The Text Message blog highlights “discoveries from processing and reference archivists on the job” at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

If you like behind-the-scenes glimpses, the The Text Message blog is for you. You’ll get posts written by the archivists who process and digitize collections. And you’ll learn about NARA collections that have been recently digitized and/or transcribed.

Text Message Blog Posts for Genealogists

The Text Message blog NARA WWI Naturalization

Index card of Stanislaw Szlucha, naturalized at Camp Crane, Philadelphia, Penn. (Courtesy NARA Microfilm Publication M1952.)

With collections as rich as those held by the National Archives, The Text Message blog covers many subjects. Grace Schultz, an archivist at the National Archives at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, wrote recently about WWI and naturalizations. Her post, From Soldier to Citizen: How to Use the Index to Naturalizations of World War I Soldiers:

Did your immigrant ancestor naturalize after serving in World War I? If so, you may find them in the National Archives Index to Naturalizations of World War I Soldiers….

National Archives reference staff often receive requests citing index cards from this collection from patrons who found the name of their ancestor, but do not know how to locate the actual naturalization record. This post aims to provide some history of the records and explain how to locate WWI naturalization records by using the index.

John LeGloahec, Archives Specialist in the Electronics Records Division at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, USA, wrote documenting libraries that are included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and National Historic Landmarks Program Records at NARA. “Reading is FUN-damental!” Libraries of the National Register of Historic Places” explains how to find photographs of libraries where your ancestors lived, where your relatives worked (lucky you having a librarian in the family :D ), or a childhood library you remember fondly.

The Text Message NARA National Archives CCC Camp LibraryThe image above is of the library created for CCC workers at Idaho SP Brown’s Creek CCC Camp Barracks (National Archives Identifier 84249643). After the Civilian Conservation Corps program ended, the building was converted to a public library.

First Friday Genealogy with Sassy Jane

First Friday Genealogy with Sassy Jane newsletter genealogy
The Text Message blog is just one of the articles featured in the February issue of my free monthly genealogy newsletter. The next issue comes out this Friday. Subscribe at this link and read back issues here.