Member Login | My Account | Guest Registry

Getting Started | Learning Center | Reference | Publications | Articles & Columns

Shaking Your Family Tree

November 5, 1998
	MILITARY INFORMATION ONLINE by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.
God and the Soldier, all men adore in time of strife, and not before When the danger is past, all wrongs arighted God is forgotten, the Old Soldier slighted        -- an anonymous soldier       under the Duke of Marlborough        circa 1705 Do you have stories about ancestors who fought in various wars? Or perhaps you have inherited a weapon that your grandfather used during World War I, or the Civil War uniform that your great-grandfather wore? Ever wondered what historical information or photographs might be available to complete or enhance the family history? A surprising amount of information about U.S. veterans of various wars is online. An excellent jumping off place is Military Records for Genealogy at http://www.usigs.org/library/military/links/index.htm. Here you will find links to various sites that contain some form of military records, categorized by the major wars. From this site you'll find links to many online records. Contents vary greatly both in quantity and quality, ranging from official government records to compiled databases prepared by dedicated genealogists. There's the official World War II casualty list for Pearl Harbor and for the Korean and Vietnam conflicts at http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/ -- select military records -- as well as abstracted records of World War I Civilian Draft Registrations for several California counties. Another example of the treasures on the Internet is the searchable database titled Military Rosters of Ohio Unit Rosters. It is located at the website of the Ohio Historical Society: http://www.ohiohistory.org/resource/database Civil War records abound on the Internet, including Virginia Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows (http://image.vtls.com/collections/CW.html) and the Texas State Archives with its searchable index to Confederate pension claims held by this repository: (http://link.tsl.state.tx.us/c/compt/pension.html). Explore the Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System, which is a database containing basic facts about servicemen who served on both sides. It can be reached at http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/. Also at this site is database of the service records of United States Colored Troops (http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/usct.html). The National Personnel Records Center (http://www.nara.gov/regional/stlouis.html) in St. Louis has some information pertaining to those who served in World War I and later. Downloadable forms are available at this site as well as instructions and suggestions for finding specific information. While its military records are not online, details about how to obtain the data is given. Be sure to read the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Additionally, forms for requesting searches for military records at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. can be ordered by sending e-mail to inquirearch@.nara.gov and indicate which form you desire and provide your regular mailing address: Form 80 is for Military Service and Pension Records prior to World War I. Form 180 is Military Service Records for World War I and later Records. If your interest runs to learning more about the historical aspects of the military units in which your ancestors served, visit the Web sites of: -- Army Military History Institute: http://carlisle!TILDE?y.mil/usamhi/ -- Navy Historical Center: http://www.history.navy.mil -- Coast Guard Historian's Office: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g!hyphen?cp/history/collect.html (c) 1998, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page Return to Columns Main Page
Copyright 1998, 1999, Ancestry.com Inc. and its subsidiaries. Terms and Conditions | Privacy Statement