Back to MIT to hear about NARA’s plans for records access

Round table discussion at MIT Media Lab
Civic Media Lunch:  Providing Innovative Access to the Content in National Archives Records

I heard about this workshop through one of my husband’s MIT alumni networks, and then I heard again from Kate Theimer of the Archives Next blog on Twitter.  She wanted to know if anyone was going to the discussion, and I decided “Why not?”  Perhaps someone from the genealogical community should be there, listening in.  I love going back to the MIT campus, and the subject was right up my alley: “Providing Innovative Access to the Content in National Archives Records”

This lunchtime talk was open to the MIT community, and I may have been one of the few people there who was not a student, research fellow, MIT archivist or media lab employee.  It was not aimed at the end user (me, the genealogist) but at the developers and designers of the computer platforms and technology that drives our online experiences.  This discussion was a behind the scenes peek (for me) at the problems, hurdles and headaches of archiving 12 billion pieces of paper and electronic records, and making some of them safe for long term storage, and some of them also accessible to the public.

At this meeting were Michael Moore from the NARA facility in Waltham, MA, and his “boss”, Bill Mayer who is the head of Executive Research Services for all of NARA.  The main part of the presentation was by Pamela Wright, who used to be NARA’s Chief Digital Access Strategist (their social media guru), but is now the Chief Innovation Officer.  This department was formed in October 2012.

To read the blow by blow description of the meeting, you can read the blog by the students who were sitting right in front of me, liveblogging the seminar.  But here is what I took away from this meeting, as a genealogist and local historian…

The first item that I found to be great news was that there are Regional Residency  Fellowships available at the 6 NARA facilities around the USA.  See the website for details.  Wouldn't that be a wonderful way to fund some solid genealogy or local history projects?  This is a $3,000 stipend to assist with travel and research expenses for the completion of a research project which results in a publishable work.  You must work fast, the deadline for proposals is March 15, 2013.  The Boston/Waltham facility is one of the fellowship locations on the list.

Next, I found out that NARA’s website “Today’s Document” and the mobile apps for this were their first foray into social media in 2009.  This was the very first app I got for my iPhone three years ago, quickly followed by Twitter, Facebook and Ancestry (in that order). Pam learned that to make it successful she needed to have it on many platforms, including Tumblr.  David Ferreiro, the US Archivist at the head of NARA then asked Pam, “Where do you go when you go on line?”, and she knew that Google and Wikipedia were at the head of her list.  She hired a “Wikiepedian in residence” for NARA.  He was a Simmons Library School Graduate.  He put hundreds of thousands of NARA images online.   Their presence online grew tremendously after this.

Check the website for the Citizen Archivist dashboard.  This was designed to leverage the willingness and participation of the public (crowdsourcing) to help get useful information about documents online.   There are several places here to assist NARA with online scanned images of documents, including “You can Tag It”, to add tags to images and records partnered with Flickr and the online NARA catalog, and also “You can Transcribe It” to help transcribe documents at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.  No log in is necessary, so there is no barrier to participation.  They also plan some challenge competitions as they venture towards more public help.

These last two places for the public to get involved reminded me of the chance we all had to help transcribe and index the 1940 census.  If you enjoyed that experience, this would be very similar.

The end of the meeting dwelt on describing the data sets that would eventually be available and open to the public, including government email, taxes, military and other electronic documents.  There are sets of old data in unstructured form from platforms 30 to 40 years old that must be manipulated to new platforms.  Format obsolescence is the key word here.  After librarians dealt with paper documents in the same way for 6,000 years, now they have 60 years of bit stream to archive and keep relevant.  Pamela Wright explained that paper has preservation and access issues, but with electronic records access equals preservation.  (Data tends to stays up to date if that data is still available to users in a relevant way.)

