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Record Groups 4 - 49

This information from the Archival Holdings Guide comprises Record Groups 4 through 49. (Go to the Numerical List of Record Groups)

Record Group 4
Records of the U.S. Food Administration

Administrative History
The U.S. Food Administration was created by an Executive order of August 10, 1917, to assure the supply, distribution, and conservation of food during World War I; facilitate the movement of foods and prevent monopolies and hoarding; and maintain governmental control over foods chiefly by means of voluntary agreements and a licensing system. Federal food administrators were appointed for each State to implement the Administration's programs. After November 11, 1918, the Administration was gradually dismantled and its rules and regulations revoked. An Executive order of August 21, 1920, terminated all branches of the Food Administration still in existence, and the majority of its records were placed in the custody of the U.S. Grain Corporation.

Records Description
Dates: 1917-1919
Volume: 252 cubic feet
Records of regional offices in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, specifically the auditor or accounting division for all States; and the Investigation and Enforcement Division, State and county administrators, and the Sugar Division for some States. For the most part, the records concern complaints against individuals, local merchants, and restaurants for violations of rationing and other regulations, and document public attitudes toward U.S. participation in World War I and Governmental control. The records include correspondence, press releases, and reports.

Finding Aids
For Michigan and Illinois: folder title lists.

Almon P. Wright, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States Food Administration, 1917-1920, pt. 1, The Headquarters Organization, PI 3 (1943).

Handbook of Federal World War Agencies and Their Records, 1917-1921(1943).

Record Group 5
Records of the U.S. Grain Corporation

Administrative History
The Grain Corporation, an agency of the U.S. Food Administration, was created on August 14, 1917. On July 1, 1919, the Corporation was reorganized as the U.S. Grain Corporation, which continued the functions and organizational structure of its predecessor. The central office of both agencies was located in New York City, with zone offices throughout the country, and by 1919, in Europe. The main functions of the Corporations were to regulate the grain trade by purchasing, storing, and selling grain and grain products and, in cooperation with the War Trade Board, to control grain imports and exports. They played a significant role in the administration of American food relief for Europe after World War I. At various times between 1918 and 1922, the Corporation served as the fiscal and/or purchasing agent for the Commission for Relief in Belgium, the American Relief Administration, and the Purchasing Commission for Russian Relief. The U.S. Grain Corporation had been in the process of liquidation for several years when it was abolished by an Executive order of December 31, 1927.

The Corporation assigned a vice president to each of the 14 grain zones, which were located in important grain terminal and seaboard markets.

Records Description
Dates: 1919-1920
Volume: 1 cubic foot
Records of the Office of the Second Vice President, and the Inspection Department, Minneapolis. The records relate to advertisements for the sale of flour, adjustments on bushels of wheat and rye, and disputes with mills and grain elevator operators over storage facilities and the Corporation's grading of grains. Included are dispute files, memorandums, and newspaper clippings.

Finding Aids

Record Group 9
Records of the National Recovery Administration

Administrative History
The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was created by an Executive order of June 16, 1933, to rehabilitate industry and trade in the United States, expand employment, and improve labor conditions. The NRA drafted codes of fair competition to govern industries and trades.

The Administration created district recovery and local compliance boards. In January 1934, a system of State compliance offices reporting directly to the Compliance Division in Washington, DC, superseded the district offices. Many of the State offices set up branches with a resident field adjuster in charge. A regional office system was established on December 28, 1934, by authority of Field Letter #190.

The 1935 Supreme Court decision in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. U.S. declared many provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional. After this decision NRA activities were confined to promoting industrial cooperation and preparing a series of economic studies. On January 1, 1936, the NRA was terminated, with most of its divisions transferred to the Department of Commerce for liquidation by April 1, 1936. The field offices were terminated on January 31, 1936.

Records Description
Dates: 1934-1936
Volume: 49 cubic feet
Records of the Region 5 (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia) office in Cleveland and the Region 6 (Illinois, Indiana, office in Chicago. The relate to most aspects of the regional offices' functions including personnel administration. Included are sampled case files, correspondence, forms index cards, memorandums, reports, and subject files.

Finding Aids
Entries 37 through 41, 536 through 540, 542 through 546, 549 through 552, and 554 in Leo Pascal, Meyer H. Fishbein and Homer L. Calkin, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the National Recovery Administration, PI 44 (1952).

Record Group 12
Records of the Office of Education

Administrative History
A department of education, headed by a commissioner, was established by an act of March 2, 1867. It was abolished as an independent agency on July 20, 1868, and reestablished as the Office of Education in the Department of the Interior. The original statutory function of both the Department and the Office was to collect and disseminate information on education in the United States and abroad and to promote better education throughout the country. Subsequent legislation and Executive orders have added functions, including responsibility for Federal financial assistance to education and special studies and programs. In 1939, the Office of Education was transferred to the Federal Security Agency, which became the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953. The Office was abolished in 1980 and its functions transferred to the Department of Education.

Records Description
Dates: 1977
Volume: 5 cubic feet
Records of the Higher Education Facilities, Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin), Chicago. The records document loans to the following academic institutions for the construction of educational facilities:

  • Anderson College, Anderson, Indiana
  • College of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota
  • Lewis College, Lockport, Illinois
  • Purdue University, Westville, Indiana
  • Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin
  • St. Norbert College, De Pere, Wisconsin

Included are contract orders, correspondence, reports, and studies. Nontextual records include architectural drawings.

