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Memorial Books at NARA

Our libraries at Archives I and Archives II frequently receive books to be added to the collection in memory of family members and friends. Our staff adds memorial nameplates in the front of the volumes to make the books permanent reminders of cherished friends and relatives. This new webpage is meant to express our deep appreciation to the donors and our concern for their memorial gifts.

To inquire about donating memorial books to ALIC, please contact alic@nara.gov.

In memory of Charlsea A. Lowell, wife of Howard P. Lowell (NWD), the library staff has donated Mary Panzer's book, Mathew Brady and the image of history, to the ALIC collection. This book, which includes NARA photographs, was produced for a 1998 exhibition held at the National Portrait Gallery, the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, and the International Center of Photography. Also given in memory of Charlsea Lowell, and in recognition of her commitment to libraries, is the book, Libraries, museums and archives: legal issues and ethical challenges in the new information era.

In memory of Antonette G. Coren Fisher (1924-2003), mother of Robert Coren (NWCC), the book, The first Polish colonies of America in Texas: containing also the general history of the Polish people in Texas, compiled by the Rev. Edward J. Dworaczyk, has been added to the genealogical collection at Archives I in Washington, DC. A second book, In their words: a genealogist's translation guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian documents. Volume I: Polish, by Jonathan D. Shea and William F. Hoffman , also has been added to the collection in memory of Bob's mother whose family came to America to settle in Texas in the 19th century.

Diane Dimkoff (NWCC) has donated Witold Rybczynski's book, A Clearing in the distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the 19th century, in memory of Antonette G. Coren Fisher. As America's leading designer of urban parks, including New York City's Central Park, Olmsted's vision of tranquil landscapes influenced parks and campuses in all parts of the country including Ohio and Maryland, two of Mrs. Fisher's home states.

Benjamin Alan "Ben" Eder, 21, resident of Newport, Oregon, died as a result of a commercial fishing accident on December 11, 2001. In recognition of Ben's interest in the natural world, friends have donated several relevant books: the first one, The abandoned ocean: a history of United States Maritime Policy, was written by Andrew Gibson and Arthur Donavan; a second gift selection is entitled Surveying the record: North American Scientific Exploration to 1930. Edited by Edward C. Carter II, the book's publication followed an American Philosophical Society conference held in 1997. Coincidentally, Benjamin Franklin, Ben Eder's favorite founding father, was the Founder and First President of the American Philosophical Society. In addition to the book on exploration, friends have donated Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin: an American life, and Edmund S. Morgan's Benjamin Franklin, to the National Archives. Memorial plates for Ben Eder will be placed in each of these books.

The book, French-Canadian sources: a guide for genealogists, has been donated to our library in memory of Denise Marie Azilda Hopkins (neé Dugré), who was born in Québec in 1925 and died in Ontario in 2002. The first chapters of the book provide basic information about Canadien culture and history including information on the seigneurial system and the naming patterns specific to French Canadians. Later chapters cover secondary sources of information, primary sources including church and census records, and specialized areas of research including royal lineage and fur trading ancestry.

In memory of Willie O. Wisham (1902-1993), Gary Gerstle's book, American crucible: race and nation in the twentieth century, has been added to the library collection. Mrs. Wisham lived through events noted in Gerstle's book: she was an infant when Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to dine with him at the White House in 1903, and she was living in Little Rock, Arkansas, when President Eisenhower sent federal troops there to enforce school desegregation in 1957.

A copy of the newly-revised edition of the gazetteer, Where once we walked: a guide to the Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust, by Gary Mokotoff and Sally Amdur Sack with Alexander Sharon, has been given to the Archivist of the United States, John Carlin, by author Mokotoff. Mr. Mokotoff's inscription on the title page reads: "To John Carlin-- Thank you for everything you are doing to preserve this nation's history." The Archivist has asked that this special book be added to the ALIC library holdings for staff and researchers. At ALIC, we consider this volume especially valuable because among the thousands of Jewish communities named, it lists Radom, Poland, as one destroyed during the Holocaust. Radom, Poland, was the birthplace and childhood home of the late Irving Horn (Isachar Herszenhorn, 1927-2002) a Holocaust survivor, and long-time ALIC volunteer. We have added this book to our collection as a memorial to Irving Horn, our friend and co-worker.

Donated by Susan and Tom Burket in memory of Irving Horn (Isachar Herszenhorn, 1927-2002), are several books on World War II and the Holocaust. Irving Horn was a beloved longtime library volunteer who translated German and Polish records in order to compile guides to Nazi microfilms held by the National Archives. Christof Mauch's The shadow war against Hitler: the covert operations of America's wartime secret intelligence service, Richard Rhodes' Masters of death; the SS-Einsatzgruppen and the invention of the Holocaust, and Doris L. Bergen's War & genocide: a concise history of the Holocaust are all gifts to our library from Mr. and Mrs. Burket.