Halfway through the meeting I remembered that Pamela Wright was the NARA person who sent me a now famous email about my trip to the Washington DC NARA facility in March 2011.  During my trip to DC I was denied access to see a copy of my ancestor’s Revolutionary War paper in person, and I was told I could only see it on microfilm.  I had already seen it online at Fold3, and was hoping that if I saw it in person I could discern if the signature was George Washington’s, or a facsimile or stamp. However, I now know it was a real George Washington signature, since the original had been removed for safekeeping away from the public.  She read my blog and sent me a color, high quality scan that certainly proved it was truly the president’s signature in pen.  You can read that blog story here.   At the end of the talk I introduced myself to Pamela and we had a good time reminiscing about that incident.  Small world indeed!

This is what greeted me as I got off the
elevator at the MIT Media Lab-
legos, foozeball and strange sculptures!

Please see the MIT blog for more details.  I understand that the meeting was videoed, but it is probably for MIT use only.  I asked Pam Wright if she or any other NARA staff would be present at RootsTech 2013 in Salt Lake City, and she did not know.

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For more information:

Archives Next blog by Kate Theimer http://www.archivesnext.com/

MIT Center for Civic Media http://civic.mit.edu/

MIT Center for Civic Media event calendar, “Innovative Access to National Archives” link: http://civic.mit.edu/event/innovative-access-to-national-archives

MIT Center for Civic Media blog “Bringing a Nation’s Archives Online” by Matt Stempeck, research assistant http://civic.mit.edu/blog/mstem/bringing-a-nations-archives-online

National Archives website   http://www.archives.gov/

2013 Regional Residency Fellowship: Request for Proposals  http://blogs.archives.gov/prologue/?p=11587

NARA Citizen Archivist Dashboard  http://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/

My NARA blog post from 2011 with the email from Pamela Wright http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-they-read-my-blog.html

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

1940 Census Sneak Peek for Genealogists

"The Census Enumerator"
Norman Rockwell, 1940

Does the date 2 April 2012 mean anything to you? It is the date the National Archives will release their digital version of the 1940 Federal Census. No microfilm, digital images! There won’t be an index, but you can expect that after the release date Ancestry.com and other commercial enterprises will begin transcription and indexing projects as soon as possible.

So, in April 2012 how will you find your ancestors on the images? What information will be available? What is new or different about the 1940 census? At the NERGC conference last weekend I went to a well attended lecture on the upcoming 1940 census by Jean Nudd, an archivist at the Pittsfield, Massachusetts regional NARA facility. She had piles of handouts, and a well written syllabus, and an audience on the edge of their seats!

These are the major changes I found on the 1940 census form. If you look at the forms and information on the NARA website, I’m sure you will find many other changes of interest…

1. The 1940 enumerators conducted a population schedule, agriculture schedule and a housing schedule (with questions about homes similar to the farm and business schedules you may have seen in earlier censuses). Although this schedule would be of great interest to genealogist because it asked questions about rentals, mortgages, home values, heating, etc, you will not see it. It was disposed of by NARA.

2. One of the questions asked was “where were you in 1935?” This is a great clue to migration trails, and a nice way to track your ancestor midway between two censuses!

3. Employment questions. Remember that this census was taken at the end of the Great Depression. In taking so much statistical information for government purposes, they also left a genealogical goldmine for us in 2012! I counted thirteen columns of questions about employment on the 1940 form, including wages, or income derived from non-wages, or persons doing “Emergency Work” such as the CCC or WPA projects.

4. It identifies the person furnishing the information to the enumerator! Now we know who to blame for information that doesn’t match vital records.

5. Each person enumerated listed their highest grade of school completed.

6. On each page of 40 people, two random people were chosen to answer a list of supplemental questions for statistical purposes. This meant that 5% of the population was surveyed. Cross your fingers that one or two of your family members were chosen! This survey asks about a dozen extra questions, including parent’s birthplace, veteran’s service, and the new national insurance plans including Social Security (new in 1940).

