Hi John,
Thanks for that wealth of information. I will take your advice and anyone
elses advice that is willing to give it. This will be my first time going
to a archives, I just hope that I will be able to get a lot done without
wasting lots of time since I don't know when I will be that way again. I am
looking for info on Marylanders and Military type records. But I know that
I will not have the time to do both this time, so I will do the best I can
while there and be hopefully very prepared before I go.
Hope you have a Happy New Years!
Anna
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Siemon" <jsiemon(a)bcpl.net>
To: <MDGEN-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2006 1:01 AM
Subject: RE: [MDGEN] Trip to National Archives, other research sites in MD
Anna,
There are a number of good genealogy research facilities between
Baltimore-Annapolis-Washington. You did not mention what you will be
looking for in your research and that makes a lot of difference in where
you
go. If you are primarily researching Maryland ancestors, the Maryland
State
Archives in Annapolis is probably the best place to go. If you are
looking
for ancestors from other states, the National Archives (in Washington, not
College Park), Library of Congress (LOC), and the DAR Library are great
places to do research. From my experience and their web site, I don't
think
the College Park NARA has much useful genealogy info.
http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/
All facilities have great web sites. You should check them for what you
are
allowed to take in, hours, etc. Also, make a list from their web sites of
what you want to look for. The LOC and DAR have their catalogs online.
Here are the web sites and my recommendations on each. This should keep
you
busy for a while.
National Archives, Washington :
http://www.archives.gov/research/index.html
http://www.archives.gov/research/start/visit-us.html
All the Federal Census records (most of which are now online at Ancestry
and
other web sites), all the passenger lists and indexes, military service
records from the Civil War, War of 1812 and Revolutionary War, pension
records for those wars (except for Confederate pensions, which they do not
have), some City Directories. Most, but not all, are on microfilm. Many
other records, but these are the most commonly used. This facility is
across the street from a Washington metro stop. Catch the Metro Red Line
in
Greenbelt and one of its stops is right at the Archives. If you have
online
access to the Census, I would skip this facility unless you need the
military or passenger records.
Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/
A ton of great local genealogy and history books from across the country
and
the world. Plus the largest collection I have seen of old City
Directories,
over 700 US cities. Search their catalog before you go, to see if it is
worthwhile. Make a list of books you want to see, including all the
identifying numbers. For each book, you fill out a request form and it
takes an hour or so for them to bring them to you. This is about 2 blocks
from a Metro stop, I think on the Orange Line.
DAR Library:
http://www.dar.org/library/default.cfm
A ton of great local genealogy and history books from all across the
country
and the world. The great feature of the DAR library is that all the books
are on open shelves where you can browse all the books on a particular
county or surname, without waiting for someone to bring them to you.
Search
their catalog to see if they have what you want and make yourself a list
if
you go. This is a long walk from any Wash. Metro stop.
Maryland State Archives, Annapolis:
http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/homepage/html/homepage.html
They are closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and some Saturdays. The only
facility
with great free parking. Click on "Reference and Research" to see details
on what they have. If you use their web site to find particular film
numbers (or accession numbers for non-film items), you will save a lot of
time at the facility. Get death certificate numbers online at
http://mdvitalrec.net/cfm/dsp_search.cfm
Enoch Pratt Library (main branch), Baltimore:
http://www.epfl.net/
http://www.pratt.lib.md.us/slrc/ssh/genealogypratt.html
http://www.pratt.lib.md.us/slrc/md/index.html
http://www.epfl.net/slrc/annex.html?sid=4#md
City directories, Census records, passenger lists, a very large old
newspaper collection, Sanborne maps, and many books, but all of the above
only covering Maryland.
MD Historical Society, Baltimore, not far from the Pratt Library:
http://www.mdhs.org/
http://www.mdhs.org/explore/library.html
Many special collections and unique records for MD history and genealogy.
Free parking lot right outside.
John
==== MDGEN Mailing List ====
List Admin.: Christopher T. Smithson; wsmithso(a)erols.com