I received this from another list so thought I would share with you all. Sande in CA [email protected] wrote: > By EUN-KYUNG KIM > .c The Associated Press > > WASHINGTON (AP) - Researchers, genealogists and the plain curious can > now use > the Internet to check more than 50 million historical records at the > National Archives, from Civil War battles to family immigration files. > > Before the system became available, people had to either visit the > Archives and spend hours combing through documents or request the > files by phone and pay to have them mailed. > > ``Now, people can pull these electronic records at their own > convenience,'' said Michael Carlson, electronic and special media > records director for the archives. ``It's totally self-service from > your desktop.'' > > The records available on the database system represent a small > fraction of the archive's electronic holdings. They were selected > because of their analytical and statistical nature - most deal with > information that easily can be looked up based on specific names, > dates, organizations, cities or states. > > For instance, someone wanting to research a great-grandfather who > immigrated > to the United States in the 19th century can choose the series of > records listed under ``immigrants,'' enter the relative's name and > learn on what ship he traveled, the occupation he claimed prior to > leaving, the date he arrived in New York, and the country from which > he left, among other details. > > ``It can be another stop in creating your family tree and > understanding what happened and when,'' said Michael Kurtz, assistant > archivist for records services. > > Carlson said he expects the service will be popular with veterans in > particular because of all the information related to military action, > casualties and POWs. > > The records in the new system ``aren't a revelation in information, > but is it helpful? Absolutely,'' said American Legion spokesman John > Peterson after checking out the Web site. > > ``A lot of people active with the POW/MIA issue complain the > government doesn't release enough documents about people who are still > missing, so almost anything they give out is good in our eyes,'' he said. > > Kristine Minami, a spokeswoman for the Japanese American Citizens League, > said getting easy access to government records will provide ``a lot of > validation'' to Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps > during World War II. > > The database draws from the records of 20 federal agencies. Most of > the information was created by the agencies to suit their own program > needs, without any thought to its historical significance. > > Because of that, some records have typographical errors like > misspelled names > or an inaccurate dates. National Archives officials did not correct > any of the information to preserve the records' integrity. > > Shirley Langdon Wilcox, former president of the National Genealogical > Society, called the new system an ``extremely useful and exciting'' tool. > > ``This certainly gives you enough of an idea of what might be > available to you so you know what to weed out before taking a trip > somewhere,'' she said. ``Anytime you have a tool that can make > yourself better prepared before you go to the Archives or library, > it's worthwhile. You don't end up wasting an hour or two looking at > whether they have something, because you've done your homework. > On The Net: National Archives' Access to Archives Databases: > http://www.archives.gov/aad/ > 04/04/03 14:33 EST > > Judy Neu > Springwater, NY >