Evening star., 1937-10-09

l y ones ancestors, once the
~ humble pastime Of the anti
ouarian and the recluse, has
OF late achieved such popularity and
respectabihty in America as to rival
stamp collecting and golf as the avo-
cation of countless persons. Prac-
titioners and students Of the science OK
genealogy have come to look upon
Washington as the Mecca OF their
genealogical pursuits, fact which
seems to have escaped the public ut
large. for a number Of reasons.
Ever since the World War and the
shutting of of immigration, new
nationalism has manifested itself In
our country, showing itself in
myriad ways, one Of which is the
heightened interest IN American his
tory, institutions and ancestry.
As for ancestry, perhaps no better
current example could. be chosen than
President Roosevelt himself. Books
have appeared on the Roosevelts IN
America. the history OF the Delanos,
and the pictorial magazines carry por-
traits OF a score of Presidents OF the
United States all related somehow or
other to the President. A Washing
tonian has even published An article
recently 0n The Yankee" May,
1880, entitled 1887 Years OF Prank
lin Delano Roosevelt" which traces
back the family history Of the Presi-
dent to the Guelphs Of Italy and the
Actii Of ancient Rome to 600 BIC.
But the ordinary mortal has to be
satisfied with delving into his family
tree for a period Of two or three GEN.
turies: The mists OF time generally
obscure his earlier record.
Washington may be termed the
genealogical Capital OF the Nation for
several reasons. Foremost, perhaps, Is
the Bureau OF the Census, which con-
tains a wealth OF information Of all
the censuses since 1890. These decen-
nial census records may be utilized
by the genealogist to about 1870, but
after that. for obvious reasons. the
Census Bureau files are 4 terra incog-
nita to the general public.
RESIDES the records Of the Census
Bureau there are the important
pension lists and annals Of accredited
military or naval service. found in vari-
our Government departments. which
cannot be duplicated elsewhere and
which are invaluable to the profes-
sional genealogist.
Another reason that Washington
leads in the genealogical field Is that
a number OF influential patriotic or
ders and societies maintain their per-
manent national headquarters here
and, often as not, membership k linn
tied to an indisputable proof OF lineal
descent from an ancestor who partici-
pated in a certain war or historic event.
For example, the National Society Of
the Daughters Of the American Revolu-
tion, whose headquarters are here, have
to maintain one Of the finest genea-
logical libraries in America, with an
elaborate card index Of names, to meet
the demand for the great number of
applicants for membership whose an
cestry must be checked.
There are in the United States some
80 or 100 orders Of patriotic nature
with admission to their ranks based
upon 4 rigid genealogical inspection
Representatives Of nearly all these or
ganizations are located in Washing
ton and the amount of constant prob
ing done into ancestral trees is great
Oenealogists arrive on nearly every
train to make use OF the greatest of
all genealogical, collections and local
history sections in the world, which is
located In the Library of Congress
and contains close to 100000 volumes.
Between 800 and TOO readers utilize
this collection each week and trained
experts help the searchers.
There has been such a demand for
names Of reliable genealogists by the
public, that the Government Printing
Once recently brought out a sheet
entitled, Names Of Genealogists In
Washington, D. c.. Furnished by the
State Regent Of the District of Co.
lumbia D. A. r." This pamphlet,
which may be obtained in q number