On November 4, 2020, six volunteers at the Raritan Valley Branch gathered together via Zoom for the Citizen Archivist Project. During the 1-hour meeting time, they transcribed a total of 26 documents in various lengths, in contribution to National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)’s effort in preserving/digitizing historical documents.
Benjamin Hong transcribed 4 documents: USS Bang, October 1944 – February 1945, page 15, page 16; Seabrook – June 1978 hearings, page 66, page 70.
“This is a document from the fourth war patrol report for the US Submarine Bang. It recorded very detailed information on Attack No. 2, such as tube fired, track angle, number of hit or miss, firing interval, sea conditions, and the like.”
“This is also a part of the fourth war patrol report for the US Submarine Bang. It was dated November 23, 1944 and provided information on Torpedo Attack No. 3.”
“Each of these two documents shows 2-page content of the opinion of the court for a hearing between the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League and Douglas M. Costle as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. This hearing was caused by the EPA’s decision to allow the Public Service Company at Seabrook, New Hampshire to use once-through cooling at its nuclear electric generating station and to discharge heated water into the Gulf of Maine.”
Tarun Sivakumar transcribed 3 documents: Case File of John M. Hawk, page 3, page 15; USS Balao, July 1945 – August 1945, page 3.
“This is a letter about John F. Steck. An error was made in his quarterly pension which needed to be fixed by a U.S. Pension Agent.”
“This is a letter about the USS Balao. It lists the names of the crew members who returned to Pearl Harbor on June 7th, 1945.”
Xinning Lucy Liu transcribed 2 documents: USS Barbel, September 1944 – October 1944, page 7, page 8.
“These two pages were part of a submarine report from 1944 during WWII. According to the names of the islands, the submarine was stationed around Japan as war patrol.”
Matthew Ding transcribed 6 documents: Case File of George P. DeTemple, page 1, page 4, page 6, page 8, page 9; Case File of E. H. Clark, page 4.
“It showed the front page of the case file. It contained minimal information about the file.”
“They were approving the request and letter from Mr. DeTemple. It contained how the explanation given was proven satisfactory.”
“The map showed the layout of Washington County in Nebraska and was drawn by a surveyor. It contained how the soil was good but no one knows about it.”
“The back of the page before (no content).”
“Mr. DeTemple was being accused for using the name “U.S. Pension Attorney.” in his title when he wasn’t an official of the U.S. Government and was advised to stop the usage of the title. He would also need to reply back with evidence that he stopped using the title within thirty days.”
“Mr. E. H. Clark was accused of demanding and receiving eleven dollars from the bank and refused to give the same amount of money back at a later date. The Bureau determined Mr. Clark as guilty for unlawful conduct and would have a criminal prosecution laid on him.”
Edwin Zheng transcribed 7 documents: Amendment XV: Voting Rights, 1870 – State: Alabama, page 1, page 9; USS Balao, May 1945 – June 1945, page 1; USS Barbel, October 1944 – December 1944, page 1; USS Bashaw, August 1944 – October 1944, page 1; USS Bashaw, October 1944 – December 1944, page 1; USS Bang, June 1944 – August 1944, page 1
“This is a letter from Hamilton Fish that acknowledges the receipt of the Resolution. I learned that Alabama ratified the fifteenth amendment on November 24th of 1869.”
Jessica Hong transcribed 4 documents: Wheeler Dam: Harrison – McAbee, page 4; Case File of Hugh Henry, page 8, page 9, page 11.
“This document is a form filled out by someone who is renting farmland. The form includes information such as types of farming, payment to the landlord, income, etc.”
“The documents are related to the oath of an attorney named Henry Hugh. In the oath he swore his loyalty to the United States and no other government. He also vowed to defend the Constitution.”
Volunteers: Benjamin Hong (1 hour), Tarun Sivakumar (1 hour), Xinning Lucy Liu (1 hour), Matthew Ding (1 hour), Edwin Zheng (1 hour), Jessica Hong (1 hour)
