A man is in custody in connection with a cold case murder in western Wisconsin that has gone unsolved for 50 years.

On Thursday, the Dunn County Sheriff's Office announced that genetic genealogy had identified Jon Miller, an 84-year-old Minnesota man, as a "viable suspect" in the 1974 death of Mary K. Schlais.

Officials say Schlais, 25, was killed in the township of Spring Brook in Dunn County on Feb. 15, 1974.Investigation revealed Schlais was hitchhiking from Minneapolis to Chicago for an art show.

Over the course of the next several decades there were many tips, leads, and interviews conducted related to this homicide by multiple law enforcement agencies. There were also several items of evidence examined and re-examined over the years as technological advances in DNA were developed. Still, no viable suspects were identified.

It wasn't until recently, when Dunn County investigators began working with a New Jersey college and their team of genetic genealogists, that Miller was identified as a suspect.

Authorities say when Miller was confronted with the evidence, he "confirmed his involvement with Mary's homicide in 1974."

Miller is in custody in Minnesota and awaiting extradition back to Wisconsin. Online court records show he is facing a first-degree murder charge and is being held on a $1 million bond.

David Rojas was found guilty of a 35-year-old murder case Thursday evening.

Rojas was linked to the murder by forensic genetic genealogy. It's the first murder case tried in Dallas County based on that technology.

He faces an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Decades after Mary Hague Kelly's murder in Oak Cliff, advances in DNA forensics helped identify her suspected killer.

Rojas was arrested in 2022 after Dallas County's Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences matched DNA from the crime scene with user-submitted genealogy databases, like ancestry.com or 23 and me.

Former Dallas County Chief Medical Examiner Jeffrey Barnard helped match the DNA.

"The cause of death was — I had no question about," he said. "But in terms of who did it. So once our DNA got to where you actually can do database and [Combined DNA Index System] database, I went back through the logbooks trying to find cases that maybe we could solve and we solved a bunch."

Barnard testified in the trial this week.

Kelly was 78 and had been strangled and raped in her home.

If convicted of capital murder, 55-year-old Rojas would get an automatic life sentence. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

His family had lived next door to Kelly when she was killed in 1989.

The following was written by TheGenealogist:

Search over half a million names

Ahead of Remembrance Sunday, TheGenealogist is proud to announce the release of a collection of military records spanning over half a million names. This collection provides invaluable insights into the service and sacrifices of members of the British Armed Forces and colonial forces throughout history.

Active Service Section 3rd VB The Black Watch 24th Jan 1900 from The Muster-Roll of

Angus, South African War, 1899-1902

"This collection offers a glimpse into the service and sacrifices of our military and naval personnel throughout history," said Mark Bayley of TheGenealogist. "As we approach Remembrance Sunday, we are honoured to provide researchers and historians access to these invaluable resources, which contain the names of over half a million individuals who served their countries with courage and distinction."

The newly released records include:

• Naval and Military Despatches Vol. IV-VI (1915 - 1916)
  

• The British Roll of Honour 1837-1887

• Return of The Names of The Officers in The Army 1811-1816

• Surrey Musters, Part I-III 1544-1684

• The Army List for 1881

• The Army List for September 1933

• The East-India Register and Directory, 1811

• The East-India Register and Army List, 1842

• The Last Post, Roll of Officers (Naval, Military or Colonial) who fell in South Africa 1899-1902 (also includes War Correspondents and Nurses who lost their lives)

• The Muster-Roll of Angus, South African War, 1899-1902 (with 700 portraits)

• A List of the Flag Officers and Other Commissioned Officers of His Majesty's Fleet, 1826

• List of Officers of the Navy of the United States and of the Marine Corps, 1775-1900

• Naval Worthies of Queen Elizabeth's Reign 1562-1643

• Navy - Pensions, Compensations, and Allowances

• The Royal Navy List for 1901

• The Navy List for 1902

• The Navy List for April 1915

• The Navy List for April 1932

• The Navy List for July 1915

• The Navy List for January 1929

• Arbroath & District Roll of Honour 1939-1945

The release of these records coincides with Remembrance Sunday, a solemn occasion when we pay tribute to the members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty. TheGenealogist's comprehensive military records collection allows individuals to delve into their family histories and honour the legacy of their ancestors who served.

