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  • 24 Jun 2025 10:08 AM | Anonymous

    The following announcement was written by thw (U.S.) National Archives and Records Administration:

    America250 Film Screening

    Join the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, NY, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at 2 p.m. ET, for the first program in its America250 Film Series: a screening of the Academy Award-nominated film 1776. The film is a musical celebration of the founding of the United States based on the award-winning Broadway production.

    Register online for your free tickets to this in-person event.

    roosevelts statue

    The Art of the Abolitionist Movement

    On Wednesday, June 25 at 6 p.m. CT, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum will welcome Aston Gonzalez, Ph.D. to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, AR, for a conversation on his book, "Visualizing Equality: African American Rights and Visual Culture in the Nineteenth Century." The book details how daguerreotypes, lithographs, cartes de visite, and steam printing presses enabled artists to advocate for social reform, including the Abolitionist Movement.

    “Visualizing Equality" is one of two public programs being held in conjunction with the Arkansas Civic Education Institute, an annual week-long professional development opportunity for 4th-12th-grade teachers. These programs are the first in the Clinton Presidential Center Commemorates America250 series, which is dedicated to exploring the history of the United States

    Register here for your free tickets to this in-person event.

    abolitionist-june-25-eventbrite

    From the Stacks: Private Pagett

    Private Pagett was the Marine Corps bulldog mascot–his “fingerprints” are part of his Marine Corps Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). He was a gift from the Royal Marines of Great Britain, following the death of Sgt. Major Jiggs in 1927. Private Pagett enlisted on June 27, 1927, and represented the Marine Corps proudly until his death on May 5, 1928. 

    The National Archives at St. Louis also houses OMPFs for several other military mascots, including Marine Corps bulldogs Sergeant Major Jiggs I, Sergeant Major Jiggs II, Sergeant Major Jiggs III, Sergeant Jiggs IV, and Archibald Greenkins.

    privatepagett-ompf-photo

    A photograph of Private Pagett from his Official Military Personnel File. NAID: 405193918


  • 23 Jun 2025 8:03 AM | Anonymous

    During a bombing mission in late 1944, 21-year-old U.S. Army Air Forces Tech.Sgt. Clarence E. Gibbs of Charlotte, N.C., was aboard a B-17G “Flying Fortress” when the plane was hit by enemy fighters and the crew of nine bailed out. One was found dead near the crash site, five were captured and taken as German POW’s and three, including Gibbs, were unaccounted for.

    When no records of the three were found in the Department of Defense POW/Missing in Action Agency (DPAA) records, which searches for and recovers fallen personnel in Europe, the agency started looking at crash and burial sites in the area.

    Meanwhile, while family was doing their genealogy, Ann Gillespie, raised in Laurens as Elizabeth Ann Merck, submitted her DNA to Ancestry.com. She and her cousin, Cindy Sanders of Laurens, knew they had a great-uncle who died in World War II but had little information on his life. Gibbs was her grandmother’s brother. 

    “I got a call a few years after I did that and they told me they were researching it. I really didn’t think much of it. I didn’t think they’d find anything,” Gillespie said. “My grandmother and mom had always said he died in a plane crash over the Rhine. Thank God she didn’t know what really happened.”

    Gillespie said every few years she’d get a phone call or a letter telling her the latest status of their search. In March of 2025, she got a call that was stunning.DPAA had found and identified Gibbs’ remains. 

    “I was really surprised. We never thought they’d find him and we definitely didn’t know the whole story,” Gillespie said.

    Research indicated the three remaining unknown U.S. soldiers were captured by SS troops near Kamp-Bornhofen and DPAA started excavation of a burial site in the Kamp-Bornhofen Cemetery. It was there they found Gibbs’ remains. 

    “DPAA said he was likely killed by other prisoners for their possessions. We feel like the SS soldiers would have taken anything of value from them beforehand.Either way, it was December in Germany. They had coats, shoes and warm clothes. We believe they didn’t make it through the night and was then thrown in a hole with other prisoners who had died,” Gillespie said.

    Gibbs is coming home and Gillespie and Sanders, his oldest living relatives today, will see that he gets a proper military burial. At 11 a.m. July 26, Gibbs will be laid to rest at Pinelawn Memorial Garden in Clinton.

    The U.S. military sent Sanders the medals Gibbs would have received and Medals of America in Fountain Inn put a rush order on a custom shadow box to hold the medals. It will be displayed in the Hall of Heroes at the Laurens County Courthouse for 12 months before being returned to the family.

