Research Tactics: Lesson 8

Introduction

"Decide to do something with eternal consequences... This work is a spiritual work, a monumental effort of cooperation on both sides of the veil... It all begins with love...”
(Richard G. Scott, The Joy of Redeeming the Dead, General Conference, October 2012)

Learn something about them and how they lived. If a story is not written then you can do it. Just begin soon.

Discussion & Theory

Military Records

Military endeavors span the history of America. From King Phillip’s War in 1675-76 to the Gulf Wars of the twenty-first century, every generation of our ancestors who have lived in this country have been involved or affected by conflict. Participation ranged from 125,000 in the Philippine Insurrection to an estimated five million in the Civil War. Many others who did not serve created draft registration records. Involvement was not limited to white native-born males but included the newly-arrived foreign born of all ethnic groups as well as minorities, American Indians, blacks, and in certain instances, women. The abundance and variety of records generated by military service, the distribution of veterans’ benefits, and the interaction with civilians provide a template of rich personal detail about service personnel, their families, and often, the general citizenry.

The first indication of an ancestor’s involvement with the military may come from family stories or from personal papers that have been retained. If there is no information of this type, or if the reference is so general that it lacks specifics needed for further research, there are still avenues to explore to determine if there is a history of military service. Particularly for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, records associated with an individual’s death (death certificates, obituaries, funeral or memorial programs, and cemetery records and grave markers) will provide the evidence needed to conduct a search of military records. This chapter also presents ways to locate service, pension and other types of military records when details such as rank or regiment are yet to be determined.

The Source, Military Records, Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck, MA, MS and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, FUGA; Third Edition 2006

Bring to Class This Week

1. The file for the family you are working on and flash drive for transporting new finds
2. Optional: Your family computer file to work on in class
3. Salt Lake County Library card

Lesson Materials

Print out or download all of this material

• Lesson page — Getting Acquainted With and Loving Your Ancestors

Helpful Links

Read

• Timeline of United States military operations

Military Records

• Genealogy Research in Military Records from the National Archives
• Ancestry.com U.S. Military Collection (Free in FHC)
• Fold3 Military Records (formerly Footnote) (Free in FHC)
• National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database
• FamilySearch Historical Collections
• Military History
• Google Books American Military History
• Mormon Battalion
• 1890 Veterans Schedules (Pensioners in 1890)
• 1840 U S Census (notes living American Revolutionary Soldiers with pensions)

Homework for Next Week

1. Add all new information to your family using the Research Log, Timeline, Family Group Record and Pedigree Chart. Remember to source your information.
2. Read Lesson 9 and links.

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