One of the many interesting characters in these new records is Norman Douglas Holbrook, a remarkable submariner with extraordinary courage, skill, and determination - read his story here:https://thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2024/how-a-wwi-submarine-raid-birthed-a-hero-and-a-town-half-a-world-away-7864/

Explore the parish records and start your genealogical journey today with TheGenealogist. To celebrate this release, for a limited time you can claim a Diamond Subscription for the price of a Gold subscription at just £98.95 along with a FREE online magazine - a saving of over £64. You can claim this offer here: https://thegenealogist.co.uk/MGBMIL1124

This offer expires 14th February 2025.

About TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist is an award-winning online family history website, who put a wealth of information at the fingertips of family historians. Their approach is to bring hard to use physical records to life online with easy to use interfaces such as their Tithe and newly released Lloyd George Domesday collections. 

TheGenealogist’s innovative SmartSearch technology links records together to help you find your ancestors more easily. TheGenealogist is one of the leading providers of online family history records. Along with the standard Birth, Marriage, Death and Census records, they also have significant collections of Parish and Nonconformist records, PCC Will Records, Irish Records, Military records, Occupations, Newspaper record collections amongst many others.

TheGenealogist uses the latest technology to help you bring your family history to life. Use TheGenealogist to find your ancestors today!

David Rencher, FamilySearch Chief Genealogy Officer, receives the Italian Heraldic Genealogical Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 36th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences (ICGHS) in Boston, Masschusetts. L-R: Manuel Pardo de Vera Y Díaz, Giorgio Cuneo, and David Rencher.

FamilySearch International’s Chief Genealogical Officer, David Rencher, received the Italian Heraldic Genealogical Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 36^th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences (ICGHS). The award ceremony was held at the international congress’s annual conference on September 27, 2024, in Boston, Massachusetts—marking the first time the ICGHS was held in the United States—and recognized Rencher’s life-long work and influence in advancing the field of genealogy.

The Italian Heraldic Genealogical Institute’s award is the highest distinction offered by the ICGHS and is presented to institutions or individuals recognized for their extraordinary, valuable, and selfless work in favor of the Documentary Sciences of History. The award was presented by Dr. Pier Felice degli Uberti, president of the Istituto Araldico Genealogico Italiano (Italian Heraldic Genealogical Institute).

The distinguishing award was a complete surprise to Rencher. “I am humbled and honored. I was not expecting this,” remarked Rencher. “I appreciate all the great work the (ICGHS) society does and the window it gives us into a field (Heraldry) with which many genealogists are unfamiliar. And they always produce the highest quality content.”

The theme of the ICGHS 2024 event was “Origins, Journeys, Destinations.” Content focused on how heritage and identity (cultural identities) are often shaped by the journeys people make—from overseas migrations and movement of ethnic groups across Europe, to the formation of modern metropolises today. Two overlapping areas of focus were heraldry and genealogy—heraldry being the study of the design, ranks, and meanings of coats of arms, and associated genealogies of families entitled to them.

“Genealogy can benefit from and add to the family groups that heraldic symbols represent. Heraldry was very much a part of European history, and even earlier in other areas of the world. Symbols showed rank and honor,” Rencher explained.

Rencher is part of the ICGHS’s genealogy subcommittee and arranged genealogical education sessions for its conference. “Heraldry exists in many forms: It can be the designs on shields and other attire worn by knights, flags, royal emblems, family crests, the tartans of Scottish clans, and so forth.”

Rencher pointed out that people don’t think much about heraldry in the United States but said it does still have a presence here. For example, nearly all cities, towns, and states have some sort of heraldic shield or coat of arms to symbolize their identity. “Collegiate coats of arms are very much embedded in the Ivy League universities such as Yale and Harvard—but other universities also have some sort of similar symbol,” he added.

