I am a 7th generation Washingtonian - born and raised in the city and attended public schools there. My 4th Great-Grandfather was a slave named Tobias Henson, who bought his freedom in 1818, then purchased land in the area that is now Anacostia. The Henson Ridge housing development in Anacostia is named after him. I have been researching my family lines for over 15 years and have discovered incredible stories about many "ordinary" men and women in my ancestry. None were rich ... none were famous ... but they all made contributions to their family and their communities. My research has taken me to the National and state Archives, LDS Family History Centers, libraries, cemeteries, churches, government agencies, private collections, internet searches and personal interviews. I keep seeing a reference to the DC Archives as being in a "bad" neighborhood. I guess the term "bad" is subjective. It's off of a tree-lined residential street in a cobblestone "alley". There is also a car repair shop across the way ... but I have never had one person say anything off-color to me during my many visits there. Although I recently moved to another state, I look forward to my annual visits to see family & do more research, especially at the DC Archives, which I think is a goldmine for anyone with DC roots. I have spent many days at the Archives over the years and never experienced a negative incident. I park on the street, walk the 1/2 block to the front door to the Archives & often come out with copies of many new documents ... on my first trip there I found over 2 dz. documents -- birth/marriage/death certs & wills). I just felt a need to respond to the negative portrayal of the area. If you went and had a bad experience, then I understand your point of view. However, I have a feeling that some people are judging this neighborhood without ever having been there. Are there reports of people being mugged on the way to the DC Archives that I'm unaware of? I would hate for you, as a DC researcher, to miss out on all that the Archives' offers based on unfounded fears. I hope you'll get up the nerve for a trip to the Archives (take friend if you must) ... because a "gem" might be waiting for you just behind those doors. Janice washingtondc-request@rootsweb.com wrote: Today's Topics: 1. Re: DC Research (Baclem5656@aol.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 17:16:54 EST From: Baclem5656@aol.com Subject: Re: [WashDC] DC Research To: washingtondc@rootsweb.com Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" I too am one of those rare persons who have lived in the Washington, DC, Metro area all my life and worked there as a younger woman. I was born in DC, moved to Prince George's County, MD, when I was 6 mos old, and lived in Prince George's County, until I moved to Charles County, MD, in 2004. I worked in DC for the USAF in the temporary buildings on the mall (long gone now) for several years. My dad worked for what is now Metro through it's changes from Washington Railway Cars (I might have this name wrong), to Capitol Transit, then DC Transit, and finally Metro when he retired at age 62. We always went into DC to shop, to the movies at Lowes Capitol, my orthodontist, the hospital, and on and on. Now, in later years when I've become interested in genealogy, I'm hesitant to venture into downtown DC. I'd love to visit the DC Archives, but it's in a "bad" section of town. Also Glenwood Cemetery and Mt. Olivet where some of my maternal ancestors are interred, but again I don't like to venture there alone. The National Archives is probably much safer as it is near the National Mall, near the museums and other tourist attractions. Someone mentioned Washington National Cemetery in Suitland, MD. My mother's family and my parents are buried there, and the folks in the office were very helpful with information when I asked. I went there in person but I'm sure they'd be as helpful in response to a letter or a phone call. Barbara Clements ************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. ------------------------------ To contact the WASHINGTONDC list administrator, send an email to WASHINGTONDC-admin@rootsweb.com. To post a message to the WASHINGTONDC mailing list, send an email to WASHINGTONDC@rootsweb.com. __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WASHINGTONDC-request@rootsweb.com with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the email with no additional text. End of WASHINGTONDC Digest, Vol 2, Issue 41 ******************************************* --------------------------------- Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center.

