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Who Do You Think You Are? Paula Deen: Highlights and Deleted Scenes (5/21/12)
If you missed Friday’s Who Do You Think You Are? featuring Paula Deen, be sure to watch it online now. And look below for a highlight along with two deleted scenes, which recount troublesome times for Deen’s ancestors during the American Revolution and Civil War eras.
Ancestry.com Publishes Collection of WWII Cadet Nursing Corp Files (5/9/12)
From Ancestry Press Release:
PROVO, UTAH – (May 7, 2012) – Ancestry.com announced today a collection of more than 300,000 WWII Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files is now available at www.ancestry.com/nursing. The records date between 1942 and 1948 and detail the history of the Corps, providing personal information about Cadet Nursing Corps members, offering a glimpse into the backgrounds of the young women who joined this important program. Ancestry.com is the exclusive location to search the entire Cadet Nursing Corps collection online, making it easy to review this piece of American history and discover personal connections to former Corps nurses.
Upon the United States’ entry into World War II, the Cadet Nursing Corps was established to increase the number of nurses available for war efforts. This collection tells the story of more than 124,000 young women between the ages of 17 and 35 who committed to serve in the
nursing profession during this time. As a part of the program, cadets went through an accelerated training that fit a 36-month course into a
30-month period. Senior cadets then served their last six months in civilian, military and veteran hospitals and other public health agencies, which freed up registered nurses to help with the war effort. All cadets received a scholarship and a monthly stipend, effectively giving these young women an education they otherwise may not have been able to afford.
nursing profession during this time. As a part of the program, cadets went through an accelerated training that fit a 36-month course into a
30-month period. Senior cadets then served their last six months in civilian, military and veteran hospitals and other public health agencies, which freed up registered nurses to help with the war effort. All cadets received a scholarship and a monthly stipend, effectively giving these young women an education they otherwise may not have been able to afford.
“As a former member of the Corps, I am excited to have buy soma medication this important part of our history not only acknowledged, but made available for more
people to learn about this unique wartime effort,” said Thelma Robinson, RN MSN PNP (retired). “I consistently speak with fellow Corps members who are trying to find information about this period of their lives. Putting these records online provides an invaluable resource for them and their families.”
people to learn about this unique wartime effort,” said Thelma Robinson, RN MSN PNP (retired). “I consistently speak with fellow Corps members who are trying to find information about this period of their lives. Putting these records online provides an invaluable resource for them and their families.”
The Cadet Nursing Corps not only served to meet the needs of the United States during World War II, but also promoted the profession of nursing among women. There was a unique social aspect to the program for this period in history – the Corps was non-discriminatory and trained nurses from a wide variety of backgrounds including Native Americans, African Americans and even displaced Japanese Americans.
Unlike other professions, where women left to pursue other interests after the World War II, 85 percent of all nursing students in the United States were a part of the Cadet Nursing Corps.
Unlike other professions, where women left to pursue other interests after the World War II, 85 percent of all nursing students in the United States were a part of the Cadet Nursing Corps.
“While much of the focus around World War II remains on what happened overseas, groups like the Cadet Nursing Corps are an important reminder of the dedication of the U.S. citizens on the home front,” said Dan Jones, Vice President of Content Acquisition, Ancestry.com. “We are
proud to honor those who served as a part of this distinguished group and provide new generations with the opportunity to learn more.”
New National Archives Video Gives an Inside Look at the Civil War Widows’ Pension Digitization Project (5/3/12)
From the National Archives Press Release:
Washington, DC. . .
A team of more than 60 volunteers led by professional staff at the National Archives has crossed the 100,000 mark in a project to digitize Civil War widows’ pension files and is featured in a new National Archives video short. The National Archives holds 1.28 million case files of the dependents of Civil War Union soldiers who applied to the federal government for pensions.
Watch the new video short in the ongoing series “Inside the Vaults” which describes the project. “The Civil War Widows’ Pension Digitization Project at the National Archives”:
The files are an astonishing compendium of Civil War history. Testimony in these files from fellow soldiers, widows, children, siblings and bereaved parents describe their deceased comrades, husbands, brothers and sons and often the circumstances in which they died. The effect of the war on family members left behind is also brought to light in great
detail.
Volunteers are painstakingly preparing the documents for digitization while creating a searchable index. The index and images are available at www.Fold3.com, a research website in partnership with the National Archives. A second partner, FamilySearch, provides volunteers who create the digital images.
Archives specialist Jackie Budell, who is overseeing the project, says the volunteers range in age from 19 to 90 and come from a variety of backgrounds. Collectively they devote more than 700 hours each month to the effort. “The
volunteers are helping to shed light on a large aspect of the Civil War that many historians and sociologists have had little readily-available primary source material to go on – the effect of the war on families back home who were left behind after the soldier’s death,” said Budell.
volunteers are helping to shed light on a large aspect of the Civil War that many historians and sociologists have had little readily-available primary source material to go on – the effect of the war on families back home who were left behind after the soldier’s death,” said Budell.
While making these valuable files more widely available, the volunteers have discovered more treasures in the National Archives’ holdings – personal mementos that became “evidence” when sent to the Pension Bureau long ago
and not seen since: for example, the video includes images of some of these newly-discovered tintype images.
