Serious genealogists look far beyond the Internet for original records and go to great lengths to find them. A key destination is the National Archives in Washington, DC, where you can touch documents your ancestors personally created. In this video, archivist Reginald Washington takes you into the secure stacks where pension records are preserved, and John Humphrey, Certified Genealogist(SM), shares his excitement over the roles his ancestors played in the history of our country. (Film by Kate Geis and Allen Moore)
If you have visited the National Archives building in downtown DC (NARA I), you will recognize the research room where John Humphrey talks. If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit this wonderful facility, this is the room where you get to personally explore any requested records.
If you haven’t been fortunate to take a behind the scenes tour at NARA I or II, which most of us haven’t, the stacks where Reginald Washington takes us will be a rare opportunity for you to get a glimpse of how our nation’s documents are physically archived.
John Humphrey, Certified Genealogist(SM) 
Reginald Washington, Archivist/Genealogy Specialist
Whether you have or have not researched at the National Archives in Washington, DC, or at any of its regional branches, do check out this newest video . It just might inspire you to get your hands on originals of your ancestors’ pension paperwork, immigration and naturalization records, land files, court records, Native American records, census pages, and so much more! Even if you have been to NARA, like I have, I just really enjoyed listening and watching and being reminded of how special it is to find and examine original documents, especially if they are about your ancestors.
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