Starting on Friday, March 15, the National Archives will reduce public hours at two locations in the Washington, DC, area as part of actions it is taking due to sequestration.
These reductions will affect exhibit spaces and research rooms at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, and research rooms at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
In the past, the National Archives offered extended hours from March 15 through Labor Day, when the building stayed open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.
We will no longer offer these extended hours. Exhibit spaces at the National Archives Building in Washington DC will remain open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., seven days a week, year round. Please note that the last admission will be at 5:00 p.m.
Previously, research rooms at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, and at College Park, Maryland, were normally open to researchers six days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. three days a week (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday).
We will no longer offer these extended hours. The research rooms will remain open to researchers from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, year round.
In announcing the reduced hours, the Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero said “We don’t take these reductions lightly. We are working hard to achieve our mission and minimize disruptions to the services we provide to the public.”
(via usnatarchives)
Check out our newest blog! “Rediscovering Black History: Updates from the National Archives” is now live.
This blog is a partner project to the work of National Archives staff who are updating Dr. Debra Newman Ham’s guide “Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives,” originally published in 1984.
The updated version of this award-winning black history guide will be more user friendly. It will also introduce non-traditional researchers to the valuable resources that the National Archives has to offer regarding the black experience.
Visit the blog at http://blogs.archives.gov/blackhistoryblog/
Image: Letter from Ida B. Wells to “Mrs. Dawes” ARC Identifier 578368. Ida B. Wells was among many individuals who wrote to the Department of Justice demanding Federal help to fight racial violence. Read the full story of this letter on the blog!
The National Archives at New York just reopened at a new location earlier this month:
Congratulations to the National Archives at New York!
Our colleagues in New York City officially opened their new location to the public today. They are now at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at One Bowling Green.Researchers and visitors are welcome from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as the first Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Please go visit them in this new beautiful space!To learn more about the records available for research, exhibits, and educational programs, visit http://www.archives.gov/nyc/
Calling all Researchers!
The National Archives, with the generous support of the Foundation for the National Archives, announces the 2013 Regional Residency Fellowship Program’s Request for Proposals.
The Residency Fellowship Program gives researchers the opportunity to conduct original research using records held at National Archives locations in Boston, MA; Denver, CO; Fort Worth, TX; Riverside, CA; San Francisco, CA; and St. Louis, MO. Researchers can explore overlooked records and experience what many researchers have discovered: that it is not necessary to go to Washington, DC, to do research at the National Archives.
For 2013, one fellow will be assigned to each of the participating National Archives facilities, for a total of six fellowships. Each fellow will receive a $3,000 stipend, funded by the Foundation for the National Archives, to assist with travel and research expenses.
The Fellowship recipients are expected to complete a research project that results in a publishable product. Each recipient will also prepare a short report (within one year of receiving the Fellowship) for publication by the National Archives that describes the research experience: the discovery, method, and use of the records.
We encourage our Fellowship recipients to use social media to talk about their experience. At the end of their research visit, Fellows will also conduct a staff briefing to share their discoveries.
Academic and independent historians, public and local historians, and writers are encouraged to apply. Current National Archives employees and contractors or their immediate family members are not eligible. Submit proposals by email or mail. Proposal must be received by March 15, 2013. Awards will be announced May 1, 2013.
See complete rules & conditions at:
Prologue: Pieces of History » 2013 Regional Residency Fellowship: Request for Proposals
Our genealogy clinic “Help! I’m Stuck!” returns tomorrow!
Has a genealogical problem stumped you? Not sure where to begin? An archivist is available from noon to 4 p.m. to answer your questions. Sign up for a 20-minute appointment at the Microfilm Research desk on Saturday.
Go to Room G-25, Research Center (Penn. Ave. Entrance) in the National Archives building in Washington, DC.
Image: Photograph of teacher in New Ulm, MN, from the DOCUMERICA collection (ARC 558210)
How about a picture?
Sometimes you can do tons of research on an individual, but never know what that person looked like. If photographs of that person were ever taken, and survived, where might one go to find them?
In the case of our guy, Loyd Sechrist, one of the first places that our archivist looked was at GenWeb. This site has all kinds of information and resources related to genealogy and family history research.
Because of information she had found in his Civilian Personnel File, our archivist knew where he went to high school. This was useful because of that thing so many of us keep hidden away in an attic or closet….the high school yearbook.
**Note Loyd’s captioning information. Such a witty fellow, that Loyd.
As part of our ongoing efforts to help the public conduct successful research, we at the National Archives at Riverside occasionally share the research methodologies of our staff, researchers, and citizen archivists. This post is part of a series of posts related to the research of one of our former archivists, Monique, into the life of a man named Loyd Sechrist. Sechrist conducted surveys of Arizona immediately after statehood for the Bureau of Land Management, and records related to his life (and death) caught Monique’s curiosity. Follow the story of Monique’s research into the history of this man here on Tumblr with the tag #Loyd Sechrist, and on our archives’ Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/nationalarchivesriverside.
Finding a Civilian Personnel File
In her hunt for details relating to Loyd’s short life, our archivist knew to look for a Civilian Personnel File, since Loyd was a federal employee. She contacted the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis (NPRC), and they were able to locate his records. This gave her much more information about his life.