Finding Aid
Box contents list.

Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted because of privacy concerns.

Attention!
All or part of these records are stored offsite. Please contact the archives in advance before coming to view these records.

Record Group 13
Records of the National Mediation Board

Administrative History
The National Mediation Board was created by the amended Railway Labor Act of June 21, 1934, to mediate railroad labor disputes. This function evolved from an act of October 1, 1888, that authorized the President to establish temporary commissions to investigate and report on railroad labor controversies, and provided for voluntary arbitration of disputes between carriers engaged in interstate commerce and their employees. The 1934 act also provided for a National Railroad Adjustment Board to operate semi-independently of the National Mediation Board in adjudicating grievances and disputes related to the interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements. From 1920 to 1934, secondary adjustment boards, permitted by law but formed by agreements between single carriers or groups of carriers and their employees, were created to handle minor grievances.

Records Description
Dates: 1920-68
Volume: 83 cubic feet

Records of the eastern, southeastern, and western regions of the Train Service Boards of Adjustment, 1920-34, and of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions of the National Railroad Admustment Board (NRAB), Chicago, 1934-68. The records document grievance cases (many involving injury, wages, and seniority) brought before the board by railroad employees including an account of the complaint, the carrier's statement or brief, pertinent excerpts from the agreement, the finding, and the award. The records also relate to summaries of activities of the national board and NRAB, and tables of collective bargaining agreements. The records are annual reports, board minutes, and docket sheets. Nontextual records include blueprints, and photographs. See RG 21 and RG 276 for related records.

Finding Aids
Box contents list.

Draft inventory.
Mary Jane Dowd, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the National Mediation Board, PI 179 (1975).

See also The Modern Civil Rights Movement: Federal Records in NARA's Great Lakes Region

Record Group 15
Records of the Veterans Administration

Administrative History
The Veterans Administration (VA) was the result of policies and programs that date back to the American Revolution. In 1789, the First Congress enacted legislation to continue paying pensions provided in acts of the Continental Congress. An act of August 9, 1921, created the Veterans' Bureau which became part of the Veterans Administration established by an Executive order of July 21, 1930. The VA became the Department of Veterans Affairs effective March 15, 1989.

In the field, the VA and its predecessors have operated a network of facilities intended to aid veterans, including hospitals and rehabilitation centers, as well as national homes for veterans. One of the predecessors of the VA, the Federal Board for Vocational Education, divided the country into 14 districts in 1918. These districts were combined with relevant Public Health Service offices in 1921 to form the district offices of the Veterans' Bureau. These were succeeded by 54 regional offices of the Bureau in 1924 and 1925.

Records Description
Dates: 1867-1935
Volume: 39 cubic feet Records of the following districts:

  • District 7 (Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio) with the District office in Cincinnati
  • District 8 (Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin) with the District office in Chicago
  • District 10 (Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota) with the District office in Minneapolis; and regional offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Minneapolis

The records document the work of field and placement supervisors, and vocational officers, and the supervision of rehabilitation activities including reduction in training loads. They are correspondence, reports, and statistical data.

Records of the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers and the following branches of the National Home Service:

The records relate to patients, their admission to the institutions, and the value of personal belongings of patients who died. Included are sampled case files, registers, and reports.

Finding Aids
For regional office files: folder title list.
Entries 16, 17, and 47 in Evangeline W. Thurber, Preliminary Checklist of the General Administration Files of the Rehabilitation Division . . . , PC15 (1944).
Entries 24 through 27, 30 through 33, 41 through 44, and 53 through 55 in Evelyn Wade, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers and the National Homes Service of the Veterans Administration, 1866-1937, NM 29 (1964).

Related Microfilm Publications
M123, Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1890;
M313, Index to War of 1812 Pension Application Files, ;
M804, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files;
M805, Selected Records From Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, rolls 49 and 83 only;
M1749, Historical Registers of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938, rolls pertaining to Danville, Illinois; Dayton, Ohio; Marion, Indiana; Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
M1784, Index to Pension Application Files of Remarried Widows Based on Service in the War of 1812, Indian Wars, Mexican War, and Regular Army Before 1861;
M1785, Index to Pension Application Files of Remarried Widows Based on Service in the Civil War and Later Wars and in the Regular Army After the Civil War;
M1786, Record of Invalid Pension Payments to Veterans of the Revolutionary War and the Regular Army and Navy, March 1801-September 1815;
M2079, Final Revolutionary War Pension Payment Vouchers for Delaware;
T288, General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934;
T289, Organizational Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served between 1861 and 1900, selected rolls;
T316, Old War Index to Pension Files, 1815-1926;
T317, Index to Mexican War Pension Files, 1887-1926.
T318, Index to Indian War Pension Files, 1892-1926.

Record Group 18
Records of the Army Air Force

Administrative History
The Army Air Forces (AAF) originated August 1, 1907, as the Aeronautical Division in the Office of the Chief Signal Officer. After various reorganizations and name changes, the Army Air Forces was established on March 9, 1942, under the Secretary of War and the War Department General Staff. It served as the primary land-based air arm of the American armed forces until it was detached from the Army and became the U.S. Air Force in 1947.

