Thank you for registering for the online course, Navigating our Nation's Federal Records!
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, DC is home to a genealogical goldmine of federal records kept since our nation’s founding. From military pension records to federal land grants to immigration and naturalization records and beyond, this five-session online seminar will introduce you to the many records available, discuss how to access them from home or in-person, and demonstrate how to leverage these resources in your family history research.
This course includes exclusive access to five 90-minute lecture recordings and handouts. These recordings and all course materials will be available for the foreseeable future.
COURSE TOPICS
Class 1: Overview of the NARA System
Presented by Ann G. Lawthers
The website of the National Archives and Records Administration (Archives.gov) is your at-home portal to a myriad of records. This first class will demonstrate how to navigate the online catalog, access or request records from home, and, because not everything is online, discuss tips for planning a research trip. We will also discuss the difference between the National Archives in Washington, DC and the regional branches found across the country.
Class 2: Military and Pension Files
Presented by David Allen Lambert
The military records at the National Archives detail service given between 1775 and 1912. Military expert David Allen Lambert will discuss how to locate, access, and utilize compiled service records, pension applications, and other resources that detail your veteran ancestor’s service. He will also discuss briefly more recent records available through the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis (WWI–present).
Class 3: Federal Land Records: Bounty Land, Land Entry Files, and Homesteading
Presented by Melanie McComb
Throughout its history, the United States has offered several land incentives to encourage settlement and migration westward. In this class, Genealogist Melanie McComb will first discuss federal bounty land warrants for military service between 1775 and 1855 and then delve more deeply into homesteading records including land entry case files, patents, and tract books.
Class 4: Immigration and Naturalization Records
Presented by Rhonda R. McClure
Passenger arrival records, border crossings, passport applications, and records of special inquiry are just some of the types of immigration and naturalization records available at the National Archives. Senior Genealogist Rhonda R. McClure will provide an overview of these important resources, how to access them, and how to make the most of them in your family history research.
Class 5: Even More Records!
Presented by Ann G. Lawthers
Beyond military, land, and immigration, the National Archives holds several records of value to genealogists. This final class will review some of those collections including maps (census enumeration districts, surveys, etc.), federal employee records, congressional notes, diplomatic papers, ships logs, and more.
COURSE HANDOUTS
RECORDED PRESENTATIONS
Class 1: Overview of the NARA System
Class 2: Military and Pension Files
Class 3: Federal Land Records: Bounty Land, Land Entry Files, and Homesteading
Class 4: Immigration and Naturalization
Class 5: Even More Records!
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist has been on the staff of American Ancestors since 1993 and is the organization’s Chief Genealogist. David is an internationally recognized speaker on the topics of genealogy and history. His genealogical expertise includes New England and Atlantic Canadian records of the 17th through 21st century; military records; DNA research; and Native American and African American genealogical research in New England. Lambert has published many articles in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the New Hampshire Genealogical Record, Rhode Island Roots, The Mayflower Descendant, and American Ancestorsmagazine. He has also published A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries (American Ancestors, 2019). David is an elected Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston, Mass., and a life member of the New Hampshire Society of the Cincinnati. He is also the tribal genealogist for the Massachuset-Punkapoag Indians of Massachusetts.
Ann G. Lawthers, Genealogist helps members and not-yet members with their family history research by providing lectures, courses, and hands-on workshops at the American Ancestors Research Center, at genealogical conferences across the country, and online. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and the Harvard School of Public Health, with Masters and Doctoral degrees in Health Policy. Her areas of particular interest include New England and New York, the Mid-Atlantic states, the southern colonies, Ireland, and migration patterns.
Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer. Before joining American Ancestors in 2006, she ran her own genealogical business for 18 years. She was a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine, and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of twelve books including the award-winning The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, Finding your Famous and Infamous Ancestors and Digitizing Your Family History. She is the editor of the newly released 6th edition of the Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research. Her areas of expertise include, immigration and naturalization, late 19th- and early 20th-century urban research, missionaries, State Department Federal records, New England, Mid-West, Southern, German, Italian, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and New Brunswick research as well as Internet research, genealogical software and online trees.
Melanie McComb, Genealogist assists library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She also provides lectures on a variety of genealogical topics. Melanie holds a bachelor of science degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. Her areas of research interest include Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Kansas, Prince Edward Island, Québec, and Ireland, and she is experienced in DNA, genealogical technology and social media, Jewish genealogy, and military records.