{"id":1575,"date":"2012-05-11T20:26:34","date_gmt":"2012-05-12T01:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/?p=1575"},"modified":"2015-11-19T07:42:45","modified_gmt":"2015-11-19T13:42:45","slug":"genealogy-research-u-s-military-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geneosity.com\/genealogy-research-u-s-military-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy Research: U.S. Military Records"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using military records for genealogy can be a challenge to the genealogist.\u00a0 This article discusses what records are available and how to use them.\u00a0 If you have relatives that served in the military or may have, this article will help you get started.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some military records have become lost or, in earlier times, were not kept very well.\u00a0 But if you find those military records for your ancestor(s), they can be filled with a wealth of information.\u00a0 To search for military records, start at any National Archives branch and go from there.\u00a0 You can visit the website for the National Archives to find a list of local branches.\u00a0 Before you start any search in military records, find out what war(s) your ancestor(s) might have been in.\u00a0 You can find a list of wars that the United States participated in and what years they occurred by using your favorite search engine.\u00a0 Check your ancestor(s) age to see what war they might have been eligible to fight in.\u00a0 Remember, men went to war at an early age in the earlier wars.\u00a0 Now you are ready to begin your search for those military records<\/span>.[box] It was common for a person to muster in for a few months, muster out, and then muster back in to the military. In many cases, “mustering out” was not necessarily the end of service.<\/strong><\/em> [\/box]<\/p>\n

What records are available?\u00a0 We all know the major wars: Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, and World War II but records exist for such wars as the War of 1812 and any state militias.\u00a0 Records are available at the state level besides the national level so be sure to check all state websites where your ancestor(s) might have lived.\u00a0 Records can include when the person mustered in or mustered out, when a widow filed for a pension, when the person filed for a pension, any land the person might of received for serving in the military, burial records for military personnel, and military census records.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember that most Civil War records are divided into Confederate and Union.\u00a0 So try to make sure you know which side your ancestor fought on.\u00a0 Muster rolls are for when a person enlisted or mustered out of the military.\u00a0 It was common for a person to muster in for a few months, muster out, and then muster back in to the military.\u00a0 Don\u2019t think just because you found where your ancestor(s) mustered out that he no longer served, check further months and years before completing their military history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Veteran\u2019s benefits are such things as pension records, bounty-land records, and widow\u2019s pensions.\u00a0 A pension record will usually have when the person enlisted, what unit they served with, and when they mustered out.\u00a0 It might also include any family members.\u00a0 Bounty-land records were authorized by Congress to substitute for wages for the service man.\u00a0 They received 100 to 1,000 acres depending on the soldier\u2019s rank.\u00a0 A widow\u2019s pension was filed after the soldier passed away.\u00a0 This usually lists the husband\u2019s name, any living children, when the soldier died, place of residence, and marriage records.\u00a0 Widows had to provide this marriage certificate and a death certificate, so you can see how important a widow\u2019s pension application can be.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many National Cemeteries in the United States where our military are buried.\u00a0 If you believe your ancestor was buried at a National Cemetery, visit the National Cemetery website.\u00a0 In recent years, most of the burials at these cemeteries have been put online.<\/span><\/p>\n

There were two specific military censuses taken in the United States \u2013 1840 and 1890.\u00a0 The 1840 United States census asked for all living pensioners of the Revolutionary War and any other military service.\u00a0 This lists the pensioner\u2019s name, age, and place of residence.\u00a0 The 1890 United States census provided the pensioner\u2019s name, rank, company, regiment, dates of enlistment and discharge, length of service, where living at the time of the census, and any disabilities incurred while in the military.\u00a0 Unfortunately, most of this census for the states of Alabama through Kansas is missing.\u00a0 The 1900, 1910, and 1920 United Sates Federal censuses also ask for military service of anyone in the household.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you can see by the above, different information is available for different military personnel.\u00a0 It is well worth the time and effort it takes to either search for this information yourself or request a search by an entity such as the National Archives.\u00a0 The National Archives only searches the index at first and does require a fee if they do the research for you and you must provide the branch of service and the state from where the solider served.\u00a0 Once you have the index searched, you will use NATF Form 80 to order the actual pension records.\u00a0 A copy of the NATF Form 80 can be obtained by visiting the National Archives website.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep in mind that there are thousands upon thousands of military records that are not published online.\u00a0 The National Archives in Washington D.C. holds an enormous volume of these records as do several smaller depositories and libraries.\u00a0 Luckily there are scores of people that are very skilled at military service research who are active on blogs, at conventions and working at these facilities.\u00a0 If you’re at a loss to locate a particular type of record there are many, many people out there that can tell you where these records can be found.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is just a start on using Military Records for genealogy.\u00a0 Once you have obtained these records, you can develop a timeline for your ancestor and his family.\u00a0 You might also find more family information that you didn\u2019t have before.\u00a0 Give these records a try and you will never pass them up for any ancestor.\u00a0 Good luck and happy hunting.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Using military records for genealogy can be a challenge to the genealogist.\u00a0 This article discusses what records are available and how to use them.\u00a0 If … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":534,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[34],"yoast_head":"\nGenealogy Research: U.S. Military Records<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Introduction to searching U.S. military records for your family tree. 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