This database indexes instructions and notes the Department of State in Washington, D.C. sent to American embassies in central Europe between 1796 and 1906. The Department categorized these records as official correspondence. The records are part of National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Record Group 59, General Records of the Department of State. For the most part, these instructions and notes pertain to the administrative functions of the embassy and relations between the host country and the United States. There are often, however, records that document private citizens. The instructions and notes can be requests for information on someone living outside of the United States, matters of citizenship status, guidance on how to resolve an issue between a citizen and the host country, and a citizen’s well-being. The documents can include references to related files. These documents are an essential part of thorough research for people outside of the United States.
Information in a Search Result
The name-searchable index provides the following information for each indexed person: The person’s name; the instruction’s number; the instruction's date; the subject; the embassy to which the Department sent the instruction; the page number of the volume on which the instruction was recorded; the National Archives (NARA) microfilm publication number; the roll of film that includes the images of the volume; the National Archives Identifier (NAID). You will need all this information to access the records quickly.
The MAGS website has additional information on this series of records as well as related records.
Accessing the Records
The indexed documents are not on MAGS website, but they are digitally available free of charge on NARA’s website, www.archives.gov. You can access the records from NARA’s “Research Our Records” page, by using the numerical portion of the NAID for the roll of film that contains the instruction you want to examine.
Embassies Included in this Database
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Berlin, Germany (Prussia)
Bern, Switzerland
Brussels, Belgium
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
