Hoover Institution Archives - Part 2 of a series on local archives

As the Menlo Park Monday class continues our investigation of archives in the area, we have come across a few which seem to be little known to genealogists, yet which store a fantastic collection of resources.  Well, it depends on what you are researching.



The Hoover Institution is right here in our backyard on the Stanford campus.  There are several repositories here: the main archives, which extends underground right under Hoover Tower (yes), the library with open shelves, which is normally in the tower but is undergoing renovation right now, the exhibit space in a separate building which has rotating exhibits of historical interest, and the institution itself, which provides space for researchers from around the world.

To quote from their website: "Today, the Library & Archives that bear Hoover’s name boast nearly one million volumes and more than six thousand archival collections—in sixty-nine languages from more than one hundred fifty countries—pertaining to war, revolution, and peace in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The Institution's resources support a vibrant international community of scholars and a broad public interested in the meaning and role of history."

Our class went to visit a couple of weeks ago and were met by one of the research librarians who introduced us to some of the more interesting holdings in their collections.
Jean Cannon, Hoover archivist, gave us a most interesting tour of the archives and Vietnam photo exhibition.

We met at the steps to Hoover Tower.  Most of us took the Marguerite shuttle, which stops right in front.

Founded by Herbert Hoover in 1919, the Hoover Institution Library & Archives are dedicated to documenting war, revolution, and peace in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries

 Some of the items on display:  the orders to drop the bomb (lunch first), letters from Chiang Kai-shek, photos of Mao, KGB mug books, a piece of the Lusitania, a skull X-Ray (don't ask).

Joseph Warren Stilwell was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. His caustic personality was reflected in the nickname "Vinegar Joe". Distrust of his Allies and a lack of resources meant Stilwell was continually forced to improvise. 

                      

John McCain, shot down in Hanoi.  American hero.   Mug Book kept by KGB agents.  

WE SHOT THE WAR: OVERSEAS WEEKLY IN VIETNAM   Rarely seen photographs take center stage for the Hoover Library & Archives’ new exhibition We Shot the War: Overseas Weekly in Vietnam

The archives are open to the public.  Registration and a photo ID are required.  Materials allowed are similar to other restricted archives.

Margaret Melaney and the
Trinity Monday Genealogy Club

SMCGS Databases Online: James Crowe Register of Deaths

A transcription by Pam McReynolds, the James Crowe Register of Deaths was first published by SMCGS in 2000,  this volume is an extraction of the records listed in what is known as the San Mateo County Death Record book. The exact intent of the book is not known. There is duplication of many of the records found in San Mateo County Death Register 1 and the San Mateo County Coroner's Index 1, but some records found here are not in either of those volumes and some records listed in those volumes are not found in this volume.

It seems likely that this was the mortuary book of James Crowe, who served as the coroner and owned a mortuary. This would explain it being housed with the country records.

If you browse through this volume you will find it includes deaths that occurred elsewhere. Some
died elsewhere and were buried in the county. Some died in the county and were buried elsewhere. This is in keeping with it being the dealings of the mortuary rather than the coroner or the county.

Whatever the original intent, what you have here is a recording of some of the earliest deaths (1880s-1920s) in San Mateo County.  This is a full transcription of what is in the book including name, age, birth place, death date, death place, marital status, sex, race, occupation, cause of death, physician, cemetery, date of burial and mortuary.

If you do not find the record of someone who supposedly died in here, be sure to check both the San Mateo County Death Register (an index to the earliest death records will be available later this year on SMCGS)  and the San Mateo County Coroner's Index. Other possibilities for early death records are the newspapers or
church records. "

 Check out the other SMCGS Databases and good luck with your research.

SMCGS Databases Online: The SMCGS Obituary Collection

This SMCGS Obituary Collection currently includes over 57,000 indexed and scanned obituaries as well as a large collection of obituaries that are indexed elsewhere.  This project started when the society received the obituary morgue of the Redwood City / Peninsula Times Tribune when they closed their doors.  That original collection was indexed by the SMCGS Computer club.  As it became more troublesome to store and use the obituaries in their original envelopes the society decided to photocopy the obituaries.  The copies were then placed in binders in the SMCGS Library. Eventually the pages started to wear so it was decided that we should scan the pages.  This was the start of the collection that exists today.  

You will find the following collections in the index

• PTT Redwood City Tribune / Peninsula Times Tribune - obituary morgue (1969-1992)  Indexed by SMCGS Computer Club - copied and scanned by Barry Goyette and Cath Trindle
• MISC Obituaries contributed by a variety of sources, newspaper generally unknown (mainly 1960s-1990s) - Copied, Scanned and Indexed by Barry Goyette and Cath Trindle
• SMCHA Obituaries culled from the Biographical files of the San Mateo County Historical Association and added to SMCGS  (mainly 1970-1995 some earlier) - Indexed and scanned by Jo Rebuck, Lauren Perritt , Donna Farmar, Celeste Guillory, Cath Trindle - a work in progress
• DJ Daily Journal - Scanned and Indexed by Jo Rebuck
• BORK Obituaries of San Mateo County Individuals listed in Southern California Newspapers Collected by Eleanor Borkenhagen - Scanned and indexed by Cath Trindle
• DP Daily Post - Scanned and Indexed by Jo Rebuck
• DN Daily News - Scanned and Indexed by Jo Rebuck 
• VET Veteran's Memorial - Scanned and indexed by Cath Trindle 
• DN Daily News - Scanned and Indexed by Jo Rebuck 
• SMCT San Mateo County Times - assorted pages - Scanned and indexed by Cath Trindle

This is an ongoing project.  As the SMCHA culls more obituaries we will add them to the collection.  Additionally if anyone has access to other papers in the county and would like to contribute it would be appreciated.

The following collections which are indexed on Obituary Daily Times are also available in our scanned files.

• Pacifica Times Tribune 1999 + collected and indexed by Chris Havanar scanned by Jean Ann Carroll
• San Mateo Times 1999 + collected and  indexed by Chris Havanar scanned by Jo Rebuck, Donna Farmar, Lauren Perritt and Cath Trindle

To obtain a copy of any obituary in our index or from the collections listed for the Obituary Daily Times see Research Services under Research on the SMCGS website.

Check out the other SMCGS Databases and good luck with your research.