If you're tracing American ancestors — or the branch of a family that emigrated to the United States — you'll eventually find your way to the National Archives and Records Administration, better known as NARA. It's the official record keeper of the U.S. federal government, and for anyone doing this genealogy research, it's an important stop.

NARA was established on June 19, 1934, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the legislation creating it — a response, in part, to years of government records being stored haphazardly in basements and attics with no central home. It spent a stretch of its history, from 1949 to 1985, folded into the General Services Administration before Congress restored its independence; NARA itself marks April 1, 1985 as its "other birthday." Today it operates as an independent federal agency, run by the Archivist of the United States.

NARA describes its own holdings simply and accurately: "The National Archives holds the permanently valuable records of the federal government. These include records of interest to genealogists, such as pension files, ship passenger lists, census, and Freedmen's Bureau materials."

That's a succinct summary, but it understates the depth and range of their collections. Pension files alone can carry testimony, correspondence, and affidavits stretching back generations. Ship passenger lists cover arrivals to the United States from roughly 1820 through 1982. Freedmen's Bureau materials are, for many African American family historians, the only path past the wall of 1870.

NARA has also built a dedicated page for exactly this kind of work: Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians. It's worth bookmarking — it shows links to census records, military service records, immigration and naturalization records, and a genealogy-specific guide to the online catalog, and it's updated as NARA adds material.

Setting up an account and ordering documents

A meaningful share of NARA's holdings still aren't digitised, so at some point your research is likely to mean requesting a physical copy rather than downloading a scan. For the most commonly requested genealogical records — ship passenger arrival records, individual census pages, federal land entry files, and military pension files through the Civil War — NARA runs an online ordering system that requires you to register as a user and pay by credit card. For records outside that shortlist, you'll typically need to provide exact citations (record group, series, box number) before NARA staff can locate and copy the document you are after.

Copies come in two forms. An uncertified copy is a standard reproduction — fine for research and family files. A certified copy carries NARA's seal and is what you'd typically need for legal purposes, such as a citizenship or immigration case: it costs a bit more than the ordinary reproduction fee.

If you're lucky enough to visit in person

Digitisation covers only a fraction of NARA's textual holdings, so a research trip to Washington, DC or one of NARA's regional facilities is still, for many lines of enquiry, the only way forward. (Full disclosure, I have not been yet, but look forward to going in the near future). A few things are worth knowing from the experts before you go: arrive early and register at the desk for your Researcher Card, since it typically takes 15 to 45 minutes and requires valid photo ID. Watch the orientation videos NARA recommends in advance — it saves research time once you're in the reading room. Keep a precise research log and fill out pull slips carefully, noting the record group, series, and box number for anything you request. And know the reading room rules before you arrive: coats and bags go in a locker (bring a quarter to operate), and while loose paper and pencils are fine, pens, highlighters, and spiral-bound notebooks aren't allowed.

Happy researching!

Sources: National Archives and Records Administration (archives.gov); NARA "Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians"; NARA "How to Obtain Copies of Records"; NARA Reproduction Fee Schedule; NARA Prologue Blog (National Archives History Office); D. Joshua Taylor; Dana Leeds; Emma Cox Genealogy.