Since the census won’t be indexed for a while, you will have to browse towns or enumeration districts to find your ancestors. There are aids to identifying those districts by using street maps, see the link to Steve Morse’s website below. This only works if they were living in the same home in 1930 and 1940. Otherwise, you can use town or city directories or old 1940 phone books to identify your ancestor’s street address.

Don’t forget, if you absolutely, positively can’t wait until 2 April 2012, you can always pay $65 to NARA for a transcription of one person on one census. You must be the person named in the search, or legal heir (provide a death certificate) See this link for more information for an “Age Search Service” of the 1940 to 2000 census records http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/data/agesearch/index.html

There is a link to some great short films at the NARA website at http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/videos.html   These were public newsreels and training films for the 1940 enumerators. They will give you a good preview of some of the questions the enumerators had to ask, and the types of answers you will find listed on the 1940 census forms. They are curiously humorous as well as being educational! Some of these films are also on YouTube.

Important Links:

http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/    for information on the 1940 census click on “1940”

http://www.1940census.net/   an alternate website about the 1940 census release, they even have a Facebook group you can join for the latest news!

Blank 1940 population schedule forms (use these as worksheets) http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/images/schedule-l.jpg

http://stevemorse.org/census/ed2040.php?year=1940   Steve Morse’s website to help you find the enumeration district of your ancestors in 1940, if they still lived in the same house as they did in 1930.

http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/items1940.shtml   Lists the questions on the 1940 population schedule form

Other Genealogy Blog Posts about the 1940 Census:

Leah’s Family Tree (formerly Internet Genealogist) at   http://shbwgen.blogspot.com/2011/04/sngf-1940-census.html

Before My Time  http://krentz.blogspot.com/2011/02/getting-ready-for-1940-census.html

NARAtions, the official NARA blog  http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access/?p=377

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

The National Archives- They read my blog!?

National Archives
Washington, DC

For part 1, click here  "George Washington Signed Here?"
For part 2, click here   "National Archives - Good News/ Bad News"

Part 3 - -  I recieved this email:

"I work at the National Archives on social media and digitization efforts. As part of that work, your blog post of Wednesday, April 6, was brought to my attention: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-good-news-bad-news.html

Your description of your research experience at the National Archives was very informative and I was glad that Ms. Blanton helped by providing more information for your research.

I also appreciate your optimistic spirit, even though you didn't get a chance to look at the original document, due to its preservation in the vault.

We were able to get a high resolution, color copy of the document available via our Flickr stream, at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/5601107283/

We also plan to make this available in our online catalog in the near future, too. I hope this provides a bit more of the feeling for the original document and is of use to you.

I wish you all the best with your research and your blogging about it!
Sincerely,
Pam

Pamela Wright
Chief Digital Access Strategist
National Archives and Records Administration"



A much improved image!
Abner Poland, Jr.'s discharge paper
from the Revolutionary War


and so I sent this reply:

"Dear Ms. Wright,
Thanks so much for your email. Your photograph of Abner Polands' document is great! In color and with a higher resolution it is much easier to see what part of the paper was printed as a form, and what parts were filled in with ink. The signatures are easier to see, too, especially General Washington's signature!

I printed out a copy for my Mom, and she was thrilled. It will be a family heirloom! I will certainly use this in writing up our family history and the chapter on the Poland family will be much improved now that we know the story behind this document. Our adventure in Washington is a big part of that story.

I'm glad NARA has a social media department. I've recieved many comments and emails about my blog post, and family members will be thrilled now to see the photograph on my updated post next week.

Sincerely,
Heather Wilkinson Rojo"

The image above is the one provided by NARA and stored at Flickr.com at the link provided in the text of Pamela Wright's email to me.

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The National Archives- They read my blog!?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 11, 2011, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-they-read-my-blog.html: accessed [access date]). 