Diane Dimkoff (NWCC) has donated John Mosier's book, The Blitzkrieg myth: how Hitler and the Allies misread the strategic realities of World War II, to the library in memory of Irving Horn and his valuable work as a National Archives volunteer at Archives II.

Donated by Janet Horn in memory of her husband Irving Horn (Isachar Herszenhorn, 1927-2002), is the book Imperfect Justice: looted assets, slave labor, and the unfinished business of World War II, written by Stuart E. Eizenstat, with a forward by Elie Wiesel. The book, inscribed by the author in Irving Horn's memory, is a most appropriate memorial to Irving, a Holocaust survivor and an ALIC volunteer, who translated German and Polish materials in order to create English-language finding aids to Nazi microfilms held by the National Archives. Janet Horn has also donated the guide, Getting started in Jewish genealogy, by Gary Mokotoff and Warren Blatt, as well as a copy of Donald M. McKale's book, Hitler's shadow war: the Holocaust and World War II, in memory of Irving.

The book, Women of our time, has been donated to our library holdings in memory of Josephine Sullivan (1914-1999). The book was published on the occasion of the exhibition: Women of Our Time: Photographs from the National Portrait Gallery. It is a photographic tribute to the women who have helped to define the modern age. As a celebration of some of the most creative, humane, witty, brave women of the twentieth century, it is a fitting memorial to Miss Sullivan, first, a teacher of the young in Kentucky, and then, a librarian for the military at the Pentagon.

The book, Kentucky ancestry: a guide to genealogical and historical research, has been added to our library in memory of Robert Erle Johnson (1916 - 2002). Mr. Johnson, born in Hickman, Kentucky, was very interested in his Kentucky family lines including the Johnson, Helms, and Sullivan families. This book may be seen in the library at Archives I in Washington, DC.

In memory of Truman Bruch (1913-2000), a pilot and trainer of pilots, the book, A century of triumph: the history of aviation, has been donated to the ALIC library. To celebrate the first full century of powered flight, the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the Aviation World's Fair, joined forces with aviation historian Christopher Chant and illustrator John Batchelor to present this history of flight. The illustrations include photographs from the National Archives. As a member of the Civilian Pilot Training Program during World War II, Truman Bruch provided primary flight training leading to military pilot training programs. Also in Mr. Bruch's memory, the book, To fill the skies with pilots: the Civilian Pilot Training Program, 1939-1946, by Dominic A. Pisano, has been added to the library collection.

In memory of Julie Anne Schuler Harrington (1959-2000), three books have been added to our library holdings. Uncommon Americans: the lives and legacies of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover, edited by Timothy Walch (Hoover Presidential Library), with a foreword by John W. Carlin, the Archivist of the United States, is a volume of essays on the lives and legacies of the Hoovers, including one by Richard Norton Smith, former director of the Hoover Presidential Library. The second book, An independent woman: the life of Lou Henry Hoover is about the wife of President Herbert Hoover, the first woman in the country to receive a college degree in geology, and who traveled the world with her mining engineer husband before he entered politics. The third book, America transformed: engineering and technology in the nineteenth century, reveals the "extremely rich and varied treasures found in the Historic American Enginering Record (HAER)." Dean Herrin, HAER's staff historian, focuses on the documentation of historic sites and structures related to nineteenth-century American engineering and technology in this book published at the time of the sesquicentennial celebration of the American Sociey of Civil Engineers.

The book, National Parks and the woman's voice: a history, has been given to our library in memory of Norma Jean Limberis (1929-2003). Author Polly Welts Kaufman first became interested in the history of women and their influence on national parks in 1981 when she found out that two places of great significance in women's history were about to become national parks: the Women's Rights National Historical Park at the site of the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York and Val-Kill, the retreat and home of Eleanor Roosevelt in Hyde Park, New York. The author's interest in the role of women led her to tape interviews with 340 Park Service women.

Graduates of Painted Post High School, Painted Post, New York, have donated a number of books in memory of their classmates. In memory of Catherine Carey Kehler (1933-2003), graduates have donated the book, The majesty of the law: reflections of a Supreme Court Justice, written by Justice Sandra O'Connor. Justice O'Connor's book explores the Supreme Court as an institution and relates the turbulent battle women have fought to gain a place in our nation's legal system.

In memory of John R. (Jack) Davis (1932-2002), the classmates have donated the two-volume set of American foreign relations since 1600: a guide to the literature to the library. Jack Davis served with the State Department for twenty-five years before retiring to the Northwest.

In memory of Betty Thomas Borden (1932-1999), Painted Post High School graduates have donated Gordon L. Remington's book, New York State towns, villages, and cities: a guide to genealogical sources, to the National Archives libraries. This volume will be shelved in the genealogical section of the Archives I library in Washington, DC.

