Rutherford B. Hayes OHIO OBITUARY INDEX

Several weeks ago, the MCDL Genealogy Team took a trip to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum for training on the Ohio Obituary Index. I blogged about it HERE.


In the blog, I promised that in a future blog to provide some hints on how to get the best results when searching the index.

TA-DA! This is that blog!

Basic information;

• This is an INDEX and as such does not give you all the information that the original death notice would. It just points to where to find a copy of the original.
• The spelling in the index is as the name as it appears in the newspaper. If the newspaper got it wrong, the index will reflect that.  

This obituary of my Mom appeared in the 25 June 1995
Marion Star. Her first name is misspelled. Although on
her birth certificate her name is given as "Janette" she
always spelled it as Jeannette - double n and double t.
The nickname shown is "JJ" which some of her friends
used. But by the majority of people called her
"Jeannie".

• Alternate spellings - try all the variations of spellings that can be applied to the name. Ex. SMITH, SMYTH, SMYTHE.
• The index covers all sorts of death notices, such as administrative & probate notices, news items and obituaries. It is called an OBITUARY index for simplicity. Not every entry is for a full biographical sketch.
• Periods, quote marks and hyphens are not used.
• If the name is hyphenated, it is entered under both names separately. Ex. PALMER-WILCOX, will have a listing under PALMER and a listing under WILCOX. 
• If you are searching a common surname, like JOHNSON, it is best to also use the first name.
• For uncommon names just using the surname may suffice.
• The Ohio Obituary Index has over 3.5 MILLION RECORDS. Medina County District Library only has about 150,000 ENTRIES - or less than 5% of the records. So you will see many entries from other libraries in Ohio.

The index is found at: https://www.rbhayes.org/main/ohio-obituary-index/

SEARCHING TIPS

Before jumping in, take a look at the menu on the right side of the page. It has lots of useful features to know about. Here are some of the most important features:

• List of Newspapers Indexed - 528 newspapers from around Ohio are indexed for obituaries. Maybe your ancestors' hometown is among them.
• Map of participating counties -  42 out of Ohio's 88 counties have participating libraries. See map below.
• Table of participating Libraries - 73 libraries participate in the indexing. Why is this more than the number of counties? Because some counties have multiple library systems participating - like MCDL and the Wadsworth Library!
• The Shopping Cart is only for items that can be ordered from the Rutherford B. Hayes Library.

Map of Ohio counties participating in the Ohio Obituary Index.

BASIC SEARCHES

• A last name MUST be entered.
• Optional fields are; First Name, Middle Name and Year of Death.

 ADVANCED SEARCHES - Requires patience.  Fields are:

• Last Name - search as Exact Match or Begins With
• First Name - search as Exact Match or Begins With
• Middle Name - search as Exact Match or Begins With
• Nickname - search as Exact Match or Begins With
• Spouse's Last Name - search as Exact Match or Begins With
• Maiden Name - search as Exact Match or Begins With
• Anywhere in Notes
• Year of Death Between ______ and ______

 LIBRARIES and NEWSPAPERS

• MUST enter a Last Name.
• Optional fields are; First Name, Middle Name and Year of Death.
• Choose one of the 73 participating libraries from the drop down menu and/or
• Choose one of the 528 newspapers.

 LIBRARIES and OTHER SOURCES 

• Some libraries have indexed other Sources on the Ohio Obituary Index.
• All of the other Sources indexed can be viewed on the menu.

ORDERING COPIES 

The Shopping Cart is only for items that can be ordered from the Rutherford B. Hayes Library.

For all other libraries, use the HOW TO ORDER button that is provided within  each listing and follow the instructions on that screen.

If you have any questions not answered here, contact the MCDL Genealogy Team at:330-722-4257 or me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info or the staff at the Rutherford B. Hayes Library at: 419-332-2081 or hayeslib@rbhayes.org

How to Find Church Records

Guest Blogger: Lauren Kuntzman, MCDL Family History & Learning Center Manager

In this next installment of our instructional blog posts, we will take a look at church records.  This post will focus on the United States -- but many of the research strategies could be applied to your ancestors regardless of the place where they lived or the faiths that they practiced.

Church records aren’t always easy to find.  Since the United States has no state church, there is more variation in the records, both in terms of their completeness and how they have been archived, than what is seen in other countries.  While more of these records have been digitized in recent years, the vast majority remain held by churches, libraries, historical societies, and archives.

Records from Island Creek Presbyterian Church in Toronto, Ohio. 
Records include child's date of birth and parents' names. 
Image from Ancestry.   

Despite these challenges, church records are worth the effort to locate.  Most frequently, church records include Baptisms (or Christenings), Marriages, and Burials.  These records can act as substitutes for civil birth, marriage, and death records -- especially during the years before vital records were kept.  Church records can provide evidence of major vital events in one’s life and may help connect children to parents -- and sometimes even their grandparents, too!