FamilySearch has an interest in Heraldry and its ties to helping individuals understand early family connections originating in the medieval period. The FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, has a medieval collection and the FamilySearch Wiki to assist people with this kind of research.

A library book that was 51 years overdue is finally back in its rightful place in the Worcester Public Library, all thanks to the keen eyes of a Boston resident.

Worcester Public Library's only copy of "The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley" was discovered somewhere in Boston and brought to the Cambridge Public Library, who realized the book wasn't theirs, and contacted the library in Worcester.

Alex London, the genealogy and local history librarian with the Worcester Public Library, got the call.

"I was contacted by a librarian at the Cambridge Public Library," he said. "Someone had come into the library with the book and they were able to save it from essentially being thrown away."

"The book was borrowed in 1973, with a return date of May 22, 1973," London said, adding it's the longest overdue book he's seen returned during his employment with the library.

Most outstanding library books are lost in attics and basements, London said, and often found when someone is moving, someone dies or during a deep clean.

Published in 1899, the book was added to the library's collection that same year.

"It's a rarity that someone found this," he said. "but not only that they found it, but that it is in such good condition."

The book had been overdue for so long, it missed the modern digitization of the library, effectively removing the title from the library's catalog altogether.

The library in Worcester no longer charges overdue fines for books but will still send out reminders to those who do not return items.

"The WPL's mission is to make services and information available to everyone, and they believe that charging overdue fines goes against that mission," the library states on its website.

Access to photography has never been greater, yet now the risk of the family archive dying out has never been more of an issue. This article explains why the digital age has put the family archive in danger, and what we, as photographers, can do about this.

There has never been a time in history when we have documented our lives more, now that everyone has a smartphone camera in their pockets. The snapshot has become completely disposable. Once valued as part of a family archive, now only "Instagram-worthy" images are uploaded to social media—complete with filters—then deleted from phones to clear space for more pictures of plates of food and picture-perfect selfies. This is a frightening prospect, as it changes what we choose to document and what we filter out. Over time, this alters how family life is captured and relayed to generations to come.

For those of you old enough to remember, there was excitement involved in returning from vacation and sending your film rolls to be developed, in what was usually a 7-day service. Waiting with bated breath for the prints added to the sense of anticipation and prolonged the memories of your trip. The joy of flipping through packs of 36 glossy 6x4 prints, reliving the adventures captured, is a sentiment cherished by those who experienced it. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, my parents used to invite friends and extended family over in the evening to pass around family photographs and tell them all about our trips away. Some others would bring their own images too, if they had recently traveled or had a special occasion. Nowadays, digital images from vacations are shared online during the trip, with updates almost every day or, at the very least, all shared in one dump at the end of the vacation. Now, I likely wouldn't click on a social media post from a friend's vacation to view 100 or more images unless I had some time to kill. Swiping and liking is no comparison to holding printed photographs in your hands.

As the only living photographer in the family, I have automatically become the custodian of my family archive, responsible for cataloging and caring for the images so that future generations can connect with us and witness the decades of documentation, which provides an insight into who we are as a family.

My great-grandparents' wedding photograph, estimated to have been taken around 1900, is displayed proudly in my mother's home. Yes, one single photograph exists of the couple, with crooked smiles to commemorate the special occasion. At that point in history, portrait photography was reserved for the wealthy, and so, for people like my great-grandparents, paying and sitting for a wedding portrait would be a very special occasion. It was possibly the only portrait they ever had taken in their lives. This image is hung on a wall in a hallway with no windows, away from direct sunlight to minimize fading. The image has also been scanned to preserve it for future generations, but who knows if the digital data will be readable in TIFF format by then.

