Genealogy Pointers

About everyone that has lived in America for generations knows about war. If your ancestor started from the colonies or came to America several generations later, all have known war. We as American’s can claim at least one individual who served our country bravely and proudly. Even if you don’t know who that individual was you can do a bit of research and find out.

So where do you start, well, think back. If your in your twenties and your grandfather or your great grandfather is still alive there might lie your answer; either probably served in WWII. If either is not alive then there are ways of finding out if any of your ancestors served in the military.

1. How to determine if an ancestor served in the military.
There are several things you can search for in order to find clues in locating an ancestor that served in the military.

Family Stories: This is usually how people find an ancestor that served in the military, by asking family members that are older than your are.

Grave Markers: Most gravestones will have a military mark engraved on the head stone. It will usually have the initials of the branch of serves and the individuals rank.

Photographs: Try to locate old pictures of family members. Look for anyone in a uniform. Most military personnel had their pictures taken in uniform.

Death Records & Obituaries: Most death certificates will have a place that has been checked or written information, if the individual served in the military.

Newspaper clippings: Newspapers can be a big help if your ancestor lived in a small town. Usually they will list the individuals that went to war.

Local Histories: Check with libraries for the history of the town or county. Most have books written about the people that lived there.

Journals, Diaries, and Letters: These could have been handed down from generation to generation.

2. Once you have determined that an ancestor of yours served in the military, you will want to document their service. Military records can provide lots of genealogical material about your ancestor like birthplace, age at enlistment, names of immediate family members and occupation.

Compiled military service records
If you ancestor served in the American Revolution, War of 1812, and the Civil War most of these records were destroyed by fire in 1800 and 1814. In 1894 reconstruction of these lost records was started to collect military documents from a variety of sources. These collected records are called Compiled Military Service Records; they are in an envelope that is sometimes referred to as a ‘jacket’. These jackets can contain abstracts of an individuals service records. These can include muster rolls, rank rolls, prison records, enlistment and discharge documents, hospital records, and payrolls.

Bounty land records
If you ancestor served in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, early Indian Wars, or the Mexican War then he probably received land. Receiving a land bounty was a grant of land from the government as a reward for the risks and hardships they endured in the service to their country. Basically these land claims were based on wartime service between 1775 and 1855.

Pension records or veteran’s claims
A pension record was based on service in the armed forces of the United States between 1775 and 1916. The National Archives hold these records of pension payments for veterans, their widows, and other heirs. These pension files can include narratives of events during service, depositions of witnesses, discharge papers, marriage certificates, birth and death records, and other information.

Draft registration records
During World War I there were three drafts; all men that were born between 1873 and 1900 had to register. These draft registration cards could contain information like name, birth date, place born, occupation, physical description, dependents, and nearest relative. The original WWI draft registration cards are at the National Archives, Southeast Region, in East Point, Georgia. In order to access these original records you have to know the individual’s full name and the city, county, and state of residence at the time they registered.

Military service records
These records are basically available at the National Archives and the National Personnel Records Center. All enlisted men that served in the regular Army throughout our country’s history; including discharged and deceased veterans of all services during the 20th century. Unfortunately, on July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center destroyed about 80 percent of the records of veterans discharged from the Army between November 1912 and January 1960 and about 75 percent for individuals that were discharged from the Air Force between September 1947 and January 1964, alphabetically through Hubbard, James E. There has been an effort made to try to replace some of these lost records by asking the public if they have any information to please let the National Personnel Records Center know. The majority of these records will never be replaced.