    Gillespie is just glad it all turned out the way it did. “It’s been 80 years. Cindy and I know the story but I don’t know if our children would have known about him. If I hadn’t done the DNA test, I don’t know that DPAA would have ever connected him to us,” Gillespie said. “It’s amazing that our government is still out there looking for them and they said they have found a lot of remains. Half the battle is finding the soldiers family so it’s important to submit DNA for them to connect.”

    This summer, Gibbs’ family can finally bury him and those who come to the cemetery on July 26 can show him the respect and honor he deserves. His name is on the Walls of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery, St. Avold, France, along with others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to show he has now been accounted for.
  • 23 Jun 2025 7:56 AM | Anonymous

    The following announcement was written by MyHeritage:

  • 22 Jun 2025 5:32 PM | Anonymous

    The Oregon Historical Society’s Digital Collections have released thousands of historic images taken by Silverton photographer June D. Drake. Drake ran a studio in Silverton, Oregon, in the early 1900s. Before retiring in 1960, he snapped tens of thousands of photos throughout Oregon and Washington. The photos preserve beautifully preserved time capsules of life in the early 1900s.They include studio portraits, community gatherings, church groups, farmers picking crops and just regular Oregonians going about their daily lives.

    Some of the most fascinating images might be those captured on panorama images taken with a Cirkut camera. The Oregon Historical Society’s blog says the Cirkut was unique because the shutter stayed open as the camera rotated on a tripod.

    The blog explains: “This is the first time that OHS staff has been able to digitally capture images like these: OHS’s Digital Collections Photographer Robert Warren carefully unwound the rolls of film to capture one segment at a time, between five and ten frames depending on the length and condition of the item.He then digitally stitched the frames together, which resulted in the images that you see online.” It is all that hard work that pays off when viewed closely.

    The close views show the individual faces posing for a large group photo. The June D. Drake Collection runs from 1900-1952. The collection includes nearly 3,000 original photographic prints and 3,800 original glass and acetate negatives, as well as some early images from other photographers.

    According to OHS, Drake helped establish Silver Falls State Park. For almost three decades, he photographed the falls while creating brochures and booklets promoting the area’s natural beauty. Those images brought state attention to the area and helped protect it from logging.

    Silver Falls became a state park in July of 1931. Because of his efforts, the park’s Drake Falls was named for him.

    In addition to his photography career, Drake was chief of the Silverton Fire Department, a member of the Silverton City Council and founder of the Silverton Historical Society.

    The Drake Collection and thousands of other digitized images held by OHS can be viewed on the Oregon Historical Society Digital Collections website.

    Lloyd Smith bought a box of historic glass plate negatives at a garage sale more than 30 years ago. The box contained hundreds of photos of rural life in Southern Oregon in the early 20th century. The collection offers a rare glimpse into Oregon’s rural communities. This treasure could have been lost, but Smith spent years carefully preserving and digitally scanning each image.
  • 22 Jun 2025 5:13 PM | Anonymous

    In one of its first major international sales, RTE has sold one of its original commissions from Big Mountain Productions – ‘Genealogy Roadshow’, hosted by Derek Mooney – to PBS in the US.

    A new version of the show, where a team of travelling experts piece together ordinary people’s family histories, will go on air in the US in September.

    The show, in which a team of travelling experts piece together ordinary people’s family histories, will go on air in the US in September.

    The company’s US agent Pat Quinn negotiated the deal with PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) in the US, making it the first international license for the format with a number of other territories also in negotiation.

    RTE Commissioning Editor Ray McCarthy said it was RTE’s strategy to support and facilitate Irish companies in developing and exporting ideas that have international potential.

    “It makes us particularly proud to have developed this format with Big Mountain,” he said. “It effectively blends historical detective stories with real emotional reaction from the participants, and has really struck a chord with our audience and we are confident it will do so in the US.”

    Big Mountain Executive Producer Philip McGovern was overjoyed by the news and said the show hit a nerve as everybody wants answers to questions about their own histories to help make sense of their lives today.

    Creator Jane Kelly said they had been developing shows with universal values to connect with audiences anywhere.

    “We’re delighted to be the first to break into the US with an Irish format,” she added.

    The format aired on RTE in summer 2011 and a second season is in production.

    The US version will be produced by Krasnow Productions (‘The Weakest Link’, ‘Average Joe’) and will focus on participants from Nashville, Austin, Detroit and San Francisco.