Caring for Printed Images

Historical documentation is irreplaceable, and the same applies to the family archive. Printed photographs, when stored effectively, can last for hundreds of years, offering invaluable glimpses into the past. These visual records capture moments and memories that would otherwise be lost, preserving the essence of family heritage for future generations. Most old prints have been created using negatives and photosensitive paper. C-type or silver halide prints are the most common for these family snaps, either from film or more recently from digital negatives. When stored correctly, these will last for well over 100 years.

Treat your family photographs like museum artifacts, because they are an important indicator of your family history. What you store these prints in is just as important as the location of long-term storage. If you have numerous loose prints, consider cataloging these by date, even if you are just estimating the year, and group them by size. Larger prints can be stored in archival boxes that are acid-free and suitable for long-term storage.

My mother at 18, 1968

Ideally, for smaller prints, photo albums are a fantastic solution for storage. If this takes up too much space, you could opt for boxed storage or acid-free photo sleeves, which will allow for more streamlined storage. Tissue paper is great for fighting against moisture, but you will need to ensure that you use acid-free tissue paper for this purpose to avoid any chemicals contaminating your prints. It is a good idea to swap out tissue, every 10-12 years should be frequent enough. Your negatives should be stored flat in appropriate sleeves to avoid deterioration or damage.

Choose a dry, safe, and secure location for your printed archive, with a constant temperature. Your garage is likely going to experience too much fluctuation in temperature and invite damp air in colder weather. Choosing indoor locations would be better, such as a closet, a dry basement, or a loft. Ensure there is plenty of airflow, and your photographs are not on the floor or stored against external walls to maintain a stable temperature.

Your Digital Archives

Another key step to ensuring the long-term survival of your family archive is to digitize your printed photographs. Investing in a flatbed scanner will allow you to digitize prints and photo negatives to ensure that your family archive lives on after prints have deteriorated.

As photographers, you should already have an organized digital archive; however, if not, it is not too late to get your digital storage in order. There are many methods for this, and everyone will have their own workflow. However, current best advice is to have your images backed up in three places to avoid loss: one copy of your images in cloud storage solutions like Google Photos, iCloud, or Dropbox, and two separate hard drives. These hard drives should not be stored at the same address, so consider renting long-term storage or asking a family member to keep some drives as a backup. Your images should be properly named and organized by date, with a clear folder structure to help find those images when you need them. If you don’t already, get into the practice of adding keywords into your metadata so that if you forget when an image was taken, you can search for the image by describing what is in the image.

Spread the Word

Engage in conversations with people about their family archive. Ask what they do with their images once they have shared them on social media. More often than not, day-to-day life is now captured with a smartphone, which is where the images are kept until they upgrade to a new phone with larger storage capacity, with some opting for cloud storage. It has been eight years since I closed my photography studio, yet I still receive requests from past clients asking if they can have further copies of their images. One customer told me that she had lost all of her images of her daughter as a young child due to a water-damaged phone, and hoped that I still had images from her newborn photoshoot, which, of course, I did. Another customer contacted me after losing printed portraits of her child in a divorce, seeking further copies. I have had requests for, and given away, many digital images after finding out that people I photographed had passed away. Having an organized digital archive allows me to do this, but most people are not photographers and have not set up a digital archive, meaning that there is a high risk of image loss among members of the public.

In an era dominated by digital screens, the physical family archive offers an offline experience, allowing individuals to switch off and engage in a more mindful and reflective activity. Looking through these photographs provides a unique opportunity to appreciate the past and strengthen familial bonds away from the distractions of modern technology. It is such an enriching experience, which doesn’t have to end in the digital age. Losing the family archive would mean facing a significant disconnection from family history and roots. These archives are more than just pictures; they hold emotional and cultural significance, revealing who looks like whom, and providing a sense of identity and lineage that binds generations together.

Document life as it is, not in picture-perfect setups. When documenting your family, don’t consider your online connections as your audience. Consider your children, and their children, who I’m sure would like to see life as it was, not as you wanted it to seem.

By adopting best practices for digital image storage and educating others, we can preserve our family archives for future generations. Let us take proactive steps today to safeguard the precious moments of our lives. Do you have any tips for organizing or storing your family archive?

