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.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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).
13.
14.
15.
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.
20.
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.
28.
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.
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.
36.
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.
38.
39.
40.
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