Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen

Oct Mailbag & Navy Veteran Records

• Kathleen Brandt • Episode 33

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The October Mailbag: Naval Veteran Research and Heritage Month
Journey through the National Archives with us as we highlight the distinctions between researching Navy records and other branches. 

Let's celebrate in October:  Family History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and  Naval Research. 

Family History Month Resources

  1. Family Search 31 October celebrations ideas 
  2. National Genealogical Society and Brain Health
  3. Library of Congress

September / October Newsletter 

This episode promises a blend of history, humor, and celebrations.

Be sure to bookmark linktr.ee/hittinthebricks for your one stop access to Kathleen Brandt, the host of Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen. And, visit us on YouTube: Off the Wall with Kathleen John and Chewey video recorded specials.

Hittin' the Bricks is produced through the not-for-profit, 501c3 TracingAncestors.org.
Thanks to MyHeritage for their generous support to Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen! Follow us on social media and subscribe to HTB with Kathleen in order to enter your name in our monthly MyHeritage Complete Package giveaway starting Jan 2024!

John:

Ladies and gentlemen from the depths of flyover country in the heartland of America, the Kansas City on the other side of the Mighty Mo, welcome to another episode of Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen, the do-it-yourself genealogy podcast that features your questions and her answers. I am John, your humble hubby host, and we'll be taking a deep dive into the mailbag for some nautical military research and letting you know where to go to find fun activities for a family history month. All that and so much more. So let's start hitting the bricks. Perfect way to start Are you teasing me for yawning.

John:

Starting with a big yawn, welcome to October everybody. It's cookie time, a little bit of milk and we're all taking a nap.

Kathleen:

I thought this was pumpkin spice season or something that we don't eat at our house.

John:

Yeah, we don't normally do, although I love the smell of it. Hey, we are in the middle of October, but we've just completed Hispanic Heritage Month. Is that what it's? Called it goes from the 15th of September to the 15th of October, and I noticed that on the A3 genealogy blog there was really an interesting article about researching Puerto Rican.

Kathleen:

Yes, I did feature the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. I also only did a newsletter that combined those two months. I did a September, october newsletter, so one newsletter.

John:

Ah, one newsletter to rule them all the.

Kathleen:

Hispanic Heritage. Yes, so I had a lot of fun with it because we had just finished a Puerto Rican podcast and I featured not only the podcast we did with Charlotte, but I also featured how to research. So it's no different than any other research, right, it's the same rules, the same types of records, but they're specific for Puerto Rican heritage. I also, on the newsletter, put in the Mexican heritage hints. The Puerto Rican one is in our blog. The Mexican heritage research is in our newsletter. So there's a little bit of everything because it covers so many countries and throughout the year, since we know the Hispanics are Hispanics 12 months out of the year.

John:

I always have, but I'm very open-minded and progressive, like that.

Kathleen:

Yeah, you're wonderful. I will be featuring other Hispanic heritage from the other countries, because, of course, there's other sets of resources that we have. One of the things that is very interesting about that is the DNA. There is no DNA for Puerto Rican, and I talk about how do you know that? What am I looking for when I'm looking at my DNA? Because a lot of people are looking for something that says Puerto Rican and that's not what happens.

John:

So I'm assuming that when you something that says Puerto Rican and that's not what happens, so I'm assuming that when you're researching a Puerto Rican ancestor, that you have the same hoops to jump through and also the same resources, Because they're represented by the United States or because they are a US territory. Are records? Are they kept in the same place?

Kathleen:

They are not Okay. So these records are primarily in Puerto Rico, unless they joined the US military or they came to America, the mainland, so you're going Military records are important.

John:

You're back into researching it, almost as if it were a separate country from the United States.

Kathleen:

That is correct, your approach, yep, and it's the same approach I would do if it were Samoan.

John:

Okay.

Kathleen:

And some of these records are with the State Department because they're territorial.

John:

Mm-hmm.

Kathleen:

You know they're not in our normal National Archive records that we could go and just grab.

John:

I know the podcast had Charlotte who this played into with her research. But then I know too that your tips on Puerto Rican research on the A3 genealogy blog would be real helpful there.

Kathleen:

It really is, because we're still looking at passenger lists, we're still looking at military records and passports, because they did use passports, which a lot of people forget A lot of times. Because of their work status, they did have a lot of passports.

John:

So, along with that type of research, family research, we went to a celebration of Family History Month.

Kathleen:

Yes, john, and you were my guest for your birthday because I take you to great places on your birthday and that was Union Station for a genealogy. But you got a wonderful dinner with cheesecake, the dinner was great.