The National Archives - Good News/ Bad News

A page from the
Revolutionary War Pension File
of Abner Poland, Jr of Essex, Massachusetts

Last weekend we were in Washington DC, and at the top of my list of things to do in our capital city was to visit the National Archives.  If you read my blog story from last October, “Did George Washington Sign Here?”  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/amanuensis-monday-george-washington.html  you will know that I was questioning the authenticity of George Washington’s signature on a document found amongst some Revolutionary War Pension papers.   My 5x great grandfather, Abner Poland, Jr. of Essex, Massachusetts, had a pension application file that included a piece of paper with General Washington’s signature.  It’s hard to tell if it’s a rubber stamp, an engraved signature or the real thing, from an image on Footnote.com   so I was determined to see the real document someday.

I announced my desire to check out the document at the National Archives on a discussion board on Facebook for genealogists.  Several genealogists told me to “go for it!” and to drop by and see the “real thing”.   Not one experienced genealogist told me that the National Archives were not as accessible as I hoped.  When I emailed the National Archives directly, I was told that the Revolutionary War pensions were only available to view on microfilm.  These are the same images I had seen at the Waltham, Massachusetts regional NARA, and the same images I had seen on Footnote.com

Not quite believing this news, I emailed the authors of “NARAtions”, the blog by the staff at NARA http://blogs.archives.gov/online-public-access    John at NARA sent a very thorough explanation to my comment and he was also nice enough to privately email me.  It was the same explanation as I had previously received from NARA.  The Revolutionary War pensions were not available for viewing except on microfilm.  I was disappointed that a trip to Washington wouldn’t show me anything different than I could see at home!

Still not quite believing this, I made a printout of the one page from Abner Poland’s file that had George Washington’s signature.  This is the image you see above.  I carefully read the instructions on line concerning visits to NARA (all researchers must obtain a research card photo ID, no folders, notebooks, personal possessions etc. in the research room, etc. etc.) and prepared myself for our visit to Washington DC.

Hubby and I went through the security at the research entrance, which is not the tourist entrance that leads to the rotunda where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are displayed.  We signed in, obtained our photo ID research cards, read the power point presentation on regulations and rules, and we began to ask LOTS of questions.  We made it past several staff members, not to the research room but to the office labeled “Finding Aids”, and past several more layers of staff members until we were seated across a table from Archivist DeAnne Blanton.

I showed Ms. Blanton the photocopy of Abner’s document, and we had a very interesting discussion about Revolutionary War documents, and their value to the nation as some of our earliest records in the National Archives.  Usually, like I had been told via email and blog comments, these records are not available to the public except as microfilmed images, because of their fragile condition.  However, Ms. Blanton was also curious about the document since it was signed by George Washington, and a type of document she had never seen before.  After much back and forth, discussion and explanation, she said she would pull Abner Poland’s file for us.  However, she also warned us that most of the records had been searched for valuable documents with things like George Washington’s signature.  If an archivist had previously seen this signature, then the record would have been replaced by a photocopy and the original would be placed in “The Vault”.  Anything in this ominous sounding vault would be strictly unavailable to anyone.  We crossed our fingers and she went off to find the file.

Ms. Blanton came back empty handed and said to us “Good news/ bad news!”   The good news was that George’s signature was authentic.  It was not an engraved facsimile or filled in by an amanuensis.  The bad news was that since it was authentic, it was now “in the vault” and unavailable.  Ms. Blanton then gave us quite an interesting story about the document.  I had previously thought it was given to Abner  Poland, Jr. as a certificate to accompany his Badge of Merit, but it was actually his discharge papers.  He had given these papers with George Washington’s signature back to the government as part of his pension application.  Had Abner decided at that time to keep this particular paper as a souvenir it might have been lost.  But since it had been carefully preserved in Washington, DC, it had survived 200 years.

Good News/ Bad News- It was an authentic Washington signature, and thus a very valuable document.  We were still unable to see the paper because it had been removed for special storage, but we now had quite an interesting story and history to tell about Abner Poland, Jr., a farmer from Essex, Massachusetts who gave away his most valuable possession to earn a Revolutionary War pension.  It was not a lost morning at the National Archives.  Even though I did not see Abner’s document, I now know more about it than I had ever previously imagined.



