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 [...]

Customs records at the National Archives often provide interesting glimpses of personal information about our seafaring ancestors.  The occupational hazards of the maritime trade after the Revolutionary War, especially the threat of Impressment by the British, caused many American sailors to purchase seamen’s protection certificates, such as the one pictured here that was issued to [...]

Do you know where your family was living in 1935?  Did your grandfather work for the WPA or the CCC?  The 1940 census may provide the answers to these questions and more. The 1940 census won’t be released until 2012, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start getting ready for it now.  Check out our [...]

Family research at the National Archives centers on the use of federal records.  To start the process, we always advise researchers to first consider how their ancestors may have come into contact with the federal government during the course of their daily lives.  If your great-grandparents purchased a homestead in Nebraska, they probably filed an application [...]

Are you looking for documents by the Continental Congress, court records related to the Amistad, details on the assassination of President Lincoln, or FBI investigative case files from World War I?  You now have ready access to documents like these, which capture important American ideals and events that have shaped our country.  More than 20 [...]

What is your favorite history-, library-, or archives-related blog? With the vast array of personal, professional, academic and commercial blogs available to readers today, it can be difficult trying to find just the right one to suit your needs. While it might be fun, who has the time to skim through 308,026 blogs? (That’s the [...]