Today's post is written by Monique Politowski, an archives technician who works on the NARA/Ancestry digitization partnership project in Silver Spring, Maryland. Millions of records have been converted to digital form since the partnership between NARA and Ancestry.com began in 2008, and some of the most popular records digitized as a result of this union … Continue reading The “Re-Encarnacion” of NARA’s Records
By Robin Waldman Today I had the pleasure of attending a program in the National Archives' William G. McGowan Theater called Are You In? Citizen Archivists, Crowdsourcing and Open Government that outlined some great projects that involve the public with making records available online. AOTUS Ferriero opened the program with remarks that described how President Obama's Open Government mandate … Continue reading YOU, the People: Citizen Archivists and Digital Engagement
Today’s post is written by archivist David Langbart who works primarily with diplomatic records. In my earlier post about Despatches, I noted that the correct spelling in Department of State usage is dEspatch and not dIspatch. After writing that post, purely by serendipity, I located a document that shows just how seriously the Department of … Continue reading Foreign Service Friday: Despatch vs. Dispatch
Today’s post is written by Ashby Crowder, a processing archivist who works primarily with civilian records. During a stack inventory project, I came across a small series of records related to the practice of capital punishment in the United States in the late nineteenth century. The series is entitled Governors' Replies to a Circular on … Continue reading 19th Century Capital Punishment
By Alfie Paul Screen Shot of OPA search results A couple of weeks ago I overheard a converstation between some colleagues discussing OPA. “Try finding it in OPA,” one said. They went on to discuss OPA functionality and benefits and use. I assumed OPA was one of those things above my pay-grade about which I … Continue reading Fun with OPA
By Jason Clingerman Starting in 1907, the American National Red Cross (ANRC) began selling Christmas Seals in an effort to raise money to combat tuberculosis. The seals resembled postage stamps, and could be collected or used on holiday correspondence. 1914 Christmas Seal The first year of sales, 1907, only generated $3,000 towards tuberculosis. However, successive … Continue reading Christmas in April: American National Red Cross Christmas Seals
By Robin Waldman This post was originally published on 4/22/2011. Text Message Blog Editors updated this post on 04/27/2023. Polish refugees perform an Easter pageant in the Mexican sunshine. From 1943 to 1946, Colonia Santa Rosa in Guanajuato, Mexico was the site of a US-government sponsored home for Polish refugees. About 240 miles northwest of Mexico … Continue reading Little Poland en la Hacienda
Today's post is written by student technician Robert Finch. While working on the Navy Deck Logs (RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel) project I called my uncle and asked him which ships his father-in-law, “Mr. W.”, served on during World War II. “Mr. W.” was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 … Continue reading The Navy Deck Logs: Personal Connection
This post looks at an unusual find in the Secretary of the Commission of Fine Arts' papers.
Today’s post is written by archivist David Langbart, who works primarily with diplomatic records. Researchers who use Department of State records may be interested to know a bit more about the types of documents used by Foreign Service Posts to communicate with the Department of State. This is the fifth, and final, in a series … Continue reading Foreign Service Friday! The Official-Informal Letter
