Researching at NARA Archives II in College Park

NARA II holds documentary records which are referred to as textual records from the following categories:

• Army records from WWI 
• Navy records from WWII 
• Federal agency records 
• Still pictures
• Motion pictures, sound, and video
• Maps

Note that military personnel files and civilian personnel files are kept at the National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri. Archives II has military records at the unit level that include historical reports, after action reports, unit journals, and general orders.

Research hours are Monday through Friday 9 AM to 5 PM.

NARA II is located at 8601 Adelphi Road in College Park, Maryland. You can reach NARA II by either taking taking a bus from NARA I Archives located at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (first priority goes to NARA staff and researchers can ride on the shuttle if space is available), driving and parking onsite, or taking the Metro to the College Park Metro Station and then taking a 30 minute bus ride on the C-8 Metrobus or grabbing an Uber from the metro station.

Requesting Records

It is important to do as much research as you can before you go. I found information about my grandfather who served in the Army and great uncle who served in the Army Air Corps, in WWII. 

I had a copy of my grandfather, Joseph Caccarozzo's DD-214 separation papers from our family collection. This listed him as serving from March 14, 1941 to July 12, 1945 in the Headquarter Battery, 1st Battalian, 16th Coast Artillery.

I found specific information about my great uncle, John Volpe's WWII serving in a Missing Air Crew Report on Fold3. It indicated that his unit was 20th Air Force, 43rd Bomb Squad, 29th Bomb Group. It also listed his aircraft name and serial number, which could be helpful with later research.

Prior to my trip to NARA II, I created an Airtable database using a Research Like a Pro Template that I tweaked to fit my needs. It contained all the basic information I would need to request both my grandfather's and great uncle's military unit records at NARA II. I also uploaded family documents and other research that I performed prior to my visit, in case I needed to refer to them for additional information.

In preparing for my trip, I looked for the records I wanted to request in the NARA catalog. I first decided to search within Record Group 407 - Records of the Adjutant General's Office 1905-1981. This is the large record group which contains records created by the Department of the Army.

Then I decided to click "Search within this Record Group." The first sub-group that came up was World War II Operations Reports. This subgroup contains unit histories, after action reports, intelligence reports, combat interviews, maps, and military intelligence reports. I wrote down in my table what materials I wanted to request and where they would likely be located.

When you enter the College Park location, you will go through security and your belongings will be scanned. If you do not already have a researcher card you must obtain your researcher card before you can look at any records. The room to obtain your researcher card is right next to security. You must watch a short video and take a quiz online. You will be issued a certificate of completion. You can either print out your certificate or take a photo and present it when you go. You will have to show a photo ID and they will take a photo of you and give you a card with a barcode. The researcher card is good for one year at any of the NARA facilities and can be renewed.

After you go through security you have to go to the basement to leave any bags, purses, notebooks, coats, etc. in a locker. You must bring a quarter to lock up your valuables and your quarter is returned to you automatically at the end of they day when you retrieve your belongings. The rules of the Research Room is located here. Basically you can bring a laptop, your phone (silenced), a pencil, and your chargers. You can place your chargers in a clear gallon plastic bag.

The Library on the third floor has a number of Finding Aids in 3-ring binders to help you find the correct box or boxes where the unit histories are located. On the third floor you will have to consult with one of the employees there and they must sign off on your pull slip. When I was there, they only had one employee for military and one for civilian records. Even though I made a research appointment online, consultations were first-come first-served and there were several people in line ahead of me.

Below is what a blank pull slip looks like. It has three layers - white, pink, and green. You need to fill out the date, your first and last name, your researcher card number, the collection name, entry number box, stack, and row, and any other information to help find the records you are requesting. One of the employees on floor three in the library/consultation area must sign the pull slip and then you must go down to the second floor and drop it at the front desk in the Research Room. You also need to scan your research card when you turn in your pull slip.

Usually it takes 45 minutes or longer for materials to be pulled. I submitted two pull slips and it ended up taking almost one and a half hours for the first pull. There is another large desk, farther into the Research Room on the left where you pick up your pulls. Right before the desk is a small television screen where your name will be listed when your pull is ready. This screen was not working while I was there and they set up a small table with a notepad and wrote your last name down when a pull was available. By the time my pulls were ready, I only had one and a half hours before I needed to leave on the 5pm bus back to the main archives. 

Once my pulls were ready, I presented my researcher card to the employee at the desk in the Research Room and they had me sign a copy of the pull slip with the time and date. They wheeled out my pulls on a cart, even though they were only a couple small boxes that could be carried.

In the research room there are two different desks at the far ends of the room with employees. I brought my pulled materials with the cart to one of the desks. I then asked permission to take photos of the materials I retrieved. They gave me a red card to take photos. Once I found an empty table, I placed the red card in the plastic sleeve hanging from the light over the table, to identify that I was given permission to take photos of the records.

