Historical Records of Interest to Genealogists at NARA - Pittsfield
By Jean Nudd, Archivist
The Pittsfield office of the National Archives
and Records Administration, holds over 75,000 rolls of microfilm. Several
hundred of these films are not used very frequently because most researchers
are not aware of their value or they have no ancestors involved in the
specific events the records cover. Some are not used because their
existence is not known. Whatever the reason, these records may be useful to
researchers. Unfortunately, there are too many to mention them all so this
article will have two parts; one part will give in-depth information on some
of the more interesting publications and one part will be a listing of the
historical microfilm publications held at NRAP.
Part one will discuss:
M841, Record of Appointments of Postmasters,
1832-1971
M758-792, IRS Tax Assessments, 1862-1866 (New
England states)
M639, Letters of Application and
Recommendation During the Administration of Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837
T967, Copies of Presidential Pardons and
Remissions, 1794-1893
M1371, Register and Index for Passport
Applications, 1810-1906
M1105, Registers of the Records of the
Proceedings of the U.S. Army General Courts-Martial, 1809-1890
M823, Official Battle Lists of the Civil War,
1861-1865
M2014, Burial Registers for Military Posts,
Camps and Stations, 1768-1921
M1373, Registers of Lighthouse Keepers,
1845-1912
M841, Record
of Appointments of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971
This publication
reproduces 181 manuscript volumes
divided into six time periods: 1832-42, 1843-57, 1858-73, 1874-89, 1890-1929
and 1930-September 30, 1971. Volumes usually contain records for multiple
states, not necessarily listed alphabetically. The records are arranged by
state and then alphabetically by name of county and then name of post
office, not town or city. M841 reproduces these records alphabetically by
state then county. Records of post offices where no county was given appear
first within each state. The records show postmasters’ names, dates of
appointments by Presidents and dates of confirmation by the Senate.
M758,
Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for Connecticut, 1862-1866
The Internal Revenue Act of July 1, 1862,
was intended “to provide Internal Revenue to support the Government and to
pay Interest on the Public Debt.” The act levied monthly duties on
manufactures, articles and products from ale to zinc, taxes on gross
receipts of transportation companies, on interest paid on bonds, on surplus
funds accumulated by financial institutions and insurance companies, on
gross receipts from auction sales, and on sales of slaughtered cattle, hogs
and sheep. Gross receipts from newspaper advertisements were subject to a
quarterly tax while annual licenses were required for all trades and
occupations and annual duties were placed on carriages, yachts, billiard
tables and gold and silver plate. An annual tax was also levied on all
income in excess of $600, and legacies and distributive shares of personal
property were made taxable. Stamp duties were imposed on legal and business
documents and on medical preparations, playing cards, perfumery and
cosmetics.1
All persons, partnerships, firms, associations,
or corporations submitted a list showing the amount of annual income,
articles subject to the special tax or duty, and the quantity of goods made
or sold that were to be charged with the tax or duty. The lists are
arranged by collection district and then by division within each state.
Different states are filmed separately and have a different publication
number. Pittsfield holds only the records for New England states.
There are 23 rolls of microfilm for
Connecticut. District 1, Hartford and Tolland, are on rolls 1-6. The rolls
are arranged by type of list—annual, monthly, or special, depending on the
type of tax or duty paid. Rolls 7-13 for District 2 contain Middlesex and
New Haven counties while District 3, New London and Windham counties, is on
rolls 14-18. District 4, Fairfield and Litchfield counties, is on rolls
19-23.
M639, Letters of Application and Recommendation during the Administration of
Andrew Jackson, 1829-1837
The letters of application and
recommendation for Presidential appointments are arranged in chronological
units that correspond approximately with Presidential administrations. The
records are then arranged alphabetically under the surname of the applicant
or person recommended.
Most of the applicants sought specific
positions for which they considered themselves qualified. Some requested
any kind of Government employment. In some cases, applicants cited poor
health as an impairment to the usual method of earning a living and asked
for appointments in locations thought to have salubrious climates. Some
emphasize former military service and include specific letters of
recommendation from military leaders such as Sam Houston, Thomas H. Benton
and William H. Harrison.2
The publication pamphlet includes an index to
names on the microfilm. The List of Applicants and Persons Recommended
lists the name of the applicant, any cross-references to other applicants,
date span of documents and their enclosures, and the number of documents
included.
T967, Copies of Presidential Pardons and Remissions, 1794-1893
This publication reproduces copies of
Presidential pardons and remissions and of some warrants of arrest and
extradition on seven rolls of film. The records are arranged
chronologically with each volume separately indexed. The pardons contain
little biographical information. The indexes are arranged alphabetically by
first letter of surname.3
M1371, Registers and Indexes for Passport Applications, 1810-1906
These 13 rolls of microfilm reproduce 33 volumes
of registers and indexes to passports. They were created by the Passport
Office of the Department of State. With two exceptions, U.S. citizens were
not required to have a passport for travel abroad until 1941. Passports
were required briefly during the Civil War and during World War I. Passport
applications may provide information regarding an applicant’s family status,
date and place of birth, naturalization (if foreign born), occupation or
business, and physical characteristics. Early passports are sometimes
accompanied by supporting letters and affidavits from friends.
