Research: Military: They Also Served
They Also Served --- Series Descriptions
Division of Records
A3081. Inventories of State War-Related Agency Records, 1940-1945. 1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by agency name.
The inventory was conducted in 1945 by War Council staff as authorized by an amendment to the War Emergency Act providing for this inventory to assure proper care, control and custody of these records. This series consists of inventories of records generated by the State War Council, its subdivisions, and other State agencies conducting war-related activities. The standardized inventory sheets contain information on: creating agency and subdivision; agency and custody; title and brief description; inclusive dates; existence of other copies; frequency of use; method of filing; form and size of material; container type; persons interviewed; and disposition (destruction, retention by agency, transfer to War Council headquarters for retention).
A detailed discussion of the inventory is in:Karl D. Hartzell, "Home Front Records of New York 1940-1945: The Problem of Disposition," American Archivist, April 1946.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4236. Research and Drafts Files for The Empire State at War: World War II, 1944-1948. 3.2 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Organized into two subseries: Subseries 1, Chapter Drafts and Reviews, 1944-1949, 2 cu. ft., is numerical by chapter. Subseries 2, Interview Files, 1944-1947, 1.2 cu. ft., is alphabetical by last name of interviewee or topic.
This series contains Karl D. Hartzell's research documents, correspondence, interviews, notes, and portions of chapter drafts of his book The Empire State at War:World War II. It provides information regarding the organization and coordination of industry, the population, and the State towards war production and civil defense compiled by Hartzell to assist in the writing of his book. Titles for the nine chapters contained in this series are: Coming Events Cast Their Shadow, 1940- 1941: The Organization of New York State for National Defense; State Aid to Federal Programs; Production for War; Defense of the Home Front; The Mobilization and Direction of Volunteers; Agricultural Production and Nutrition; War Transportation; Maintaining the Efficiency of the Individual; and Results and Conclusions. Records pertaining to the other chapters to the book (Chapters IX-XII) were not included with this series.
This series contains correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, manuals, screenplays, news releases, speeches, and ephemera detailing various War Council agencies' activities which were used to compile the chapter drafts found in this series. This information was usually provided by agency officials interviewed by Hartzell. Also found is correspondence between Hartzell and individuals sent drafts of the chapters for review. Transcripts of interviews conducted by Hartzell with War Council administrators are also found in this series, as is supplemental information they provided to Hartzell about their agencies' work.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4245. Local War Council Records Inventory Forms and Correspondence, 1945-1946. 2 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by city or county name.
In 1945, the War Emergency Act was amended to authorize the War Council to provide a uniform method for the care, custody, control, and disposition of records maintained by the 108 local war councils in New York State during World War II. This was part of a larger survey designed to inventory all War Council records created under the authority of the War Emergency Act. The purpose of this part of the survey was to inventory local war council records in order to insure the retention of those records deemed to be of permanent historical value, and to determine which of the two or three available local repositories should receive these records for storage. Local war councils were otherwise permitted to include for permanent retention any remaining records they wished to preserve, with the exception of personnel cards and enrollment blanks containing information of a highly personal nature. These were marked for destruction by the War Council. Examples are occasionally included in the folders.
This series contains the correspondence and standardized Inventory of Records forms (Inventory Check Sheets) used for the New York State War Council's records inventory of the holdings of local war councils. The Inventory Check Sheets contain the following information: creating agency; subdivision; agency of custody; address of depository; title and brief description of series; inclusive dates; existence of duplicates, frequency of use, method of filing, records form and size, and container type; persons interviewed; and disposition. Correspondence files maintained by agencies within the local war councils are listed alphabetically on the back of appropriate inventory check sheets. Files on individual cities and counties vary greatly in scope and content. Particularly rich files exist for Buffalo, Corning, Ithaca, Nassau, New Rochelle, Monroe, Rochester, Schenectady, Syracuse, Tompkins, and Westchester.
A detailed discussion of the inventory is in:Karl D. Hartzell, "Home Front Records of New York 1940-1945: The Problem of Disposition," American Archivist, April 1946.
Finding aids :Container list.
A4296. War Records Program Organization File, 1943-1945. 1 cu. ft.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by county, then by state.
This series contains correspondence between State Historian Albert Corey and numerous county and local historians regarding the disposition of home front war records. This operation was undertaken as part of the State Historian's role to help preserve the State's heritage, and the records created in this series were later used by the War Council's Division of Records when it assessed local home front records. The letters discuss the appointment of local historians, potential repositories, and other matters pertaining to post-war plans for the records generated as part of the war effort.Included are lists of the names and addresses of local directors of civilian protection, civilian mobilization, and local war councils. Also included are materials from other state war councils which either answer inquiries or ask for information regarding war records programs.
Finding aids: Folder list.
A4297. World War II Home Front Activity Information Preservation File, ca. 1943-1946. 0.5 cu. ft.
This series contains publications about home front activities such as salvage, child care, education, and collection of war records. These records were kept as part of the organization's efforts to document the war effort on the home front. Included is a nearly complete run of the Yonkers Home News, a publication written for distribution to Yonkers servicemen stationed around the world. A pamphlet entitled Organizing Your Community For War Records Work, published by the National Jewish Welfare Board, describes efforts which should be undertaken to preserve records of Jewish participation in the war effort. Also found are several issues of the Ossining Courier.
