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Overview
• Tips for Getting Started
• Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
• Culture Specific Records
• Website Demo
Role of the National Archives
We are responsible for the
preservation and access to permanent
records created by the Federal
Government.
Major Misconceptions
• Availability of name index for individuals
or employees: “one stop shopping”
• Everything is digitally available online, in
one location
Laid end to end, the sheets of
paper in our holdings would circle
the Earth over 57 times!
Creating scans for our web site,
and preserving all of those copies,
simply exceeds our resources at
this time.
Why aren't all NARA's Archived
Records Online?
1 Start with yourself, parents, and grandparents
Name
Date Location
Age
2 Ask your relatives about your family history
3 Look in family records (letters, family Bibles, scrapbooks, diaries, photographs, baptismal certificates, newspaper clippings, etc)
4 Create a pedigree chart
Parent
Child
Grandchild
Grandchild
Child Grandchild
Remember
The National Archives maintains only the permanent records of the Federal Government. NARA generally does not hold birth, marriage, divorce or death records. Check with the appropriate state or county.
Remember
Since records are arranged as the agencies created them,
• There is usually no master index.
• While several have been digitized,
there are still many that have not.
How do I find out what has
been digitzed? • The National Archives
maintains a list on their
website of what records
have been digitized by our
partners.
• It is
http://www.archives.gov/d
igitization/digitized-by-
partners.html
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
• Census Records
• Passenger Arrival Records
(Immigration)
• Naturalization Records
• Military Records
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
The purpose of the Federal census is to count the population of the United States for apportioning representatives to the House of Representatives.
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Beginning in 1790 the government began to conduct a Federal census every 10 years.
Access
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
● There is a 72-year restriction on access to population census information.
● Currently, the National Archives has open Federal census records from 1790 to 1940.
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Arrangement
1790–1870
The Federal Census is arranged by state, county, township, or city
1880–1940
The Federal Census is arranged by enumeration district.
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
1940 Enumeration District Map of the town of Waterbury, located in New Haven County, Connecticut.
Records keeping practices vary over time. For example:
• The 1790 Federal census lists only the head of household.
• By 1880 the Federal census lists
everyone in the household and their
relationship to the head of the
household.
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Lists head of household only 1790–1840
Example: Paul Revere, 1810 Census in Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Records everyone in the household, but not the relationship to the head of the household
1850–1870
Example: Abraham Lincoln is enumerated on page 140 of the Sangamon County, Illinois, 1860 Census Schedule
Records everyone in the household and the relationship to the head of the household. Enumeration districts are noted.
1880–1940
Example: Laura Ingalls Wilder is enumerated on
page 2A of the Wright County, Missouri,
(Enumeration District 152) 1900 Census Schedule
1890
Nearly all of the 1890 census was destroyed as a result of a Department of Commerce fire in 1921. Only 6160 names still exist of the 1890 census, out of approximately 63 million surveyed
• Place of residence
• Approximate Date of Birth
• Name and Gender of Household Members
• Marital Status
• Number of Children
• Place of Birth
• Occupation
• Income
• Language and Literacy
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Types
● U.S. Customs Service arrival lists, 1820–1890
● Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) arrival lists, 1891–1957
INS Manifest 1907
INS Manifest 1953
Passports • The first passport like document was issued in
1775 during the War of Independence.
• A single page
• No photograph
• Based on the French Passport
• Not an enforced requirement in the U.S. until 1952
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Naturalization was a two-step process, generally requiring a five-year minimum residency in the United States.
– Declaration of Intention
(First Papers) – Petition for Naturalization
(Granted Citizenship)
The only copy of the certificate of naturalization was sent to the
applicant.
Step 1
Step 2
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Declaration of Intention for
Albert Einstein, June 4, 1943
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Contact the State archives for the state where the naturalizations occurred to request a search of state, county, and local court records.
Contact the appropriate State archives or the county.
State
Local
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Federal
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Contact the NARA Regional Offices that serves the state where naturalizations occurred to request a search of Federal court records. Many of these are now available on Ancestry.com.
Principal Records of Genealogical Interest
Military Records
● NARA holds Federal records of military service in two repositories:
A. National Archives Building, Washington, DC
(Revolutionary War – 1917)
B. The National Archives at St. Louis and the National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MO
(Late 19th century – Present)
Repositories
Military Records
● Dates of service
● Branch of service
● Conflict fought in
● Volunteer unit
● Regular Army (Officer or enlisted personnel)
To locate military records, you need to know as much information as possible about the soldier’s service including:
Military Records
Types of Military Records
• DD214
• Draft Registration Cards
• Selective Service Registration Cards
• Muster Rolls 1791-1912
Military Records
Did your relative work for the
Federal government?
The National Archives at St. Louis may have a
personnel file on that person.
Culture Specific Records
• Native American
• African American
• Hispanic American
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
● The National Archives holds information about Native Americans who maintained their ties to Federally recognized tribes (1830–1970).
● Most records are arranged by tribe.
It is very difficult to determine a
person’s tribal affiliation if you do
not already know the tribe’s name.
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
Dawes Roll
• A commission appointed my President Grover Cleveland in 1893.
• The purpose was to negotiate land with 5 tribes; Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole. • The Dawes Commission was named after it’s chairman Henry L. Dawes.
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
Dawes Roll
• The Commission began accepting applications in 1896, these applications were overturned.
• Enrollment took place between 1898 and 1907.
• Under a 1914 act an additional 312 individuals were enrolled.
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
Consider
● Name of the Federally recognized tribe
● Name of person
● When they were alive
● State where they lived
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
Will Rogers’s Enrollment Records
Choctaw
Creek
Chickasaw
Seminole
Cherokee
Records Availability
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
• The National Archives at Fort Worth holds many records relating to the Five Civilized Tribes:
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
1790-1860
•Free African Americans Included on Census
1850-1860
•Slave Schedules List Slave Owners and Number of Slaves by Sex, Age and Color
1870
•All African American are Listed Including Former Slaves
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
Records of Groups Interacting with the Government
These lists, which are available from 1924–1954, are arranged by the port of entry into the United States.
In many cases, the information is compiled on a manifest card rather than the traditional manifest sheet.
Mexican Border Crossings
What sites can you research
here?
• www.archives.gov
• www.ancestry.com
• www.familysearch.org
• www.fold3.com
