Public Programs
See the Calendar of Events for the Regional Archives.
We offer many programs at our Boston facility and throughout New England for the public. The vast majority of these programs are FREE, including special Teachers' PDP Workshops offering Professional Development Points (PDPs) to teachers. All of our onsite workshops are open to anyone who wants to attend.
We prepare Public Programs independently and in conjunction with various partners. We are always looking for new partners and new programs in which to participate!
- Workshop Schedule
- Workshop Topics
- Teachers' PDP Workshop Schedule
- Teachers' PDP Workshop Topics
- Partners and Programs
Workshop Topics
Genealogical
African-American Research
Beyond the Census: Local History Resources in Federal Records
Boston Passenger Lists
Canadian Border Crossings
Census 1790 - 1930
Census Tools
Census Clues
Census, Naturalization, & Passenger Lists
Documenting Our Mothers
Genealogical Roundtable: Open Forum for Genealogical Quandaries
Introduction to Genealogical Records
Military Pension Files (Revolutionary War and Later Files)
Military Records and Indices
Naturalization and Passenger Arrival Records
Passenger Lists and Canadian Border Crossings
Revolutionary War Records
Under-documented Populations
- African-American
- Asian-American
- Native American
- Repatriation records)
Archival
Access to Archival Materials in the Context of Concerns about Terrorism
Archives on the Road
Archival Research
Document Analysis
Introduction to Federal Records at the National Archives
Preservation of NARA Records
Historical
African-American Research
Custom House Records
Military Pension Files (Revolutionary War and Later Files)
Military Records and Indices
Revolutionary War Records
Under-documented Populations
- African-American
- Asian-American
- Native American
- Repatriation records
Teachers' PDP Workshops Topics
Click here to learn more about our Teachers' PDP Workshops.
Using Historical Documents at the National Archives
America on the Home Front, WW II
Application of Research Methods
Archival Research and Document Analysis
Immigration and Naturalization
Local History in Federal Records
Selected Military Records: 1775-1815
Partners and Programs
We collaborate with several area organizations, and are always looking for organizations with which to form partnerships and collaborate.
Participation has included:
- Providing lecturers and speakers (no fee)
- Participating in meetings and conferences
- Making NARA's resources readily available
- Contributing membership fees
- Providing meeting space (no fee)
Partners include:
- Boston Public Library
- New England States' Historical Records Advisory Board
- Chinese Historical Society of New England
- Genealogical Society of Utah
- New England Regional Genealogical Conference
- Greater Boston History Project
To request NARA staff to speak to your organization or at your conference or meeting for FREE, or to suggest a potential partnership, please contact the Archives Director at stuart.culy@nara.gov, or toll free on (866) 406-2379. Be sure to check out our Workshop Topics and our Teachers' PDP Workshop Topics. Or suggest a new topic!
Title: Records Relating to African-American Research
Goals: Participants will learn what information is found in various Federal records relating specifically to African-Americans and how to access that information.
Objectives: Participants will be able to locate individuals in various Federal records, including census, military, and more.
Description: In this workshop, participants will learn the scope and content of a wide variety of records relating to this subject held at the National Archives in Waltham. These include census, military, court, and Freedmen's' Bureau records, as well as certain records relating to Native-Americans. Emphasis will be on the variety of records contained in the records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, from circa 1865 - circa 1872. Participants will learn of some records available to enable one to go back past the 1870 census and (hopefully) identify owners of specific slaves prior to emancipation.
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Title: America on the Home Front during World War II
Goals: Participants will learn what records documenting life on the Home Front in New England during World War II are at the National Archives in Waltham and how to use them.
Objectives: Participants will learn which collections contain records documenting life and work on the Home Front, covering topics such as rationing of food and other commodities, criminal violations of rationing regulations, prosecution of conscientious objectors, munitions production, scientific research relating to radar, photographs, and more.
Description: This workshop will show participants which record groups and series are most likely to contain pertinent records, and how to conduct research in them. Participants will receive instruction on how to find information.
