Research
How to begin?
Between 2017 and early 2020, I photocopied, scanned, and read all the letters and sympathy cards to see if I could uncover information about my grandfather and his work on the Manhattan Project. Additionally, I wanted to understand how the family managed through WWII, including how my uncle fared in the 10th Mountain Division. Using the people, places, and events mentioned, I have been able to track where Mac was and what he was doing, and match events happening in the Manhattan Project to references to Mac and his work in the letters.
Having reviewed all the information in the letters, it was time to see if I could find more about Mac. My next step was to see whether he appeared in any of the original records of the Manhattan Project, including anything available in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Most of the written records related to the Manhattan Project are held at the National Archives. By searching archives.gov, I learned that the project records are spread over various regional branches based on the area where the work was done or the project facility was located. For example, the files and documents related to the work done at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, are mostly held at the archives branch at the Atlanta, Georgia, regional repository for records from the Southeastern United States. Most of the project files related to the Office of the Chief Engineer for the Boston area are held at the Boston branch, with some at the Atlanta branch. Some of the more sensitive files are held at the College Park, Maryland, facility.
Research at the Boston branch
My first stop was to visit the Boston branch in the spring of 2018 to review the records of the Office of the Chief Engineer, Army Corps of Engineers, records for the period from 1942-1946. (Note: there are chief engineer records pre-and post- this period, but my focus was solely on WWII). While I found nothing directly related to my grandfather, I learned a lot about how the Manhattan Project office in Boston was created, how quickly work was assigned, how buildings were taken over, and how staffing, particularly draughtsmen and women, was increased each month at a pace hard to comprehend.
Research at the College Park branch
In August of 2018, I accompanied my husband on a business trip to Washington, DC. While he attended a conference, I spent two days at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, which holds documents from across the project, particularly sensitive, and some still restricted, even more than 75 years later. With just two days devoted to this search and one full day spent on the thousands of photographs of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, I did not turn up anything directly related to my grandfather.
A. E. Macdonald's Writing Life 
4 responses to “Researching Family Secrets: The Manhattan Project Connection”
This has been amazing to read. My grandfather was an engineer at Chapman Valve and one of the employees tasked with top secret MP work. My understanding is he worked on valve designs and production. But he was also gone for a very long trip. My mom recalls her dad arriving at their home in a vehicle stripped of the exterior front body (open air driving) and a large lead box welded to the back trunk area. With the uranium work that Chapman Valve also completed along with valve work (rod production is my understanding from the USGov health settlements) a large lead box makes sense. He was home just to say good-bye with an awareness of the possibility he may not return. He was gone for quite a long time as my mom would recall. As I dig through family files, I hope to find out more information. I do have my grandfather’s Manhattan Project certificate, but I do not think we still have his atomic pin. I recall him using it as a fishing weight which is a story for another day.
Thank you for reading and for your comments. That is an amazing story to tell about the lead box and not seeing your grandfather being away with the possibility of never returning. I like how he used the A-Pin as a fishing weight too. These men did a lot and, in the end, the pin wasn’t something you could wear around the house but had many other uses.
William Bill Shackleford, received a certificate from the United States of America. Of when he helped design the Trigger mechanism of the atomic bomb. I was told that me and my siblings could received Royalties from our grandfather how do i get a copy of that certificate
Hi Cathy,
Thanks for reaching out. My research was conducted by searching through records at the National Archives. I’m not sure how you would access that certificate today. Have you reached out to the Department of Energy?
Best,
Anne