NARA stands for National Archives and Records Administration. NARA's Northeast Region is located in Waltham Ma. in the Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center, 380 Trapelo Rd. Phone 781-647-8104. If you have ever thought about tracing your family tree or are in the process and have…Read More

NARA stands for National Archives and Records Administration. NARA's Northeast Region is located in Waltham Ma. in the Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center, 380 Trapelo Rd. Phone 781-647-8104.

If you have ever thought about tracing your family tree or are in the process and have roots in the northeast, this is the place to start.

Among their many holdings, which are open to the public for free, are the US Census Returns on microfilm from 1790-1920 for the full United States. Also included are the indexes for the 1880,1900,1910 and 1920 Census. Census' are a great place to start finding out about your family. Depending on the year of the census, they include occupation, number of years in the US, weather or not they are a citizen, family relationships within a household, education, country of origin and even more. In case your wondering why the 1890 census wasn't indexed , it was largely destroyed in a fire and unfortunately all the information was lost before it could be microfilmed.

Canadian Border Records, sometimes called the St Albans records are also here on microfilm and cover the years 1895-1954. This can help if your ancestor came first to Canada which is the case with many Irish immigrants from the famine era.

Passenger Arrival Records for the Port of Boston 1820-1874 and 1883-1936 and also for other New England Ports. Don't get too excited over this one however, there are some glaring gaps especially around the famine time 1845-1848. I know my ancestor came through there but I'll be darned if I can find a ship that is recorded on the date he says he landed. If you can find your ancestor though, its amazing how much information may be there. Sometimes even home town, ages, family groupings etc.

But the real reason to come here is because all the Naturalization and Immigration Papers for the New England States have been gathered here, even those from local courts. The questions asked of the applicants varied greatly from state to state and is for the most part much better the more recent you get. Some even have photos, which as you can imagine are ones no one has ever seen. Massachussetts asked great questions as early as 1854 when my young Irish ancestor told them he was born in Killarney in 1832, came to the US in July 1847 and has lived in Chicopee for more than 5 years. Quite a lot of information.

They also have some Revolutionary War Service Records, pensions and lots of other federal information.

They are open Monday, Tuesday and Friday 8am-4:30. Wednesday and Thursday 8am to 9pm and one Saturday a month. You will need at least a few hours just to familiarize yourself with the collection and the machinery. The staff here is great and if Walter Hickey is working tell him Thank You from Isabelle, Cindy and Colleen who he helped greatly when we were last there. Walter has been a speaker at several genealogy conferences I've gone to, so he knows what he's doing.

In case you didn't guess, I am a registered genealogist and have been for 15 years.

Visiting Walden Pond is an incredible experience. The first day we were there, we didn't really know what to expect. We had already decided to walk the 1.7-mile path around the pond before we even got there. When we arrived, we were surprised to…Read More

Visiting Walden Pond is an incredible experience. The first day we were there, we didn't really know what to expect. We had already decided to walk the 1.7-mile path around the pond before we even got there.

When we arrived, we were surprised to find a public beach. The beach was well maintained and had several lifeguards. The most surprising thing was how clear the pond water was. The day was very hot and very humid, and after we were about halfway around the pond, it started looking mighty tempting. We came across a tiny little sandy area with absolutely no one around, so we jumped right in, clothes and all! The water was clear and warm, and we could see right to the bottom of the pond. During our swim, we met Linda Allen, a Walden Pond photographer. We had a great conversation with her, and later we bought one of her posters in the gift shop. We were cooled down and refreshed, so we finished our walk around the pond and then found a nice shady private spot and ate a picnic lunch that was prepared for us by a local deli.

It was a romantic, relaxing day that we will never forget. This is place for transcendental meditation! You can easily find a private spot with no one around. It is very quiet here as long as you are away from the beach. The beach gets very crowded at times, and they will stop letting new people down to the beach on extra busy days. Try the beach during the week rather than a weekend.

It is somewhat service dog-friendly. Be prepared to be stopped SEVERAL times to be told that you are not allowed to have a dog there. Some of these times will be by other tourists, not just the officials. Don't think that the vest your dog is wearing that is clearly marked "Service Dog" is going to help. It was like it was invisible here.

This was an interesting tour. We were the only people on the tour, so we had special treatment. The rooms are all roped off, so it felt more like don't-touch than a have-a-look-around kind of atmosphere. They do NOT have air-conditioning, and…Read More

This was an interesting tour. We were the only people on the tour, so we had special treatment. The rooms are all roped off, so it felt more like don't-touch than a have-a-look-around kind of atmosphere. They do NOT have air-conditioning, and it makes dog day tours rather miserable, but it is interesting to see everything that is in here. The guides were super friendly and knowledgeable. Apparently the family still owns the home, and their idea of preservation is “don't touch.” No photography is allowed inside the home. They are service dog-friendly, but have plenty of water with you if it is a hot day. My dog drank a whole bowl after this hot and humid visit.Close