Until the onset of World War II, most field installations of the Army Air Forces and its predecessors, such as airfields, schools, and administrative agencies, were located within the borders of the United States and its territories.

Records Description
Dates: 1917-1939
Volume: 118 cubic feet
Records of the Bureau of Aircraft Production, Production Division, Detroit District Office; military aeronautics and mechanics schools; examining boards; depots; and field installations. The records relate to operation of air fields depots, aviation examining boards, personnel, and training. Among the airfields represented are:

  • Chanute Field, Rantoul, Illinois
  • McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio
  • Patterson Field, Fairfield, Ohio
  • Scott Field, Belleville, Illinois
  • Selfridge Field, Mt. Clemens, Michigan
  • Wilbur Wright Field, Fairfield, Ohio
  • Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio

The military aeronautics schools represented are the University of Illinois, Urbana, and the Ohio State University, Columbus. The records include correspondence, diaries, duty rosters, memorandums, orders, and reports.

Finding Aids
For School of Military Aeronautics, Ohio State University, General Correspondence, 1917-1918: folder title list.
Entries 37, 38, 373 through 379, 481, 482, 525 through 527, 567 through 578, 589 through 598, 641 through 646, 651 through 657, 668 through 681, 703, 704, 729 through 737, 743, and 748 in Maizie H. Johnson, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Textual Records of the Army Air Forces, NM 53 (1965).
Sarah D. Powell and Maizie H. Johnson, comps., Supplement to Preliminary Inventory No. NM-53, Textual Records of the Army Air Force, NM 90 (1967).

Record Group 21
Records of the District Courts of the United States

Administrative History
U.S. district and circuit courts were created by the Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789. The jurisdiction and powers of these Federal courts have varied with subsequent legislation, but district courts generally have had original jurisdiction in admiralty and bankruptcy cases, suits for penalties or seizures under Federal laws, noncapital criminal proceedings, and suits exceeding $100 in value in which the United States was the plaintiff. The circuit courts heard appeals from the district courts and had original jurisdiction over actions involving aliens or citizens of different States and law and equity suits where the matter in dispute exceeded $500. In 1891, the appellate jurisdiction of the circuit courts was transferred to the newly created circuit courts of appeals (see RG 276). The Judiciary Act of 1911 abolished the circuit courts and provided for the transfer of their records and remaining jurisdiction to the district courts.

Most States initially had one district and one circuit court with additional districts created as the business of the courts increased. Many of the districts were divided into divisions with the court holding session in various cities within the district. In 1812, circuit courts were authorized to appoint U.S. commissioners to assist in taking of bail and affidavits. The Commissioners' functions were expanded by subsequent legislation and court rules, and their powers have included authority to issue arrest warrants, examine persons charged with offenses against Federal laws, initiate actions in admiralty matters, and institute proceedings for violation of civil rights legislation.

Territorial district courts generally were established by the organic act that created the territory and had jurisdiction over Federal civil, criminal, and bankruptcy actions as well as civil and criminal jurisdiction similar to that of State courts. Records created by a territorial court acting in its capacity as a Federal court often became the property of the Federal district court upon statehood.

Records Description
Dates: 1803-1999
Volume: 50,155 cubic feet
Records of the following courts:

The records document Federal district courts, which have jurisdiction over bankruptcy, civil (law, equity, and admiralty), and criminal cases; and naturalization. Among general topics covered are biography, civil rights, commerce and corporate history, demographics, genealogy, immigration and ethnic groups, the impact of Federal regulatory programs, judicial administration, labor relations and union activity, maritime history, State and local political activity. Among specific topics covered are anti-trust and land disputes; bankruptcies; collection of debts, enforcement of contracts, claims for damages; counterfeiting, smuggling, or violations of customs regulations; European immigration and the exclusion and deportation of Chinese; evasion of import duties; the illegal sale or manufacturing of alcoholic beverages; infringement of patent or copyright; interstate transfer of stolen property; labor disputes, maritime affairs; prize condemnations; rescue cases that involved enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Laws of 1793 and 1850; theft, assault, or murder on Federal property; wartime price controls; violations of Federal election laws and civil rights legislation; international agreements such as the Migratory Bird Act; and Selective Service regulations.

The records are primarily case files -papers in a specific case filed by attorneys or issued by the court such as affidavits, complaints, depositions, indictments, judgments or final decrees, motions, petitions, subpoenas, and writs. Bankruptcy case files also contain petitions of creditors and schedules of assets and liabilities. (Case files are arranged numerically by the docket number assigned when the case was filed. Documentary exhibits submitted as part of court proceedings are sometimes included but more usually were returned to the parties involved. Transcripts are seldom part of the file.)

