> From CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU!WISCSSC.BITNET!CLARRIDG Wed Apr 17 13:49:54 1991 Using the National Archives and the DAR Library in Washington D.C. April 10, 1991 ________________________________________________________________ | | | This short discussion on the DAR Library and the Archives is | | geared to individuals who will be in the Washington area for a | | limited amount of time and who wish to assess their chances of | | getting some genealogical data during their stay. The text | | here is more philosophical than comprehensive. It attempts to | | provide enough information to allow someone to decide whether | | or not to allocate precious sightseeing time to genealogy on | | risk of finding nothing. Much of what is presented here was | | provided by Rich Strangfeld although he bears no responsibility| | for content. ---- Brian Clarridge, Clarridge@wisccde (bitnet) | |________________________________________________________________| Why Bother? The point of visiting the National Archives and the DAR Library is that they have some things that aren't available anywhere else. Though I had visited the Archives 11 years ago, I found my recent visit useful for the opportunity it presented both to review the collections and to glean new information from old files. When I looked at the same research materials I'd checked out before with new eyes, different pieces of information jumped out at me. This is a good argument for photocopying as much as possible, even though it may not seem very interesting on first glance. What Can One Get? The National Archives is strong on Military Records, Census Records, Naturalization Records, Passenger Lists, Passport Applications and some other very eclectic governmental records. There are pamphlets describing its holdings that can be obtained ahead of your trip. For example: "Using Records in the National Archives for Genealogical Research" General Information Leaflet Number 5, Revised 1990 can be gotten from National Archives and Records Administration Washington DC 20408 You should also ask them if they have an order sheet covering all their leaflets so you can pick and choose the ones you need. Having said this, the leaflets only give general summaries. The DAR Library is quite different. Most of what they have is in books on shelves. They do, however use microfilm too. The specialty of the DAR Library is, of course, the genealogical "proofs" of DAR members. These are the records connecting modern Americans to ancestors involved in the fight for independence during the Revolutionary War. They also have a pamphlet explaining the rest of the library collection and how it is used: "Guide to Genealogical Research in the collections of the NSDAR" It can be gotten from 1776 D street NW Washington DC 20006-5392 Navigating Washington on Public Transportation There is a Metro stop just across the street from the Archives named Navy Memorial-Archives. This is very convenient. The transportation situation is different at the DAR. The closest Metro stop is at 17th and I streets and is called Farragut West. It is a moderate walk (6 blocks) to 17th and D where the DAR is located. The distance between the DAR and Archives is not impossible to manage for those healthy and mobile; more than a mile but probably less than 2. The walk between them covers a nice portion of the downtown area (near the White House, Washington monument, etc) so it can be a pleasant diversion to clear your mind or focus your research. The Mechanics Associated with Using These Resources The DAR charges $5 for a day (but they prorate for half a day or just the noon hour); the archives are free. The DAR is open from 9 AM until 4 PM on weekdays, and from 1 to 5 on Sundays. They're closed on Saturdays (they are also to be closed for some portion of April, 1991). The Archives building is open 0845-2145 M-F, 0845-1700 Sat.; closed Sundays. Records will not be pulled for any day after 1600, nor will they be pulled at all on Sat. but you can put requests in the queue any time the building is open. It's best to call to confirm all of this. Details on the Archives If you're looking for military records at the Archives, they only retrieve them during normal business hours. Census and immigration records are available on microfilm whenever the building is open, as are the indexes to the military records. The Revolutionary War material is also available during all building hours because it too is on microfilm. The Archives has a staff of well trained individuals who specialize in puzzles. For instance, I had questions about some Bounty Land Warrants from the Revolutionary War and was sent to a man who carefully explained to me the difference between lands that the states gave out and lands that the U.S. gave out. Similarly, State Regiments and Continental Troops were different, etc. The consulting you get from them is free. When you are handling actual records at the Archives, you are asked to leave your purses and briefcases outside in the hallway lockers. That means you can use the paper and pencils provided to take notes or you can