When U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925, came online at Ancestry.com, I decided to search to see what type of information would be available.  I was pleasantly surprised when I found not only the original applications, but a photograph, and in a few instances, an accompanying letter explaining why the passport was being applied for.

One of the interesting applications was the removal of the eldest daughter from her father’s passport so she could obtain a passport in her married name.  Talk about a genealogical find.  The name of all the children on the father’s passport were listed, the name of the groom to be, and when the marriage was going to take place, and where the newlyweds were heading on their trip.

The penmanship was clear enough that  I could make out the birth location of the children and their birth dates on the accompanying letter.  Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives, National Archives and Records Administration, 2001, for more information on where to find original passport records.