There are also docket books -- a summary of proceedings in each case, including a brief abstract of motions and orders, the fees collected, and the disposition of the case; minute books or journals -- a daily chronological record of court proceedings often including information about financial accounts and the collection of fees, lists of jury members, names of attorneys admitted to practice, text of orders appointing court officials, and sometimes the text of orders of the court; naturalization papers -- declarations of intention, petitions for naturalization, depositions, and stubs from certificates of naturalization; order or judgment books --the text of each document and the amount of any monetary judgment; record of proceedings (U.S. Commissioners) -- a printed form that gives the name of the defendant, nature of the charge, a summary of actions taken, and the disposition of the case. See RG 118, RG 276, RG 527, and "Donated Materials Groups" for related records.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory for each district.
For records of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (Chicago), Naturalization Records, Designations of Examiners, 1918-1935, and Naturalization Case Files, 1928-1978: folder title list.
For records of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division (Detroit), Bankruptcy Records--Act of 1841, Bankruptcy Case Files, 1842-1843: index.
For records of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Division, Bankruptcy Records--Act of 1867, Voluntary Bankruptcy Case Files, 1867-1878: index.
For records of the Territorial Courts, Territory of Wisconsin, Bankruptcy Records--Act of 1841, Bankruptcy Case Files, 1842-1843: index.

M162, The Revolutionary War Prize Cases: Records of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture, 1776-1787;
M214, Appellate Case Files of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1792-1831;
M215, Minutes of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1790-1950;
M216, Dockets of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1791-1950;
M217, Attorney Rolls of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1790-1951;
M408, Index to Appellate Case Files of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1792-1909;
M1111, Records of the Territorial Court of Michigan, 1815-1836;
M1285, Soundex Index to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District and Circuit Courts, Northern District of Illinois, and Immigration and Naturalization Service District 9, 1840-1950;
M1530, Lincoln at the Bar: Selected Case Files from the United States District and Circuit Courts, Southern District of Illinois, 1855-1861;
M1753, Records Relating to the Various Cases Involving the Spanish Schooner Amistad, 1815-1858;
M1893, Index Cards to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division at Cleveland, 1855-1967;
M1917, Index Cards to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division, Detroit, 1907-1995;
M1989, Defendants' General Index to Equity and Law for the United States Circuit for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Chicago, 1871-1911;
M1990, Plaintiffs' General Index to Equity and Law for the United States Circuit Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Chicago, 1871-1911;
M2081, Indexes to Naturalization Petitions for United States District Courts, Connecticut, 1851-1992;
T57, Original Opinions of the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court Delivered at the January Term 1832; and Opinions and Other Case Papers of Chief Justice Marshall, 1834 and 1835 Terms;
T265, Trial of Aaron Burr and Harman Blennerhassett, 1808.

Record Group 22
Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Administrative History
The Fish and Wildlife Service was formed on June 30, 1940, by merging the Bureau of Fisheries (established in 1903) with the Bureau of Biological Survey (established in 1885). The Service is responsible for administering Federal laws for the control and conservation of fish, game, birds, and other wildlife and administering national wildlife refuges.

Records Description
Dates: 1880-1969
Volume: 19 cubic feet
Records of the Division of Fish Hatcheries, Region 3, Minneapolis. The earliest records are from Michigan stations at Alpena, Charity Isle, Grayling, and Northville and document daily activities at field stations. Other records document fish hatcheries in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin and cover topics such as flood control, recreational areas, water level management, water pollution, watersheds and their effects on fish and wildlife as well as cooperation with other agencies, financial management, production, and public relations. The records are annual reports, correspondence, and project files.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel

Administrative History
The Bureau of Naval Personnel originated as the Bureau of Navigation, established by an act of July 5, 1862. It is responsible for training and educating officers and enlisted men. The Coast Signal Service was organized within the Bureau in 1897. It cooperated with the Lifesaving Service, the Lighthouse Service, and the Weather Bureau in maintaining a lookout for the approach of enemy vessels and in checking the movements of American vessels. The Service was discontinued at the close of the Spanish-American War.

Records Description
Dates: 1923-1945
Volume: 30 cubic feet
Records of the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 1941-1945. The records document the School's organization, policies, and procedures, and provide some data on the individuals who attended records are correspondence, invoices, orders, and reports.

Records of the U.S. Naval Reserve Summer Training Camp, Riverside Park, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1923-1925. The records document naval reserve training activities and are reports. Nontextual records include photographs.

Finding Aids
Entry 424 in Virgil E. Baugh, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, PI 123 (1960).

Entries 242Y and 424Z in Harry Schwartz and Lee D. Saegesser, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, NM 74 (1967).
List of Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Miscellaneous Units, 1801-1947, SL 44 (1978).

Related Microfilm Publications
M1617, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships (Nominal), 1801-1947 (Logbook of USS Sable, 1943-45, and Logbook of USS Wolverine, 1942-45).

T1099, Index to Rendezvous Reports, Civil War, 1861-1865;
A3442, Vessel and Organizational Indexes to U.S. Navy Muster Rolls, 1892-1938;

Record Group 25
Records of the National Labor Relations Board

Administrative History
The present National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was created by the National Labor Relations Act (the Wagner Act) of July 5, 1935. It was preceded by two earlier boards: the National Labor Board (NLB), established August 5, 1933, and a first NLRB, established on June 19, 1934. As the functions of the NLB and the first NLRB were closely tied to the mission of the National Recovery Administration (NRA), when the NRA was declared unconstitutional on May 27, 1935, the first NLRB virtually ceased to function.

