Broadening your researching into your Civil War ancestor beyond the pension records and service records can reveal new insight into the time he served. Unit histories can help you pinpoint where he was, what battles he fought in, what those battles were like, and other information that helps build context. Here are 5 sources for Civil…
Military
3 Clues for Discovering Military Service
Digging into military records can yield an incredible amount of information about our ancestors. (My favorite is my 3rd-great-grandfather’s Civil War pension file. It showed that he married his second wife 12 days after she divorced her previous husband. Yeah, that.) While some records will spell out military service, there are times when we need…
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Military
What Did Your Civil War Ancestor Look Like?
If you weren’t lucky enough to have inherited your Civil War ancestor’s photo, there are still ways to find what he looked like — or at least get a physical description. Here are 4 sources you should look for.Pin This!1. Compiled Military Service RecordThe Compiled Military Service Record recaps the person’s time while they were…
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Military
Using the 1890 Civil War Veterans Census
Yes, you read the title correctly. The 1890 census. The one that was almost entirely destroyed. Although the vast majority of the population schedule is gone forever, there is a part that mostly survived: the 1890 Special Schedule of Union Veterans and Their Widows (AKA “the 1890 Civil War Veterans Census.”)About the 1890 Special Schedule…
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Military
State Soldiers Homes: A Different Place to Look
After I published “National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers: A Surprisingly Rich Resource,” a reader contacted me and said she couldn’t find her ancestor in the registers. Family lore said that he was in “the soldiers home,” but his name wasn’t in the collections on Ancestry or FamilySearch. Though the National Homes are great resources, they…