In a message dated 6/22/98 1:58:49 PM, Fragfratz@aol.com wrote: <<If someone could tell me what forms I need to get again and where I write to send for them I would truely appreciate it. >> You Can Request Some Kinds of Documents From The National Archives The National Archives will provide you with photo copies of some documents. Their fee is very small and I recommend that you consider using their request forms if you are concerned about project costs. You may request: 1. Veterans Records, use NATF Form 80 Certain military records, pension files and bounty-land applications can be requested with this form. One file for one person will cost about $10.00. You must provide them with as much information as possible. The minimum is: name, branch of service, state from which he served, war, whether union or confederate. Additional information: such as unit in which he served and place and date of birth, certainly would insure a favorable result. If your soldier was named Jones or Smith you should have very detailed information before requesting the file. They, in general, will not do research for you. Often they will not photo copy the entirety of a large file unless you make a specific request. 2. Passenger Arrival Records use NATF Form 81 One record will cost $10.00. They will search existing passenger indexes and then provide you with a copy of the ships list. The availability of indexes is quite complex and I will not attempt to characterize their abilities. The NATF Form 81 explains in detail what they will do and what information you need to provide. 3. Census Records, use NATF Form 82 One household will cost about $6.00. They will provide you with copies of specifically identified pages of Federal population census schedules. You must provide them with the following information. census year state or territory county township or other subdivision name of head of household page number enumeration district (for 1880, 1900,1910 and 1920 only) Form 82 states, "The National Archives does not search census indexes, nor do we provide census research service by mail." ************* please note that the National Archives has finding aids online for Census Records, Veterans Records and Passenger Arrival Records. Their web site is: http://www.nara.gov/ *************************** To obtain the forms described above you should write to: Textual Reference Branch National Archives and Records Administration 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Washington, DC 20408 the forms can also be ordered by sending an email to ***************** inquire@nara.gov ******************** this email is read and answered electronically so it is important to specify "Form 80", "Form 81", or "Form 82" and the number of forms you need. If you have enough information about your subject the least expensive way to get copies of records is to use the above mentioned forms and have the National Archives provide the documents you wish. Their staff is very capable but because of budget concerns they will not normally provide research to identify the documents you seek. This is your tax dollar at work and I urge you to take advantage of it if you can. Ralph Komives RalphK@aol.com http://members.aol.com/RalphK/DocumentSearch.html Document Searches in Washington, D.C. Area and Annapolis, MD. Problem searches and Common Names a specialty. Research at: DAR Library, National Archives, Library of Congress, MD State Archives