created instructional videos for occasions such as the 150th Anniversary celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation; and was a featured expert in the BYU television series Ancestors.
CMSRs, Part V: The Book Mark
The 15th article in my series about records in the National Archives related to Union Civil War personnel is now available. Read Compiled Military Service Records, Part V, The Book Mark.
The Twelve Key 