National Archives and Records Administration
Regional Archives - Mid Atlantic Region
900 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107-4292
(215) 606-0100
http://www.archives.gov/midatlantic/

Contact Person:
Jefferson M. Moak, Archivist, jefferson.moak@nara.gov

The Institution:

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is a Federal agency that "preserves and provides access to permanently valuable, noncurrent Federal records with historical, legal, or fiscal value." The Mid-Atlantic Region branch is one of 14 NARA facilities located throughout the country and serves as a depository for Federal records from agencies located in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Collections:

The collections encompass more than 57,000 cubic feet of records dating from 1789, and can be accessed via their reading room, which is open to the public. In addition to primary materials on site, NARA's Mid Atlantic branch also contains microfilm copies of many heavily-used collections found at other branches, including census reports and pension records. Organized by "Record Group," the collections are accessed using two guides: Kellee L. Blake and Nancy Malan, comp. Guide to Records in the National Archives - Mid Atlantic Region, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration Reference Information Paper 93, 1995 edition) for locating primary documents; and Teresa F. Matchette, comp. Microfilm Publications in the National Archives - Mid Atlantic Region (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, Special List 48, 1990) for materials on film. In addition, materials are now being added to NARA's on-line catalogue, ARC (Archival Research Catalog).

NARA's archives contain important materials related to the early American economy of this region, and are best used in conjunction with other repositories in the area.

Major record groups include:

RG 21: Records of the District Courts of the United States

Federal courts were established by the Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789. Collection strengths, among its 30,000+ cubic feet of material, for those working on the early American economy are bankruptcy papers and disputes on territorial, property, and admiralty issues. Bankruptcy records are particularly strong, and show the interconnections between many urban merchants and their trading partners in the hinterlands.

The records, primary case files, document the actions of Federal district and circuit courts. Specific topics include: collection of debts, enforcement of contracts, claims for damages, counterfeiting, violations of customs regulations, patent and copyright infringement, prize condemnations, and theft on Federal property. These files are accessed via minute, docket, and order books, which often have name indexes to the parties involved; there are no cumulative subject indexes.

Included in the Mid Atlantic Region are records for the Federal courts of nine districts. Those with relevant holdings are listed below:

- Delaware District, 1790-

- Maryland District, 1790-

- Pennsylvania, Eastern District, 1789-

- records include case files regarding the Whiskey Rebellion (1791); Fries Rebellion (1799); Robert Morris's bankruptcy (1800); patent and copyright cases involving Samuel Morse, Isaac Singer, and Harriet Beecher Stowe; and War of 1812 Civil War prize captures

- Pennsylvania, Western District, 1818-

- include cases relative to internal improvements, for example, the Erie railroad track and national standardization of rail gauges (1854)

- Virginia, Eastern District, 1801-

- Virginia, Western District, 1807-

- West Virginia, Northern District, 1819-

- records include those related to the manufacture of glass and marbles

- West Virginia, Southern District, 1840-

RG 36: Records of the U.S. Customs Service

The U.S. Customs Service was created by an act of July 31, 1789, becoming part of the Department of the Treasury in September of that year, after the Department's creation. The government made the Customs Service responsible for enforcement of laws and regulations having to do with imports and exports of goods, and collecting tonnage taxes, among other things. Customs records are not limited to the city of Philadelphia, but include information about activities of inland ports as well: "A collector of customs in each district [of various coastal, river, Great Lakes, and inland ports] was responsible for the enforcement of all rules and regulations, including the protection of seamen and passengers and the forwarding of basic data on immigration, imports, and exports."

Two-hundred and twenty seven cubic feet of records date from 1789 for Philadelphia, and from 1829 for Wilmington. Forms, ledgers, and manifests, they record entrance and clearance of vessels and cargo, and often include very detailed information about various commodities.

RG 41: Records of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation

Records regarding laws passed in 1789 and enforced by customs officers working under the supervision of the Department of Treasury. Records document American merchant and fishing vessels, date and place of construction, home port, and other information. Records from New Castle, Delaware run from 1846 to 1851, and from Wilmington, date from 1836.

