Most researchers know that they need to contact the appropriate state or county to get birth certificates or other vital records. Because these are not federal records, they are not in NARA’s holdings. So why can you sometimes find copies of official state-issued vital statistics in our records? Think about it – when you contact [...]

We’ve already looked at the Mortality Schedules and the Agricultural Schedules. Both provide information about individuals, and can be useful when doing genealogical research. But did you know that there are also some Nonpopulation schedules that provide information on a county or town level? They are called Social Statistics Schedules, and they were taken between [...]

If you’ve been watching the new NBC show, Who Do You Think You Are?, you may have seen a recent episode where slavery in America was discussed. Researchers with slave ancestors often have trouble because there just aren’t a lot of federal records which list slaves by name. One type of federal record that researchers [...]

The National Archives in the DC area has a lot of public programs. One of our most successful ventures is our Know Your Records lecture series. We present weekly lectures, both at the National Archives Building and the National Archives in College Park, on a wide variety of research topics. A year and a half [...]

A couple of weeks ago I showed you an example of a Mortality Schedule.  Today I want to show you another type of Nonpopulation schedule – this time an Agricultural Schedule. If you have an ancestor who was a farmer in the mid-nineteenth century, you may be able to find information about their farm.  You [...]

Most genealogists are familiar with the federal population census records and begin their research with these records.  But did you know that the Census Bureau also took a series of Nonpopulation Census records between 1850 and 1880?  They included mortality, agricultural, industrial, social statistics and defective, dependent, and delinquent schedules. These censuses cover the 12 [...]

With records available in so many different formats these days, researchers are often faced with a choice – which indexes to use, the original microfilm and printed indexes or the newer online indexes? Both types have drawbacks.  The microfilm and printed versions often have misspelled names.  Also, they sometimes skip people entirely.  My great grandfather’s [...]

Did your ancestor travel abroad?  If your ancestor was a U.S. citizen, then he or she may have applied for a U.S. passport.  The records include standard information such as the date of birth, occupation, and citizenship information.  Some of the applications provide additional information that may lead to immigration or naturalization records.  Some even [...]

Everybody starts researching their family history with the expectation of finding out about their ancestors.  Researchers are usually looking for such information as the names of previously unknown ancestors or immigration and naturalization dates. Sometimes, however, they get more than they bargained for. Take, for example, this census record.  In 1870, Maggie Taylor and Jennie [...]

Last week John showed you an example of an unusual find in a pension record – a Fraktur which was used by a widow or other dependent to prove their relationship to a deceased soldier – and asked if anyone had found anything else unusual or revealing.  Even more “typical” documents can reveal a lot of [...]