Sepia tone photograph of buildings in the desert

The Stories Behind the Names: Death at the Santa Fe Indian School, 1891–1909

Today’s post is by Cody White and Rose Buchanan, Subject Matter Experts for Native American Related Records. Warning: the following piece along with associated archival records discuss the death of minors. The names of students who died at Native American boarding schools should not be buried in government files; they should be known. For accountability, … Continue reading The Stories Behind the Names: Death at the Santa Fe Indian School, 1891–1909

Ten Years of NARA-NOAA Partnership

Today’s post was written by Gina Kim Perry, archivist in Digitization Archival Services at the National Archives at College Park, MD. 2022 marks ten years since the National Archives (NARA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began their partnership to image select records from NARA and upload them to the NARA Catalog. The … Continue reading Ten Years of NARA-NOAA Partnership

New Web Page for Digitized U.S. Navy Logs Through 1940

Images of the USS Bear, USS Jeannette, and the USS Monitor from NOAA and US Naval History and Heritage Command Imagine the ability to time travel virtually from the comfort of your home as you read on your computer or cell phone about: an Arctic rescue mission as it unfolded on the deck of the U.S.S. … Continue reading New Web Page for Digitized U.S. Navy Logs Through 1940

people sitting in stalls using microfilm readers

Beyond the Microfilm Reader: Digital Availability of NARA’s Microfilm Publications

It has been a long-time objective to systematically digitize the microfilm publications located in National Archives and Records Administration (NARA’s) Microfilm Reading Rooms. Less than a quarter of the publications are currently digitized and available online. Most of those were digitized by NARA’s digitization partners and are available on their websites as well as in … Continue reading Beyond the Microfilm Reader: Digital Availability of NARA’s Microfilm Publications

Dr. Robert James Kapsch Collection – New Records from the National Park Service

Today's post was written by James Porter, Archives Specialist, in the Processing Branch, Electronic Records Division at the National Archives at College Park The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) serves the nation as the repository for permanent federal records, the vast majority of which come directly from federal agencies. But not all records come … Continue reading Dr. Robert James Kapsch Collection – New Records from the National Park Service

Text Message Top 5 of 2021

Please enjoy this countdown of our most popular blog posts of 2021. Thank you for continuing to read the Text Message and we hope you join us for more stories, insights, and highlights from the textual records of the National Archives in 2022! #5 "Lucy, I'm Home!"... from the Army Armed Forces Newsmap, vol 1, … Continue reading Text Message Top 5 of 2021

Document with handwriting

Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Why William Carman’s Tintype Was in His Widow’s Pension File

Today’s post is by Jackie Budell, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. This is the final of three posts about tintype images in the Civil War Pension Application Files from the Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Record Group 15). Photographic image from the approved pension application file of Emeline Carman, … Continue reading Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Why William Carman’s Tintype Was in His Widow’s Pension File

Face of Civil War Soldier

Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Why Private William Carman Sent a Tintype to His Wife

Today’s post is by Jackie Budell, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. This is the second of three posts about tintype images in the Civil War Pension Application Files from the Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Record Group 15). Photographic image from the approved pension application file of Emeline Carman, … Continue reading Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Why Private William Carman Sent a Tintype to His Wife

portrait of a woman in a gilded frame

Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Your Questions Answered

Today’s post is by Jackie Budell, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. **Please note that the following post contains graphic images that may be disturbing to some readers.** This is the first of three posts about tintype images in the Civil War Pension Application Files from the Records of the Department of … Continue reading Civil War-Era Personal Tintypes Exposed: Your Questions Answered

Department of State Territorial Papers Now Available Online

Additional Department of State records are now available online.  The newly-posted records stem from one of the Department’s original functions later transferred to another agency – oversight of affairs in the territories of the United States.  You will find a description of other Department of State records now online in this series of occasional posts.  … Continue reading Department of State Territorial Papers Now Available Online