Presented by:

Elaine Jones Hayes

Laramie County Library System

Cheyenne, Wyoming

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).

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

Draft records

Service records

Pension documents

Prison rolls

Casualty lists

Unit histories

Etc. (anything with information about service)

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.

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

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).

Military service records and discharge records

Compiled military service records

Pension records or veteran’s claims

Draft registration cards

Bounty Land records

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.

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.

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.

http://www.familysearch.org/

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Casualtieswww.abmc.gov/search/wwii.php

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

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.

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.

gravelocator.cem.va.gov Veterans Affairs –Veteran Grave Locator

www.interment.net/us/nat/veterans.htmInterment.net listing of National Veterans Cemeteries

www.abmc.gov American Battle Monuments Commission

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.

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/american-military-history.html National Archives Military History Page

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