The Wagner Act created the second (present) NLRB, which was to determine the unit of employees appropriate for collective bargaining, conduct elections for employee representatives, and force employers to end specified unfair labor practices in industries other than the railroads and, after 1936, the airlines. The functions of the NLRB have subsequently been modified by the War Labor Disputes Act of June 25, 1943, the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (the Taft-Hartley Act), and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (the Landrum-Griffin Act). All three boards utilized a system of regional boards to deal with labor controversies in the field.

Records Description
Dates: 1933-1938
Volume: 18 cubic feet
Records of regional boards in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Toledo, and the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Districts. The records document cases received, settled, and involving charges of unfair labor practices. Included are administrative and case files, bulletins, correspondence, memorandums, opinions, telegrams, and weekly reports.

Finding Aids
For administrative files: box contents list.
For the Chicago Regional Board: partial file list.

Record Group 26
Records of the U.S. Coast Guard

Administrative History
The U.S. Coast Guard was established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of January 28, 1915, which consolidated that department's Revenue Cutter and Lifesaving Services. The Coast Guard took over the administration of lighthouses in 1939, and in 1942 assumed functions of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (RG 41) relating to navigation and inspection laws and to merchant seamen. On April 1, 1967, the Coast Guard became a part of the Department of Transportation and assumed responsibility for functions transferred to it from the Bureau of Customs (see RG 36) pertaining to the admeasurement and documentation of U.S. vessels.

Records Description
Dates: 1840-1983
Volume: 608 cubic feet
Records of vessels, Life Saving Stations (Chicago and Cleveland Districts), and other facilities such as depots, harbor light stations, and LORAN stations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The records document life saving operations, shipwrecks, vessel inspections, weather observations and watch officers' remarks. The records are correspondence, logbooks, and reports. See RG 36 and RG 41 for related records.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.
For life saving station logs: box contents list.
For Maritime Accidents and Casualties (Wreck Reports)
Entries 68, 81, 229, 241B, and 245 in Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States Coast Guard, NC 31 (1963).

Related Microfilm Publications
M63, Lighthouse Letters, 1792-1809;
M94, Lighthouse Deeds and Contracts, 1790-1853;
M1373, Registers of Lighthouse Keepers, 1845-1912;
T729, Marine Casualties on the Great Lakes, 1863-73;
T925, U.S. Coast Guard Casualty and Wreck Reports, 1913-1939;
T926, Index to U.S. Coast Guard Casualty and Wreck Reports, 1913-1939.

Record Group 27
Records of the Weather Bureau

Administrative History
The Weather Bureau was established by an act of Congress of October 1, 1890, in the Department of Agriculture. It took over the Weather Service that had been established in the Office of the Chief Signal Officer of the War Department in 1870. The Bureau was transferred to the Department of Commerce in 1940. In 1965, the Bureau was consolidated with the Coast and Geodetic Survey to form the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA). When ESSA was abolished in 1970, the Weather Bureau, now renamed the National Weather Service, was incorporated into the newly formed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Records Description
Dates: 1883-1950
Volume: 3 cubic feet
Records of stations in Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota. Among the sites represented are: Alpena, Michigan; Ludington, Michigan; St. Vincent, Minnesota. The records relate to station administration and weather observations. They are logbooks and memorandums.

Finding Aid

Record Group 28
Records of the Post Office Department

Administrative History
The Office of the Postmaster General was created by an act of September 22, 1789, that continued regulations that originated with the appointment on July 26, 1775, of Benjamin Franklin as Postmaster General by the Continental Congress. Legislation providing for a post office department was passed in 1792, and subsequent legislation expanded its duties. The Postmaster General became a Cabinet member in 1829.

Assistant postmasters general, authorized by acts of 1792, 1810, 1836, and 1891, were assigned administrative supervision over specific functions of the Department.

Records Description
Dates: 1957-1965
Volume: 9 cubic feet
Records of the Chicago Regional Office. They relate to publicity about community post offices and stations. Records include news releases concerning: awards, promotions, and retirements of employees; post office activities or methods affecting mail delivery and services offered to the public; and special events, such as dedications of stations or stamp programs. Nontextual records include photographs.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.
For public relations records, 1957-1965: folder title list.
Forrest R. Holdcamper, Arthur Hecht, Frank J. Nivert, Fred W. Warringer Jr., and Charlotte M. Ashby, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Post Office Department, PI 168 (1967).
William J. Heynen and Arthur Hecht, Records and Policies of the Post Office Department Relating to Place-names, RIP 72 (1975).

Related Microfilm Publications
M601, Letters Sent by the Postmaster General, 1789-1836;
M841, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971;
M1126, Post Office Department Reports of Site Locations, 1837-1950, selected rolls for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin;
M2076, Index and Registers of Substitute Mail Carriers in First and Second-Class Post Offices, 1885-1903;
M2077, Indexes to Rosters of Railway Postal Clerks, ca. 1883-ca. 1902.

Record Group 30
Records of the Bureau of Public Roads

Administrative History
The Bureau of Public Roads had its origins in an act of March 3, 1893, which authorized the creation of an Office of Road Inquiry in the Department of Agriculture. After a number of changes in title, the Office became the Bureau of Public Roads in 1918 and retained that designation until 1939 when it became the Public Roads Administration as part of the Federal Works Agency. On July 1, 1949, it was transferred to the General Services Administration and renamed the Bureau of Public Roads, which was then transferred to the Department of Commerce by Reorganization Plan No. 7 of 1949. An act of October 15, 1966, transferred the Bureau to the Department of Transportation, where its functions were assigned to the Federal Highway Administration (see RG 406).

