NARA Releases Access to Archival Databases System
On February 12, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) made available their "Access to Archival Databases (AAD) System" to the public via their website : http://www.archives.gov/aad/ . AAD provides researchers access to over 350 databases containing over fifty million historical electronic records created by more than twenty federal agencies. Researchers may search these records by first choosing from subject, geographic area, organization, time span, and creator. Drop down menus are available for each of these search options, to help the user quickly find the information needed. Once a specific database is selected and submitted, a general database page appears, showing the creator of the record, a brief description, and a link to a more detailed page. From this page users may search for information contained in the file. A small selection of the databases available are as follows with descriptions taken from the website: * Korean War File of American Prisoners of War , ca. 1950 - ca. 1953 * World War II Prisoners of War File , ca. 1942 - ca. 1947 * Index to the Gorgas Hospital Mortuary Death Records (Contains "records of 26,213 U.S. military soldiers and officers, employees of the Panama Canal Commission and its predecessors, and Canal Zone civilians processed through the Gorgas Hospital Mortuary between 1906 and 1991.") * Famine Irish Data File (Identifies "604,596 persons who emigrated from Ireland to the United States during the era of the Irish Potato Famine [1846-1851], and the ships on which they arrived.") * Civil War Events File, 4/12/1861 - 5/13/1865 "Of 10,500 armed conflicts in the military history of the Civil War, the file contains information on 384 conflicts that the Commission identified as the principal battles. Each record identifies the following information: state and county or counties of the historic site, the type of battle or event that occurred there, the theater of operations and the campaign to which the engagement relates, the dates of the battle or event, the current ownership of the site, and the assessment of three subject area experts of the military significance, physical integrity, historic preservation status, and interpretive potential of the site or event, and whether it should be a priority for protection of cultural property." Source of the above article: New England Historic Genealogical Society NEHGS eNews Vol. 5, No. 11 Whole #104 March 7, 2003 Edited by Lynn Betlock and Rod D. Moody enews@nehgs.org Thanks to :Lynn Betlock Back To MILITARY Main Back To BROOKLYN Main