IIGS™ Newsletter - February 1999
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IIGS™ Newsletter - February 1999
United States researchers all know of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), that great repository of documents which helps us track our ancestors' lives--federal census records, ship lists, immigration and naturalization records, and military records.
NARA is an independent federal agency which has been charged with the preservation of all federal records since its creation in 1935.
All told, the NARA collection site in Washington, D.C., plus its 13 regional branches, holds about 21.5 million cubic feet of original textual materials. Because NARA's holdings are so extensive, agency spokespersons say it will be many years before much of it will be available to researchers on the Internet.
However, the agency has begun making some of its finding aids--such as Soundex codes and microfilm reel numbers--just a mouse-click away for Internet genealogists. And, as part of its Electronic Access Project which began in 1996, the agency is also looking at ways to establish a virtual card catalog of all NARA documents as well as ways to make digitized replicas of some high interest documents available online. The prototype for this project is called the NARA Archival Information Locator (NAIL).
To access the NARA web pages, go to http://www.nara.gov/
This is the NARA homepage. It gives important information about NARA online exhibits and publications. Under the heading "The Research Room," the homepage directs genealogists to "The Genealogy Page."
So, for starters, click on "The Genealogy Page" link. Here you'll find information about beginning your search. And you'll learn which immigration and naturalization records and which military service records NARA has to help you in your search.
To access NAIL from this page, click on the "Genealogical Data in NAIL" link.
NAIL is a pilot database for a future online catalog of NARA holdings. While it contains limited genealogical data, i.e., there is no census index information or ships passenger's list indices, it gives Internet visitors a chance to run their surnames in a few selected databases which contain limited NARA holdings.
To find out if your second or third great-grandfather rode with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, was ever appointed a U.S. Marshal in Arizona, or occupied a cell at Fort Smith, Arkansas, click on "Search Hints for the Available Genealogical Data in NAIL."
About three-quarters down the first group of offerings, click on the hyperlink, "Rough Riders."
To search for the Rough Riders' compiled military service records: Select "Standard," "Expert," or "Digital" copies search. Enter "Rough Riders" in the first Keywords box. Enter the name of the individual you seek in the second Keywords box.
If the database has any information about the individual whose name you entered, the Records retrieved number will change from 0 to the number of Rough Riders' descriptions that contain the name of the person you entered. If the person is not listed in NAIL, the number will not change from 0. After you see this number, select Display Results.
Return to the "Genealogical Data in NAIL" page to do another search. This time, let's find out if your ancestor was appointed a US Marshal.
- Click on "Appointments and Posts of US Marshals And Deputy Marshals 1864-1912."
- Click on "Search NAIL."
- Select "Standard," "Expert," or "Digital" copies search.
- Enter "Marshals Service Arizona" in the first Keywords box.
- Enter the name of the individual you seek in the second Keywords box.
If the database has any information about the individual whose name you entered, the Records retrieved number will change from 0 to the number of Appointments and Oaths documents that contain the name of the person you entered. If the person is not listed in NAIL, the number will not change from 0. After you see this number, select "Display Results."
After I learned that no members of the Arbogast family had been so appointed, I entered a more popular surname, Smith, to see what a "hit" would look like. I obtained two Smith returns. So I clicked on "Display Results" and learned that Charles Smith had been appointed the Deputy Marshal in the Territory of Arizona, September 30, 1893. And Harry A. Smith was appointed Special Field Deputy Marshal in the Territory of Arizona, February 10, 1911.
If you find your surname among the list of U.S. Marshals, remember to click on "Full Result" and you will learn not only how to order the record, but will see a replica of the actual document as well.
Our next search might produce a skeleton in your closet! Let's see if there's any record of your surname having spent time in the Fort Smith jail in Arkansas.
Go back to the page titled, "Genealogical Data Available in NAIL."
- Click on "Fort Smith Case Files."
- Select "Standard" or "Expert search"
- Enter "Criminal" in the first Keywords box. Enter the name of the individual you seek in the second Keywords box.
If the database has any information about the individual whose name you entered, the Records retrieved number will change from 0 to the number of Fort Smith documents that contain the name of the person you entered. If the person is not listed in NAIL, the number will not change from 0. After you see this number, select "Display Results."
In doing this, I found out that there was indeed a defendant case file for a John Arbogast in 1894. I don't know if he is one my Arbogasts or not. Even so, I couldn't resist snooping around to find out what John did to warrant him his court appearance and, most likely, his stay in jail. So I clicked on the "Full" button under the "Full Results." Then, on the line marked "Scope and Content." I learned that he was charged with larceny.
