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From: Chad Milliner <>
Subject: Re: [APG] 1850s Weather
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:40:38 -0600


Daily observations from the various weather stations for the years 1819-1892 have been microfilmed by NARA, and are available on approximately 562 rolls of microfilm as National Archives Microfilm Publication T907. (Later years are textual records not yet available on microfilm or electronically but some later years have been published for certain locations and can be seen at some Federal Depository Libraries.) During the earlier period there were weather observers in a lot fewer locations than they were in later years, but I would assume that NYC would have had weather observers keeping track of daily conditions since the very beginning. So I would be surprised if daily conditions from NYC from August 1852 are not on that microfilm set. Sets of the microfilm are held by most of the NARA regional facilities, and at College Park.

Weather records have obvious value in adding details to barebones genealogical facts -- what was the weather like at the place where your great-grandparents married on 12 Nov 1882? Was it a cold day when the baby was buried on 2 Oct 1876? Did the immigrants get rained on when they arrived at Ellis Island? Could it have been too foggy for them to have seen the Statue of Liberty? Etc.

Chad Milliner

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