My friends - Today, we will close out the week's data postings with another installment in the Tips series related to some of the lesser known records contained in the National Archives which can contain material valuable to genealogists. We have been reviewing a small part of the records contained in Record Group 94 - Records of the Adjutant General's Office. We have seen in previous posts that there is a wealth of information on various institutions and the people within those groups in RG 94. There are a number of records in RG 94 which relate to special commissions and courts of inquiry which were set up in the 19th century. Here are two of those which may contain genealogical material of interest: Hawkins-Taylor Commission (1863) - this group of records consists of 2 volumes, with an index, and is concerned with claims of officers and men for military service in the Departments of the West and the Missouri in 1861-1862. The records on individuals include the name of the claimant, rank, organization, duration of service, and payments allowed and for what purpose, as well as notations of other records in the AG's department which relate to the individual. United States Christian Commission (1861-1866) - this unique group of records covers an attempt by the New York Young Men's Christian Association(YMCA) to organize into a group to systematize, combine and extend their work to minister to the religious needs of the soldiers in the Civil War. These records are fragmentary and in poor order, but some of the correspondent's books of letters have survived, especially for the New England soldiers. There are also photograph albums for the 1864-65 time frame, containing autographed photos of Christian Commission workers, Memorandum Books, containing names and addresses of persons to whom newspapers and supplies were sent, and many other interesting areas. There are 813 individual groups of records in RG 94. This is a vast amount of material, and impossible to cover with any justice in these short posts. In the next segment of this series, I will discuss how to gain access to these records. As is customary, there will be no data posts over the weekend, but I will drop by with a file or two which may be of interest. -B ============================================================