What is the historical significance of the Fort Smith records? To find out, click on "Series Description."
Enough experimenting. Time to get down to some nuts and bolts offerings from NARA which are bound to be of help to you in your research.
OTHER NARA FEATURES ONLINE
Go back to The Genealogy Page.
Visit the Soundex Machine in the middle of The Genealogy Page. Click the hyperlink "Soundex Machine" to obtain the Soundex code for your surname.
Knowing the Soundex code is an important first step towards obtaining NARA's census microfilm holdings for the federal census records from 1880 to 1920. The Soundex is a coded surname index based on the way a name sounds rather than the way it is spelled. Surnames that sound the same, but are spelled differently, like SMITH and SMYTH, have the same code and are filed together. The Soundex coding system was developed so that you can find a surname even though it may have been recorded under various spellings. Even if you don't order the microfilmed records from NARA, you will still need it to borrow the correct film at your public library or Family History Center.
The Soundex numbers provide the key to locating family surnames in both census (1880-1920) and passenger arrival records for certain ports for certain periods (the exact information can be found in the Microfilm Resources for Research Catalogue). The microfilmed indices to these records are arranged by Soundex code. Once you have the code for the surname, you will know which roll of microfilm to look at to find the specific surname, and once found (for example, in a census index), it will take you to the correct enumeration district.
To find out the Soundex code for your name, go to the Genealogy Page.
- Click on "The Soundex Machine."
- Enter your surname and submit.
It's that easy! Write your code name down in a handy spot and then click on "Federal Population Census Page." Remember, Soundex wasn't used until the 1880 census. Select a census from 1880 to 1920. Click on your choice, and when you get to the next page, find the state you're interested in reviewing and select it.
For example, "Arbogast" has a Soundex code of A612. I want to see if there were any Arbogasts living in Missouri in 1910. So click on "Federal Population Census Page." Then click on "1900 Federal Population Census." Missouri is the fourth item from the top, so click on "4. Michigan-New York."
Browse down until you get to "Missouri T105." Under Missouri, "A612" can be found in line 8--the range of Soundex for line 8 is A 536 Lucie to A652 Elfie.
Another important genealogical research item you might want to obtain from NARA is a record of your ancestor's military service. Military records exist for:
Over 2.8 million men (and a few hundred women) served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. To find out which records will be most valuable to you, go to:
http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/civilwar.htmlThis year marks the centennial of the Spanish-American War, which was fought between May and August 1898. If you had ancestors who fought in this war, you will no doubt want to check to obtain that ancestor's record. The number of participants in the Spanish American War--about 280,564 sailors, marines, and soldiers who served, of whom 2,061 died from various causes--was not large compared to the approximately three million men who served in the Civil War or the 16 million men and women who served in World War II.
The smaller numbers are in part due to the short length of the Spanish-American War--it ended before many soldiers had even been transported to the war zone. There was also no draft during this war, as there was for the Civil War and the two subsequent world wars. But for the many Americans whose families came to the United States during the mass immigrations of the 1880s and 1890s, the Spanish-American War records are the first military records they can research.
To learn more about this collection, go to:
http://www.nara.gov/publications/prologue/1898gen1.htmlNovember 11, 1998, marked the eightieth anniversary of the armistice ending World War I. If you had an ancestor who served in this war and would like to learn more about these records, go to:
http://www.nara.gov/publications/prologue/ww1serv.htmlWorld War II Records and Beyond:
Records for military service after the end of World War I, are not kept in the NARA facilities in Washington, D.C., but in the St. Louis Military Records facility. Many World War II records were destroyed in a fire there in 1973, but usually even parts of these records are still obtainable.
To find out what's available, as well as how to order these records, click on:
http://www.nara.gov/regional/mpr.html.While the Internet offers us many opportunities to expand our search for our ancestors in ways which were not even dreamed of as recently as a decade ago, it is going to be a while before family historians can conduct all their genealogical research online. Trips to the library and hours spent viewing microfilm are going to continue to be part of every roots-searching expedition.
Many of us will not be able to visit the gold mine of genealogy records at NARA--either in Washington or at one of the Regional facilities--but remember that you can always order copies of the records you need to conduct your family search from NARA.
While the order blanks for your request forms aren't yet online, you can send in an e-mail request and the forms will be sent to you via the post office. For details about this, send your request to: inquire@nara.gov. When you get your forms in the mail, fill them out and mail them back in. Be patient! Some NARA departments get as many as 2,000 requests per week. Officials there say that these numbers have been on the increase since inquire@nara.gov was established in 1994.