NARA Constitution Avenue Entrance |
Elijah B. Johnson Civil War Pension File |
Obituary Thomas Buckley |
My next stop in DC was the Library of Congress (LOC). The LOC was established by an Act of Congress in 1800. It is the nation’s library and holds 158 million items and 38 million books. The library has three buildings, the Madison, Adams, and Jefferson. Each building holds a different collection of records. The main reading room including the genealogy collection is in the Thomas Jefferson Building and it is a beautiful sight to see. I spent most of my time in the James Madison Building in the Newspaper & Periodical Reading Room. I located on microfilm an obituary for Thomas Buckley in the New Haven Evening Register on November 20, 1880. Thomas is my ex-husband's 4 x's great-grandfather. The obituary was filled with new information that helped me to distinguish between two Thomas Buckley’s who lived in the same area and were about the same age.
DAR Library |
My next DC stop was the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library. I am a member of the DAR Chicago Chapter and my Revolutionary War ancestor is Edgeconb Guilliams. The DAR Library is located at 1776 D Street NW and was founded in 1896 by DAR staff who were verifying the application papers to the National Society DAR. I was able to look at membership applications and the supporting documentation at the DAR Library. I found land records for Edgecomb Guilliams that I am still attempting to transcribe due to the handwriting and poor copying. I am looking forward to where this 1763 document will lead me.
March on Washington, August 1963, NARA photograph |
My last stop was Archives II in College Park, Maryland. This facility was built in 1993 and holds a separate collection of records from Archives I in Washington, DC. I spent the day in Photographs reviewing the original still photos of the 1963 March on Washington. Although there were photographs of Dr. King, there were many more pictures of the people in the audience. I thoroughly enjoyed delicately delving through these still photos and even felt goose bumps as I looked at them. Here is a view of the Archive's Digital Vaults.
You make me want to revisit Washington, a city blessed with wonderful museums and institutions.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, another place I want to visit!
ReplyDelete