Carbon County PAGenWeb

U.S. Information

Is there information for the United States that you think would be helpful and it is not listed here? If so please let me know and I will add to this list.

German Card for Genealogical Research

The Sacramento German Genealogy Society issued the "German Card for Genealogical Research", plastic, folds into 2 1/4 x 3 1/2 in.,includes German script, symbols, terms, soundex and more. SGGS, P.O. Box 66061, Sacrament, CA 95866-0061. Useful and portable. Present Price unknown

Trying to Decifyer that German Writting

"The "f" in the middle of the word almost certainly should be an "s" in the Gothic script that was once commonly used in German texts. The "s" at the end of a word takes the form of the "s" that you are more accustomed to seeing, but in the middle of a word the form of the "s" looks more like an "f" without the right side of the mark that crosses the letter horizontally."

Since this time, I've also found the f/s use in handwritten documents. I haven't yet determined any rhyme or reason to when or where it might appear, but it's out there. Hope this was of some help.

For example why was "s" sometimes written like an "f"?
There used to by a company which sold old time fonts (type faces) from the civil war era and German Fraktur faces. The company was Walden Font and the collection of type faces was called The Gutenberg Press. There was a history of the type faces on their site. www.waldenfont.com

How to use and access NARA Ordering Military Information

Here's what to do... if you don't know how To request forms:

1. Address your mail to: inquire@arch2.nara.gov
2. put the word 'FORM' in the subject line
3. in the text of your message, include

--your postal mailing address (NOT e-mail)
--the number of the form from the following list:

GIL #7 (brochure for Military Service Records)

Form 80 (Military service and pension records prior to World War I, including the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, and Spanish-American War);

Form 81 (Passenger Arrivals)

Form 82 (Copies of Census Records)

Form 83 (Eastern Cherokee Applications)

Form 180 (Military service records, World War I and later).

--the quantity you wish to receive.

Requests which do not contain the word 'FORM' in the subject line get routed differently and will take more time to process.

More INS information: Sponsors

Sponsors then did the same as now - Sponsors tell the INS that they will be financially responsible for the welfare ($ or a job) of the people that they are asking the government to admit. In 1882, Congress passed the first laws limiting the people allowed in the states. This act kept out criminals, those considered "insane" and those likely to become public charges. Also by 1882, there was an agreement to keep out Chinese immigrants - this was called the Oriental Exclusion Act. By 1907 there was an agreement that limited the number of Japanese laborers to the US and that was the year that 1.3 million people from all over were admitted. Within 10 more years, Congress passed much more restrictive laws - such as a law that required that an immigrant could at least read and write one language. In 1921, Congress passed a quota law, limiting the number of immigrants from each country. That law has continued to evolve to today with the last major changes in the late 1990s
from the Shamrock-L list.

Alien Registration was required during World War I. But for our purposes, because an official in the late 1930s reported to the Congress that all those records had previously been destroyed. So all we genealogists can find are WW2 alien registrations, and thereafter.
However, Not all of the World War I alien registrations were destroyed for all the states. For example, the Kansas registrations can be seen at the Central Plains Region branch of the National Archives, in Kansas City, MO. Check state by state for those Alien Registrations, because they are wonderful sources, and often even include a photo of the person.

World War II and the draft

The "codger's draft registrations" are available, and for PA and MD, easy to use because they are alphabetized by state. They also have great information, like date and city of birth, employer, name and address of next of kin. They are easy to read. They have more detailed personal descriptions than the WW1 cards.

Two caveats:
1. Not everyone obligated to register did so.
2. NARA has the original file cards, not microfilm, so you cannot simply arrive and expect to inspect. You need to give them a day's notice of your arrival, and the specific surnames you will be seeking, so they can bring those boxes of cards in from storage.

To get a World War II record that is not open to you through the Archives, try the nearest office of the Veterans' Administration. I know people who say they've gotten World War II records that way.

If you have a family member who died in one of the wars and is interred in an over-seas cemetery, the State Dept. [upon request and with no fee] will send you a beautiful lithograph of the cemetery with an information booklet describing it. They'll go out and photograph the grave and for a small fee put flowers on it [seasonal], due to weather hardships in foreign countries.

Have a Merchant Marine Ancestor?

Records of U.S. Merchant Marine Personnel are now kept by the U.S. Coast Guard in Washington, D.C. However, back in those days (1895-1905) the U.S. Merchant Marine records would have been kept by the following U.S. Gov`t Depts.

1852-1903 Dept. of the Treasury
Steamboat Inspection Service
1884-1903 Dept. of the Treasury
Bureau of Navigation
1903-1913 Department of Commerce and Labor
Steamboat Inspections Services

If such records are still avaiable they would be in the National Archives. Under records group RG 41.2.4 Records relating to vessel personnel

The U.S.C. G. present day files.
Capt. William Bennett,
Chief, Marine Personnel Division ( NMC-4)
U.S. Dept. of Transportation
U.S. Coast Guard
National Maritime Center
4200 Wilson Blvd Suite 510
Arlington, Va. 2203-1804

Looking for Student records???

Since 1974, the Buckley Amendment prevents any school receiving federal funds from revealing any student information without the written consent of the student. That would definitely apply to the student's academic record. Some schools believe that, before publishing a directory of names and addresses of students, they must give students the opportunity to "opt out" of it by checking a box on the registration forms.
This may not apply to students and former students presently living, or whether the right descends to the heirs of the former student. May also not be grandfathered.

Confused about the SSDI??

You aren't alone. Here is some info for you

The SSDI (Social Security Death Index) is based on the Social Security benefit paid at the time of the death of the individual.

It has nothing to do with whether or not the person was already receiving Society Security benefits, which are benefits paid to living people after retirement.

The survivor may receive those death benefits, but the decendant's name may not be in the index, although many other deaths are. Sometimes the death is not reported to the right department. You may find the survivor's name on the list.

Until the early 1950s, farmers were not on Social Security, so mnay farmers are not listed for their deaths, even though they died after that date. In short, there are various reasons for names not to be on the Social Security Death Index.