As we make our brunch reservations, choose the perfect greeting card, and make the rest of our preparations for Mother’s Day this Sunday, let’s not forget the women, the mothers of our nation, who took a stand for women’s rights and blazed the trail for future movements. Men such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas [...]

This week in 1775, the battles of Lexington and Concord were fought in Massachusetts.  The Massachusetts militia and Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith’s group of British troops suffered casualties, but it is still unclear which side fired the first shot that began the American Revolution. RG 360, The Papers of the Continental Congress, compiled 1774 – [...]

The “National Archives Researcher News” recently carried an FAQ that provides guidance on ways to improve your research experience at the National Archives. It is reissued here to bring it to the attention of readers of The Text Message. HOW CAN I MAKE MY VISIT MORE SUCCESSFUL? The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) reference [...]

Several months ago, as part of a processing project relating to Record Group 516: Records of the Federal Judicial Center, 1967 – 1994, I did a little research on a woman named Alice L. O’Donnell. In the Archives Research Catalog, also known as ARC, a researcher can, according to the Archives.Gov website,  search by a [...]

Presidents Day is celebrated in honor of the birthday of our first president, George Washington, who was born February 22nd.  But what if he was not actually the first President of the nation? What if we celebrated this holiday in April instead?  When all of the states ratified the Articles of Confederation in 1781, they [...]

As 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the Reference staff at Archives 1 want to provide a glimpse of some of the series that we have in our custody relating to this conflict.  The following list may assist researchers who want to locate records pertaining to the War of 1812.  Please note that this list [...]

Last time I wrote here on the Text Message blog, I had written about the Old Georgetown Act Numbered Case Files (ARC 559486), found in Record Group 66, Records of the Commission of Fine Arts, and highlighted some photographs from the 1950s. The Case Files, show what the area of Georgetown, a neighborhood in Washington, [...]

Yesterday, the editors of this blog had the honor of being among the recipients of the Archivist’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement.  We were thrilled to be recognized for our work on The Text Message and want to say thank you to our readers and contributors.  The ceremony, held in the Adrienne C. Thomas Auditorium at [...]

With the annual Army-Navy game less than two weeks away, I thought I would share an interesting letter I found among the records of the Adjutant General’s Office (Record Group 94). 2nd Lieutenant Robert C. Foy, 8th U.S. Infantry, sent a letter to Major John A. Johnson, Assistant Adjutant General, on November 14, 1899, in [...]

Recently I processed two accretions for Record Group 66, Records of the Commission of Fine Arts. The first was for entry 18B for the Shipstead-Luce Act Numbered Case Files (ARC 559476), and the other entry 23 the Old Georgetown Act Numbered Case Files (ARC 559486 ). They both contain files about various properties in Washington, [...]