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01/20/2010  |  Audrey Hinton, Silver Spring, MD  |  Researcher

When I was growing up, my father told me what his father had told him and his sisters, i.e., that my last name really wasn't Hinton. He told me, "Your real name is Garrett." In interviews with my senior cousins, I learned that their parents told them that the name Garrett had been in the family at some point in time, but they didn't know when or why. None of this made any sense to us. It was a mystery and remained a mystery until January 1999 when I was at the National Archives, tracing my roots.

11/16/2009  |  David, Baltimore, Maryland  |  Employee

As an Archives Technician with the Still Pictures unit since May of 2009, I've spent a lot of time searching for photographs of people. Each month Still Pictures receives dozens of requests for photographs of veterans, usually from family members searching for pictures of their loved ones in uniform. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these requests are not answered successfully. In most cases, we simply do not have any images of the requested individuals. In some cases, we may have images but no expedient way to locate them. If the individual's name is not indexed (included in the photograph's caption), it is highly unlikely that we will find their picture.

10/16/2009  |  Tracy, Mechanicsville, Virginia  |  Museum Visitor

I can not thank you enough! My daughter and I were in awe by being able to see such important documents today, October 11, 2009. The 3 main documents on display: The Bill of Rights, The Declaration of Independence, and The Constitution have not only made our country the wonderful U.S.A, but has also given my third grade daughter something other than pop stars, and television shows to be excited about. I had no idea what history meant to her, until today when I saw her eyes light up and her amazement shine! Thank you for preserving what is left of the documents so that she will be able to experience the same reaction with her children one day. We left the Rotunda and she headed straight for the gift shop -- she now has her own copies of the documents and can't wait to share them with her friends! WOW... I love the excitement it has brought to the both of us. THANK YOU! We will be back. It was a wonderful visit that will never be forgotten by either one of us.

08/13/2009  |  Carol, Washington, DC  |  Volunteer

The factors that have kept me coming back as a volunteer for five years to work on various Civil War Conservation Corps projects are these: interesting work where it is clear that our group's contributions matter very much to historians and genealogists; actually getting to read documents relating to the Civil War that may not have been touched in 150 years; and then the opportunity to share the most interesting with my colleagues by reading them aloud. Working with other volunteers who also think this work is interesting and fun makes them people worth knowing.

08/13/2009  |  Maria, Washington, DC  |  Volunteer

At NARA, a volunteer is treated as a true contributor, not just as a number. I decided to join the Civil War Conservation Corps so I can learn more about the Civil War soldiers themselves -- get the story behind the dates and facts of the battles. I get very involved in the lives of the people I read about in the pension case files.

08/13/2009  |  Pat, Washington, DC  |  Volunteer

I volunteer at NARA for the work itself and for the people I work with; they're both topnotch. I truly love history, and working on the Civil War widows' pension digitization project is fascinating because we're really working on our own families. I haven't found mine in the documents yet, but I figure someone will be there eventually.

08/13/2009  |  Sue, Washington, DC  |  Volunteer

I was a genealogy researcher at NARA, and decided to become a volunteer as a way to "payback" for all the treasures I had found here.

08/13/2009  |  Tom Putnam, Boston, MA  |  Employee

I concluded the last JFK Library staff meeting this spring with one of my favorite quotes from Tracy Kidder that ends with the line "there is an innocence that conspires to hold humanity together and it is made of people who can never truly know the good that they have done."

A blog entry was recently forwarded to me describes one of those quiet behind-the-scenes moments that occurred a couple of years ago here allowing us a glimpse of the good that some of our colleagues have done. If interested please read on:

08/05/2009  |  Kris, Des Plaines, Illinois  |  Researcher

My first visit to the National Archives was in 2004 in Washington DC. I had started working on genealogy barely a year before that. I found one of my husband's great-great-grandfathers soon after starting my research and after finding his obituary, we learned he had served in the Civil War.

07/22/2009  |  John, Washington, DC  |  Employee

When I worked as an archivist at the Nixon Presidential Materials Project, I remember receiving a reference request through the mail from a gentleman asking for a copy of the famous photo of Elvis meeting with President Nixon in the Oval Office. This famous photograph and meeting took place in 1970 and, at the time, was a closely guarded secret. The "King" had come to meet the President to talk about illegal drugs and wanted to offer to help the President as an "undercover agent" and receive a special federal badge (which he later received). Elvis's letter to the President, the White House staff comments about the meeting, the gifts (a handgun and an autographed photo of his family) her gave the President, and the photos documenting the meeting are housed at the Nixon Presidential Library. In his letter, this researcher went on to say that he LOVED President Nixon and felt he was a great American but HATED Elvis. His wife on the otherhand, HATED President Nixon and thought he was a criminal but LOVED Elvis. His marriage was falling apart. He was desperate to try and save his marriage. He asked if it would be possible to get a copy of the Nixon/Elvis photo from their meeting inthe Oval Office. He thought he could give the photo to his wife as a gift and this would be a way for the two of them to begin reconciliation and hopefully, save their marriage.We sent him the photo - you never know how archival records can influence people's lives. This was certainly the most unique reference request I have ever received!