photocopy material. I did see at least one researcher working with a portable computer so I think they are allowed. A good idea is to go to the Archives the evening before your free day, find your people in the military records indexes, and put in requests for retrievals. This is smart for at least 3 reasons. First, there are fewer people there in the evening and it is a much calmer atmosphere in which to figure things out; room 400 can be positively frenetic during the day. Second, there is a limit of 3 requests per hour and 24 requests per day on records they'll pull for you. Third, once they pull your requests, they will remain pulled up to 3 days or until you look at them, whichever comes first. By making requests the night before you can start the next day at the DAR while the NA records are being pulled for you. There are many different types of Military records. If you have Civil War records to look up, always do those first since they are not available on microfilm. The two most common record types are Military Service Records and Military Pension Records. If you are limited on time, always go for the pension records first. They tend to have more information of the kind genealogists like. I found the Revolutionary War material very tricky from the perspective that I was never able to get closure on exactly what each set of microfilms contained or why there were so many different labels associated with them. For example, there was a "Special Revolutionary War Index" which turned out to be a list of non-military folk who gave or sold aid and comfort to the military (no way you would know it from the label). Also, the naval military records are kept separate from those for the army. Another example, there are lots and lots of confusing state records (Confusing because there was no nation at the time). I found myself taking a breather every once in a while and then going back to reread the microfilm drawer labels to see if I could remember what was contained on each set of films. This can be somewhat tedious if you are in a hurry to find things, but I found it worthwhile. Details on the DAR Library If you know you have a Revolutionary ancestor who someone used to become a DAR member, there is a file of "proof" that the staff will let you read and photocopy. The two such files I looked at had some errors; a few corrected, most not. When I asked the staff what they do about "corrections", I got different answers from different people; none of the answers were very reassuring with respect to data quality. However, they told me that the proofs have become more rigorous in recent years. Anecdote: In my case I think I can now prove that my ancestor should NOT have qualified anyone for the DAR. This, even though anywhere between 6 and 10 people have already gotten in through him. The more normal approach in the DAR library is to use the family name indexes (there are two of these, old and new, one is called the analytical index) and their wonderful state and county shelves. You can locate materials through the card catalogs or by shelf reading as I did. If you are just starting out, the DAR can give you a big volume of material in a very short period of time. Moreover, if the librarians are not otherwise involved, they go out of their way to help you. Look smart and ask good questions and you will be richly rewarded. Most of the DAR material is NOT specifically related to the Revolution, and very little pertains to the Civil War. But they've got an extensive collection of genealogies and local histories. The book stacks are open and (for local histories) organized by county, which makes quick checking easy and browsing fruitful. The Library of Congress A third source of genealogical information is the Library of Congress. They're open 7 days a week, until 10 (I think) on weeknights. Most of their stacks are not open, though; you have to put in request slips based on an on-line card catalog. This is a nuisance and makes it harder to do area searches. Recommendations: - If you have specific names and locations/units for the veterans, make their pension and service records (at the Archives) your FIRST priority. Put in your requests early. And enjoy. Don't forget the lesser wars, too... there might be something useful there. - If you don't have all the census data on your people, you can do that at the archives while you wait. But you can do that elsewhere, so don't waste too much precious time on it. The ready availability of indexes and all the films right there does speed up the search process. - Be aware that the DAR has some bound indexes not at the Archives, and vice-versa. The census listing microfilms themselves are at the archives. - Second priority is the DAR library, both for genealogies and local histories. I think they'll xerox up to 50 pages a day for you (at 20 cents a page), so don't take notes; just find the stuff and put in the copy requests. Obviously, the better idea you have in advance of who/what you're looking for the better you'll do. - Once the DAR library has closed and it's also too late to request military records at the Archives, you