John:

The dinner was great. The chicken was wonderful and the cheesecake I had to look at that thing through the whole dinner. It was torture. But the speakers were really very interesting. Alvin Brooks was there, who was a lot of fun to listen to, and the Samoan singers were really really amazing. They were a lot of fun. Yeah, go ahead.

Kathleen:

And Katie Smith from Midwest Genealogy Center was the other speaker.

John:

And there were many people named Katie Smith because I met more than one, kate Smith, that night. Nothing confusing about that at all, but they were all very nice people and it was a really enjoyable evening.

Kathleen:

There were quite a few Katie Smiths, because the NGS person was also Katie Smith.

John:

And the.

Kathleen:

Midwest Genealogy person was Katie Smith. Then there was a Katie at our table, but did you have any part of the evening that you really enjoyed? What about the artifacts?

John:

No, I don't. I don't enjoy at any point in time when I have to talk about me.

Kathleen:

I was excited talking about Joseph Chetister, and I took the dog tags and I was really proud to talk about it at our table?

John:

No, but those are really excellent stories and everybody had really neat stories. Did we do enough on that?

Kathleen:

So I know I do want to talk a little bit about Family History Month though, because that is also the month of October. There are a couple of places I want to highlight, because we still have more of October to do. Highlight, because we still have more of october to do. Okay, one family search has 31 ideas on on how you can celebrate family history month, and it was for one for each day. There's some really fun things there yes and then the library of congress.

John:

I'm so one of the ideas, family search is what?

Kathleen:

it's family search dot. Family searchorg, and I will put all of this on our newsletter too, john. Okay, but in addition to that, I thought the one I thought was most interesting was how did your ancestors celebrate Soul's Day or the Day of the Dead, because that's also October.

John:

And what is this on? Is this on FamilySearch?

Kathleen:

That's on FamilySearch. Yeah, that's also october, and who's right? What is this on? Is this on a family search? Family search, yeah, which?

John:

and the question is how does your, how did your ancestors, celebrate the day of the dead? Yeah, that was one of the the ones I was really interested in looking up for my own, and I wanted to find anything I haven't done it yet.

Kathleen:

That was the 31st. Oh, that's coming up first day, john, and then this did your family. Did your family celebrate halloween?

John:

did you guys do anything on halloween? My brothers terrorized the neighborhood only on halloween, because that would seem like your brothers that was after school till nine o'clock or ten o'clock at night. That's what they probably were doing. It was kind of what we did, probably john, but on halloween they upped it.

Kathleen:

But on Halloween they upped the ante, they upped the ante. They were not the pillar of the community that they are now.

John:

Oh.

Kathleen:

I see, so another one. Another site I want to highlight is the Library of Congress. The one way to celebrate Family History Month is to engage your kids, and they gave great ideas on their website and again I'll put this on the website. But they say use the KWL method, which means give them knowledge and tell them stuff.

John:

That must be the K, but they're not interested.

Kathleen:

Yep, that's the K. Tell great stories that are fun for them, and then let them do the W, which is wonder, and let them ask questions about it, and then learn, where you all can record and share what you had together with your child. Make it as a learning thing, but also a memorable thing.

John:

Yeah, it's an interesting kind of concept to think of. I mean just recording family moments, as opposed to telling a story or writing a story about it years later that it's actually recorded real time.

Kathleen:

And that takes me to the third one. So thank you for that segue. You're welcome. Ngs, the National Genealogical Society. They had a suggestion.

Kathleen:

They had lots of suggestions on their website, but one was about photo preservation and actually having those photos and recordings where you could see people and what I thought was most interesting, it is partnered with the photo reminiscence therapy study.

Kathleen:

It is partnered with the Photo Reminiscence Therapy Study. There is a new study for dementia and Alzheimer's on phototherapy. It's being looked at in several states in nursing homes and in memory care units at the nursing homes and it's really a cool way of thinking of your photos and sharing them with our elders. So I kind of gave an idea of what to do with kids and what to do with the elders. Which, john, that brings me to the last thing I want to mention and that is my heritage and its photo manipulation and its photo programs. So all genealogists should be engaging this with their elders and their children. So I just wanted to mention that, because MyHeritage is the leader in genealogy on this whole AI manipulation with photos, at least in my mind, and I want to make sure that we share them want to make sure that we share them.

John:

Okay, so, going from the idea of maybe helping the older generation connect by using photographs, let me jump to the mailbag, because we're going to go back to World War II, and this is can I? I think I'm just going to read this, is that all right?