This is carved into the wall
by the research entrance to NARA
Washington, DC

 Read this blog post by "Dear Myrtle" on all the details of researching at the National Archives, how to prepare, what to expect, and more at this link: http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2011/04/myrts-day-at-archives.html 

UPDATE! -  read a new blog post for some good news from NARA, who read this blog post and sent me an interesting email message on 8 April 2011.... http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-they-read-my-blog.html

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The National Archives - Good News/ Bad News", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 6, 2011, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-good-news-bad-news.html: accessed [access date]). 

Amanuensis Monday- George Washington Signed Here? A Mystery Document

My 5x great grandfather Abner Poland served in Revolutionary War, but so did his father, Abner Poland, Sr., and so the records have always been difficult to separate when I started to research the Poland family. He was born in 1761, and was only fifteen when the Battles of Lexington and Concord occurred in 1775. He enlisted not long after, on 15 January 1776 as a private in Captain Abraham Dodge’s Company in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He reenlisted in 1777 for another two years, and reenlisted again in 1780 serving a total of seven and half years until his honorable discharge at Newburgh, New York. He was in the battles at Hubbardston, Stillwater, Monmouth and Yorktown. Most interesting of all was that he received the Badge of Merit in 1785 from George Washington!

Although I knew Abner Poland had received this honor, and I had read about it in town histories and compiled genealogies, it was remarkable to find a copy of the honor amongst the paperwork for his pension application on http://www.footnote.com/.  I guess he had mentioned his honor in his application, and a copy of the award was placed into his file. There is also a handwritten document with the same information, without Washington’s signature.

By His Excellency
GEORGE WASHINGTON, Esq;
General and Commander in Chief of the Forces of the
United States of America.

THESE are to CERTIFY that the Bearer hereof
Abner Poland, Coporal
In the Eighth Massachusetts Regiment, having faithful-
ly served the United State Seven years and six Months
and having inlisted for the War only, is
hereby Discharged from the American Army.
GIVEN at HEAD-QUARTERS this
Thirteenth day of June 1783
Geo. Washington
By HIS EXCELLENCY
Command
I. Trumbull Lieut.

REGISTERED in the Book
of the Regiment
Francis Tufts, Adjutant,

THE above Corporal Poland
has been honored with the BADGE OF MERIT for seven years & six months
Years faithful Service
M. Jackson Colo.

[written diagonally across the paper]
Land warrant No. 4871 ???
To Joseph Foss ?? for
700 acres ?? Abner Poland
Nov. 2nd, 1795

The mystery is that the pension file is dated 1818, and his wife received widows benefits until her death in 1846- but George Washington died on 14 December 1799. Is this document a copy of an original paper signed in 1783 upon Abner’s discharge? Or is a document made in 1818 when he registered for a pension? If I travel to the National Archives in Washington DC will I see George Washington’s actual signature on the paper, or a copy made later?  Also, is the name on the bottom of the second document also George Washington's signature?

The Poland Lineage:

Generation 1. Thomas Poland, b. England, d. 22 Feb 1666 in Wenham, Massachusetts; married to Hannah (maiden name unknown)

Generation 2. John Poland, b. abt 1631 in England, d. 3 August 1713 in Hamilton, Massachusetts; married about 1657 to Bethiah Friend, daughter of John Friend, b. about 1637.

Generation 3. James Poland, b. about 1665 in Wenham, Massachusetts, d. 1722; married on 12 April 1694 in Wenham to Rebecca Kimball, daughter of Richard Kimball and Rebecca Abbye, b. 20 Oct 1668.

Generation 4. John Poland, b. about 1693 in Hamilton or Wenham, Massachusetts, d. 21 April 1777 in Hamilton, Massachusetts; married on 11 April 1777 in Hamilton, Massachusetts to Abigail Davis, daughter of James Davis and Abigail Metcalfe, d. 19 April 1776. I descend from two sons, Abner (below) and Daniel (1724-1768) who married Sarah Bishop.