Examples include:
- United States District Court Criminal Dockets and Case Files, showing prosecution of rationing violations and conscientious objectors
- Springfield Armory and Watertown Arsenal scrapbooks of News Releases & Press Clippings
- Boston Navy Yard, Portsmouth Navy Yard, and Naval Air Stations War Diaries, employee newspapers, etc.
- Office of Price Administration ration books and documentation, and violations of rationing
- MIT Radiation Lab and Harvard Radio Labs records concerning radar and counter radar research
- War Assets Administration records about Federal government property, including
ordnance plants
Return to Teachers' PDP Workshop Topics
Title: Application of Research Methods
Goals: Participants will be familiar with the process of conducting archival research and working with historical records and documents.
Objectives: Participants will determine which collections at the National Archives in Waltham have records relating to their topic. Participants will learn how to request and handle historical records and documents. Participants will learn how to make the most out of a research visit.
Description: This is a hands-on workshop only for teachers who have attended previous workshops towards earning Professional Development Points! Prior to the workshop, participants will confer with archives staff about their topic and discuss records which should have relevant information. On the day of the workshop, participants will go through the process of registering, requesting records, and being instructed in their use by archival staff. Staff will be on hand throughout the session to answer questions and direct the participants appropriately.
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Title: Archival Research and Document Analysis
Goals: Participants will be prepared to conduct archival research and perform document analysis and be able to assist their students with these skills.
Objectives: Participants will be able to determine whether to conduct research in a library or an archive. Participants will be able to plan and prepare for conducting archival research. Participants will be able to access information at the National Archives. Participants will be able to conduct document analysis.
Description: The first part of this workshop seeks to take the mystery out of how and why one would conduct research at an archive. Researchers must choose which institutions will have materials relating to their topic. Participants will learn the differences between libraries and archives, how to gain access to archival collections, and how archival collections are arranged. Learn what questions you need to ask yourself (and the archivist) before you visit the archives. Learn specifically how to locate and access records stored by the National Archives. Other archival resources will also be explored.
The second part of this workshop will explain how a researcher can get the most information out of an archival record or historical document by analyzing it. Learn how to distinguish between primary and secondary sources. Learn how to do document analysis and interpretation. Learn why document analysis is an important tool for students and researchers.
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Title: At War and in Peace: Records of U.S. Military Activities in Massachusetts in the 20th Century
Goals: Participants will learn what records documenting U.S. Military Activities in Massachusetts in the 20th Century are at the National Archives in Waltham and how to use them.
Objectives: Participants will learn about certain topics within the overarching theme of U.S. Military Activities in Massachusetts in the 20th Century which can be researched at the National Archives in Waltham. Participants will learn which collections contain records relating to these topics and how to access the information.
Description: Topics to be covered include:
- Research and Development: Springfield Armory and Watertown Arsenal: Exploring Experimental Reports
- Flood Control in the Depression: Learning about life and work from photographs
- Price Control and Rationing in World War II: Using narrative reports
- Protecting the Home Front with Harbor Defenses: Learning from letters
- U-Boats in the Harbor?: The Navy's Northern Shore Patrol Logs and War Diaries
- Naval shipbuilding at Charlestown: The ship files
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Title: Census Records
Goals: Participants will learn what information can be found in Federal census schedules and how to access that information
Objectives: Participants will be able to locate individuals in Federal decennial census population schedules. Participants will be able to use that information to obtain other records, including Federal, state, and local. Participants will learn about the United States census records from 1790 through 1930.
Description: In the first part of this workshop, participants will learn the scope and content of census records, 1790-1930. These records are for the entire United States, not just the New England area. As the nation grew, so did the number and extent of questions asked in the censuses. Participants will learn what information is needed to begin a search in census records as well as learn the various indexing methods available to access these records. Participants will also learn alternative means of accessing data.
The second part of this workshop will consist of actually using the microfilmed census records located at the National Archives in Waltham under the direction of NARA staff. Participants will locate census records pertinent to their individual families and/or communities. Participants will see first hand the potential applications of censuses data to the study of a community or neighborhood at a specific point in time, or its evolution over a period of decades.
