[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] EWZ records

[Nancy Gertner]

When my spouse went to Maryland for training a few months ago, I tagged 
along and spent a WEEK at archives and Archives II.

I looked at EWZ and census and ship records and land records.  I also 
recommend checking out the NARA website, as they have some interesting 
classes and speakers, and advance registration is sometimes required.

If your family homesteaded land, you can look at the files at the 
downtown archives.  I recommend looking up the file numbers online 
before you go via the Bureau of Land Management records.  These paper 
records contain more data than what can be found online, like the 
number of animals that the family had, and the crops they raised, and 
the buildings they built, and their household goods too, like the 
number of beds they had.  I also looked at the land records for the 
neighboring families in the township.  Because witnesses were required 
to vouch for the homesteader living on their land as required, these 
records give interesting insight into the relationships between the 
neighbors.  The land records need to be ordered for viewing with a 
particular form, and can be photocopied with permission of the staff.  
Credit cards can be used to purchase a 'copy credit' card so you can 
make copies "til the cows come home!"  Remembering to check alternative 
surname spellings is good to keep in mind when looking for the file 
numbers of these land files.  Because census and immigration (ship 
arrival) records can be obtained from other sources like the LDS 
microfilms, I recommend concentrating on collections that are unique to 
National Archives, like EWZ and land records.

National Archives II at College Park, MD also houses the national 
collection of photos (still and motion picture), so you can look at the 
inventory index and decide if there's anything you want to look at.  
The still photos are delivered to the viewing room and you wear white 
cotton gloves to handle.  Picture maker machines are available for 
items that may be copied, with staff permission.

Happy hunting!

Nancy

On Apr 15, 2005, at 3:52 PM, Karl Krueger wrote:
>
> If your ancestors immigrated to the US then you could probably find 
> their immigration records at the original National Archives building 
> down by the Mall. There are shuttles that run between the two 
> buildings so you could actually plan to spend a whole day between the 
> two sites. Park at College Park (it's free and easier to drive to).
>>
>> --- JJNLT at aol.com wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>> I am going to be in the Washington DC area for
>>> the rest of April and was
>>> wondering if there was any advantage to looking at
>>> the EWZ records while here.
>>>
>>> And would anyone have any other suggestions that
>>> might be a profitable
>>> area for research on my German Volhynian (Zhitomir)
>>> ancestors while in DC?
>>>
>>> Thank You! Researching WENTLAND & DAMER
>>>
>>> Blessings,
>>> Joanne
>