Thanks Janice - your comments needed to be said I have been there also and everyone, even the guys in alleyway, across from DC Arcives, where I parked assisted me. Same comments are made about the Martin Luther King Library, which is 2 blocks up from the FBI Bldg -- Karen King-Lavore 6th Generation Washingtonian (Maybe more once I find records) ----- Original Message ----- From: J. Moore<mailto:grandmaniagara@yahoo.com> To: washingtondc@rootsweb.com<mailto:washingtondc@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2007 6:21 PM Subject: Re: [WashDC] WASHINGTONDC Digest, Vol 2, Issue 41 I am a 7th generation Washingtonian - born and raised in the city and attended public schools there. My 4th Great-Grandfather was a slave named Tobias Henson, who bought his freedom in 1818, then purchased land in the area that is now Anacostia. The Henson Ridge housing development in Anacostia is named after him. I have been researching my family lines for over 15 years and have discovered incredible stories about many "ordinary" men and women in my ancestry. None were rich ... none were famous ... but they all made contributions to their family and their communities. My research has taken me to the National and state Archives, LDS Family History Centers, libraries, cemeteries, churches, government agencies, private collections, internet searches and personal interviews. I keep seeing a reference to the DC Archives as being in a "bad" neighborhood. I guess the term "bad" is subjective. It's off of a tree-lined residential street in a cobblestone "alley". There is also a car repair shop across the way ... but I have never had one person say anything off-color to me during my many visits there. Although I recently moved to another state, I look forward to my annual visits to see family & do more research, especially at the DC Archives, which I think is a goldmine for anyone with DC roots. I have spent many days at the Archives over the years and never experienced a negative incident. I park on the street, walk the 1/2 block to the front door to the Archives & often come out with copies of many new documents ... on my first trip there I found over 2 dz. documents -- birth/marriage/death certs & wills). I just felt a need to respond to the negative portrayal of the area. If you went and had a bad experience, then I understand your point of view. However, I have a feeling that some people are judging this neighborhood without ever having been there. Are there reports of people being mugged on the way to the DC Archives that I'm unaware of? I would hate for you, as a DC researcher, to miss out on all that the Archives' offers based on unfounded fears. I hope you'll get up the nerve for a trip to the Archives (take friend if you must) ... because a "gem" might be waiting for you just behind those doors. Janice washingtondc-request@rootsweb.com<mailto:washingtondc-request@rootsweb.com> wrote: Today's Topics: 1. Re: DC Research (Baclem5656@aol.com<mailto:Baclem5656@aol.com>) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 17:16:54 EST From: Baclem5656@aol.com<mailto:Baclem5656@aol.com> Subject: Re: [WashDC] DC Research To: washingtondc@rootsweb.com<mailto:washingtondc@rootsweb.com> Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" I too am one of those rare persons who have lived in the Washington, DC, Metro area all my life and worked there as a younger woman. I was born in DC, moved to Prince George's County, MD, when I was 6 mos old, and lived in Prince George's County, until I moved to Charles County, MD, in 2004. I worked in DC for the USAF in the temporary buildings on the mall (long gone now) for several years. My dad worked for what is now Metro through it's changes from Washington Railway Cars (I might have this name wrong), to Capitol Transit, then DC Transit, and finally Metro when he retired at age 62. We always went into DC to shop, to the movies at Lowes Capitol, my orthodontist, the hospital, and on and on. Now, in later years when I've become interested in genealogy, I'm hesitant to venture into downtown DC. I'd love to visit the DC Archives, but it's in a "bad" section of town. Also Glenwood Cemetery and Mt. Olivet where some of my maternal ancestors are interred, but again I don't like to venture there alone. The National Archives is probably much safer as it is near the National Mall, near the museums and other tourist attractions. Someone mentioned Washington National Cemetery in Suitland, MD. My mother's family and my parents are buried there, and the folks in the office were very helpful with information when I asked. I went there in person but I'm sure they'd be as helpful in response to a letter or a phone call. Barbara Clements ************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com<http://www.aol.com/>. ------------------------------ To contact the WASHINGTONDC list administrator, send an email to WASHINGTONDC-admin@rootsweb.com<mailto:WASHINGTONDC-admin@rootsweb.com>. To post a message to the WASHINGTONDC mailing list, send an email to WASHINGTONDC@rootsweb.com<mailto:WASHINGTONDC@rootsweb.com>. __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WASHINGTONDC-request@rootsweb.com<mailto:WASHINGTONDC-request@rootsweb.com> with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the email with no additional text. End of WASHINGTONDC Digest, Vol 2, Issue 41 ******************************************* --------------------------------- Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WASHINGTONDC-request@rootsweb.com<mailto:WASHINGTONDC-request@rootsweb.com> with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I roam around much of DC and its cemeteries alone or with my daughter and have never had any problem. My daughter is in school there at Wesley Theological Seminary so I use visits to her for genealogical research. I'll be going up there this next week. I'd love to go to the DC archives. Some of my ancestors moved from Fairfax Co. to Georgetown by around 1800 and some of them stayed there until 1864. Some of the aunts and uncles and cousins are probably still there today! Brenda Payne Rose