Under the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, the Bureau has supervised Federal-State cooperative programs for road construction, reconstruction, and improvement. It also administers the highway beautification program and is responsible for developing and administering highway safety programs, constructing defense highways and roads in national parks and forests, expanding the interstate highway system, and providing assistance to foreign governments.

Records Description
Dates: 1918-1970
Volume: 454 cubic feet
Records of Federal aid projects in:

  • Columbus, Ohio, 1956-1967
  • Indianapolis, Indiana, 1919-1970
  • Lansing, Michigan, 1946-1970
  • Madison, Wisconsin, 1927-1969
  • Springfield, Illinois, 1918-1968

The records document Federal funding and planning of highways and roads. They are primarily project files, including correspondence, funding agreements, studies, and surveys. Nontextual records include blueprints, maps, and photographs. See RG 406 for related records.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.
Truman R. Strobridge, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Public Roads, PI 134 (1962).

Record Group 36
Records of the U.S. Customs Service

Administrative History
The Customs Service, created by an act of July 31, 1789, became part of the Department of the Treasury when that Department was established in September 1789. The Service has been responsible for the enforcement of numerous laws and regulations pertaining to the import and export of merchandise, collection of tonnage taxes, control of the entrance and clearance of vessels and aircraft, regulation of vessels involved in the coastwise and fishing trades, the protection of passengers. A Bureau of Customs was established on March 3, 1927, to supervise these activities, and in 1942, it assumed the responsibilities of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (RG 41) relating to the registering, enrolling, licensing, and admeasurement of merchant vessels. This responsibility was assigned to the Coast Guard in 1967 (see RG 26).

The act that established the Customs Service in 1789 also provided for the creation of collection districts in various coastal, river, Great Lakes, and inland ports. A collector of customs in each district was responsible for the enforcement of all rules and regulations, including the protection of American seamen and passengers and the forwarding of basic data on immigration, imports, and exports. Occasionally the collector acted as the depository for Federal funds and collected taxes for the Bureau of Internal Revenue. A naval officer in each district, coordinate in rank with the collector, was required to keep separate accounts and copies of all manifests and entries and to countersign certain of the collector's accounts. A surveyor, under the collector's supervision, kept a daily record of all vessel arrivals and clearances and was assisted by inspectors, weighers, and gaugers in the collection and payment of bounty allowances and fees and the admeasurement of foreign vessels for tonnage duties.

Records Description
Dates: 1853-1978
Volume: 146 cubic feet
Records of collectors of customs and other customs officials in the following customs districts:

  • Ashtabula, Ohio, 1923-1955
  • Cheybogan, Michigan, 1927-1938
  • Chicago, Illinois, 1902-1961, 1976-1978
  • Cleveland, Ohio, 1956-1973
  • Detroit, Michigan, 1853-1963
  • Duluth, Minnesota, 1933-1968
  • Evansville, Indiana, 1909-1942
  • Grand Haven, Michigan, 1866-1921
  • La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1881-1911
  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1909-1939
  • Muskegon, Michigan, 1866-1916
  • Port Huron, Michigan, 1874-1917, 1939-62
  • Rogers City, Michigan,1925-1945
  • Sandusky, Ohio, 1959-1970
  • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, 1932-1961
  • Toledo, Ohio, 1898-1963

Records relate to the entrance and clearance of vessels, documentation of shipwrecks and casualties, and monthly reports which concern traffic statistics, documents issued, conveyances of title, and related matters. The records are primarily forms. See RG 26, RG 41, and RG 85 for related records.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.
For Maritime Accidents and Casualties (Wreck Reports)
For Chicago, records of wrecks and other casualties, 1908-1941: index.