In addition, most of the records found at NARA II were previously classified military or federal records. I also had to ask permission to take photos of these declassified materials. An employee at the same table will review the records to determine if you can take photos of the formerly classified documents. I was given permission, and they gave me a piece of paper that said declassified and it contained a letter/number sequence. I had to sign and date a book they had at the table with my name and researcher number allong with the declassification number I was given.

Finally it was time to review the information I had pulled. I took a photo of the green copy of the pull slip I filled out to help me write a citation later and it also helps to keep the materials I take photos of separate on my camera roll.

I also take a photo of the box I am reviewing and a photo of the folders in the box. NARA has large laminated cards available to use to keep your place while reviewing files.

Every single photo you take of the records must have the declassified piece of paper somewhere in the photo.

Unfortunately, I did not find anything directly on my grandfather's unit that remained at Pearl Harbor during WWII, but there was information on some of the men that were transferred to the Pacific during the war. I also could not find any information specifically on the 29th Bomb Group located in the 20th Air Force. I did pull boxes on th 20th Air Force and found some general information but nothing specifically covering the missions for the 29th Bomb Group or my great uncle's specific plane. I did find very detailed plans about the 20th Air Force's bombing missions and target maps.

I also spoke to one of the military consultants who said that the 20th Airforce did not have the same reporting structure as the rest of the units and directly received its orders from Washington, D.C. so the records may be in a different area. I will need to do more research to locate them before my next trip.

NARA is also digitizing records - some in partnership with FamilySearch or Ancestry.com, and some on their own. I did just find a photo showing the planes of the 29th Bomb Group located at North Field Guam that has been digitized and can be found in the NARA Catalog here.

My advice in researching at NARA II is to plan ahead and research their catalog. If you do find something you want to review at the archives, copy the NAID number located in the catalog this will take you back directly to that record in the catalog without trying to replicate the search. Also, contact them by email at archives2reference@nara.gov before your arrival and they will give you some general guidance where you may find the records you are looking for. They will not pull any records for you before your visit, but they will typically keep the receords available for three to five business days in the room behind the desk where you pick up your pulls. The amount of pulls you can have at any one time is discretionary.

My grandmother and my great aunt served as Navy WAVES in Washington, D.C. during WWII. I wrote to the email listed above and this is the information they provided me with.

Thank you for your recent inquiry to the National Archives regarding the Navy WAVES. We hope you enjoyed your visit.

When it comes to WAVES, we have a variety of records with information pertaining to them. Some of these include:

• Record Group 24: Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Entry NM-74, General Correspondence, 1942-1946 (Box 13, Folder 144)
• RG 24, Entry A1 3, World War II Casualty Reports (Box 50)
• RG 24, Entry PI-123 445, General Records of the Physical Fitness Section (Box 59, 68)
  
• Record Group 428: General Records of the Department of the Navy, Entry P 3, Subject Files (Box 168)

We regret that we are not staffed to conduct the extensive research necessary to identify all pertinent records relating to your request within the suggested record groups and their record series. We would be happy to make them available to you or your representative in our research room. Should you be unable to return to the National Archives you may wish to hire a professional researcher. Here is a list of some of these researchers.

Hope you have a successful search. I hope to have time in the next few years to spend several days at NARA II. However, first, I want to pull my family's individual military personnel files at NARA St. Louis before I go back. Their personnel files may mention specific events that I can cross-reference with the specific unit histories or morning reports located at NARA II.

Researching Catholic Church Records in Loreto, Italy

It is often very difficult to access Roman Catholic church records throughout Italy. If the records have not been destroyed by war or natural disasters, access to the records depends on if the local priest has time or desire to open the records to you. Sometimes a second copy of the parish records may be located in a diocesan archive, but I have personally not found that to be the case for my ancestral lines that I have researched so far. If the records are kept at the diocesan archives, you are lucky. Diocesan archives are open one or more days a week or by appointment only. If they have open research hours, it is still a good idea to call or email ahead of time to make sure they have the records you are looking for and they will be open during your visit.

I did not realize my Pierluca ancestors were from Loreto, Ancona (province), Marche (region), Italy. My grandfather left Italy in 1934 with his mother, Emelia, and siblings to join his father who was already living in the United States. I had always known that he was born in Porto Civitanova, Macerata, Marche, Italy. He talked about it and kept his passport. Years ago, I found his parent’s 1914 marriage record on FamilySearch in the Tribunale records for Civitanova Marche, Macerata, Marche, Italy. This record gave me the names of Emelia’s parents as Luigi Pierluca and Giovanna Martellini. After continuing to research the Tribunale records for Civitanova Marche, I found Luigi Pierluca’s death record in 1916. I thought the record indicated he was from “Porto.” Meaning Porto Civitanova.[i] However, if I had read the record more carefully, I would not have been searching for years for the Pierluca family in Civitanova Marche. I still may not have figured out that his city of birth was Loreto based on the record below, but at least I would have asked fellow genealogists or friends and relatives who read Italian to take a look at it to help me decipher his birthplace. A professional genealogist, Mirella Ammirati, founder of Southern Italy Travel, pointed out my mistake in 2016 when I hired her to do some research into my family tree before I traveled to my grandfather’s birthplace. Loreto is only approximately a twenty-five minute drive from Civitanova Marche. I had no idea that my Pierluca ancestors had such deep roots in Loreto.

