If you are doing genealogy research for ancestors that lived in the United States, sometimes the paper trail can get really thin. Our search can seem to reach a dead end. Maybe you have tried every census , and birth certificate/death certificate search, obituaries.
Maybe you have looked through old family bibles and talked to people. You have tried lots of off the wall tricks and tips to find ANYTHING.
Another avenue you might pursue is finding a military connection.
WHAT INFORMATION CAN I FIND ON A MILITARY RECORD?
“Military records provide a variety of information about an individual and could include their birthplace, age at enlistment, occupation, and names of immediate family members.
Many military records also provide their residence at time of enlistment. It can also provide details about military service, awards, battles, injuries and medical services, and even their death or POW/MIA status.
WHAT TYPES OF MILITARY RECORDS ARE THERE?
Service records: Service records for militia, volunteer, or regular forces document that an individual served in the military and can provide your ancestor’s unit or organization.
Draft, Conscription, or Selective Service Records: Since 1863, the federal government has registered millions of men who may have been eligible for military service. Enrollment and Draft information include name residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, physical description, and other information.
Bounty Land Warrants: The federal government provided bounty land for those who served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and Indian wars between 1790 and 1855.
Pension Records: The federal government and some state governments granted pensions or bounty land to officers, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans of veterans, and veterans who served a certain length of time. Pension records usually contain more genealogical information than service records. However, not every veteran received or applied for a pension. ”
DID MY ANCESTOR SERVE?
So how do you know if your ancestor even served? Sometimes it gets lost or forgotten, so you may have an ancestor that served in one of the wars that the US was involved in.
Family Tree Magazine posted this graphic, and it got my wheels turning. If you could narrow down a time frame of birth, perhaps you can find a military record that may help fill in some of the missing gaps!
We know there were people who enlisted at very young ages. They forged parents signatures or lied about their ages to join or enlist in various wars. Keep in mind that these are rough guidelines.
she may have served…
Caveat: If you are trying to find records for anything Pre WW1 on your female ancestors, you will probably be disappointed.
Women are harder to research through military records than men.
Anything pre World War I women who fought had to disguise themselves as men. Those that served as nurses, laundresses, cooks and spies have little written record. Most were volunteer and not enlisted or conscripted.
WWI came with better records and women were recognized.
The nurses were part of the Army and Navy Corps of nurses. Although they were approved by the Secretary of War, they were not given military rank or trained as soldiers at that time.
After WWII in 1948, President Truman signed The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948. This act granted women permanent status in the Regular and Reserve for all Armed Services.
Use those available resources!
If your ancestors lived in the US during any of those skirmishes, there may be military records available. It doesn’t hurt to use these resources to check out every avenue. It is a great tool, you should use it.
If you find a usable record, that may led you to other information. Information that could help you pinpoint a geographical area, which could help you check local militia archives.
It may list family members or parents that you can use for census or records search.
You may find an ancestor was granted land for their service. You can use these grants to determine locations, names, dates and more.
If you come up empty handed, then you know that you have left no stone unturned.
WHERE ARE THE RECORDS
The National Archives Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D. C. holds the military records for the Revolutionary War to 1912.
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri holds the military records for WWI to the present.
OTHER RESOURCES:
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THIS LIST WITH ALL THE MILITARY ONLINE GENEALOGY RECORDS available through Family Search . More records are being indexed daily, so check back often!
Anything on Family Search is Free, but will more than likely be the indexed version. If you are looking to see the original images, you will often be taken to Archives, Ancestry or Fold3. These are pay to play sites. (after free trial period)
You may also want to check out Cyndis List. She has everything cross referenced and categorized and can point you in the right direction in your military records search.
WANT TO REQUEST A COPY OF THE RECORDS?
Most military records are on paper or microfilm, and copies will need to be mailed to you.
USA.GOV has an entire page devoted to military records and instructions on how and where to request and any restrictions.
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Remember every resource can help you paint the bigger picture of who your ancestor was.
It may be a little more work on your end, however satisfaction in your research comes from knowing you have done everything in your power to collect and assemble all the information.
Happy Hunting!