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Title: Custom House Records of New England at the National Archives in Waltham
Goals: Participants will learn what maritime related historical records are at the National Archives in Waltham and how to use them.
Objectives: Participants will learn about specific types of records and what information can be found in each. Participants will learn how the China trade of the 19th century can be explored using records at the National Archives in Waltham.
Description: New England's fascinating maritime history is well documented by the official records of the many Custom Houses that served the region's busy ports. Custom House records contain documents that vividly illustrate the nature of foreign and domestic trade from the time of sail through the age of steam, including the ships and their crews. These records also document the officials and their work at the Custom Houses when they played a particularly prominent role in the early life of the United States.
This class will provide an overview of the many typical records that were created at the Custom Houses and how they bring to life different aspects of maritime history and trade. Participants will learn how these records can provide a snapshot of daily life at the Custom Houses since 1789. Some of the especially useful kinds of documents will be identified and examined in depth with a variety of examples. Special attention will be given to the port of Salem which figured prominently in the China trade. Using a case study of the Salem ship "Mount Vernon," participants will learn how Custom House records can be used to provide a wealth of information about a single ship, including when it was built, who owned it, its masters and crews, and the voyages it made.
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Title: Immigration and Naturalization
Goals: Participants will learn what information is found in Federal records relating to the subject, and how to access the information.
Objectives: Participants will be able to locate individuals in Passenger Lists and Naturalization records. Participants will learn how information in one record is related to information in another record. Participants will learn about the Naturalization process in the United States from 1790 to the present.
Description: In the first part of this workshop, participants will learn the scope and content of Passenger arrival records located at the National Archives in Waltham. These passenger lists date from 1820-ca. 1943 (and beyond for some ports) for the ports of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and more. Learn about the information contained in these records and how the information that was recorded changed over time. Participants will learn how to use various indices to access records, taking the mystery out of archival research. Learn about other methods of determining arrival port and date when the usual way does not work.
The second part of this workshop will explore Naturalization records located at the National Archives in Waltham. Participants will learn what information can be found in these records, and how this information is different before and after September 26, 1906. Learn who was naturalized and who did not have to naturalize. Learn where the records are if they are not at the National Archives in Waltham. Learn what information you need to know in order to access the records at the National Archives and at other repositories.
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Title: Local History in Federal Records
Goals: Participants will learn what information may be found in Federal records relating to the local and New England history, and how to access the information.
Objectives: Participants will be able to locate individuals or specific businesses in a variety of Federal records. Participants will learn how to create "snapshots" of towns in New England using records of the 19th and 20th century located at the National Archives in Waltham.
Description: Congressman Tip O'Neil once said "All politics is local." The same can be said about history and even the Federal government. Federal government agencies in New England are staffed with citizens of New England, working in New England, conducing government business which concerns New England.
What businesses were in your town in the 19th century? Find a list of businesses, their products, and how much they were worth by using Civil War era tax assessment files. Find out more about businesses in your community using bankruptcy records and non-population census records.
Federal court proceedings in New England may have included people or businesses in your town. Learn how to find them using Civil Case Files (including patent infringement cases), Criminal Case Files, and Admiralty Case Files (including Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War Prize Cases).
Who was living in your town? What were their occupations? Were they immigrants? From what country? Did they own the house or rent? Did the men serve in the military? Find the answers to all these questions and more about your house, your street, your neighborhood, or your town using Census records.
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Title: Selected Military Records: 1775-1815
Goals: Participants will learn what information is found in Federal records at the National Archives in Waltham relating to the Revolutionary War and how to access that information.
Objectives: Participants will be able to locate individuals in various military service records, pension files and other documents of the era held by the Federal government.
Description: Participants will learn the scope and content of the wide variety of records relating to the American Revolution. These consist of records relating to military service, military applications, and more. Participants will learn how to access these records using a variety of indices.
Participants will also learn how to use some available indices to obtain military and pension records of individuals who served in the military between 1784 and circa 1898, and where to obtain records which are not available at the National Archives Waltham, MA (Boston).
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