National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair, October 28, 29 and 30, 2014

Please join the National Archives for the 2014 Virtual Genealogy Fair on October 28, 29, & 30, starting daily at 10 a.m. eastern time. This will be a live broadcast via the Internet so you can ask our genealogy experts questions at the end of their talks. The entire event is free and open to all, so there is no registration.

Presenters

Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero will provide opening remarks. Other speakers include experts from National Archives’ facilities nationwide, the historian from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, and representatives from Ancestry and FamilySearch.

Schedule and Session Material

Lectures will feature tips and techniques for using Federal records at the National Archives for genealogy research. Lectures are designed for experienced genealogists and novices.

View the full schedule here.

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From the National Archives:

Did you know that the National Archives has a YouTube series dedicated to interesting items in their collections? The short videos are absolutely fascinating.

From the YouTube description:

This Inside the Vaults video short details fascinating but little-known items in the holdings of the National Archives, including the Polar Collection, the patent for the Eskimo Pie, and State Department cables concerning the abominable snowman.

Supervisory Archivist Pat Anderson shows items from the Polar Collection, which consists of donated documents and artifacts from polar explorers, both north and south. Robert Peary's collected papers, Dayton Brown's paintings from the North Pole, and explorer Paul Siple's penguin carvings are among the holdings. Anderson also shows the patent granted to the developer of the original Eskimo Pie in 1922. Archivist Mark Murphy shows one of his favorite document collections: State Department cables containing regulations of the Government of Nepal for expeditions in search of the yeti, also known as the abominable snowman.

Inside the Vaults includes highlights from the National Archives in the Washington, DC, area and from the Presidential libraries and regional archives nationwide. These shorts present behind-the-scenes exclusives and offer surprising stories about the National Archives treasures. See more from Inside the Vaults at http://bit.ly/LzQNae.

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Magna Carta encasement at the National Archives

From the National Archives:

The fascinating behind-the-scenes creation of the encasement which will display the 715-year-old document at the National Archives. The 1297 Magna Carta being encased is one of only four remaining 1297 originals. Magna Carta is said to have influenced early American settlers and been an inspiration for the Constitution of the United States.The encasement was machined at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) out of two solid blocks of aluminum and sits on a unique cart designed to support the document on exhibit. The encasement is air tight and filled with humidified argon, an inert gas that unlike oxygen will not degrade the document. Elaborate instruments continuously monitor conditions within the encasement for humidity and evidence of leaks.

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The 1940 Census

From the National Archives:

The National Archives has launched its new website http://1940census.archives.gov in preparation for its first-ever online U.S. census release, which will take place on April 2, 2012, at 9 a.m. (EST). The public is encouraged to bookmark the website now in order to more quickly access the 1940 census data when it goes live. No other website will host the 1940 census data on its April 2, release date.

A National Archives 3:13 minute video short. . . provides a “behind-the-scenes” view of staff preparations and gives viewers tips on how to access the data once it is launched on April 2.

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News from the National Archives

From the National Archives:

For the first time, more than 300,000 case files on alien residents of the United States who were born 1909 and prior are now open to the public at the National Archives at Kansas City. These files, known as “Alien Files” (commonly referred to as “A-Files”) were transferred to the National Archives from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and are only a small part of the millions of case files that will eventually be transferred and opened to the public.

Read the rest of the press release here.

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Civilian Personnel Records Open to the Public

From The National Archives' National Presonnel Records Center in St. Louis:

The National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) opened more than 6 million individual personnel files of former Federal civilian employees from the mid-1800s through 1951. These records will be of special interest to genealogists, family members, researchers, sociologists, and historians.

Among the records are the files of prominent individuals who worked for the federal government, such as Walt Disney, Ansel Adams, Eliot Ness, Calvin Coolidge, J. Edgar Hoover, Gifford Pinchot, Walker Evans, and Albert Einstein.

Ronald L. Hindman, Director of NPRC characterized these records “as a veritable treasure-trove of information for researchers and genealogists.” He continued, “There are records from more than one hundred government agencies now available for discovery. They showcase the careers of government employees who investigated bootleggers; taught at Indian schools; worked in Japanese-American interment camps, in prisons, and on anti-prostitution boards, and created and implemented initiatives in Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal agencies, among others." Read the rest of the announcement here.

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The National Archives reaches its 75th year!

2009 marks the 75th anniversary for the National Archives. A new website was launched on January 8th to celebrate. You can check it out here.

But the celebration doesn’t end there. The Archives is featuring a new exhibit called BIG! that will open in March of 2009. You can read up on the exhibit here.

From the National Archives:

Throughout 2009, in addition to BIG!, the National Archives is planning a wide range of events to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its establishment. A special web site will shine a spotlight on defining moments in the agency’s history through the decades with photo galleries, notices of special events at dozens of agency sites nationwide, a new National History Day award for middle and high school students, and a new Excellence in Genealogy Scholarship award. The web site will also feature a guest book for researchers to share their stories of discovery and of how the agency has a made a difference in their lives. Check www.archives.gov in the coming months for full details.

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Podcasting History (and Archives too!)

Need more history in your diet? Check out these podcasts.

Colonial Williamsburg's Past & Present: Lloyd Dobyns is your host as you go "behind the scenes" to meet interpreters, chefs, tradesmen, musicians, historians, curators, and more.

The National Archive's Presidential Libraries Uncovered: Each month, we broadcast historical clips from the Libraries' collection, ranging from serious policy discussions to conversations with family members. Listen to the voices of Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.

Edison National Historic Site's Thomas Edison's Attic: The audio curator at Edison National Historic Site rummages through the archives of the legendary Edison Laboratory of West Orange, New Jersey. Tune in for Edison cylinder and disc record rarities, many not heard since "the old man" himself stashed them away, featuring: Tin Pan Alley pop songs, ragtime, vaudeville comedy sketches, flapper dance bands, old-time country tunes, historic classical music, laboratory experiments and other artifacts - all dating from 1888 through 1929.

And for some local Arkansas flavor, check out the podcasts from the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.

Contributed by Stephanie Bayless, Manuscripts Department.

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"The National Archives: Alone in a Clash of Cultures"

"The National Archives: Alone in a Clash of Cultures" by Maarja Krusten

An executive branch agency, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), staffs and administers the Presidential Libraries of Presidents from Herbert Hoover through Bill Clinton. Soon a George W. Bush Presidential Library will be added to that number.

The Libraries have differing cultures and NARA's officials face many challenges. The National Archives' Inspector General expressed dismay when agency officials themselves tried to retrieve stolen Clinton Presidential documents from Sandy Berger, without immediately reporting the theft to him. ""I'll spend the rest of my life going to bed at night wondering, 'Did he take more,'" the Inspector General told a reporter in 2007. . .Continue Reading.

Contributed by Stephanie Bayless, Manuscripts Department.

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Online Access to the Papers of the Founding Fathers

From a Press Release by the National Archives and Records Adminstration:

"On Tuesday, May 6, 2008, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein submitted a report, entitled The Founders Online, to the Committees on Appropriations of the U.S. Congress. This report is the National Archives response to concerns raised by the Committees that the complete papers of America’s Founding Fathers are not available online. The Founders Online is a plan for providing online access, within a reasonable timeframe, to researchers, students and the general public. The report is available electronically on the National Archives web site."

Click here to read the rest of the press release and see the full report.

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