The following is a press release written by Findmypast:

• Research from Findmypast has revealed that 1.18 million wartime stories could be lost to history forever, as two thirds (64%) of Brits admit they haven't researched an ancestor who served

• To combat this, all records on Findmypast will be free to the public over the Remembrance weekend (7-11 November 2024) 

• Delve into ancestors’ wartime experiences – from WRENS to frontline troops – in millions of military records

• The 1921 Census will be free to view for the first time, offering a snapshot of interwar life

• Uncover the details of family heroics and tragedy within the pages of Findmypast’s treasure trove of historical newspapers

• Preserve stories and memories in a family tree and take advantages of helpful free tools and features

This Remembrance weekend, Findmypast is offering free access to all records to enable more people to discover their family’s wartime experiences.

This comes after new research conducted by Findmypast revealed that 1.18 million wartime stories are at risk of being forgotten, with a staggering two thirds (64%) of Brits admit they haven't researched an ancestor who served. 

From 7 November – 11 November, anyone can delve into the billions of records and historical newspapers on Findmypast, including the exclusive 1921 Census for the first time.

With millions of military records available – from WWI service records to medical records, enrolment forms, and rolls of honour – you can trace every detail of your ancestors’ wartime service across the globe. 

With millions of women serving in in uniform and undertaking civilian wartime roles, make sure to uncover their stories in record sets including the WRENs files, Red Cross volunteer lists, rolls of honour, and service records. 

Newspapers on Findmypast offer a treasure trove of information and stories. You might find details of your ancestors’ wartime heroics, images of your community during the blitz, or fascinating insights into the reporting of major milestones in the war. Follow history as it happened with free access to millions of newspaper pages, digitised in partnership with the British Library.

With the 1921 Census offered free for the first time, you can also discover the impacts of the First World War on your family’s lives. Uncover their changing occupations and reflect on tragic losses, all documented in the largest and most comprehensive census in British history. Trace their lives further into the 20^th century with the 1939 Register, taken on the advent of the Second World War.

Plus, you’ll get free use of all Findmypast’s tools and features to aid your research and grow your tree. Preserve your findings with Findmypast’s online family tree builder, and allow the clever hints to get your family history further, faster and with more accuracy. Search for ancestors within the branches of other members’ tree and uncover new connections. Discover milestone moments with Family Notices, and map these onto their profile. 

Sarah Bush, Managing Director at Findmypast said: "Remembrance Day provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on our ancestors’ sacrifices, but research shows many stories remain untold. We’re encouraging people to honour their ancestors by uncovering their wartime stories. Every family’s wartime experience is unique, so we’re making our vast and varied collection of records, newspapers and tools on Findmypast free to ensure that no story is left behind.”

When Chelsea LaRoe was 4 years old, her Utah father vanished. “I spent my entire life wondering why he left and if he ever thought about me as a kid growing up,” LaRoe said in a Nov. 4 video release shared to Facebook by the Weber County Sheriff’s Office. “It made me sad, angry and filled with questions.”

Decades later, a knock at her door in August finally gave her some answers. “That day changed everything,” LaRoe said. Two Weber County detectives told her they had information about a family member. “I thought, ‘I don’t have any family members in Weber County,’ and they told me it was about my dad,” she said. Using genetic genealogy, detectives identified a body found burning within an abandoned boat in a field as her father, Kevin Lynn Capps, Detective Ty Hebdon said in the video release.

‘BODY WAS UNRECOGNIZABLE’

After seeing a fire blazing in a field in the spring of 1992, deputies arrived to find “an abandoned boat (that) was engulfed in flames,” Hebdon said. They also saw a body “within the boat and flames,” according to Hebdon. Deputies put out the fire, but “the body was unrecognizable,” Hebdon said. Deputies didn’t find anything around at the scene to help identify the body, according to Hebdon. The fire and person’s death were considered suspicious, Hebdon said.

