Government Records

Health Department Photograph Album on Flickr

On March 19, 2013, in Digital Archives, Government Records, Photographs, by wsampson
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Mississippi State Department of Health Photograph Album, ca. 1930s

Mississippi State Department of Health Photograph Album, ca. 1930s. Call Number: Series 2167 (MDAH Collection)

Series 2176 – Mississippi State Department of Health Photograph Album, ca. 1930s – is now available on Flickr, as well as our Digital Archives.

The series contains a photograph album of sixty-eight black and white 5 x 7 inch prints depicting general health activities throughout Mississippi. The prints are arranged by subject: State Tuberculosis Sanatorium, County Health Camp for Tuberculous Patients, Medical and Popular Health Education, Sanitation, Malaria, Child Health Conferences, Dental Hygiene, Maternity Center, Midwifery, Protection against Communicable Disease, Child Health Day Program, and Home Visits by Public Health Nurse. Most of the photographs are not dated but are believed to have been taken in the 1930s.

Mississippi State Department of Health Photograph Album, ca. 1930s

Mississippi State Department of Health Photograph Album, ca. 1930s. Call Number: Series 2167 (MDAH Collection)

 

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Today is Electronic Records Day 10.10

On October 10, 2012, in Digital Archives, Government Records, by wsampson
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Electronic Records Day 10.10

Electronic Records Day


Although we usually use this space to showcase physical works from our archives, we’d like to take this day, deemed Electronic Records Day 10.10 by the Council of State Archivists, to highlight an equally vital part of what we do here: managing and providing access to government records – and more frequently these days, born-digital government records.

Born-digital records are records that originated in digital form – on a computer. Increasingly, this is becoming the dominant mode of records creation for government agencies.

What’s coming to the State Archives these days in born-digital form?

  • Election records
  • Correspondence – often email – of government officials
  • Health statistics
  • Audit reports
  • Agency publications
  • Photographs

These are just a few examples of archival records that often exist only in electronic form and that MDAH must safeguard, process and maintain.

Government E-Records Tips

  • Consult Your Records Retention Schedule: Know what retention periods have been approved (both minimum and maximum) and take appropriate actions (e.g. transfer to the State Archives, destroy, etc.) when the retention period for your records has been met.
  • You’ve Got to Have Standards: Ensure you have a trusted system and that your records are authentic (see ISO 15489, ISO 16363, DoD5015.02, metadata standards, etc).
  • Organization is key: Who’s in charge of the shared file? Are people using email as a filing cabinet rather than a communication tool? Which copy is the record copy?
  • Make the Rules: Naming conventions, file organization, and disposition strategies all help now and in the long term. Make the rules known and follow them.
  • Do You Have Backup? Does your backup system work? How well will it actually restore your e-records? Can you retrieve individual items? Consider off-site storage.
  • Understand Metadata: It’s data about your data (and helps your records live long and prosper).
  • Keep the content, context, and structure: How can you keep all three of these characteristics viable for your records? Hint: metadata helps!
  • Do you have built-in strategies? Can you migrate your e-records? Transfer them to the archives?
  • Does delete mean delete? E-records proliferate easily. Do you have a plan to manage deletion of all copies that should be deleted? E-discovery will include all files.
  • Think before you scan: Standards, worthiness, naming conventions, storage, and retrieval (among other things) should be considered before you turn that scanner on for the most efficient and useful results.

 

 

 

Now Online: Series 499, Alien Enemies Documents (War of 1812)

On September 5, 2012, in Digital Archives, Government Records, Paper Archives, by Amanda
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Circular, Jas. Monroe to secretary of Mississippi Territory. Call Number: Series 499, doc number 5 (MDAH)

Circular, Jas. Monroe to secretary of Mississippi Territory. Call Number: Series 499, doc number 5 (MDAH)

Series 499: Alien Enemies Documents (War of 1812), 1812-1815, contains documents relating to the monitoring of British subjects in the Mississippi Territory during the period when the U.S. was engaged in the War of 1812. A circular dated July 11, 1812, and signed by U.S. Secretary of State James Monroe declared that “all subjects of His Britannic Majesty, residing within the United States, have become alien enemies…” (See document # 5 above). As such, British subjects were compelled by law to report to their respective territorial secretaries, who in turn reported to the U.S. Department of State. The following information was required in the reporting process: age, length of time in the U.S., family description, place of residence, occupation, and whether or not application for naturalization had been made.

The documents include copies of the pertinent acts and instructions transmitted to and throughout the territories, individual reports of British subjects (many of which include place of birth – Great Britain, Ireland, and Scotland), and returns of county officials reporting in summary to the territorial secretary. Also included are a number of related documents such as accompanying cover letters and communications with the U.S. Secretary of State.

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Educable Children Records Now Online

On August 21, 2012, in Digital Archives, Government Records, Paper Archives, by Amanda
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This page shows 10 year old Elvis Presley. Series 21: Enumeration of Educable Children, Lee County, 1945, p 68 (MDAH)

Ten year old Elvis Presley is listed on this page of Series 21: Enumeration of Educable Children (Lee County, 1945, p 68, MDAH)

Genealogy researchers have another tool to locate ancestors in two recently digitized government records collections, Series 105, Educable Children Lists and Series 21, Enumeration of Educable Children. Educable children records have proven invaluable to researchers trying to locate elusive Mississippians, as some families missed by the state or federal census may be found in these records. They also include records from the 1950s which is useful to researchers because the most recent census available is the 1940 census.

The materials presented here include lists of educable (school age) children submitted by Mississippi counties to the state’s Secretary of State and Department of Education. The lists vary in content by year and may include such information as name, age, gender, race, election district or ward, name of parent or guardian, address, and reason for withdrawal from school. The records, which are not indexed, are grouped by county. Click here to learn more and browse the records.

Pictured above is the record of ten year old Elvis Presley in the Enumeration of Educable Children for Lee County in 1945. Elvis is listed with his father, V.E. (Vernon Elvis) Presley and was attending East Tupelo School.

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Administration Papers of Mississippi Territory (Series 488) Online

On August 1, 2012, in Digital Archives, Government Records, Paper Archives, by Amanda
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Letter, Governor Holmes, Washington, to Colonel McGahy, asking the result of his conversation with Major Gerald. Call number: Series 488, doc number 2562 (MDAH)

Letter, Governor Holmes, Washington, to Colonel McGahy, asking the result of his conversation with Major Gerald. Call number: Series 488, doc number 2562 (MDAH)

Now available online, Series 488: Administration Papers are loose documents related to all aspects of the administration of the Mississippi Territory (1798-1817). The series has been referred to as the correspondence of the territorial governors, including Winthrop Sargent, William C. C. Claiborne, Robert Williams, and David Holmes, but the scope is larger. The papers pertain to the workings of the territorial government (i.e., the duties of the governor, the legislature, the military, and the courts, as well as early county governments and individuals’ affairs), and touch upon most of the important themes in the government: Indian relations and lands, adjacent U.S. territories (particularly Louisiana), allegiance to the United States and duty to its service, and safe travel and trade for citizens.

Click here to browse the collection and learn more.

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