Kathleen:

Yeah, sure.

John:

Okay, this is from Brett and he asks I was hoping to obtain any and all records related to World War II era military service in the United States Navy. I am specifically interested in records that would exist for the Pacific Theater. I have a service number for my veteran and have the vessel he was located on. I'm interested in getting deck logs and any other records that you would recommend. Would you have a quote and that I could be provided with thanks and have a great day so you don't need to dump your quote online, um well, I can, because I did not take the the job.

Kathleen:

That's why we're answering it a little bit here online.

John:

Oh, okay, so, yeah, Okay. So your quote is going to be listen up.

Kathleen:

Listen up. We have gotten over the years, John, a lot of questions on Navy, because the Navy is not exactly the same research pattern that we would do with the Army or Coast Guard there are some differences.

John:

Each branch is different.

Kathleen:

Right, there are coast guard. There are some differences. Difference, right there are. But what I couldn't tell was if he was looking for personnel records which are in st louis or if he was looking for more troop records which is in college park college park maryland, maryland yes, college park, maryland, that's the national archives and we call it Archives 2.

Kathleen:

I want people to know that the Navy records are also digitized online. Boat 3 has certain things, ancestor has others, but there is a great article and I will put this also this week up on our blog about Know your Records US Navy Deck Locks. The National Archives has great articles and this is just one, but in general it tells you where to go to get your muster rolls. Those are already online under archivesgov People. People have not visited archivesgov. Who's doing military records or immigration records. These records are up there already digitized. A lot of them?

Kathleen:

for which years I mean well, this is 1939 to 1949 and the muster rolls for the ships, the stations and other activities what's a deck log? I mean a deck log is literally like a muster roll in the field, right.

Kathleen:

But you're literally on the ship, on ship, okay and it will also tell you if someone had to go to the medical or was out or was sick or they got injured. So all of that information is in the deck log also, Because there's also log books, and those log books of the ships and the stations, those go up to 1991. Those two are online and they also have what my favorite collection is. They have the World War II war diaries and with that they have different histories. They also have the US submarine war patrol reports. So all of this is in the information of Know your Records on the US Navy deck logs. But where to go to get them is different and most of it is in College Park Maryland Archives 2. But and most of it is in college park maryland archives too, but a lot of it is online at the archivesgov.

John:

Yeah, that's, that's excellent. Do you prefer one branch over the other? Not, not them all.

Kathleen:

Okay, I know you love I love a man in a uniform, John.

John:

Yeah, I know, I know.

Kathleen:

No, I do not have a preference. I really do love all things military. As far as research goes.

John:

Yeah, my question is is there one branch that's easier to research or more comprehensive in their records? Or, you know, did the Army have a different form than, let's say, the Marines? That just gives you that much more information, or is it all pretty much shakes out they all?

Kathleen:

have different information. Remember there was a fire in 1973 that destroyed a lot of records in St Louis. But there are all these other records that are in DC area and none of them are easier than the others except I love Civil War records you like the old ones. So the old ones, the Civil War records, are pretty much intact. It was kind of neat following them, but I don't have a preference.

John:

You don't have to, you're not required to prefer one thing over the other.

Kathleen:

Thank you.

John:

Except general uniforms. I understand that.

Kathleen:

Well, thanks for that too.

John:

Now, is there anything else you want to cover today, Kathleen?

Kathleen:

Well, one of the big topics that has been coming up this month, especially, probably because it's right before the election- is what is a poll tax? I have probably gotten almost a dozen people asking me something about a poll tax, one way or another, because a poll tax originally started out as a way to fund the government, a way to fund colonies and to fund states, it's noted for the Confederate states. During the Civil War, however, there were 11 other states that were not in the South, that were also that also used the poll tax.

Kathleen:

Yes, I mean Minnesota, pennsylvania, ohio, wisconsin. There was 11 of them California, so we forget about that.

John:

No way, and we're talking about the same time frame, though. Yes.

Kathleen:

During about the Civil War time frame, but then, of course, after the Civil War there was a territory Are you talking about, like California as a territory? Ok, so they use poll taxes to fund colonies and to fund new states.

John:

So as these new states were being funded it was not a oh, so they had an interest in it. It was revenue generation. Now were the poll taxes applied equally, because generally, when I think of poll tax, I think Jim Crow.

Kathleen:

Exactly, that's after the Civil War, war that was during the reconstruction error okay.

John:

So the reconstruction kind of changed the maybe the utilization of poll taxes from being a general fundraiser to being more discriminatory it was.