    Big Mountain Productions is run by husband-and-wife team Jane Kelly and Philip McGovern, former BBC/RTE executive producers whose credits include ‘The Tenements’, ‘Life in the Big House’, ‘Craftmaster’ and ‘Dúshlán – Living the Eviction’.
  • 21 Jun 2025 10:23 AM | Anonymous

    The Trump administration’s plan to slash budgets and staffing at the National Archives and Records Administration will hamper the agency’s ability to boost access to historical records and prepare for an expected surge in digital records, former Archives officials and experts said.

    President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget proposal requests $414.7 million for NARA, which is nearly $60 million less than projected 2025 funding and $93 million less than projected 2024 spending.

    The budget plan calls for 136 full-time employees at NARA, down from projected staffing levels next year. The agency’s budget justification says the cuts are “based on an organizational realignment to better align with program requirements and improve program efficiency and operational resilience.”

    Colleen Shogan, the former Archivist of the United States, believes NARA’s budget is too small. In February, President Donald Trump terminated Shogan without citing a reason. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently the acting archivist.
  • 20 Jun 2025 8:44 AM | Anonymous

    The following was written by The (U.K.) National Archives:

    Over 12 years ago, we launched this blog as a place where you can find out all the latest news and updates from The National Archives. In that time over 2,000 posts have been published by hundreds of our experts and collaborators. 

    But at over a decade old, the blog is starting to look a bit tired. It is not the easiest thing to find on our website, and its design and limited features aren’t allowing us to tell our stories in the best way possible.

    So with that, this will be the last post on this blog. Today we are launching our new Blogs at the National Archives, which you can find at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blogs. 


  • 20 Jun 2025 8:31 AM | Anonymous

    The Newberry Library, one of Chicago’s most venerable cultural institutions, honored Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonso Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University, with the Newberry Library Award for his outstanding achievement in the humanities. 

    Dr. Gates has been instrumental in research, documentation, and preserving the African American history and culture throughout his career. He is known for providing information on the quest for the history and genealogical research of African Americans, not only in the African continent but also in America, and beyond. He has been honored with dozens of awards, including the National Humanities Medal.

    “One of the Newberry’s strongest assets is its collections of genealogy and local history,” said Astrida Orle Tantillo, President and Librarian of the Newberry. “Henry Louis Gates has a deep understanding of how important these collections are to people researching their family’s past. It was an honor to celebrate his accomplishments in that area, as well as his talents as a historian, and the power of an institution like the Newberry and the possibility of transformation that comes from digging deep to find your roots.”

    Dr. Gates has written and edited dozens of books. His most recent work, The Black Box: Writing the Race (Penguin Press, 2024), is a discussion of the history of Black America through the work of Black authors. The book was listed as one of the “100 Best Books of the Year” by The New York Times Book Review. His most famous work, The Signifying Monkey, was an in-depth study on the concept of the black vernacular “signifying” in African American literature.

    Dr. Gates has been hosting the popular PBS show Finding Your Roots since 2012. The series has led to the making of several vital documentaries about African Americans in the United States, as well as Africans and people of African ancestry in South America.

    In addition to his endowed professorship, Dr. Gates is the director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard, where he has taught for more than three decades. He was previously on the faculty at Duke University, Cornell University, and Yale University. He was the chair of the Pulitzer Prize board at one point.

    Dr. Gates was born in West Virginia. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale University. He also earned a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in England.
  • 20 Jun 2025 8:08 AM | Anonymous

    Tulsa officials not only named a victim in their massacre investigation for the first time, but also put a face to the story thanks to DNA. 

    George Melvin Gillespie, who was buried in a simple wooden casket more than a century ago, now anchors a new push to find the truth and justice.  Officials also identified more massacre victims. 

    “We have five individuals at Oaklawn Cemetery that were victims of multiple gunshot wounds, and another that was a victim of one gunshot wound  What this tells us is that we’re in the right place, and we’re getting closer and closer to the truth,” Mayor Monroe Nichols said at yesterday’s press conference.

    More burials identified at Oaklawn in Massacre investigation.

    Research and DNA testing identified the remains marked Burial 180 as George Melvin Gillespie, a middle-aged Black man born in 1881. He was buried in a simple wooden casket and did not show any trauma to his body. Officials don’t know what killed him, but said he could still be a victim. 

    They know for certain that the first identified case didn’t show trauma, either “This is the first time we’ve been able to put a face to a name. This is groundbreaking, and we’re just so incredibly thankful for his family for their involvement in this work,” Nichols said.

    Records show Gillispie was last seen alive in December 1920 in Payne County, Oklahoma. His wife remarried in 1924 and said he was deceased. 