Beyond baptisms, marriages, and burials, church records can also include documents when individuals joined or left a church.  These documents can help track a family’s migration from one part of a country to another.  Other church records include membership lists, financial reports, excommunications, newspapers/newsletters, and more.  All of these records have details that can help give you a better understanding of your ancestor’s life.

As author Val D. Greenwood points out, finding church records is a two-step problem.  First you need to know which religious denomination your ancestor practiced; then you need to find the records for your ancestor’s church. 

Medina Sentinel. May 4, 1905.
Page 5.  Obituary notes that Spellman
belonged to the Methodist
Episcopal Church.  

To determine which church your ancestor attended, try the following tips:

• Read your ancestor’s obituary - it may list a church where their funeral services were held and/or name a member of the clergy conducting the service.
• If your ancestor is buried in a cemetery, consider if the burial ground had a religious affiliation. (This could be the cemetery in its entirety, or the specific section in which your ancestor is buried.)
• Look at maps.  Which churches are closest to your relatives’ home?
• Consider you or your parents’ religious denomination.  Has this been passed down through your family?

Once you’ve determined which church your ancestor attended, it’s time to try to locate their records.  According to the FamilySearch Wiki article on "United States Church Records," there are over 25 major religious denominations practiced in the USA  (see the full list here).  Since there is no way to cover all of these religions in-depth in a single blog post, here are some strategies for research that can be applied to any religion:

• Start local.  Does the church still exist today?  (If it doesn’t, has it merged with another local congregation?) Review the website, locate the church’s contact info, and reach out to their staff to ask if records still exist.
• In the geographic area of the church, check with a local public library, genealogical/historical society, and/or university library/archive.  Ask questions of the staff and search their collections.  Here are just a few of the archives in Ohio that have significant collections of church records:
• Western Reserve Historical Society
• Ohio History Connection
• R. B. Hayes Presidential Library
• American Jewish Archives
• Bluffton University “Mennonite Historical Collections”
• Ohio Wesleyan University “Archives of Ohio United Methodism”
• United Theological Seminary “Center for the Evangelical United Brethren Heritage”
• Search ArchiveGrid.  This resource can help point you to archival collections held around the world.  (The search terms of Ohio “Church Records” returned over 300 results.  Use a denomination as a search term, too.)
  
  
• Search the FamilySearch Catalog by place and the subject “church records.”
  
  
• Search Ancestry’s “Card Catalog” using your ancestor’s religious denomination.
• Note: Ancestry has a collection of 4.5 million records from Presbyterian churches in the United States, created from part of the Presbyterian Historical Society's holdings.  Use Ancestry’s online collection of Presbyterian records  for free at MCDL locations.  
  
  
• If you have ancestors who were Roman Catholic, search FindMyPast’s “Catholic Heritage Archive,” the most comprehensive online collection of Roman Catholic records for Britain, Ireland and North America.  You can access this resource at Akron-Summit County Public Library.

If you still aren’t having luck finding your church records, connect with others and ask for help.  You can do this…

• online through social media/message boards
• in-person at genealogy conferences
• Note: Later this month, Cleveland will host the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.  This conference is a great resource for anyone with Jewish ancestors.  Learn more at https://www.iajgs2019.org/index.cfm.
• at your local library -- you can always reach out to the MCDL Genealogy Team for help!  Contact us at me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info.  

When you find records for your ancestor’s church, here are a few tips to make the most of what you find:

• Cite your source and analyze it.  Note the repository who holds the records (library, church, etc.), as well as details about the particular set of records you’re searching.  Make notes about the following topics: What time period does the records cover?  Can you tell who the author was?  How are the records arranged - by record type or chronologically?
• If it is a bound volume, check the front/back of the book for an index.
• Even if there is an index, browse other pages of the book.  (You might find other relatives!)  This is especially true with online records, many of which aren’t completely (or accurately) indexed.
• Be prepared, that depending on the denomination and your ancestor’s ethnicity, some of the records might not be in English.  FamilySearch’s Wiki offers great word lists that can help with reading these records.  (Here’s a link to their Latin Word List as an example.)

Want to learn more?  Here are a few resources that were used in writing this article:

• Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy
• FamilySearch Research Wiki.  United States Church Records.  https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Church_Records
• FamilySearch Research Wiki. Ohio Church Records.  https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ohio_Church_Records

Ohio Obituary Index

The Ohio Obituary Index is the creation of the staff at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library in Fremont, Ohio.

The Front of the Rutherford B. Hayes Museum and Library on the grounds of Spiegel Grove.

Hayes was the 19th President of the United States serving for one term from 1877 through 1881.  He was born in Delaware, Ohio and after getting a law degree, settled in Fremont.