can either pull census data until closing time or hit the Library of Congress. Here are some phone numbers: National Archives room 400 (census and indexes) 202/501-5400 general information 501-5402 visitor information 501-5000 DAR Library 202/628-1776 (clever huh?) Contact by Mail Both the DAR and National Archives can be accessed by mail, but I am not very experienced with either one. In my view there can be no way to adequately search either one from a distance. For the DAR, if you write to the "Registrar General" and send a check for $4 with a SASE they will send you the "application" for anyone who has gotten accepted into the DAR. You need to know the six digit number of the person who has gotten in though. The application contains a summary of the "proof" materials that got the person accepted together with the signatures of the approving authorities and the DAR #s of any other known members who had gotten in previously on the merit of this particular revolutionary person. For another $4 you can get the next one, and so on. In my case there were two different files... one pre 1958 and one post 1958. 1958 was the year that they changed some of their data handling procedures and, I am told, tightened up the proof criteria. The two different files I got were on the same person and the two proofs were quite different. The DAR Library staff provides photocopying by mail. They will not, however, reproduce entire books. The Registrar General is the right person for the "application". All other requests should go to the Library directly with a SASE. ________________________________________________________________ | | | Finally, a reminder, 2 days are better than one, a week is | | better still. Things may not work out at all as planned. Do | | what you can in the time you have and do try to enjoy yourself.| | This is great advice, but it can be difficult to follow if you | | find yourself in Room 400 of the Archives at peak hour. Adopt | | some kind of coping mechanism before you go if you can. I know | | I didn't get everything done, but I had a wonderful time anyway| |________________________________________________________________| CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS TO THIS SUMMARY ARE WELCOME! I WILL ALSO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS Brian Clarridge, 830 Woodrow St., Madison Wis 53711 BITNET: CLARRIDGE@WISCCDE ################################################################# Actively Searching Creath > From: cmanis (Cliff Manis) >> To: c23glc@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com (Gary Calvert) In the message sent to Gary below I was telling him about my visits to the National Archives in Washingtion, DC, and here is part of the message (edited to make a little more sense). I had always ordered documents from them and for a particular person, I ordered twice with the same names, and received some different pages the second time..... but they only sent 20 pages on either time I ordered, even though I had requested for all the pages to be copied. so...I visited there several times, last year when I was visiting Washington, DC. WOW - Guess what I found ? When he came out with a big thick folder of ORIGINAL documents, all of them about my GG Grandfather Thomas D. A. F. S. MANIS and I could not believe my eyes. There were over 300 pages, and documents in his file. I had no idea of such a find. I copied everyone of them, and still have lots of transcribing to do with those nice old documents, but would have never know about all the additional ones - had I not visited in person. The copies were only $.10 each, and copiers were not slow, therefore it did not take all day.... If you find something big like this - it is possible to reserve a copier in a special area and come back the next day to copy the documents. This is great because the copiers they have in the main room - has a long line of people waiting to copy documents. You are always dealing with the original document, and it was fun to hold the original. I copied always 2 inches of documents that one night, and a few more of other people during some other times. All the employees at the archive were more than helpful. In this special area, you will have to register as a 'researcher' then get a card, you cannot take any papers in with you, and only what you copy can leave the place. They are really careful, but they were really nice. I understand the careful part, and have several guards watching, and waiting for you to leave. Luck is when preperation meets opportunity, and this was a fine example of that. Being in the right place, and asking the right questions is what its all about. If anyone, has other similar experiences at the archives, please post them here. Good luck to all, cliff -- Cliff Manis K4ZTF Researching: Manis / Manes Family History USMAIL Address: P. O. Box 33937, San Antonio, Texas 78265-3937 INTERNET: cmanis@csoftec.csf.com --- Karen has my research list --- I'll share my family research info more in 93, in hopes of finding more data ! Standard Disclaimer: Life is Uncertain, Eat Dessert First ! (PERIOD). (.) --