Generation 5. Abner Poland, b. about 1736 in Essex, d. 9 February 1824 in Essex; married on 3 April 1761 to Dorothy Burnham, daughter of Caleb Burnham and Dorothy Browne, b. 11 August 1734 in Essex, d. 7 April 1789 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. This Abner, Sr., also enlisted in Capt. Abraham Dodge’s regiment, reenlisted and saw the battle of Burgoyne, Long Island, White Plains and Harlem Heights. He was also issued a pension. He was a prison at Forton Prison, England. Later he was the commander of several privateers listed in Salem.

Generation 6. Abner Poland, b. 17 May 1761 in Essex, d. 14 January 1835 Enfield, New Hampshire; married on 20 March 1783 in Essex to Sarah Burnham, daughter of Westley Burnham and Deborah Story, b. about 1759 in Essex, d. 10 November 1846 in Canaan New Hampshire. This is our Revolutionary War veteran who earned the Badge of Merit.

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Amanuensis Monday- George Washington Signed Here?  A Mystery Document", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 4, 2010, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/10/amanuensis-monday-george-washington.html: accessed [access date]). 

How to find your American Veteran Ancestors (A. Frank Hitchings)

Abijah Franklin Hitchings, Civil War, Co. I, 8th Reg. Mass. Vol. Inf.


Veterans Day 2009

The further your family tree goes back in time, the more chances you have of finding an ancestor, sibling, or distant cousin who served as a soldier or sailor. My first advice is to continue collecting oral histories, and asking all your older relatives about anyone they might have known who served in the military. Use those oral histories to build your family tree, and to investigate the possibilities of proving that those named relatives were veterans.

A great resource is www.ancestry.com for finding veterans. Almost every year Ancestry offers a free pass to their records on Veteran’s Day weekend. If not, your local library might have a free subscription to Ancestry. Use their search options to find your male ancestors, or, as in my case, I tried a wider search such as just the surname “Wilkinson” in “New Hampshire” to see what results came up. Often the results are just names in indexes, and you will need to take the name, military branch, service unit, and other details to the National Archives or other sources to find the actual information.

This was the case of my ancestor Abijah Franklin Hitchings. When I put his name into the Ancestry search, I found his name listed under the Civil War. He was listed in several fields, “Civil War Pension Index”, “Mass. Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War”, “History of the “Salem Light Infantry”, etc. When I clicked on his name under the pension index, all that came up was a scanned image of the index card held in the National Archives, listing his name, state, unit of service, and some application and certificate numbers. It was not very useful information to me at first, but when I wrote to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. they were able to send me a large folder which included all his service records, his pension records, his widow’s pension records, and his medical records. It was over 100 pages of information on him, his wife, children, birth date, and even named neighbors who witnessed his signature.

Abijah Franklin Hitchings served twice in the Civil War. First he served in “Company I” of the 8th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, called the “Minute Men.” This was the group of men who sailed to Annapolis and took the ship “Constitution” (Old Ironsides) safely to New York harbor, out of reach of the confederates. The second time he enlisted in “Company H” of the 19th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg. Apparently his leg injury was severe, but he wouldn’t let them “take” his leg. The ensuing injuries and illnesses from this injury plagued him for the rest of his life, and he left a long medical record and pension records.

About ten years ago we took a family vacation to Williamsburg, Virginia, and stopped by the Fredericksburg Battlefield to see where great, great grandfather Hitchings was injured. I made some specific inquiries at the ranger station of the National Battlefield office, and the young woman there broke into a big smile at my questions. She came out from behind the desk with a large book and a map, and after finding the name Hitchings and his regiment, she told us the whole story of the skirmishes at the Sunken Road, and the Salem, Massachusetts men involved in the battle. She told us where to look for the exact little mound of earth where the men hid from the gunfire, and how they escaped death. When we went out to the Sunken Road, we were able to find the exact spot where Abijah Franklin Hitchings was shot (more or less). We took photos and ran back to thank our National Park Ranger, and promised to send her a copy of the photo of A. F. Hitchings in uniform.

