How to begin researching your U.S. military ancestors

1. Presented by:
Elaine Jones Hayes
Laramie County Library System
Cheyenne, Wyoming

2.  Record what you already know.
 Start with yourself and work backwards.
 Fill out a ancestry chart or acquire a genealogy
computer program.
 Read a genealogy how-to book and/or attend a
class. LCLS has basic classes in February, June
and October. Handouts online at
laramiecountylibrary.org.
 Begin your research at home.
 Start with the 1940 census and information
from vital records (birth, marriage & death).

3.  Clues may be found:
 Family stories
 Photographs
 Census records
 Newspaper clipping
 Journals, diaries and correspondence
 Death records and obituaries
 Local histories
 Grave markers
 “Completed” family genealogies
 Registration/draft rules for that particular war

4.  Draft records
 Service records
 Pension documents
 Prison rolls
 Casualty lists
 Unit histories
 Etc.
(anything with information about service)

5.  In general the U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration (archives.gov) in Washington D.C.
has service records for those serving in the United
States military from 1775 to ~1917.
 The National Personal Records Center in St. Louis,
MO has service records from ~1912 to the present
day.

11.  Pre WWI military records are also available on
microfilm at the regional branches of the National
Archives including the one in Denver.
 The facility is located in buildings 46 and 48 of the
Denver Federal Center at
West 6th Avenue & Kipling Street.
 Hours are:
 7:30 – 4:00 PM
 Closed weekends and federal holidays
 archives.gov/rocky-mountain

12.  Individual’s official military records are generally NOT
online.
 A few “sample” military records are digitized in
Archival Research Catalog (ARC) or Access to
Archival Database (AAD) on the National Archives
website at archives.gov.
 Some military service information can be found online
at Ancestry.com, Ancestry Library, Heritage Quest,
Footnote.com or other subscription databases.
 You may find family history information relating to
military ancestors or historical military information by
doing a general Internet search (just Google it).

16.  Military service records and discharge
records
 Compiled military service records
 Pension records or veteran’s claims
 Draft registration cards
 Bounty Land records

17.  Colonial wars (1675-1763).
 More historical than genealogical.
 Most rosters and rolls have been published and are
available in genealogy libraries and/or on the
Internet.
 Revolutionary and Post Revolutionary (1774-
1848).
 Records not destroyed by fire are at the National
Archives.
 Mostly are rosters and rolls of soldiers serving in the
Continental Army and militias.

18.  Revolutionary war records.
 Contain more genealogical data than colonial records.
 Indexed and microfilmed.
 Available at the National Archives and regional branches.
There is a branch in Denver.
 And at the LDS Family History Library.
 Also check the Internet and computer databases like
Ancestry Library Edition and Heritage Quest.
 Three types of records.
 Pensions.
 Bounty-land warrant applications.
 Military service records.

19.  Revolutionary War pension application files
have been microfilmed by the National Archives
and are available at the LDS Family History
Library (familysearch.org) in Salt Lake City and
the National Archives in D.C. and their branch
locations (including Denver).
 Also see Heritage Quest and Ancestry Library
Edition for Revolutionary War Pension File
information.

21.  Given in lieu of monetary compensation for
military service.
 Given to entice enlistments during military conflicts.
 Citizenship not a requirement for military bounty
land.
 Primarily granted to soldiers serving in the
Revolutionary War , War of 1812, early Indian Wars
and the Mexican War.

22.  All federal military bounty-land
records are housed at the National
Archives in Washington, D.C.
 Records were created by two different
agencies:
 Pension bureau handled the
application.
 General Land Office fulfilled the
warrant.

23.  Laramie County Library System (LCLS) has several
indexes for the revolutionary war bounty land
including:
 Virgil D. White’s Genealogical Abstracts of
Revolutionary War Pension Files.
 Hoyt’s Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications
in the National Archives.
 Also check Ancestry Library and
Heritage Quest and glorecords.blm.gov.

24.  Pension
Applications
 Muster Rolls
 Pay Rolls
 Militia Lists
 Material Aid
Claims
 Civil Service
 Oaths of Allegiance
 Oaths of Fidelity
 Association Lists
 Signers of the
Declaration of
Independence

25.  U.S. National Archives www.archives.gov
 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
 www.dar.org
 National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
(SAR)
 www.sar.org
 Also try the state libraries and/or state archives in the 13
original states.
Subscription Databases:
Ancestry.com or Ancestry Library (available at Wyoming
county, academic and special libraries)
www.fold3.com

26.  Some 2.8 million men served the Union and
Confederate armies during the Civil War (1861-65):
 The Civil War Pension Index is available at
Ancestry.com and Ancestry Library, and is
one of the best places to start looking for
Union soldiers.
 The Family History Library
(familysearch.org) in Salt Lake City also
has the complete collection of index cards on
microfilm. They are adding more scanned
digital records on their website every day.