Through an autopsy, investigators learned the body belonged to a man between the ages of 30 and 45 years old, Hebdon said. Investigators checked dental records of missing persons from surrounding areas and states, but none belonged to the unidentified man, Hebdon said. Despite efforts to identify the man, including submitting his DNA to national databases, his name remained a mystery, Hebdon said. “The case has been cold for the last 32 years,” Hebdon said.

GENETIC GENEALOGY TO ID

With a newly formed cold case task force, Hebdon said the sheriff’s office reexamined the case with a “fresh set of eyes and ideas.” “Detectives set out on identifying the victim by using advanced DNA testing, including investigative genetic genealogy testing,” Hebdon said. Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with “traditional genealogical methods” to create “family history profiles,” according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related. The sheriff’s office partnered with Othram Inc., a forensic genetic genealogy company, after getting funding from the Utah Department of Public Safety, the company said in a news release. Othram said its scientists created a DNA profile for the unknown man, which was then used in genealogy research. This profile helped law enforcement find potential relatives for the man, Othram said.

After a relative submitted a DNA sample, the remains were confirmed to be Capps, the company said. He was 30 at the time of his death, according to Hebdon. “At the time of Kevin’s death, he left behind a then-4-year-old daughter,” Hebdon said. The day LaRoe learned her father’s body had been identified gave her “closure of knowing,” she said. “I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so I just did both,” LaRoe said. Anyone with information about Capps and the circumstances leading to his death is asked to contact deputies at 801-778-6646.

Weber County is about a 40-mile drive north from Salt Lake City.

Read more at: https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article295065919.html#storylink=cpy

School maintenance staff across Minnesota have a new task on their to-do list: Report to the state the levels of lead in school drinking water.

Since 2018, Minnesota has required its schools to test for lead at least once every five years. But until an update made in the 2023 legislative session, there was no requirement that school officials report the test results to the state and no threshold for the amount of lead that requires action. The new standard, which took effect in July, requires districts to report test results and remediation efforts to the state.

Schools are now required to remedy within 30 days any faucet with lead levels higher than five parts per billion — the limit set by the Food and Drug Administration for bottled water — or else directly notify families of test results. Districts have five years to test all of their buildings and get levels under that threshold. By law, a school is not financially responsible for remediation if high lead levels are caused by lead pipes owned by a public water supply utility.

Before the updated mandates, “there wasn’t a whole lot of guidance for schools on when they take action,” said Anna Schliep, lead drinking water coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Health.

There is no safe level of lead, a dangerous neurotoxin that can cause mental and physical development problems in children, according to EPA. The metal is found in older water pipes, plumbing fixtures and even in the soldering that connects piping.

The Biden administration has attempted to tackle the problem by making water systems map lead service lines — or pipes on private property that connect homes and businesses to public water supplies. Minnesota, meanwhile, committed $240 million last year to help replace those lead service lines and is collecting information on lead pipes in a statewide map. The state Department of Health plans to create a similar map later this year showing lead levels at schools and childcare centers across the state.

Checking old plumbing

St. Paul Public Schools has more than 6,500 water taps across the district. Though district staff have been regularly sampling water since 2009, efforts ramped up this year, said Brian Bergstrom, the district’s environmental specialist. He aims to test lead levels in two buildings per month — a schedule that will ensure all taps in each of St. Paul’s 74 buildings are tested within the five-year timeframe required by the state.

“We don’t just want to meet this new number because it’s the new number,” he said. “We want to use this as the justification to take a holistic look at our aging infrastructure in a lot of our older buildings.”

Earlier this year, the district hired a plumber to replace fixtures with high lead levels. If a tap shows lead levels above five parts per billion, the water is shut off and a work order is put in, Bergstrom said. St. Paul schools facilities staff also aims to install additional filtered water fountains in buildings, for which the state offers grant money.

In Fridley schools, maintenance staff recently conducted an audit of each water fixture and implemented a schedule for custodians to flush the plumbing. The state Department of Health recommends running water through pipes to clear any stagnant supply after school breaks stretching longer than a week.

