"Tracing Our Roots" Newsletter Archive (A monthly genealogy newsletter written by the late Brenda Kellow, dec'd, for the Plano Star Courier newspaper. We've included all the ones we could recover.)
Lynne Darrouzet, attorney and certified genealogical record specialist, is my guest writer today while I am recovering from thumb surgery. Lynne teaches genealogy classes at CCCC and regularly lectures locally and regionally, with expertise in researching in Collin County and the South.
Searching for a Civil War ancestor has become much easier with the Internet. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/ is a computerized database containing information from 5.4 million Union and Confederate service records. Although the online information gives little more than the name, unit, regiment and state from which an individual served, this information is the key to obtaining compiled service records from the National Archives. You can order copies of the records from the National Archives for a fee by requesting NATF Form 86 online from the National Archives at www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain_copies/military_and_genealogy_order_forms.html . Once the form arrives, you complete it and send it back to the National Archives. It generally takes about eight weeks to receive the files. Although most of the Union service records have not been microfilmed, if you are searching for a Confederate ancestor you may also want to check the catalog of the Family History Library or one of the larger genealogical libraries to find the Confederate service records on microfilm.
Compiled service records may include important information on your ancestor s military service and some personal information about his date and place of birth and place of enlistment. This information is also useful to locate possible Civil War pension records, a more genealogically rich source. Pension records cards for Union service men are indexed and viewable by subscription at www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/military/cwpi/main.htm , and the files may be ordered online from the National Archives at www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain_copies/veterans_service_records.html. You can order the complete file for $37.00 or a packet of eight documents with genealogical information (to the extent such information exists) about the pension applicant for $14.75.
I found the National Archives online ordering feature for Union pension records to be very convenient and easy to use. With the information from the pension card I found online at Ancestry.com, I filled out NARA s ordering template, created an account, paid with a credit card, and completed the transaction in minutes rather than the days it used to take to order and receive forms, fill them out and return them. I was able to keep track of the progress of my order online as well. Almost four weeks to the day of my order I received an e-mail notification that the records had been shipped, and two days later I received a thick priority mail package.
Since all pension applications filed with regards to a particular veteran are filed together, in this case I received the veteran s application for an invalid pension, his widow s request for a pension after he died, and the request for pension from the guardian of the veteran s minor children. Since I had ordered the complete file, this amounted to a two-inch stack of documents covering nearly fifty years of correspondence between the veteran, his widow, the guardian, the children, the government and others. The depositions and correspondence provided, in the family s own words, a fascinating window into their lives and the intricate network of relationships in their community, as well as valuable new clues for research.
Although the National Archives does not have pension records for Confederate servicemen, these records will be at the state archives for the former Confederate states that offered pensions. These states are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The National Archives has links to these sites at www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/military/confederate_pension_records.html. Do not forget that a veteran was eligible to apply for a pension to the state in which he lived, even if he served in a unit from a different state.
Brenda Kellow, dec'd, Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Instructor, had a Bachelor s Degree in history and taught genealogy courses at the local Community College and computer genealogy at the University.
