Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society - Foreign Consulates

Promoting the Heritage of Our German Ancestors

Notes from the Department of State to Foreign Consuls in the United States, 1853-1906

A1, Entry 96; PI-157, Entry 96

Record Group 59, General Records of the Department of State

This database indexes the notes the Department of State sent to foreign consulates located in the United States. The records are part of National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Record Group 59, General Records of the Department of State. The records cover a wide range of topics, e.g., 1). Political relations between the U.S. and other countries; Administration of the consulates; Foreign fairs and expositions; 2). Requests from Europeans for information on and assistance to their relatives in the United States; 3). Help finalizing estate matters, in particular ones in Europe; 4). Assisting American citizens overseas; 5). Ensuring that veterans of the American military and their families living overseas receive benefits they are due; and 6). Coordinating extradition of criminals from the United States to another country. There is notable correspondence with consulates of many of the mid-sized German states. Large countries like Austria-Hungary and Prussia relied on their legations in Washington to work with the Department of State, until the establishment of the German Empire in 1872, the other German states relied on consulates to do that work. The only notable exception is that the Swiss consulate general in Washington, D.C. continued to create significant records until about 1890.

Search Results & Digitized Records

The database is name searchable. The results provide the file citations you need to access the digital images on NARA’s website and find the indexed letters, e.g., the document’s date, the volume where the State Department bound it, and the page number that contains the note. Once you have those citations you can access the digital images National Archives website, www.archives.gov. The reference is M664, Notes to Foreign Consuls in the United States, 1853-1906 (4 rolls); NAID 1076611.

Examples of Notes to Consulates of Hesse-Darmstadt and Württemberg

M663, Roll 3, NAID 40038226