Related Microfilm Publications
M174, Letters Received by the Secretary of the Treasury From Collectors of Customs ("G", "H", "I" Series), 1833-1869;
M175, Letters Sent by the Secretary of the Treasury to Collectors of Customs at All Ports, 1789-1847, and at Small Ports, 1847-1878 ("G" Series);
M178, Correspondence of the Secretary of the Treasury With Collectors of Customs, 1789-1833;
M237, Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1846-1897;
M261, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1846;
M360, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1800-1906;
M575, Copies of Lists of Passengers Arriving at Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and at Ports on the Great Lakes, 1820-1873;
M1066; Registers of Vessels Arriving at the Port of New York, New York, from Foreign Ports, 1789-1919;
M1285, Soundex Index to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District and Circuit Courts, Northern District of Illinois, and Immigration and Naturalization Service District 9, 1840-1950;
M1357, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Galveston, Texas, 1896-1906;
M1358, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Galveston, Texas, 1906-1951;
M1359, Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Galveston, Texas, 1896-1951;
M1371, Registers and Indexes for Passport Applications, 1810-1906;
M1461, Soundex Index to Canadian Border Entries through the St. Albans, Vermont, District, 1895-1924;
M1462, Alphabetical Index to Canadian Border Entries through Small Ports in Vermont, 1895-1924;
M1463, Soundex Index to Entries into the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1924-1952;
M1465, Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific Ports, 1929-1949;
M1478, Card Manifests (Alphabetical) of Individuals Entering through the Port of Detroit, Michigan, 1906-54;
M1479, Passenger and Alien Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at the Port of Detroit, Michigan, 1946-57;
M1503, Index and Manifests of Alien Arrivals at Roma, Texas, March 1928-May 1955;
M1754, Nonstatistical Manifests and Statistical Index Cards of Aliens Arriving at Eagle Pass, Texas, June 1905-November 1929;
M2005, Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Ashland, Wisconsin, August 1922-October 1954;
M2008, Lists of Aliens Arriving at Laredo, Texas, July 1903-June 1907, via the Mexican Railroad or the Laredo Foot Bridge;
M2016, Alphabetical Index of Alien Arrivals at Eagle, Hyder, Ketchikan, Nome, and Skagway, Alaska, June 1906-August 1946;
M2017, Lists of Aliens Arriving at Skagway (White Pass), Alaska, October 1906-November 1934;
M2032, Passenger Lists of European Immigrants Arriving at Vera Cruz, Mexico, and Related Correspondence, 1921-1931;
M2041, Alien Arrivals at Eagle Pass, Texas, July 1928-June 1953;
M2045, Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, 1925-1956;
M2064, Alphabetical Manifest Cards of Alien and Citizen Arrivals at Fort Fairfield, Maine, ca. 1909-April 1953;
T458, Subject Index, to Correspondence and Case Files of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1903-1952;
T519, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, June 16, 1897-June 30, 1902.
T520, Index (Soundex) to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Baltimore, Maryland, 1897-July 1952;
T521, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, January 1, 1902-June 30, 1906;
T527, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1853-1899 ;
T617, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, July 1, 1906-December 31, 1920;
T618, Index to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1900-1952;
T621, Index (Soundex) to Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, July 1, 1902-December 31, 1943;
T715, Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at the Port of New York, 1897-1937, roll 1 only;
T1219, State Department Transcripts of Passenger Lists, ca. October 1819-ca. December 1832

Record Group 41
Records of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation

Administrative History
Navigation laws were passed by the First Congress in 1789 and were enforced by customs officers under the supervision of the Department of the Treasury. In 1884, a Bureau of Navigation under the control of the Commissioner of Navigation was established within the Department of the Treasury to administer the navigation laws. In 1903, it was transferred to the Department of Commerce and Labor along with the Steamboat Inspection Service, which had been established in the Department of the Treasury in 1852 to formulate rules and regulations for steamboat inspections. The two bureaus were merged in 1932 to form the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection, which was renamed the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation (BMIN) in 1936. In 1942, its functions relating to merchant vessel documentation were transferred to the Bureau of Customs (see RG 36),while those pertaining to merchant vessel inspection, safety of life at sea, and merchant vessel personnel were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard (see RG 26). The Bureau was abolished in 1946.

Records Description
Dates: 1818-1973
Volume: 353 cubic feet
Records of collectors of customs, functioning as field agents for the BMIN, at the following ports:

  • Ashtabula, Ohio, 1926-43
  • Burlington, Iowa, 1867-1914
  • Cheboygan, Michigan, 1927-46
  • Chicago, Illinois, 1865-1966
  • Cleveland, Ohio, 1850-1967
  • Des Moines, Iowa, 1913-39
  • Detroit, Michigan, 1818-1973
  • Dubuque, Iowa, 1865-1939
  • Evansville, Indiana, 1865-1968
  • Galena, Illinois, 1871-1914
  • Grand Haven, Michigan, 1866-1940
  • La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1874-1921
  • Louisville, Kentucky, 1851-1924
  • Ludington, Michigan, 1864-1949
  • Marquette, Michigan, 1871-1942
  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1853-1954
  • Muskegon, Michigan, 1865-1964
  • Paducah, Kentucky, 1883-1942
  • Peoria, Illinois, 1891-1925
  • Port Huron, Michigan, 1870-1969
  • Rock Island, Illinois, 1891-1915
  • Rogers City, Michigan, 1925-68
  • Sandusky, Ohio, 1881-1964
  • Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, 1877-1963
  • Sioux City, Iowa, 1901-31
  • St. Ignace, Michigan, 1871-1967
  • Toledo, Ohio, 1870-1967

The records usually document, for each vessel, the name, date, and place of construction, home port, dimensions, and measurements for American merchant and fishing vessels. There are bills of sale, certificates of registry, enrollments, licenses, master carpenter certificates, mortgages and maritime liens, oaths that owners and masters took to obtain a vessel license, and records of admeasurement and inspection of vessels. Some forms include birth date and place and naturalization information of individuals. There are vessel name indexes for some ports. See RG 26 and RG 36 for related records.

