TIP OF THE WEEK –
NATIONAL ARCHIVES SEARCH IMPROVEMENT

If you haven’t tried a surname search in the National Archives Catalog in awhile, Claire Kluskens, Archivist with the National Archives, urges you to try again as there are so many newly indexed databases.

A search for the surname “Bode” provides good examples of what’s been added thus far. On the first page, there are references to persons named Bode in:

• Labor Camps Bibliography

• Military Service Records

• Records of Lawrence Walsh, related to Iran/Contrai

• Military fatal casualties of Vietnam

• Presidential Appointments by Harry Truman (Post Masters were presidential appointees)

• Records of the US Naval Academy

• Records of the US Fish & Wildlife Service

• Naturalization Index

• Prologue article on Chinese Exclusion Act files

• OSS Art Looting investigation

And, that’s only the first page!!

Just put your surname of interest in the search box at the top right of the home page:
http://archives.gov

Give it a try. What might you find?

This tip was modified from “The Twelve Key”, informational blog about U.S. archival records, by Claire Kluskens, archivist of the National Archives in Washington, DC., 4 November 2017.

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email. Remember you can unsubscribe at any time.

TIP OF THE WEEK –
PAY-PER-VIEW AT SCOTLAND’S PEOPLE

Set up an account, register for free and search for free! I often shy away from this offer, finding it to be more trouble than it’s worth. But not in this case. I truly like the National Records of Scotland – Scotland’s People website.

A list of records you will find there include :
• Statutory Records – Birth, Marriage, Death – 1855 to present
• Census Returns – 1841 to 1911
• Valuation Rolls – 1855 to 1935
• Legal Records – Wills, Etc. – some as old as 1513
• Old Parish Records – some as old as 1553

The search tool is very comprehensive. Check out all the search options – exact, fuzzy, wild card. Valuation rolls are tax rolls of structures showing owner/occupant data including occupation.

Sometimes you can take what information you can glean from the search results and use it to find additional information in your Ancestry, FindMyPast, or FamilySearch account, thus avoiding having to pay-per-view at Scotland’s People.

If you want to purchase the actual record image it’s a simple process. You buy “credits” with a credit card or PayPal. Remember currency conversion and fees may apply. These credits are good for a year. If you allow them to go inactive after a year, they will be reactivated when, and if, you purchase more credits. The cost of record types varies. One experienced user estimates a ballpark figure for the cost of a record averages less than $2.50 US Dollars. Certified copies are more expensive and usually unnecessary, is another good tip from experienced users. Once you have purchased an image it is stored on your account. There will be no need to purchase it again. A purchase buys you the entire page, not just the record of the individual you are researching.

At Youtube, there are four videos, about 15 minutes each, on using Scotland’s People by Amberly B. They are worthwhile in helping you get started and comfortable with the process. The urls you will need are listed below.

www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIl94cdX_zU

TIP OF THE WEEK –
COURT RECORDS IN COLONIAL CONNECTICUT

If you have Connecticut ancestors, you are fortunate because there are plenty of early records available.

The Particular Court, sometimes called the Quarter Court because it was required to meet once every quarter, was an early court in Connecticut. A book, “Records of the Particular court of Connecticut, 1639-1663”, published by the Connecticut Historical Society is viewable and searchable at Hathi Trust Digital Library.  Go to :

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001643172

Click on the Full View. There’s a box for your search criteria and a FIND button right next to it, toward the top right corner. If you search for John Carrington or Mary Johnson, two unfortunates that were hung for witchcraft, you will find that wasn’t their only run-in with the law. They were also convicted of “bartering a gun to an Indian” and thievery, respectively.

Another resource, “Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, 1636-1776” is a 15 volume digital set you can access online via the UConn website.

Go to :
http://lib.uconn.edu/find/collections/unique-collections/public-records-of-the-colony-of-connecticut-1636-1776/

Click on the volume you are interested in; they are in chronological order. Once the viewable and searchable PDF opens up, use the magnifying glass icon closest to the image of the book to “search inside” the book. Using John Carrington again,  I found that he was ordered to pay someone for his share of corn, and he was paid for building someone else a coffin.

Much of the proceedings have to do with property and money matters so there is a good chance you will find something in here that involves your ancestor. Happy hunting.

TIP OF THE WEEK – IRISH SOLDIERS PENSIONS

If you have ancestors from Ireland who received an army pension between 1724 and 1924, explore Fold3’s collection of Royal Hospital Kilmainham Pensioner Discharge Documents.

There are two types of documents in this collection, Pension Admissions and Pension Discharge Documents. Information found in these registers can include name, regiment, rank, length of service, illness or disability, birthplace, occupation, physical description, and more. These records are typically arranged by dates so finding what you are looking for might be a little difficult, but the wealth of information may well be worth the effort.

If you are not a Fold3 subscriber, or don’t have access to it through your Ancestry membership, remember you can always access Ancestry, Fold3, and Newspapers.com on the computers in the SGS Library.