27.  NARA does not have pension files for
Confederate soldiers. Pensions were
granted to Confederate veterans and
their widows and minor children by the
states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia;
these records are in the state archives or
equivalent agency.

29.  Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS)
www.itd.nps.gov/cwss
 Confederate Regimental History Index
www.tarleton.edu/~kjones/confeds.html
 Union Regimental History Index
www.tarleton.edu/~kjones/unions.html
 Civil War Archive http://www.civilwararchive.com
 Civil War Official Records
www.ehistory.com/uscw/index.cfm

30.  All men between 18 and 45 were required to
register.
 Does not mean they actually served in WWI.
 These records can be found on Ancestry.com ,
Ancestry Library, familysearch.org and the U.S.
National Archives and possibly other locations
online.

31.  WWI Draft Online
www.genealogybranches.com/worldwaronedraftcards.
html
 WWI Draft Registration Abstracts
members.aol.com/Rayhbanks/cos.html
 WWI Draft Registration Lists
www.usigs.org/library/military/links/wwi.htm
 WWI Draft Registration
www.rootdig.com/draft/worldwaronedraft.html
 WWI Draft Search
userdb.rootsweb.com/ww1/draft/search.cgi
 WWI Draft Cards Samples
www.rootdig.com/draft/samples.html

32.  World War I draft registration cards.
 Required males between 18 and 45 to register.
 Are available from the National Archives and the LDS
Family History Library , FamilySearch.org, Ancestry
Library Edition and Ancestry.com.
 Discharge records for World Wars I and II are on
file at the local county courthouse.
 Some have been microfilmed by the Family History
Library (in Salt Lake City) and can be borrowed.
 Check websites such as Familysearch.org and
Ancestry.com or Ancestry Library.

33.  WWII Draft Registration Cards
www.rootdig.com/draft/worldwartwo.html
 WWII Records at the U.S. National Archives
aad.archives.gov/aad/topic_search_results.jsp
 Casualties
www.abmc.gov/search/wwii.php

34.  Korean War Casualties
 www.abmc.gov/search-abmc-burials-and-
memorializations
 National Archives Korean War Casualty Lists
 Korean War (General Info)
www.koreanwar.org/html/korean_war_databases
.html
 Vietnam War Casualties http://thewall-usa.com
 National Archives Korean War Casualty Lists
 Vietnam War (General Info)
www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war

35.  World War I to present (1917 – 2011)
 WWII and later service records restricted to
immediate family.
 Right-to-privacy laws (62+ years).
 Housed at the National Personnel Records
Center St. Louis, MO.
 Fire in 1973 destroyed millions (75 -80%)
of service records for those serving in the
Army and Air Force between 1912 and
1964. But some records have been
reconstructed from other sources.

37.  For recent records (WWII –present), veterans and
next-of-kin can obtain FREE copies of their DD
Form 214 (Report of Separation) and other
military and medical forms by:
 Using the eVetRecs system to create a request
 Mail or fax a Standard Form SF-180
 For military personnel records prior to WWI:
 Service Records: order online or use NATF Form 86
 Pension claim files or Bounty land warrant
application files: order online or use NATF form 85.
 Downloadable forms at archives.gov/forms.

41.  gravelocator.cem.va.gov Veterans Affairs –
Veteran Grave Locator
 www.interment.net/us/nat/veterans.htm
Interment.net listing of National Veterans
Cemeteries
 www.abmc.gov American Battle
Monuments Commission

42.  Unit histories (books and online)
 Military Branch histories
 Histories of the Specific Conflict
 Cemetery records
 Diaries
 Letters
 Memoirs
 Family Stories
 Photographs
 Medals, Uniforms, etc.
 Helpful for “fleshing out” the story (making it more
interesting, lively or compelling). Also gives you ideas
of where to look for official records.

43.  www.history.army.mil U.S. Army
 www.history.navy.mil U.S. Navy
 www.mcu.usmc.mil U.S. Marine Corps
 www.afhra.af.mil U.S. Air Force
 www.uscg.mil/history U.S. Coast Guard
 history.defense.gov/ Department of Defense
 www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/military/a
merican-military-history.html
 National Archives Military History Page

44.  Contact the National Archives, NPRC, VA, hire a
genealogy researcher, read a how-to book and/or visit
the Laramie County Library System’s Special
Collections Department on the 3rd floor at 2200
Pioneer Avenue in Cheyenne.
 Library Hours are:
 Mon-Thurs 10am – 9pm
 Fri-Sat 10am – 6pm
 Sun 12-5pm