The following is a guest blog from Diane Dimkoff, director of the Customer Services Division. Most Union Army soldiers, their widows, or minor children applied for a pension. In rare cases, a dependent father or mother applied for a pension. The pension application file will often contain a statement of service prepared by the Adjutant [...]

Are you planning to attend the National Archives’ 6th annual Genealogy Fair? If so, we hope you’ll come visit us at our exhibit tables. NARA’s new Open Government Plan (PDF) highlights how crucial social media is to opening up the Archives and establishes the redesign of Archives.gov as NARA’s “flagship initiative.” Stop by, bring us [...]

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 [...]

On April 2, 2012, the Federal Census Bureau will be releasing the 1940 Census for public access.  For many genealogists and researchers, the release of this census will open new insights into pre-war America, as well as provide opportunities for genealogists and family historians to continue their research into this most recent decade.  Like all [...]

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 [...]

Most people have a relative or ancestor who either served in the military or fought during a specific war.  Many researchers are unaware, however, that a significant distinction exists between volunteer soldiers and Regular soldiers, and that the two types of service are documented differently.  Volunteers (citizen soldiers) were enlisted to serve during specific wars [...]

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 [...]

Have you ever had an immigrant ancestor whose name appeared to change after they came to America?  It was a very common occurrence, but the popular perception is that U.S. immigration officials deliberately changed a person’s name if they couldn’t understand the verbal information relayed to them by the immigrant.  In fact, this is one [...]