United States Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

== National Archives and Records Administration  ==

=== [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives I]] ===

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:'''Archives I''' has nationwide censuses, pre-WWI military service and pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees. The National Archives Building in Washington, DC (Archives I), houses textual and microfilm records relating to genealogy, American Indians, pre-World War II military and naval-maritime matters, the New Deal, the District of Columbia, the Federal courts, and Congress.<ref>[http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/washington/researcher-info.html Information for Researchers at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC] in ''National Archives'' (accessed 31 December 2013).</ref>

=== [[National Archives at College Park, Maryland|National Archives II]] ===

:'''Archives II''' houses documents created after 1900 at the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury, modern military records, passport applications, and District of Columbia records.<ref name="DB2">William Dollarhide and Ronald A. Bremer. ''America's Best Genealogy Resource Centers'' (Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 1998), 2. {{WorldCat|39493985}}; {{FHL|728550|item|disp=FHL Ref Book 973 J54d}}.</ref>

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=== [[National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)]] ===

:The National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis is part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). It is the central repository for both the military and civil services personnel-related records. It maintains military personnel records for servicemen and servicewomen discharged from 1912 to 1952* (*i.e. 62 years after discharge). Use '''[http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html Standard Form SF-180]''' to order files. &nbsp;Records prior to WWI are in Washington, D.C.<ref>Dollarhide and Bremer, 134.</ref> <ref>[http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/ National Archives at St. Louis] in ''National Archives'' (accessed 18 March 2014).</ref>

[[Image:Allen County Public Library.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana]]

== [[Allen County Public Library]]  ==

:The [http://www.genealogycenter.info/index.php Genealogy Center] houses the second largest genealogy research collection in the United States, and the largest in a public library. It is primarily a North American collection, with some complementary resources for the British Isles and other European countries. One of America's best genealogical libraries. They especially shine in genealogical periodicals, printed county histories, and printed family histories.<ref >Dollarhide and Bremer, 43.</ref> See:  

:*Karen B Cavanaugh, ''A Genealogist’s Guide to the Allen County Public Library, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, 3rd ed''. (Fort Wayne, Ind.: Cavanaugh, 1983). {{WorldCat|10295892}}; The Family History Library has the original 1980 edition titled ''A Genealogist's Guide to the Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Public Library,'' {{FHL|129067|title-id|disp=FHL Book 977.274/F1 A3c}}''.''

== [https://www.familysearch.org/family-history-library/welcome-to-the-family-history-library Family History Library]  ==

:450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, and records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many microfilms are also at branch '''''[[Introduction to Family History Centers|FamilySearch Centers]]''''' in local church buildings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and described in their online [[Introduction to the FamilySearch Catalog|FamilySearch Catalog]].<ref name="DB1">Dollarhide and Bremer, 1.</ref>

:The following guide book will help in using the library. It gives suggestions on preparing to visit the library, genealogy research tips, and helps in using the library.

== [[Library of Congress]]  ==

:Use this library for its outstanding genealogical guides and indexes. They are part of the world's largest library including 50,000 genealogies, 100,000 local histories, and collections of manuscripts, microfilms, maps, newspapers, photographs, and published material, strong in North American, British Isles, and German sources. The "Local History and Genealogy Reading Room" has moved to the main reading room, but services are unchanged.<ref>[http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/lhgcoll.html The Collections] in ''Local History and Genealogy Reference Services'' in ''Library of Congress'' (accessed 2 February 2014).</ref> <ref name="DB29">Dollarhide and Bremer, 29.</ref>

:The Library of Congress site has a wonderful [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html American Memory] page that links to more 60 collections, searchable by keyword or time period in a variety of media.  

== Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center ==

:The collection covers the entire United States and includes over 80,000 family history books, 100,000 local history items, 565,000 microfilms and microfiches, and 7,000 maps. Significant holdings include all [[United States Census|federal censuses 1790-1930]] and many indexes, [[Missouri Land and Property|federal land sales in Missouri]] 1818-1903, the [[Tennessee History#The_Draper_Manuscript_Collection|Draper Manuscript Collection]], [[Kentucky Taxation|Kentucky tax records]], Missouri State Penitentiary Records 1836-1931, papers of the St. Louis fur trade, [[African American Slavery and Bondage#Finding_plantation_records|''Records of Antebellum Southern Plantations'']], indexes and [[Compiled Service Records|Compiled Service Records]] of MO Union and Confederate Civil War soldiers, Civil War [[United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865#Union_Unit_Histories|Union]] and [[United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865#Confederate_Unit_Histories|Confederate unit histories]], selected [[US Immigration Passenger Arrival Records|passenger arrival lists]], Native American sources, partial state vital records for AL, AR, CA, GA, IL, IN, KY, OR, TX, WA, Massachusetts original town records, city directories, the ''Independence Examiner'', and ''Kansas City Star and Times'', other newspapers (primarily Missouri),&nbsp;''American Biographical Archives'', ''Black Biographical Dictionaries'', ''UMI Genealogy and Local History Series'', and the ''United States Serial Set''.<ref>[https://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy/mgc-information/about-mgc About the Midwest Genealogy Center] at ''Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogical Center'' (accessed 14 December 2021).</ref>

== [[Sons of the American Revolution|National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Genealogical Research Library]] ==

[[File:SAR Library inside.jpg|thumb|325x325px|National SAR Genealogical Research Library in Louisville, KY]]

Catalog: https://www.sar.org/sar-library-catalog/

== [[New England Historic Genealogical Society]] ==

:Best overall collection for New England vital records and probates, and excellent collection for Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and Europe. The manuscript collection for members only has diaries, letters, account books, business papers, church and town records, sermons, maps, wills, deeds, unpublished town and family genealogies, photos, and papers of the region's best genealogists since 1850.<ref name="DB55759">Dollarhide and Bremer, 5, 57, and 59.</ref>

== [[New York Public Library]]  ==

[[Image:New York Public Library exterior.jpg|thumb|right|280px|New York Public Library in Manhattan]]

:The New York Public Library's [http://www.nypl.org/collections collection] is one of the largest in the world with over 14 million titles. The '''Irma and Paul Milstein Division of U.S. History, Local History and Genealogy''' has an outstanding collection of American history at national, state and local levels; international genealogy and heraldry in Roman alphabets; the Dorot Jewish collection; photos; New York censuses, directories, and vital records. The Milstein Division acquires materials beyond the local region. The United States town, city, county and state history collection is national in scope.<ref>[http://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman/milstein-division-us-history-local-history-genealogy Irma and Paul Milstein Division of U.S. History, Local History and Genealogy] in ''New York Public Library'' (accessed 16 October 2010).</ref> Books requested in the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room are delivered to the Rose Reading Room. The open shelf dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographies, and indexes alone include 25,000 volumes.

:The library has computers with Internet access including the most popular genealogical databases, and free Wi-Fi for personal computers of visitors. The '''Milstein Microfilm Room''' gives access to New York State censuses, New York City directories, and indexes to New York City vital records (births late 19th century-1982; deaths late 19th century-1982; and marriages 1869-1937), coroner's inquisitions 1823-1898, divorce index 1784-1910, 1890 New York City “Police” Census, New York City historical newspapers, NYC land and property records 1654-1857, 18th and 19th century wills for many counties.  

== [[Newberry Library]] ==

:A large Chicago repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records many from Illinois, the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.<ref>[http://www./genealogy-and-local-history Genealogy and Local History] in ''The Newberry'' (accessed 27 February 2015).</ref> They have over 17,000 printed genealogies. The collection is noteworthy for its colonial America, especially New England holdings. They have church, town, and county histories from all parts of the United States, Canada, and the British Isles. This includes a comprehensive set of New England town histories, and strong collection of county histories from the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. Their Civil War unit histories collection is one of the best.<ref name="DB39">Dollarhide and Bremer, 39.</ref> This library has research guides on various subjects related to genealogy and library holdings cataloged from 1978. &nbsp;See

:*[http://www./genealogy-collection-guides-and-research-tools Genealogy Collection Guides and Research Tools] for more information about the collections.&nbsp;''<br>''

:*''American Library Directory''. 53rd Edition. New Providence, New Jersey: R. R. Bowker, 2000-2001. (FHL {{FHL|985678|title-id|disp=973 J54a 2000}}, 2 vol.) Alphabetical by state and town. Lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and describes each library's holdings and special interests.  

:**65th Edition being published May, 2013.  

:*The National Historical Publications and Records Commission. ''Directory of Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the United States''. Second Edition. Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press, 1988. (FHL {{FHL|643768|title-id|disp=973 J54u}} 1988; 1978 Edition on fiche {{FHL|11301|title-id|disp=6010080-89}}.)