[ii]

 March 2023 was my second time researching the archive and library in the Santa Pontificicio della Santa Casa Di Loreto. In 2016, the first time I visited the archive, I spent hours asking people where I could find the archives, until finally I asked a monk who took my father and I, through the gift shop up the stairs to the second floor to the research room. When I finally arrived, I only had time to review birth records from the 1840s-1850s. I found the baptismal record of my second great-grandfather, Luigi Pierluca, and his two siblings. I also found a few other Pierluca baptism records, but I did not know how they related to my Pierluca family. Through the years more and more records have been added to the Antenati website, which contains mostly civil records kept at the state archives and that were digitized through a partnership with FamilySearch and placed online for free to researchers. The records vary by province and some state archives have not been digitized yet. I have been able to slowly piece together the Pierluca family and other collateral lines from Loreto, Italy found on the Antenati website.

Fast forward to March 2023. I returned to Civitanova Marche to visit cousins and research my family. On my first full day, my cousin Maria from Chiavari, Italy,  and I traveled together to Loreto, Italy to continue researching the Pierluca family and collateral lines. I vaguely remembered how to find the archives, but I was not positive of its location. We asked a priest and right away he brought us to the archives and library on the second floor. To find the archives, instead of entering the basilica near the gift shop, turn left and go up to the top of the stairs. If you turn left, you will see a set of large wooden doors, go through them, and then the archives will be on your left. The archives are currently open Monday through Friday 9am to 12pm. You must press a buzzer and wait to be let in.

Access the archives by going up the stairway located here.

The archives are run by Father Andréa. He speaks Italian, English, French, and Arabic. He expects to remain at the archives in Loreto for another two years before he is moved to a different location. Every day he meticulously reviews the sacramental records and inputs them into a searchable Word document. He hopes to make a fully searchable index while serving at the basilica. The records available are as follows:[iii]

Baptisms 1568-1880

Marriages 1568-1900

Deaths 1566-1920

Stato di Anime 1800-1865, 1896-1902

Before you begin researching you must fill out a form with your biographic information, the reasons for your search and agreeing that the images are for your own use and not to be reproduced. Yes, you may take digital photos with your camera. You must wear gloves. Latex gloves are available if you do not bring your own. Father Andréa will assist you, but he expects you to do your own research. I did have numerous questions, which he patiently answered.

If you are unfamiliar with the Stato di Anime records, they are similar to census records, but collected by the church. They were lists compiled infrequently by the priest that showed the head of household, their birth and sometimes death dates, their parents’ names, their birthplace, what sacraments they celebrated, and sometimes helpful notations that the parishioner went to live in another city or immigrated to another country. Just like census records they can give us a lot of information at a glance. However, you must realize that the record consists of copied information from other records, so there could be errors or inconsistencies in the records.

Marriage records prior to 1767 and baptismal records prior to 1787 do not have indexes. I did not have a chance to look at death records in the 1700s, but I am assuming they also did not have indexes. The records are kept in chronological order, but they are very difficult to read. All the records are in Latin, most of the pages have bled through, and in some cases the ink has faded. I would call myself an intermediate level researcher. I can read the records, but it takes me a while. I wish I could research all day, but having the archives open only three hours a day forced me to take breaks. I found my body does need a break. Not only was my back hurtingfrom hunching over the large record books, but my eyes were also fatigued from reading the records. I do not typically wear reading glasses, but I did need to consistently use them while skimming the sacramental record.

For the books that did have indexes available, I thought the most time-saving method was to write down the surnames I was looking for in my notebook (in pencil of course, as pen is not allowed near the record), go through the Index first and write down the page number where I could find the surname, and I would turn to the page and take a picture of the record. I did not spend time translating the record in the archives, because with so little time to research, I determined that when I returned home, I could always go back and fully translate the document and figure out how that person fits into my family tree.

It will likely be several years before I have the time to go back to Italy and continue my research into my Pierluca and collateral lines. I hope that Father Andréa may have a completed index by the time I return. Until then, I plan on slowly going through all the records I collected, log them, and add them to my family tree. I told Father Andréa that I would email him a document containing my research, in the hopes that he or the archive staff can share it with others who may come along inquiring about the Pierluca family in Loreto.

A big shout out to my cousin, Maria, who traveled a long way to meet me and helped me research.

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[i] In 1938, Porto Civitanova and Civitanova Alta, the old town, were combined to form one municipality of Civitanova Marche.

[ii] "Italia, Macerata, Macerata, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1866-1929," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9W2-MPQ?cc=2043838&wc=MCRB-8NL%3A350209001%2C350233001%2C350235401 : 22 May 2014), Macerata > Civitanova Marche > Morti 1911-1929 > image 591 of 2000; Tribunale di Macerata (Macerata Court, Macerata).

[iii] More recent sacramental records are available in the rectory.