Kathleen:

It was for the purpose of disenfranchising a group of people. Right right, let's take away their voting rights based on their affordability. So that is why they had that for Jim Crow era. I had to be reminded through all these questions that Jim Crow was actually a minstrel actor. The name of Jim Crowe because some people asked that was one of the questions when does Jim Crowe come from? Why do we call it Jim Crowe? And of course, it was named after a particular famous minstrel actor where he would blacken his face and do silly silly shows, blacken his face and do silly silly shows it was used for the disenfranchising of African-Americans, especially after the Reconstruction era.

Kathleen:

But then there was that third thing, unpoled taxes. And that was with the 24th Amendment when they outlawed a federal tax for voting that did not apply to all the states. Some of the states could still require you to have a form of a poll tax in order to vote.

John:

That was after the Reconstruction.

Kathleen:

Yes, the 24th Amendment. The 24th Amendment was pretty late, John. Yes, it was 1964.

John:

Are you kidding me? That's ridiculous. January 23rd 1964. Abolished and forbids federal and state governments from imposing taxes on voters during federal elections.

Kathleen:

Because originally it was not for the states, it was just federal, and then the 24th Amendment had the states included had the states included.

John:

Okay, so if we're going to say that, really, poll taxes or vestiges of Jim Crow were not eliminated nationwide until 1964, then I'm thinking there's 1968, and I believe there was a Voter Right Act. That was necessary, exactly, and so, apparently, the elimination of the idea of, hey, you can't infringe on people's right to vote. Apparently that didn't take and they needed to have a Voter's Right Act, but of course we know that just got gutted.

Kathleen:

So the one beforehand was you couldn't add a tax to vote but, there were a lot of other ways to keep people from voting. Like intimidation and misinformation, and exactly, yeah, so that is something that we should know about, because, of course, our ancestors either went through it or they they were complicit or they fought against it. There was, our ancestors played a role in this, no matter who you are in america true, true.

Kathleen:

You have to recognize where you've been, so that you first of all don't make the same mistake again which we teach our kids. So I'm not sure why adults have forgotten that rule and that you can grow. You can grow.

John:

you can't correct.

Kathleen:

Yeah, if you can't recognize it, then so, John, the only other thing I wanted to make sure we brought up winners maybe our winners, our winners. Let's hear it because we have.

John:

I know, I know they're you're announcing two today, right?

Kathleen:

they both have been rewarded and they both accepted.

John:

Right, that is correct okay, and are we giving their names out, sure?

Kathleen:

you are so silly general.

John:

It's so we have both august and september august was uh laurie burdock miller, who has been a guest, and she has been a guest yeah, and she's got her research firm red bird red bird research out of st louis. I have a block on that red bird thing, because I just on it's like a cardinal right and so it's st louis and it's cardinal and that's why I have a block because all I think of is all I think of is royals so laurie was on the podcast, as you mentioned.

Kathleen:

I've known her for years so I was really happy to award it to her because she was a subscriber and, as you know, these are random. We just go through and there's one person picked for that month and then for september we have laura hardman laura has will be receiving her certificate today, but yes, she accepted.

John:

So they'll be receiving a MyHeritage Complete Package.

Kathleen:

And they can start with their photo manipulation for brain health.

John:

For brain health exactly Get your brain healthy, let's see.

Kathleen:

So that's all I have, John. Do you have something else?

John:

I'm looking, you look wonderful. You really do look good no, you really look nice over there, and and I'm saying this because I know I look fantastic too- so I'm thinking, john, because you're making it sound like I owe you lunch.

Kathleen:

I am thinking about taking you to costco to get a dog. You'll love that lunch. No, okay, never mind.

John:

Give me a chance. Let me put on my dress clothes.

John:

Sounds great, let me put on my Sunday clothes and we'll go get us a hot dog. Well, congratulations, you made it to the end of another episode. Thanks so much for staying. Thanks to MyHeritage and Legacy Family Tree webinars. Thanks to Chewy Chewbacca Brandt, our part-time vexophile and full-time serologist, for his unwavering lack of interest in anything we're doing. The theme song for Hittin' the Bricks was written and performed by Tony Fisknuckle and the Wisdoms Watch for their next appearance at the Ratskeller behind the Student Union at Prairie View AFM University. You can find us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Do you have a genealogical question for Kathleen? Drop us a line at hittingthebricks at gmailcom and let us know.

People on this episode

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Kathleen Brandt

Host
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John Brandt

Co-host