Finding Aid
Draft inventory.
Records Relating to Vessel Documentation

Related Microfilm Publications
M1800, Certificates of Enrollment Issued for Merchant Vessels at Chicago, Illinois, 1847-1866, and Related Master Abstracts of Enrollments, 1847-1911
M1862, Certificates of Enrollment Issued for Merchant Vessels at Cleveland, Ohio, April 1829-May 1915
M1866, Indexes to Certificates of Registration and Enrollment Issued for Merchant Vessels at Boston, Massachusetts, ca. 1827-1868
M2098, Summaries of Vessel Casualties and Violations of Laws, Rules, and Regulations on the Great Lakes, January 1911-June 1937
M2099, Certificates of Registration Issued for Merchant Vessels at Great Lakes Ports, 1815-1872, and Related Master Abstracts of Registers, 1815-1910
M2100, Certificates of Enrollment Issued for Merchant Vessels at Green Bay, Manitowoc, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1851-1868
M2101, Certificates of Enrollment Issued for Merchant Vessels at Detroit, Michilimackinac, and Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, 1818-1898, and Certificates of Registration Issued for Merchant Vessels at Detroit, Michigan, 1818-1831
M2105, Certificates of Enrollment Issued for Merchant Vessels at Cape Vincent, Dunkirk, French Creek, Genesee, Lewiston, Ogdensburg, Pultneyville, Rochester, Sackets Harbor, and Suspension Bridge (Niagara Falls), New York, 1816-1867
M2106, Master Abstracts of Certificates of Enrollment Issued for Merchant Vessels at Saint Louis, Missouri, 1846-1870
M2107, Master Abstracts of Certificates of Enrollment Issued for Merchant Vessels at Selected Great Lakes Ports, 1815-1911

Record Group 48
Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior

Administrative History
The Department of the Interior was created by an act of March 3, 1849. During the more than 130 years of its existence some functions have been added and others removed so that its role has changed from that of general housekeeper for the Federal Government to that of custodian of the nation's natural resources. The Secretary of the Interior, as the head of an executive department, reports directly to the President and is responsible for the direction and supervision of all activities of the Department.

Records Description
Dates: 1985-2004
Volume: 10 cubic feet

Records of the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission (IMCNHCC). The records document the Commission's planning, development, and implementation of an historic site management plan, and cultural, economic and interpretative corridor for an approximately 100 mile section of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The records are appointments, correspondence, exhibit, training, and workshop materials, leases, memorandums, minutes, nominations, plans, press releases, reports, studies, and surveys. Included are brochures, photographs, and posters.

Finding Aids
Box contents list.

Record Group 49
Records of the Bureau of Land Management

Administrative History
The General Land Office (GLO) was established within the Department of the Treasury by an act of April 25, 1812, to administer all public land transactions except surveying and map work (which came under the supervision of the GLO in 1836). In 1849, the GLO was transferred to the Department of the Interior where it was merged with the Grazing Service in 1946 to form the Bureau of Land Management. The Bureau classifies, manages, and disposes of public lands and their resources and administers Federally-owned mineral resources on non-Federal land and on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Records Description
Dates: 1800-1908
Volume: 38 cubic feet
Records of the following land offices in Illinois, 1814-1885; Indiana, 1807-1876; Minnesota, 1855-1882; Ohio, 1800-1828; and Wisconsin, 1888-1905:

  • Canton, Ohio
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Chillicothe, Ohio
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Crawfordsville, Indiana
  • Danville, Illinois
  • Dixon, Illinois
  • Edwardsville, Illinois
  • Forest City, Minnesota
  • Fort Wayne, Indiana
  • Galena, Illinois
  • Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Jeffersonville, Indiana
  • Kaskaskia, Illinois
  • La Porte, Indiana
  • Palestine, Illinois
  • Quincy, Illinois
  • Shawneetown, Illinois
  • Springfield, Illinois
  • Steubenville, Ohio
  • Vandalia, Illinois
  • Vincennes, Indiana
  • Wausau, Wisconsin
  • Winamac, Indiana
  • Zanesville, Ohio

The records document the name of the purchaser or grantee, county of residence at the time of purchase, legal description of the land, and the certificate number. Included are entries for cash payments, credit certificates, and purchase applications; copies of correspondence; homestead information; and abstracts of land warrants. For Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, there is a docket of homestead entries, 1868-1908. The records are bound volumes (record books), some containing an index.

Finding Aids
Entries 47, 48, 53, 61, and 67 in Harry P. Yoshpe and Philip Brower, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Land-entry Papers of the General Land Office, PI 22 (1949).

Records of the General Land Office, 1800-1908, Land Offices in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin

Related Microfilm Publications
M8, Journal and Report of James L. Cathcart and James Hutton, Agents Appointed by the Secretary of the Navy to Survey Timber Resources Between the Mermentau and Mobile Rivers 1818-1819;
M25, Miscellaneous Letters Sent by the General Land Office, 1796-1889;
M27, Letters Sent by the General Land Office to the Surveyor General, 1796-1901;
M68, List of North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1778-1791;
M477, Letters Sent by the Surveyor General of the Territory Northwest of the Ohio River, 1797-1854;
M478, Letters Received by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner of the General Land Office From the Surveyor General of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, 1797-1849;
M479, Letters Received by the Surveyor General of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, 1797-1856;
M829, U.S. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Warrants Used in the U.S. Military District of Ohio and Related Papers (Acts of 1788, 1803, and 1806);
M848, War of 1812 Military Bounty Land Warrants, 1815-1858;
T1008, Register of Army Land Warrants Issued Under the Act of 1788, for Service in the Revolutionary War: Military District of Ohio. T1234, Township Plats of Selected States (only selected rolls 5-17 and 49-62 of 67 rolls for townships in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio)

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