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Military Records – A Regiment of Valuable Information For Genealogists
By Kathy Jones-Kristof | June 6, 2008
I don’t know a lot about the Military, other than I’m grateful for every person who ever served our country and that I never had to go through boot camp myself, but I do know that Military Records are proof that the American Government loves Genealogists.
For example, let’s take a look at the Civil War Pension Index Card below for my great-great grandfather, Lewis Young Blackwell.
Doesn’t look like much does it? The purpose of this card is exactly like a library catalog card. It lists the soldier’s name and directs the user to information regarding his pension application and certificate. But let’s see what else we can learn from this catalog card itself:
I can tell it’s from the Civil War, not only because that’s the card catalog index where I found it, but also from the “Date of Files” on the left, 1887 and 1912. Although 1887 could refer to a pension period covered by the War of 1812, the subsequent date of 1912 is unlikely to refer to anything other than the Civil War. And since the 1887 date refers to an Invalid application, that’s a little late to be filing as an invalid for the War of 1812.
Although the card doesn’t state that it’s for a Union soldier, I can tell that Lewis Y. Blackwell served in the Union Army because he was in a WV Infantry. Only Union troops served in West Virginia regiments, because it became a Union state after it succeeded from both the Confederacy and from Virginia. Strangely, Lewis is also listed as serving in Company H of the 8th Missouri Infantry. The reason for this will take some research, but it’s probably because at some point during the war, the 4th WV and the 8th MO were combined for a short time.
I now know the names of the two regiments and companies that Lewis served in, so I can research them to learn what battles he fought in, find who he fought with, and maybe even discover information about him in regiment histories.
Lewis filed for an invalid pension on Sept 24, 1887 in WV, which means he was alive and living in that state on that date. This tells me where to look for him on the Federal Census and tax lists, which will lead me where to look for him in deeds and court records.
Lewis’ wife is listed on this certificate, too. Her name is Mary J. She filed for her widow’s pension in WV on April 12, 1912, probably quite soon after his death. This is excellent information because now I know to whom he was married when he died, I know when to look for his will and who would’ve probably filed his probate records.
So, we’ve learned a lot from one small pension card, which looks like it has barely anything on it. And after I order the pension files from the National Archives for both Lewis and Mary, I’ll know even more.
Lewis will have had to prove his military service, possibly with copies of his duty and discharge papers, or maybe statements from witnesses about his term of service. Most likely there will be a personal account by him about his service, too. He’ll also have had to prove that his disability was from being wounded in the war so we’ll know what happened to him. And Mary will have had to prove that he is dead, so we’ll know exactly when and how he died. And after her death there will be a record to discontinue her pension, so we’ll learn that date, too.
Almost any Military Record can provide good information about your ancestor, and possibly not just military information, either. I’ve found some Revolutionary War records where in the regimental roll call they listed the height, complexion, and hair and eye color of the men. A few men even had their occupations listed. WWI and WWII draft registration cards had these personal statistics, too, along with who their wife was, their current address, and where they worked. If they weren’t married, their parents’ names were listed. What a treasure all this information is!
What you need to do is find out which wars your ancestor lived through, then research to see if you can find military records for him. It may not be easy. The older the war, the harder it may be to find records. Remember, wars themselves destroyed a lot of records. A fire in the National Archives in 1973 destroyed more. So it’s not a guarantee that your ancestor’s records are out there. But you don’t know until you try.
As for where to look for Military Records for your ancestor, the first place I always look for everything is Ancestry.com, which requires a subscription. You can also order microfilm of Military Records from the Latter Day Saints (LDS) Library, but best of all they allow anyone to use Ancestry.com for free at their local Family History Centers. (See my post on Feb 15, 2008 about the LDS Library.) Also try your local public library to see if they have an Ancestry.com subscription. If not, request that they subscribe.
There’s also Footnote.com, which gives free, limited access to its databases that include Military Records. A subscription is required for unlimited access. There are other online websites. If you’re familiar with them, try them. I’ll list more places to look for Military Records at the end of this post. Just remember to be certain that any information you find has a valid source—which means it is documented so you know that it’s a fact. We only want facts in our family files and facts come from solid, verifiable sources.
I have a few ancestors who, age wise, should have been in military service because they lived during some of America’s big wars, yet I can’t find any records of their service. Either they didn’t serve due to bad health or religious beliefs, or they paid someone to substitute for them, which was common in early wars. Or maybe I just haven’t found their military records yet. I may never know what happened, but it won’t be from lack of trying.
We’ve all heard the cliché—which was true. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard always strived to cram as many pieces of paper into a typewriter as possible from the moment carbon paper was invented. They wanted every form typed in triplicate, every card completed, every copy filed away, every file cabinet organized and every cabinet stored away . . . somewhere.
All we have to do is find all that paperwork they generated. At least we don’t have to go through through boot camp to do it. As for all the people who did . . . Thanks.
As promised, here are a few other places to look for Military Records:
For Revolutionary War records, check out the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). They have an excellent library, plus an online Patriot Index Lookup service that I’ve used with excellent results, and it’s free.
National Society of Sons of the American Revolution, Patriot Grave Search. I’ve only used this a few times, but it was accurate on those occasions.
The State of Kentucky has Virginia Revolutionary War Land Warrants from one to 4627 that can be accessed online. Logically, if a man had a land warrant issued from the Revolutionary War, then he served in the war, although the warrants could be assigned, or sold, to someone else. The online records state this, however. Land Warrants above the 4627 that number are held at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus.
For Civil War records, I love the Alexander Street Press’ database, but their records are only open to the public through June 30, 2008, so hurry. After that, try local libraries or colleges to see if they subscribe to this database. It’s excellent.
Also for the Civil War, there’s a free database operated by our government, the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System.
A list of Medal of Honor Recipients from 1861 to the present.
The Library of Virginia has online Military Records for Virginia.
Pennsylvania State Archives Military Records.
The Online Searchable Military Records & Databases has a lot of links to military websites.
If you can’t find your ancestor’s service in early wars, and especially to look for his service during Indian conflicts and in Militia companies, check historical and genealogical societies, and state and regional archives where your ancestor lived. They may have information about the Military units drawn from that area, and perhaps even information about your ancestor.
One of my favorite places to look for everything is Personal Property taxes (see my post on March 22, 2008.) Look specifically during the times of early wars, including the years leading up to them. The taxes may be called Military Taxes during these periods because Militia units were responsible for tax collection during these times. Through these you’ll learn to which Militia area your ancestor was assigned and the Captain of his unit. With that information, you can research the activities of that Captain’s regiment to see if your ancestor actively served.
And, finally, Google your ancestor and the name of his regiment and/or the war. See what pops up. (See my post on Jan 22, 2008.)
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Topics: All Levels of Genealogists |
June 6th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I just stopped by your blog and thought I would say hello. I like your site design. Looking forward to reading more down the road.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
am looking for a graphic of a West Virginia Civil War Battle Flag (union obviously) for my genealogy page. Have you seen any
Sharon Walker
TheMooseClan@montanasky.net