National Archives at San Francisco

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we are also featuring the immigration record of the Korean independence movement leader "Dosan" Ahn Changho. He first came to the US in 1902 and founded the Mutual Assistance Society, which was based in San Francisco and was the first Korean political organization in the United States. It later merged with another organization to become the Korean National Association which was the key organization representing Koreans i...n America until after the end of WW2. As can be seen from the immigration interview below, his work resulted in him visiting Korean organizations throughout the United States. He eventually permanently left the United States and after being arrested by the Japanese unfortunately passed away in 1938 before Korea could obtain its independence again. You can see his full immigration record at the link below along with a variety of other Korean immigration records here which have now been digitized for our online catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28859239 See more

For Asian Pacific American Heritage month we are also featuring the Chinese Exclusion Act file of Bruce Lee. While the martial arts master was a US citizen due to his birth in San Francisco, his parents still filed a Return Certificate Application to ensure he would be able to later reenter if he chose to do so. They were temporarily in the US while his father Lee Hoi-chuen was performing as a noted Cantonese opera singer. Bruce Lee eventually returned in 1959 as part of his path to becoming a legendary martial artist and movie star. His full file has been digitized and is available through the National Archive's online catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5720262

This is just one of the many Chinese Certificates of Identity which we hold in our archive.

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month we want to highlight the father of modern China Dr. Sun Yat-sen. While he had previously spent some time being educated in Hawaii, due to the exclusion acts he had initial difficulties re-entering the US in 1904. You can find his full file at the following link along with a variety of other digitized files through the online catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/296446

Citizen Archivists, help us transcribe and tag records related to the Chinese Exclusion Era. This helps researchers find these records in our online Catalog. Fr...om 1882 to 1943, the United States Government severely curtailed immigration from China to the United States, passing a series of laws whose result was the documentation of international movements of many Chinese nationals. Many of the records related to the Chinese exclusion laws are now in the custody of the National Archives and have been digitized. The records are a major resource for the study of Chinese immigration and Chinese-American travel, trade, and social history from the late-19th to mid-20th century. Because many documents relate to individual immigrants, they are invaluable for the study of Chinese and Chinese-American family history. Get started here: https://go.usa.gov/xHrWX **** Image: Return Certificate Application of Moy Dip Tsung, 1913. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/176910940

We now have uploaded select digitized Alien Files onto the online catalog! These "A-Files" cover immigrants who arrived or lived in the US as resident aliens from 1940 onwards. This includes the A-File for Simeon Batoon who first arrived in the US from the Philippines in 1928 and became a US citizen in 1970. You can learn assorted details from his file including that he worked as a laborer for Kekawa Sugar Company and later as a plumber for Fernandez Plumbing. You can find his full file at the following link along with other digitized files now up on our online catalog. (Just select the PDF or JPG option on the left after searching within the file unit level of the A-File series in order to locate the rest of the uploaded scanned files.) https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6310973

We run into all types of fasteners in our processing work at the archives as this collection put together by the National Archives at Denver shows.

We now have the full Alcatraz inmate file for the Irish mobster James Whitey Bulger up on our online catalog! The basis for the movie and Jack Nicholson's character in the movie , Whitey Bulger first spent time in the federal prisons including Alcatraz on bank robbery charges. After he was released, he eventually rose to be head of the Winter Hill Gang which dominated the criminal underworld of South Boston and operated throughout Eastern Massachuset...ts. During this same period his younger brother William Bulger had a successful career as a politician and eventually became President of the Massachusetts State Senate. In 1994 Whitey Bulger fled in to evade arrest and was a wanted fugitive for 16 years before he was apprehended. He was ultimately convicted on 31 counts including ones related to 11 murders. In 2018 he was killed by other inmates in a federal prison in West Virginia. You can now see the extensive inmate file which also includes documents from other prisons during his first time serving a federal sentence at the following link. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/117695806

When Lum Haw reentered the US due to his merchant status during the Chinese Exclusion Act period, immigration officials also collected evidence to confirm his status. This included a copy of an ad for the Kang Whu Company and its Chinese traditional medicine business which appeared in "The Young China" newspaper. You can find his full file along with a variety of other fascinating immigration files now up on our online catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28851073

When Lee Bing entered the US under the merchant exemption during the Chinese Exclusion Act period, he had to show documentation to prove his status. This included information about Chong Jan Lung & Company including listings of the names of the other partners in the company at the time. This also included an affidavit from "white witnesses" (along with their addresses) that Lee Bing was a legitimate merchant who did not perform manual labor which would invalidate his status. You can now find his full immigration file and others now up in our online catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28836123