The usual register entry shows the date
and number of the application, the name of the applicant and (for 1834-49)
the applicant’s age and physical characteristics. Some of the register or
index volumes have overlapping dates, and some entries appear in more than
one volume. Some registers are arranged chronologically while others are
arranged alphabetically. A special register was done for Civil War
passports, 1861-65. The records also include emergency passports
(1874-1906), special passport applications (diplomatic and consular
officers, military attaches, and other government officers and their
families, 1829-94), and applications received by the New York Passport
Office (Aug. 24, 1861-Feb. 24, 1862).4
M1105, Registers of the Records of the Proceedings of the U.S. Army General
Courts-Martial, 1809-1890
These eight rolls of microfilm reproduce 17
volumes, or registers, of the proceedings of the United States Army general
courts-martial. A general courts-martial is the highest military tribunal
convened to try violations of military law. Also registered in these
volumes are records of the proceedings of courts of inquiry and of military
commissions. Courts of inquiry are investigative bodies without power to
impose punishment. Military commissions are special courts established
under martial law for the investigations and trial of private citizens.
These 17 volumes are arranged by time period.
The entries in volumes 1-3, 5, 8, 11, 13, and 15-17 are arranged
alphabetically by the first letter of the surname and then, except in volume
1, chronologically by the date received. Entries in volumes 4, 6, 7, 9, 10,
12, and 14 are arranged strictly alphabetically.5
M823, Official Battle Lists of the Civil War, 1861-1865
These two rolls of microfilm reproduce battle
lists indicating which Union troops were engaged in particular Civil War
operations and often include additional data, such as casualties. All the
battle lists are incomplete compilations and reflect the numerous
inaccuracies found in the original and secondary sources from which they
were compiled. The lists were compiled by the War Department, the Adjutant
General’s Office and the Surgeon General’s Office and used to act on pension
requests from Civil War veterans. These lists were assigned letters based
on their creators and for ease of citation (a-h).
List (a) was compiled in 1867 in
connection with the last two volumes of Volunteer Army Register for the
Civil War. Two handwritten versions were done; one arranged chronologically
and one arranged alphabetically. List (d) records engagements of Regular
Army troops by arm of service and then by regiment from the time each
regiment was organized through 1902. Battle list (f) consists of selected
pages from volume 8 of the Volunteer Army Register, a War Department
publication containing officer rosters, combat credits and brief histories
of each Civil War volunteer regiment. (i) was excerpted from The Medical
and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, 1861-65 and is titled,
“Chronological Summary of Engagements and Battles.” It lists Confederate
casualty figures in addition to Union troops engaged and Union losses.6
M2014, Burial Registers for Military Posts, Camps, and Stations, 1768-1921
This single microfilm roll reproduces a
two-volume register of burials at military posts, camps and stations. They
were created by the Cemetery Branch in the Office of the Quartermaster
General. The registers are arranged by name of the military post, and then
roughly in chronological order by date of burial. The burial registers
include soldiers in the Regular Army and Union Army (volunteers), as well as
wives or children of military personnel and some Confederate soldiers. If
known, the following information is given: name, rank, company, regiment,
date of death, location of grave (section and number) and remarks. The
remarks column may indicate cause of death or removal to another cemetery.
Type of grave marker may also be included as well as the supplier of the
headstone.7
M1373, Registers of Lighthouse Keepers, 1845-1912
This six roll publication contains 19
registers filmed in geographic order by five regions; New England, New York
through Virginia, North Carolina through Texas, Great Lakes, and West Coast
including Alaska and Hawaii. The registers are compiled chronologically.
Early registers include all or several regions. Indexes of the volumes are
alphabetical by surname of keeper and/or name of lighthouse. Reference maps
from 1889 showing the lighthouses pertinent to each region are filmed at the
beginning of each roll.8
This is just a sampling of the historical
records of genealogical interest available in the Pittsfield office. A
complete list of these microfilm publications follows. Hope you see
something that might relate to your ancestors!
__________
1.
National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) Microform Publication Pamphlet No. 758 (Washington,
DC: NARA, 1969), 1.
2. NARA Microform Publication Pamphlet No.
639 (Washington, DC: NARA, 1968), 1
3. NARA,
Genealogical and Biographical Research; A Select Catalog of National
Archives Microfilm Publications,
(Washington, DC:
NARA, 1991), 66.
4. NARA Microfilm Publications Pamphlet
#M1371 (Washington, DC: NARA, 1986), 1-3
5. NARA Microfilm Publications Pamphlet
#M1105 (Washington, DC: NARA, 1892), 1-4.
6. NARA Microform Publication #M823
(Washington, DC: NARA, 1976), 1-4.
7. NARA Microform Publication #M2014
(Washington, DC: NARA, 1996), pp. 2-3. [Funds for this microfilm
publication were provided
by the genealogists’ contributions to the Malcolm H. Stern-NARA Gift
Fund.]
8. NARA Microfilm Publication M1373 (Washington,
DC: NARA, 1985), no page number.¨
|