It pays to ask questions! And it pays to continue looking for information. After knowing that Abijah Franklin Hitchings was a veteran, I wrote to the superintendant of the cemetery where he was buried, and she was able to photocopy the 1910 obituaries for me from her files. It was easy to find his gravestone in the cemetery, (just look for the flags around Memorial Day!) As a civil war widow with a pension, his wife, Hannah Eliza Lewis, had her own pension records included in with the veteran’s records. Among these records on Hannah, was a letter written by my great grandfather, Arthur Treadwell Hitchings, asking for an increase in her pension to cover her care at Danvers State Asylum, where she died in 1921.

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Obituaries (filed by the Harmony Grove Cemetery)

May 20, 1910

A. F. HITCHINGS DIED LAST NIGHT

Was Deputy Collector of the Port of Beverly and Salem for Many Years

WAS AN ANITQUARIAN

A. Frank Hitchings, deputy collector of customs for the district of Salem and Beverly, died at his home, 8 Bentley Street, last night. He was born in Salem, was the son of the late Abijah and Eliza (Treadwell) Hitchings, and was in his 69th year. He was educated in the Salem public schools, and afterwards worked at shoe making. He was one of the original minute men, enlisting as a boy of 19 years, in the old Salem Zouaves. Company J, Eighth regiment, M.V.M., Capt. Arthur F. Devereaux, and serving until discharged August 1, 1861. He re-enlisted as a sergeant in Company H., 19th Massachusetts regiment, and was discharged July 25, 1863 on account of wounds received at the battle of Fredericksburg. He joined Post 34, G.A.R., May 17, 1869.

Nov. 19, 1873 Mr. Hitchings was appointed an inspector in the Salem Custom house and assigned to duty as clerk. June 3, 1881, he was promoted to deputy collector, succeeding Col. J. Frank Dalton, who resigned May 7, 1881, to become postmaster of Salem. Mr. Hitchings has held the position of deputy collector ever since. He was a fine penman, very careful and methodical in everything that he did, and was a valuable government official. In connection with Stephen W. Phillips he prepared for publication by the Essex Institute the official register of all Salem vessels of which any record could be found in the Salem Custom house, a work which is extremely valuable today. He was a member of the Essex Institute. He possessed a fund of valuable information of Salem's early history, gleaned from his long service in the custom house.

Mr. Hitchings leaves a widow, a son, a daughter, and grandchildren.

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Obituary from an unknown newspaper in Salem, Massachusetts
May 23, 1910

A. Frank Hitchings

The funeral of Deputy Collector of Customs A. Frank Hitchings was held at his late home, 8 Bentley Street, yesterday afternoon. Rev. Charles H. Puffer, D. D., and Rev. Alfred Manchester officiated, and there was a very large attendance, including comrades of Post 34, G.A.R., the old Salem Zouaves, Collector of Customs David M. Little, and past and present Custom house officials, and many prominent citizens. The G. A. R. service was conducted by Commander J. Frank Dalton, Chaplain William I. Arvedson, S.V.C. Eben S. Perkins, O.D.,John C. Grover, Adjutant Everett E. Austin and Patriotic Instructor Charles H. Frye of Post 34.

The honorary pallbearers were Hon. David M. Little, William J. Sullivan, Daniel F. Connolly and I.P. Hanscomb of the Custom house force, and the active bearers were Capt. John R. Lakeman, Charles P. Luscomb, Joseph A. Perkins, and Henry Symonds of the Salem Zouaves and all members of Post 34. The floral tributes were profuse and beautiful. Burial was at Harmony Grove cemetery.