In memory of Myron E. (Mike) Tillman (1932-2003), and his sister, Ruth Tillman Hylen (1929-2002), Painted Post High School graduates have donated several books. Nelson Lichetenstein's book, State of the Union: a century of American labor, was selected in recognition of Ruth's interest in sociology as a Skidmore undergraduate. Also in memory of Ruth Tillman Hylen, the book, 10,000 Vital records of Central New York, 1813-1850, was chosen for the genealogical collection in the Archives I library in Washington, DC. Mike Tillman's high school classmates have donated Randolph Jonakait's The American Jury System, and David Alistair Yalof's Pursuit of Justices: Presidential politics and the selection of Supreme Court nominees, to our library holdings in recognition of Mike's service as a New York State Supreme Court Justice for the 7th Judicial District, from 1980 to 1994.

The book, Sorting things out: classification and its consequences, has been added to our library holdings in memory of Agnes Miller Anthony, mother of ALIC staff librarian Samuel L. Anthony. Mrs. Anthony, educated as a nurse and married to a doctor, spent much of her adult life concerned about medical care. This new book, written by Geoffrey C. Bowker and Susan Leigh Star, sponsored by a National Science Foundation grant and published by MIT, illustrates how values, practices, policies, and social order are expressed in information classification systems, with many of the examples coming from the medical world of patients, disease, and nursing care. Chapters seven and eight of the book are dedicated to the nursing profession, and to the ongoing development of a nursing classification system, the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC).

In memory of Opal B. Williamson, mother of JoAnn Williamson (NWCC1), the two-volume work, History of the U.S. Navy, by Robert W. Love, Jr., and the recent Naval Historical Center's book Where the fleet begins: a history of the David Taylor Research Center, 1898-1998, by Rodney P. Carlisle have been added to the library holdings. These books will be dedicated to "Opal B. Williamson, 1912-1999, Twenty Years and Two Wars, a Navy Wife".

Mary Jane M. Dowd served NARA as an archivist and editor from the early 1960s until her retirement in 1994. Upon her death in June 1997, portions of Mary Jane Dowd's personal library were donated to the National Archives Library. The collection is strong in early national history, particularly the career of Alexander Hamilton, on whom she was an authority.

On Thursday, August 29, 1996, the National Archives Library staff and volunteers gathered to recognize the gifts of a number of memorial books donated to the Library in memory of NARA staff, family, and friends. At the memorial gathering, the following books were announced as having been added to the Library with memorial nameplates:

  • Two Brookings Occasional Papers, The World Bank and the IMF: a changing relationship, by Jacques J. Polak, and U.S. relations with the World Bank, 1945-92, by Catherine Gwin, have been donated in memory of Herbert L. Baer, Jr., son of Fredricka Baer, National Archives Library volunteer. Herbert Baer, a financial economist at the World Bank, was a graduate of Ohio University who received a Ph.D in Economics at Northwestern University.
  • Also in memory of Herbert Baer, Jr., the new book, On becoming a servant leader: the private writings of Robert K. Greenleaf, has been added to the National Archives Library's holdings. The long-time director of management research at AT&T and a visiting lecturer at the Sloan School of Management, Robert K. Greenleaf founded the Center for Applied Ethics for business leaders.
  • The Historical Atlas of the Holocaust: a visual survey of the Holocaust, compiled by the Holocaust Memorial Museum, has been donated to the National Archives Library in memory of Harry Horn, brother of Irving Horn, volunteer with the Library's Berlin Document Center Library Project. Irv and his brother Harry were imprisoned by the Germans during World War II. Harry Horn came to the United States in 1947 and he is survived by his wife, two sons, one a surgeon, and one a lawyer, and five grandchildren.
  • In memory of Joseph W. Brigg, a NARA Finance Branch staff member who worked closely with the Library's staff on financial issues, a reference work entitled, Bibliographic guide to Black studies, has been added to the National Archives Library's holdings.
  • Before equal suffrage: women in partisan politics from Colonial Times to 1920, by Robert J. Dinkin, and Women creating lives: identities, resilience, & resistance, edited by Carol E. Franz and Abigail J. Stewart, have been added to the National Archives Library in memory of Viola Burmeister Blackenburg, mother of Anne Mansfield, our volunteer. The choice of books and the timing of the library's memorial observation were particularly appropriate. Anne's mother ran as a candidate for the Michigan State Legislature and served as Chair of the Washtenaw County Democratic Committee in Michigan and so it is fitting that we observe this memorial during the week of both the Democratic National Convention and the anniversary of the passage of women's suffrage in 1920.
  • In memory of the father of our Volunteer Coordinator, Susan Goward, the book entitled, The Civil War, by Robert Denney, is being added to the National Archives Library collection. Susan's father, Raymond Johnston, shared an interest in the Civil War and the NARA records related to it. Robert Denney, author of the donated book, is a volunteer with NARA's Civil War Project.
  • Lynn Sherr's book, Failure is impossible: Susan B. Anthony in her own words, has been added to the Library in memory of Frances Weisenfeld, sister of Sam Freeman.
  • A new edition of Rand McNally's World Atlas and a copy of Mapping America’s past: a historical atlas have been added to our collection in memory of Linda Khoury Wright.

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