Loyd was hired by the General Land Office on 4/18/1916. This application form confirmed my findings about his graduation from Yuma County High School. It also told me that he went to the University of Colorado at Boulder after high school.
As part of our ongoing efforts to help the public conduct successful research, we at the National Archives at Riverside occasionally share the research methodologies of our staff, researchers, and citizen archivists. This post is part of a series of posts related to the research of one of our former archivists, Monique, into the life of a man named Loyd Sechrist. Sechrist conducted surveys of Arizona immediately after statehood for the Bureau of Land Management, and records related to his life (and death) caught Monique’s curiosity. Follow the story of Monique’s research into the history of this man here on Tumblr with the tag #Loyd Sechrist, and on our archives’ Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/nationalarchivesriverside.
Where does one go if she wants to find a grave? Well, a good place to start might be the website Find A Grave.
Doing research on individuals often involves trying to find out information about a person’s death and burial. In the case of Loyd Sechrist, our archivist knew that he had fallen off of a cliff, but she had no idea where he was buried. Records in correspondence files related to his work as a surveyor showed that his body was to be transported, but the letters and telegrams did not indicate where the body would go.
Luckily, researchers and genealogists have a great tool—Find a Grave. Through this tool, we were able to find Loyd’s grave. He is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery, just outside Los Angeles.
As part of our ongoing efforts to help the public conduct successful research, we at the National Archives at Riverside occasionally share the research methodologies of our staff, researchers, and citizen archivists. This post is part of a series of posts related to the research of one of our former archivists, Monique, into the life of a man named Loyd Sechrist. Sechrist conducted surveys of Arizona immediately after statehood for the Bureau of Land Management, and records related to his life (and death) caught Monique’s curiosity. Follow the story of Monique’s research into the history of this man here on Tumblr with the tag #Loyd Sechrist, and on our archives’ Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/nationalarchivesriverside.
Remember Loyd?
No, he’s not a teacher at the independence school, a genealogist, a tv personality, or the bee man.
He was a surveyor.
One of our former archivists, Monique, found Loyd in records related to group surveys in Arizona from 1913 to 1924. What got her attention about Loyd was the way he signed his letters, “Very Respectfully, Loyd Sechrist.” She thought Sechrist might be someone special to watch for, and kept an eye out for more correspondence from him. As she moved through, though, a telegram dated September 4, 1920 caught her eye:
“Loyd Sechrist killed by fall from cliff near Houck, Arizona, 530 P.M. yesterday.”
At this point, Monique knew that she wanted to find more out about Sechrist. She told us, “Loyd was only 28 when he died. Questions raced through my head. How exactly did he die? What about his family? Was he married? Did he have kids? Where was he from? Where was he buried? That’s how it all started.”
As part of our ongoing efforts to help the public conduct successful research, we at the National Archives at Riverside occasionally share the research methodologies of our staff, researchers, and citizen archivists. This post is part of a series of posts related to the research of one of our former archivists, Monique, into the life of a man named Loyd Sechrist. Sechrist conducted surveys of Arizona immediately after statehood for the Bureau of Land Management, and records related to his life (and death) caught Monique’s curiosity. Follow the story of Monique’s research into the history of this man here on Tumblr with the tag #Loyd Sechrist, and on our archives’ Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/nationalarchivesriverside.
via The Text Message » Happy World Red Cross Red Crescent Day!:
Henry Dunant administering aid on the battlefield in Solferino, Italy (by Charles Édouard Armand-Dumaresq), from ARC ID 6060466
Today is Henry Dunant’s birthday (born May 8, 1828), the Swiss founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross, now celebrated as World Red Cross Red Crescent Day.
In honor of that holiday, we thought we would mention some Red Cross records of historical interest that can be found at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland (Archives II) in Collection ANRC, Records of the American National Red Cross.
The series “Monographs, 1946-1986″ (National Archives Identifier 5752176)contains copies of historical monographs and background papers to the monographs created by the American Red Cross Historical Division between 1946 and 1986, covering the period 1807 to 1948 from the origins of the Red Cross movement to the post-World War II activities of the American Red Cross.
The series “History Files, 1895-1998″ (ARC Identifier 5835043) contains records relating to the history of the American Red Cross and the Red Cross movement. Historical subjects covered include the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India; aid to Jews during World War II; aid to refugees in the Ottoman Empire in 1922; children’s relief in Serbia in 1944; and medical service to Israel in 1949.
The series “General Records, 1919-1999″ (National Archives Identifier 5730890) contains records from the League of Red Cross Societies, the predecessor to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
These are only three series of many found in Collection ANRC that researchers with a historical interest in the American Red Cross and the Red Cross movement in general should look to when conducting their research. Happy World Red Cross Red Crescent Day! Come to Archives II in College Park, Maryland to research these and other records relating to the history of the Red Cross movement.
Tag, You’re It!
Celebrate Digital Archives Day by helping to contribute crowdsourced tags to our Online Public Access catalog (OPA):
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Howard Hall Inclosure, July 1916
The hospital served not only as a treatment center for the mentally ill, but also a research and training institute in Washington, DC. From 1855 until 1916 it was known as the Government Hospital for the Insane.