Mr. Hitchings was born in Salem, the son of Abijah and Eliza (Treadwell) Hitchings, and was in his 69th year. He was educated in the Salem public schools, graduating from the High school. He afterwards learned the sailmaker's trade, and was an apprentice when the Civil war broke out, when he enlisted as private in the old Salem Zouaves, Company J., Eighth Massachusetts regiment, Capt. Charles U. Devereaux, and Col. Edward H. Hincks, October 25, 1861, and served until discharged on account of disability from wounds July 25, 1863.

Passed through all the trials and hardships of the Fighting 19th, he took part in all the battles of the Peninsula campaign, some of them particularly severe, notably Antietam and Fredricksburg. Wounded on the third day of the battle Fredricksburg by a gun shot in the left leg, he was carried to a church in Fredricksburg where the bullet was extracted, and from there to the hospital camp across the river, and soon after to the Finley hospital in Washington. He remained six weeks, and then came home on a 60-day furlough, dated Jan. 23, 1863.

Mr. Hitchings was never able to return to his regiment, and was discharged, as before stated. He went to the Massachusetts General hospital the following December, and a portion of the bone was removed from his leg. He came home to Salem, Jan. 18, 1864, and for a long time was obliged to go on crutches. Obtaining employment in the United States navy yard, Boston, he continued to work there until he received the appointment of inspector of customs for the district of Salem and Beverly, Nov. 19, 1873, he being detailed for clerk duty June 3, 1881, he was promoted to deputy collector, succeeding Col. J. Frank Dalton, who was appointed postmaster of Salem, May 7, 1881. Mr. Hitchings held the latter position up to the time of his death.

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Family Tree Information:

Gen. 1. Daniel Hitchings, born about 1597 in England, son of Gyles Hitchins and Mary Trotman. He was the first Hitchings in New England.

Gen. 2. Daniel Hitchings, born 1632 in England, died 15 April 1731 in Lynn, Massachusetts; married 10 September 1694 in Lynn to Eleanor Unknown. Daniel held land at Rumney Marsh on the Saugus River at the west end of Iron Works Pond, bought from the Indians James Quonopihik and David Kunkshamooshaw.

Gen. 3. Daniel Hitchings, born about 1660 in Lynn, died 15 January 1734/5 in Lynn; married 19 October 1708 in Lynn to Susannah Townsend, daughter of Thomas Townsend and Mary Davis, born 5 November 1672 in Boston, died 12 May 1737 in Lynn.

Gen. 4. Daniel Hitchings, born 19 Oct 1709 in Lynn, died 25 April 1760 in Lynn; married June 1735 in Lynn to Hannah Ingalls, daughter of Nathaniel Ingalls and Anne Collins, born about 1713, died after 1797.

Gen. 5. Abijah Hitchings, born 18 January 1752/3 in Lynn, died 27 March 1826 in Salem; married 24 June 1775 in Lynn, daughter of Benjamin Gardner, died 23 May 1807 in Salem.

Gen. 6. Abijah Hitchings, born about 1775; married 21 December 1795 in Salem to Mary Cloutman, daughter of Joseph Cloutman and Hannah Becket, died 28 November 1853 in Salem.

Gen. 7 . Abijah Hitchings, born 18 January 1809, Salem, died 18 January 1864 in Salem; married 4 December 1836 in Salem to Eliza Ann Treadwell, daughter of Jabez Treadwell and Betsey Jillings Homan, born 27 August 1812 in Salem, died 31 January 1896 in Salem.

Gen. 8. Abijah Franklin Hitchings, born 28 October 1841 in Salem died 19 May 1910 in Salem; married 22 September 1864 to Hannah Eliza Lewis, daughter of Captain Thomas Russell Lewis and Hannah Phillips, born about 1844 in Salem, died 15 February 1921 at Danvers State Hospital. Civil War Veteran.

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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "How to find your American Veteran Ancestors (A. Frank Hitchings)", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 10, 2009, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-find-your-american-veteran.htm: accessed [access date]).