    His descendants in Oklahoma City have been notified of the discovery.

    The city is now working with Gillispie’s family to determine what to do with his remains. That could include a new reburial or memorialization.

    New massacre victim identified through records 

    Officials also confirmed James Goings [Goins, or Gowens] as a victim of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Officials have not yet identified his burial location, but archives of the Veterans Administration contain a letter written soon after the massacre. The letter says James Goings was killed during the massacre. A second letter from his sister in the 1930s verified the date of death as June 1, 1921.

    A 1921 letter identifies U.S. Army veteran James Goings as killed “in the recent disturbances”—a clear reference to the Tulsa Race Massacre.

    Two letters confirm U.S. Army veteran James Goings was killed in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, offering new evidence in the investigation.

    The city is asking anyone with ties to the Goings, Goins, or Gowens surnames to reach out to the city’s genealogy team. They are particularly seeking relatives with connections to Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee.

    Second Tulsa massacre victim identified through research 

    “These individuals were not just buried—they were discarded. “Yet every piece of evidence recovered brings us closer to the truth, to dignity, and to justice,” said Dr. Kary Stackelbeck. She is Oklahoma’s state archaeologist and is leading the city’s search for mass graves from the 1921 Tulsa Race

    Massacre.Stackelbeck is leading the archaeological team at Oak Lawn Cemetery.

    Researchers there are cataloging burials and supervising excavations. They are also working closely with forensic anthropologists to dig up and analyze remains believed to be massacre victims.

    Researchers and experts working with the city also confirmed four additional victims based on death certificates, Red Cross reports and probate records:

    • John White, who died from gunshot wounds on June 1, 1921 and was buried at Oaklawn Cemetery, according to a 1925 death certificate.

    • Ella Houston, also known as Ella Morris or Morrison, was listed in a Red Cross report as a massacre casualty. 

    Her death certificate cites septicemia from a miscarriage.

    • James Miller, also known as Joe or Joseph, was identified as a massacre victim in a 1921 probate record.  His birth name was James Askew.

  • 19 Jun 2025 1:26 PM | Anonymous

    The following is a press release written by the (U.S.) National Archives and Records Administration: 

    Happy Juneteenth!

    On June 19, 1865, U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, which informed the people of Texas that all slaves were now free. This day has come to be known as Juneteenth.

    In celebration of this historic advancement of human freedom, President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and General Order No. 3 will be on display at the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C. from Thursday, June 19, to Sunday, June 22, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET.

    juneteenth-gen-order3-banner-780-285

    General Order No. 3, June 19, 1865. NAID: 182778372

    Lesser-Known Stories of Early America

    On Monday, June 23, at 6 p.m. CT, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock, AR, will welcome Catherine Adams, Ph.D., for a conversation about her book, "Love of Freedom: Black Women in Colonial and Revolutionary New England.”

    This event is one of two public programs being held in conjunction with the Arkansas Civic Education Institute, an annual week-long professional development opportunity for 4th-12th grade teachers, and will be the first in the Clinton Presidential Center Commemorates America 250 series.


    To attend the event in-person, register online for your free tickets. The program will be available on the Clinton Presidential Center YouTube channel the following day.

    cpcp-lesserknownstories-email-header-moderator

    First Ladies Workshop

    Calling all Iowa teachers! Join the Hoover Presidential Foundation in West Branch, IA, on Monday, June 23 and Tuesday, June 24, for a free two-day Professional Development program, and receive license renewal credit for attending BOTH days. Bridget Nash, Hoover Presidential Library Education Specialist, and Elizabeth Amato, Teaching American History Scholar, will guide you on a deep dive into the lives and roles of the First Ladies. 

    This program will be conducted as a discussion, utilizing primary source documents as the only readings. Attendees are encouraged to read all the documents in advance and come ready with questions. Register online to attend Day 1, covering the position of First Lady, and Day 2, with a focus on Lou Henry Hoover.

    Lou Hoover-1

    “Ain’t No Daylight in Vietnam” Exhibit at LBJ Presidential Library

    NOW OPEN: “Ain’t No Daylight in Vietnam: March 1968” is on on display at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, TXoffering a nuanced perspective on the Vietnam war through the use of the accounts, letters, and photographs of service members, civilians, and medical personnel who lived through it.

    The exhibit will remain on display until Sunday, August 10, 2025. The LBJ Library is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT.

    Aint-No-Daylight-in-Vietnam-March-1968-banner

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