RG 77: Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was established in 1818, and has been in charge of building roads, fortifications, and other military installations, in addition to having the civic duties of designing flood control, improving inland harbors and waterways, approving bridge and wharf construction, and so on. These records contain a wealth of information about the design and construction of various internal improvements. Records of Baltimore begin in 1847 and Philadelphia in 1828.

RG 104: Records of the U.S. Mint

The Mint of the United States was established in Philadelphia in 1792. Records date from 1791 and encompass 335 cubic feet. They contain information about the manufacture of coins - from minting technologies to coin designs - and records about general Mint operations. Also included in the records are detailed accounts of actual construction of the Mint, showing how a large Federal facility impacted local trades and commerce. Account books, correspondence, ledgers, minutes, registers, and reports are included here.

Microfilm publications (deposited in NAMAR; originals held at National Archives, Washington, DC)

The Mid Atlantic Branch of the National Archives also houses records in microfilm format that are thought to be of local interest, and that supplement their manuscript materials. The "M" series constitutes an entire collection of papers, including an introduction to the collection. The "T" series is usually a subset of a larger collection, bounded by a particular date or subject. These microfilms were usually the result of a specific research request and may not contain explanatory information. Relevant microfilm records include:

M668: Ratified Indian Treaties, 1722-1869 (16 rolls)

Includes ratified Indian treaties and related papers, with a chronological list of the treaties and an index of places and tribes.

M804: Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (2,670 rolls)

Pension applications and related files beginning in 1800.

M931: Minutes of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Maryland, 1790-1911 (7 rolls)

Papers relate to Jefferson's embargo, evasion of customs duties, bankruptcy, privateering and prize law, and the slave trade.

M932: Minutes of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1790-1844 (2 rolls)

Minutes include some cases regarding evasion of customs duties, bankruptcy, privateering and prize law, slavery and the slave trade, protection of invention patents.

M966: War of 1812 Prize Case Files of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1812-1815 (2 rolls)

M969: Law and Appellate Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1790-1847 (26 rolls)

"The appellate cases pertain to a variety of subjects relating to evasion of customs duties, violation of shipping and navigation laws, privateering and prize law, and other maritime matters; bankruptcy; protection of patents and patent rights; and the settlement of estates." Case files relating chiefly to admiralty and some bankruptcy cases.

M985: Equity Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1790-1847 (23 rolls)

Case files arranged alphabetically by plaintiff's surname.

M988: Admiralty Case Files of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1789-1840 (18 rolls)

Cases concerning maritime-related issues, such as damage from collision, breach of contract for services, towing and wharfage fees, prizes.

M992: Information Case Files, 1789-1843, and Related Records, 1792-1918, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (10 rolls)

Forfeiture cases and petitions and discharges of imprisoned debtors.

M993: Act of 1800 Bankruptcy Records of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1800-1806 (24 rolls)

Bankruptcy petitions filed by creditors against debtors, including inventories of property, debts owed to whom, and related papers. Significant collection for those interested not only in bankruptcy issues, but also in tracking commercial networks.

M1031: Act of 1800 Bankruptcy Case Files of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, 1800-1803 (2 rolls)

See record group M993, above.

M1300: Admiralty Case Files of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1801-1861 (18 rolls)

Arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by name of plaintiff. Cases concerning maritime issues.

M63: Lighthouse Letters, 1792-1809 (3 rolls)

Letters sent by the Commissioner of the Revenue regarding construction and maintenance of lighthouses.

M94: Lighthouse Deeds and Contracts, 1790-1853 (2 rolls)

Records regarding building and maintaining lighthouses.

T907: Climatological Records of the Weather Bureau, 1819-1892 (564 rolls)

Climatological records of states, arranged by state. Important information for those tracking larger and longer commercial patterns and factoring weather conditions.

M601: Letters Sent by the Postmaster General, 1789-1836 (50 rolls)

Chiefly related to establishment and operation of the postal service.