“We want this to be the last worry for our families and want them to know we’re on top of things,” said Rochelle Cox, senior officer of operations for Fridley schools. She added that testing reports and monitoring plans are available on the district website.

Jim Muenzenmeyer, buildings and grounds director for Eastern Carver County schools said the district’s previous threshold was 20 parts per billion.

“We had no problem getting to that,” he said, adding that bringing all the district’s drinking water below the new standard will be “fairly easy” but take more staff time.

Some of the highest readings are in “low-flow situations” — sinks in unused corners of older schools, like in a long-shuttered dark room once used to develop film, Muenzenmeyer said. Those taps may require a more frequent flushing schedule or removal if they are no longer needed, he said.

“We realize the importance of this,” he said. “Everyone wants clean water for our kids.”

On the 100-year anniversary of race riots erupting in the predominantly Black-populated and affluent Greenwood District in the city of Tulsa, OK, the city launched an investigation into unmarked graves in likely mass burial sites resulting from the riots. The laboratory assisting Tulsa, Intermountain Forensics, turned to the National Archives for records to help identify individuals from those graves. Based on those records, the first positive identification was made earlier this summer: a World War I veteran named C. L. Daniel.

Letter written to the Veterans Administration on behalf of C.L. Daniel’s mother citing Daniel’s death ‘in a race riot in Tulsa Oklahoma in 1921’ from the Deceased Veterans Claim File of C.L. Daniel in the National Archives at St. Louis’ holdings.

View in National Archives Catalog

The 1921 event has been called both the Tulsa Race Riot and Tulsa Race Massacre, and it resulted in a massive loss to Black lives and properties. Investigations into the excavated burial sites sought to identify the remains using a combination of forensic genealogy and community statements and family histories about family members interred after the riots. 

This extensive research led to many possible identifications, but in July it yielded its first result. Intermountain Forensics came across possible veteran matches for the burials and consulted the National Archives to confirm the identity. 

“The Intermountain Forensics 1921 Tulsa Identification Project forensic investigative genetic genealogy group  submitted several requests related to burials,” said Anna Kampwerth, a supervisory archives specialist at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). “The requests were for World War I–era veterans, an era heavily affected by the 1973 fire and which requires the most additional reference research for our team.” 

Kampwerth and their colleagues used identifying information from the request to confirm relevant holdings at the National Archives at St. Louis, which shares office space with the NPRC.

“We are able to expediently provide many archival auxiliary records . . . like the Deceased Veteran’s Claim File used for the Tulsa burial identification, to facilitate NPRC’s responses to benefits cases,” said Theresa Fitzgerald, Director of the Personnel Records Division of the National Archives at St. Louis. “We look forward to further working with members of the media and other stakeholders as these identifications continue.”

Deceased Veterans Claim Files are part of the permanent holdings of the National Archives at St. Louis. These files contain records of veteran and next-of-kin claims for benefits and entitlements. They can include medical and benefits notes created by Veterans Affairs employees about the veteran’s service, as well as letters and submissions by veterans and next-of-kin to support their claims. This information makes these records important sources in cases when the original personnel file was lost in the 1973 fire. 

C. L. Daniel’s file has been digitized and is available in the National Archives Catalog. Additional Veterans Claim Files can be found across the National Archives’ holdings. 

“Requests like these generate a lot of interest in the National Archives’ holdings,” said Vivian Green, an archives technician at the NPRC. “It’s an important part of my job, and I look forward to finding more answers about our nation’s history.”

Media and genealogy-related requests can be submitted to the National Archives at St. Louis at stl.archives@nara.gov, and burial-related requests should be directed to the National Personnel Record Center through eVetRecs. 

Check the Calendar of Events for veterans-related programming throughout November, including 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge on Wednesday, November 13, at 6:30 p.m. ET and Inside the Vault: Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War on Monday, November 18, at 6 p.m. ET.