Another immigration file recently added to our online catalog is the one for To Hasagawa who entered the US in 1913 as a Japanese "picture bride." Due to the racially discriminatory immigration laws at the time, her husband had to persuade immigration officials interviewing him that he was a successful enough farmer that he would be able to support her before officials would allow her to be admitted to the country. You can now find additional fascinating stories like this case by searching the digitized Arrival Investigation Case Files now up on the catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28818727

During our archive's shutdown due to COVID-19, we have been working on making previously scanned material available through our online catalog. This now includes various new Immigration Arrival Investigation Files from roughly 1884-1944. Among these is the file for Tyrus Wong who immigrated as a child under a "paper son" alias of Look Tai Yow. He later became the lead artist and the inspiration for the art style of the movie Bambi while working at Disney Studios. He ultimately was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2001. His career also included working for 26 years as a production artist for Warner Brothers Studios for a variety of notable movies. You can find his full immigration file as well as a variety of others now up online through the NARA catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28846155

Label for Budweiser Malt Syrup, 8/21/1920 During Prohibition, breweries turned to making alternative products. Careful with this one, though; you wouldn’t want ...to accidentally ferment it into beer. Or would you? https://catalog.archives.gov/id/81228410 Series: Case Files for Registered Product Labels , 1874 - 1940 Record Group 241: Records of the Patent and Trademark Office, 1836 - 1978 Transcription: Budweiser Malt Syrup Budweiser Malt Syrup For Medicinal Use Budweiser Malt Syrup contains, in concentrated form, all the food and medicinal values of barley malt. Is especially recommended in preparing foods for invalids and children. A boon to nursing mothers. Makes growing children strong and builds up the nervous, run-down system of the grownups. The value of malt in cases of dyspepsia, wasting diseases, coughs and colds, etc., has long been recognized. Gives best results when taken in doses of a dessertspoonful with or after each meal. Children in proportion. For cooking and baking its delicious flavor adds much to the palatability and food value. Recipes on request. Budweiser Malt Syrup TRADE MARK NET WEIGHT 2 1/2 POUNDS SOLD EXCLUSIVELY BY BUDWEISER MALT PRODUCTS CORP'N. 606 West 49th Street New York Budweiser Malt Syrup Budweiser Malt Syrup For Household Use For cooking and baking its delicious flavor adds much to the palatability and food value. In making wheat, corn or brown bread, add a large tablespoonful to each quart of water. This malt syrup, which is highly nutritious, can be used in making of Pancakes, Cookies, Pies, Doughnuts, Coffee Cake, etc. Its use conserves sugar. In candy making, Budweiser Malt Syrup is a superior article, because it will not readily crystalize and can therefore be used to good advantage in Home Made Caramels, Butter Scotch, Fudge, Brittle, Taffy, etc. It adds flavor and aids digestibility. By using Budweiser Malt Syrup, you save about 25% of sugar. Budweiser Malt Syrup TRADE MARK NET WEIGHT 2 1/2 POUNDS SOLD EXCLUSIVELY BY BUDWEISER MALT PRODUCTS CORP'N. 606 West 49th Street New York

Our latest Virtual Programs newsletter is online! Find out what our latest citizen archivist missions are, learn what an Alien File (A-File) is and why your anc...estor might have one, or see a virtual exhibit on the 75th anniversary of the atomic bomb. https://www.archives.gov//artic/archives-home-resources-10

Olivia de Haviland passed away today at 104. Born in 1916 in Tokyo to British parents she became a naturalized US citizen in Los Angeles, CA. Her petition for n...aturalization is in the holdings of the National Archives at Riverside. Below is her Declaration of Intention from 1939. Not all Declarations have photos so we’re lucky that hers does.

Today is National Amelia Earhart Day! She was born 123 years ago today in Atchison, Kansas. Our records concerning this famous aviation pioneer include original US Navy charts and records from the search to locate her plane when it went missing in the Pacific.

The Port Chicago disaster during World War Two by Suisun Bay killed 320 people and injured 390 others with two thirds of the dead being African-American sailors. Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial has now posted a video commemorating the event. You can find records and photos related to the disaster at our facility.

On this month in 1852 Congress authorized the establishment of a mint in San Francisco with the mint starting operations in 1854. Below you can see a man working with ingots in the mint electrolytic refinery around 1935. You can find a wide variety of other fascinating photographs and documents like this one concerning the historic mints at our archive. Photo NAID 296607

100 years ago Presidential politics were very much happening in San Francisco...