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Many genealogists look to try to “jump the ocean” over to the old country when they reach the beginnings of their American ancestry. A great way to do this is through immigration records – it gives you an idea of where your ancestor was from.
Illinois has a great resource with the Cook County Clerk of the Court. Cook county contains Chicago, so many immigrants were naturalized there. If you have a midwestern immigrant ancestor, chances are they were naturalized here.
This database is “extra awesome” because it lets you search by town, as well. For example, some of my human’s ancestors were from Bivona, Italy. Searching for that I get:
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Interestingly, I know most of these last names. The site lets you click on a name to pull up more priceless information.
Record Details for Volume 263 | |
Page Number: | 230 |
Declaration Number: | 129430 |
FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | OCCUPATION |
CARMELO | MILITELLO | LABORER |
BIRTH CITY | BIRTH COUNTRY | BIRTH DATE |
BIVONA | ITALY | 5/14/1871 |
CURRENT ADDRESS | CURRENT CITY | |
NOT GIVEN | LEMONT | |
DEPARTURE LOCATION | ARRIVAL DATE | DECLARATION DATE |
PALERMO, ITALY | 5/5/1903 | 3/8/1922 |
And if you wanted to, you could look at the actual record. However declarations of intention were kind of boring, as they were basically index cards containing the above information. The naturalization records, however, are amazing and usually contain a photograph!
Mucho Fishies,
BK
Dead Fred is a website of photographs. Basically, it started as a site to look at old photos and see if you could identify anyone in them (i.e., your old cousin “Fred”). Over time, it has developed into a more standard genealogy site offering photos for many surnames.
I check this site fairly often, about once a week. I have had updates surprise me. For example, I have the surname “Ripperda” in my history. Searching Ripperda in the quick search box, I get this: “http://www.deadfred.com/surnameIndR_05.php” a photo of Anna Ripperda Doyle and family. I happen to have her in my tree, and this photo was new to me! What a great resource.
If you want, you can also browse through surnames. I find this helpful as often times surnames can be mispelled or may have evolved over time. For example, the last name Ripperda was also spelled Riperdag, Ripperdoff, Riparda, etc etc.
Mucho fishies,
Bratty Kitty
The first database I’d like to discuss is the OPA or Online Public Access database at NARA (the National Archives). They are currently overhauling this site, and there are frequent down-times. These are usually listed right on the search page. The National Archives are furiously attempting to digitize access to millions of records. Unfortunately, the search function is still clunky and almost all documents are not viewable from the site. However! Knowing of the existence of a document about a person can be wonderful. Be warned, I did not start with an easy one. This one often requires the use of TWO websites.
My human had a great uncle, Paul Cuozzo, who died in the Korean War. She had already found some amazing information through another website (another story for another day.) However, plugging his name into the OPA database reveals:
Korean War Extract Data File, as of April 29, 2008 , 06/28/1950 – 03/10/1954
Korean War Extract Data File, as of April 29, 2008 , 06/28/1950 – 03/10/1954
ARC Identifier 2240988
File Unit from Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1921 – 2008
Creator(s): | Department of Defense. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Defense Human Resources Activity. Defense Manpower Data Center. (1997 – ) (Most Recent) Department of Defense. Washington Headquarters Services. Directorate for Information Operations and Reports. Statistical Information Analysis Division. (ca. 1997 – ) (Predecessor) |
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Type(s) of Archival Materials: | Data Files |
Contact(s): | Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division (NWME), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001. PHONE: 301-837-0470; FAX: 301-837-3681; EMAIL:cer@nara.gov. |
Coverage Dates: | 06/28/1950 – 03/10/1954 |
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Date Note: | Although the agency created this file starting in about 2001, it concerns records of military personnel who died as a result of the Korean War from 1950 through 1954. |
Part Of: | Series: Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files, compiled ca. 2001 – 04/29/2008, documenting the period 06/28/1950 – 05/28/2006 |
Access Restriction(s): | Unrestricted |
Use Restriction(s): | Unrestricted |
Online Resource: | Access to Archival Databases (AAD) system |
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Online Resource URL: | http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=2512&tf=F&cat=WR27&bc=,sl |
Online Resource Note: | This file can be searched online via the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) system. |
Variant Control Number(s): | Download Display Identifier: DDI XMIS Number: 099292 This is the agency electronic documentation file. XMIS Number: 099293 This is the data file. |
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