Using government documents for historical and genealogical research

Transcription

1 * Using government documents for historical and genealogical research Presented by Tara Carlisle, University of North Texas Gay E. Carter, University of Houston-Clear Lake Suzanne Sears, University of North Texas Alexandra Simons, University of Houston

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3 After the Capitol was destroyed in 1814 by the British, Congress began looking into putting essential papers in a more permanent and accessible format. Image found at

4 * Washington Adams Jefferson Madison Monroe J. Q. Adams Jackson The American State Papers span seven presidencies

5 The Papers contain documents from 1789 and continues through 1838, overlapping with the beginning of the Serial Set. The Papers were published from The version in American Memory, digitized by the Library of Congress, was published by Gales & Seaton, and only 750 sets were printed and distributed.

6 38 volumes covering: Foreign Relations Indian Affairs Finances Commerce & Navigation Military Affairs Naval Affairs Post Office Department Public Lands Claims Miscellaneous

7 The volumes covering Public Lands and Claims contain a lot of genealogical information, but all the volumes have primary documents essential for American history research. Military bounty land grants were often given to soldiers as payment for their service. This honorable discharge notice proves the legitimacy of Abraham Forbes claim to have been a soldier during the War of Images: Library of Congress American Memory site.

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9 Getting Started Start your research by going to the Library of Congress s American Memory site and selecting American State Papers. NOTE: The U.S. Serial Set is also accessible from this site and can be searched the same way. Click here

10 Browsing

11 Index to Public Lands volumes

12 Accessing the index Click here

13 Using the index

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15 Searching for a name or other specific information

16 Using the search features Enter term(s) 2 Select ASP option 1 Select options 3 E N T E R 4

17 Results Click on any of these

18 Public Lands (Vol. 1, 1800, p. 83)

19 You can also access the U.S. Serial Set, including the American State Papers, through the ProQuest Congressional database. Click here

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21 Coverage back to 1789, including the American State Papers: House and Senate journals to 1953 House and Senate reports House and Senate documents Senate treaty documents Senate executive reports Miscellaneous reports Annual reports from Executive agencies Reports from nongovernmental organizations like the DAR and American Historical Association Various veterans organizations

22 Administrative reports, directories and manuals Congressional reports on public and private legislation Reports resulting from investigations conducted by Congress Annual reports from Federal agencies Agency survey, research and statistical publications Selected annual reports from nongovernmental agencies

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24 Military Register/Records Indian Census

25 Online options American Memory (search strategy similar to that shown for American State Papers) HeritageQuest (limited) ProQuest Congressional Readex Indexes CIS U.S. Serial Set Index ( ) CIS U.S. Serial Set Index, Part XIV: Index and Carto-Bibliography of Maps, Historical documents indexes Specialized indexes and lists Microfiche

26 List Map Soldier Passenger Land Pension Patent Geographic name

27 Use the same strategy for searching as for the American State Papers

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31 Also check the resources for librarians and archivists.

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33 Beers, Henry Puttnam. Spanish Mexican Records of the American Southwest. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, Carter, Gay E. "American State Papers." The CLF Newsletter May 1995: 5, 9. Eales, Anne Bruner, and Robert M. Kvasnicka. Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States. Washington, DC: National Archives & Records Administration, Hartley, Jeffery. Using the Congressional Serial Set for Genealogical Research. Washington, DC: National Archives & Records Administration, Spring McMullin, Phillip W. Grassroots of America: a computerized index to the American State Papers. Greenville: Southern Historical Press, Inc., Naylor, Chris. "Those Early Americans." Prologue 2.37 (2005): Wilson Web. University of Houston. 14 July Szucs, Loretto Dennis, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: a guidebook of American Genealogy. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, Yingst, Donovan. "Genealogical Riches in the American State Papers." Qwest.net. 17 Aug <

34 *If you have any comments or need additional information, please contact: Tara Carlisle Gay E. Carter Suzanne Sears Alexandra Simons *