M637, T498, M32, M252, M33, M19, M704, M432: Census Records of the United States (1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850) (thousands of rolls)

Schedules showing names, occupations, family size, citizenship status (i.e., free vs. slave), and nationality of people living in the U.S.

M279, M597, T1132, T1138, T1157: Records of the 1820 Census of Manufactures (27 rolls); Nonpopulation Census Schedules for Pennsylvania, 1850-1880 (23 rolls); Nonpopulation Census Schedules for Virginia, 1850-1880 (34 rolls); Nonpopulation Census Schedules for Pennsylvania, Agriculture, 1850-1880 (57 rolls); Nonpopulation Census Schedules for Pennsylvania, Manufactures Schedules, 1850-1860 (9 rolls)

Other relevant census schedules.

M8: Journal and Report of James L. Cathcart and James Hutton, Agents Appointed by the Secretary of the Navy to Survey Timber Sources Between the Mermentau and Mobile Rivers, 1819-1819 (1 roll)

Records of two timber agents sent to the Gulf of Mexico region to survey Naval timber sources.

M25, M27, M68: Miscellaneous Letters Sent by the General Land Office, 1796-1889 (228 rolls); Letters Sent by the General Land Office to the Surveyor General, 1796-1901 (31 rolls); List of North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1778-1791

M1007, T784, T697, T696: Records of the Pennsylvania Continental Loan Office, 1776-1788 (3 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Public Debt: Delaware Loan Office Records (1 roll); Records of the Bureau of Public Debt: Maryland Loan Office Records (9 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Public Debt: Virginia Loan Office Records (12 rolls)

Records Relating to the Loan of 1790.

M174, M175, M178, M415, T712: Letters Received by the Secretary of the Treasury from Collectors of Customs, 1833-1869 (226 rolls); Letters Sent by the Secretary of the Treasury to Collectors of Customs at All Ports, 1789-1847, and at Small Ports, 1847-1878 (43 rolls); Correspondence of the Secretary of the Treasury with Collectors of Customs, 1789-1833 (39 rolls); Letters Sent to the President by the Secretary of the Treasury, 1833-1878 (1 roll); Treasury Department Papers Relating to the Louisiana Purchase (1 roll)

Documents related to all functions of the Treasury, including collecting customs duties, controlling domestic and international commerce, dealing with smuggling, enforcing navigation laws, overseeing customhouse employees, among other issues.

M4, M15, M16, M74, T58: Letter Book of Creek Trading House, 1795-1816 (1 roll); Letters Sent by the Secretary of War Relating to Indian Affairs, 1800-1824 (6 rolls); Letters Sent by the Superintendent of Indian Trade, 1807-1823 (6 rolls); Letters of Tench Coxe, Commissioner of the Revenue, Relating to Procurement of Military, Naval, and Indian Supplies, 1794-1796 (1 roll); Letters Received by the Superintendent of Indian Trade, 1806-1824 (1 roll)

Correspondence among various government officials related to Indian trade with U.S. government and competition from private merchants. Contains a great deal of information about commerce with native Americans.

M65: Letters Sent by the Office of the Chief of Engineers Relating to Internal Improvements, 1824-1830 (3 rolls)

Three volumes of letter books relating to surveys and reconnaissance directed by the Office of the Chief of Engineers after an act of 1824 authorizing internal improvements.

M246, M847, M859: Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (138 rolls); Special Index to Numbered Records in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, 1775-1783 (39 rolls); Miscellaneous Numbered Records in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, 1775-1790s (125 rolls)

Muster rolls, payrolls, miscellaneous records related to military service

T36: Lt. Zebulon Pike's Notebook of Maps, Traverse Tables, and Meteorological Observations, 1805-1807 (1 roll)

Pike's documentation of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Osage Rivers.

T899: Register of Audits of "Miscellaneous Treasury Accounts" (First Auditor's Office) (1 roll)

Dating from March 1790-March 1814.

M162: The Revolutionary War Prize Cases: Records of the Court of Appeal in Cases of Capture, 1776-1787 (15 rolls)

Records of prize cases heard on appeal.