Before becoming President, he served in the Civil War and rose to the rank of brevet major general. He went on to serve in the US House of Representatives and as Governor of Ohio.

After his death in 1893, his home was donated to the State of Ohio and later, in 1916, the library and museum opened as the FIRST Presidential Library.

Hayes was quite the fan of books and libraries and genealogy as can be seen on this photograph and quote in the stairway up to the library:

Hayes' Library in his home in Fremont, Ohio.
He had a large collection of books covering libraries, their history and holdings.
He would have made a great librarian!

Lauren Kuntzman, the manager of the soon-to-be-opened Family History Center at the Medina Library, my co-worker, Lisa Rienerth, and I went to the R B. Hayes Presidential Library to receive training on the Ohio Obituary Index. Some of you may have noticed that we have transferred the MCDL Obituary Index to the one at R. B. Hayes.

The Ohio Obituary Index

The Ohio Obituary Index started out as a "local to Sandusky County" obituary index on 3" X 5" cards in the 1970's. In 1986, the index was computerized and in 2000 it went on the Internet for the first time.

Other libraries in Ohio started joining up and now, nearly 20 years later, over 70 libraries contribute to the over 3.5 million listings in the database. MCDL is proud to be part of this great genealogical resource.

Lisa with Becky and Pat logging in to practice entering
data.

Becky Hill, Head Librarian, and Pat Breno, Library Technician,  taught us about how to use the database and enter data. Every database has its quirks and this one is no different. Becky pointed out the most important features and told us what to watch for. They explained why the database is structured as it is and how to maximize its use.





Next, we were given our logins and passwords and we sat down to practice with our able teachers standing by to field questions.

Lisa and Lauren, three floors down from the library, deep in the stacks.

Then we did a "behind the scenes" tour of the library.

Lisa had many relatives in northwestern Ohio and was thrilled to see all the incredible information available on her family, including photos of pages from a family Bible.

I also had relatives from northwest Ohio, but I found zilch! I was positively GREEN with envy!

Finally, we did a quick tour of the Hayes home.

The mansion was built 1853-1863 by Sardis Birchard, Hayes' uncle, guardian and benefactor.

Some of the rooms have been restored to how they were in R.B's time and feature original furniture and decoration.




Once we have mastered the intricacies of the database, look for a blog that explains how to optimize your obituary searches on the site!

Looking for an Ohio trip for your family this summer? Think about visiting the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum!

SOURCES:
The Ohio Obituary Index (Scope)

"Rutherford B. Hayes" Wikipedia

GENEALOGY FICTION

As a library staff member, it is no surprise that I love reading. As a genealogist, it is no surprise that I love reading histories, memoirs, mysteries, historical fiction and genealogy how-to books. Did you know that there is a genre* that covers all of my favorite reads?

GENEALOGICAL FICTION!

These books combine history, character development, and mystery all against a back drop of genealogical research. And I love them!

They are not easy to find because they aren't a recognized genre. Most are not widely available and you will have to request them in. Some are only available as Kindle books.

Here are some of my favorites:

The first three books in the Morton Farrier series.

Morton Farrier, Forensic Genealogist Series by Nathan Dylan Goodwin

The setting is present day U.K. and Morton is a young man who makes a living researching other people's family, while ignoring the mysteries in his own life. I like it for the setting, the character development and for the peek at how the Brits research their families.

Currently I am impatiently waiting for the fifth book in the series to come in for me. (Hurry up and finish the book already! whoever you are!)

The first book in the Jefferson Tayte series.

Another series set in England, is the Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery by Steve Robinson.  I have read the first two books in the series: In the Blood  and To the Grave. They are also good mysteries. Jefferson is an American whose business as a genealogist takes him to the UK. Good plot line, but I find that Jefferson doesn't ring true as an American. Having recently traveled in England, and along the Cornish coast, Jefferson takes the driving on the left side of the road and the very narrow rock-walled Cornish roads too much in stride. An American would have been having fits. As we did! But still a good read.

First book in the Tori O'Shea Mysteries.

This next series is on my "to read" list:  - Torie O'Shea Mysteries by  Rett Macpherson.  After reading a random page, or two, they seem to be good, engaging cozy mysteries. There are 11 books in the series. So they might have to wait until gardening season is over.









My first awareness of genealogy fiction was upon joining the Genealib list serve. It is dedicated to librarians who work with genealogists. They have compiled a comprehensive 6 page list of Books with a Genealogy Theme.

Here are some ideas on  how to find more Genealogy Fiction books:

Google search "genealogy fiction" returned these interesting lists:  

• Good Reads list of "Popular Genealogy Fiction Books"
• Lisa Louise Cook's "Genealogy Book Club: Genealogy Gems to Read" 
• ThoughtCo "Top Fiction Books for Genealogy Lovers"
• Julie Tarr's Julie's Genealogy and History Hub, "Genealogical and Historical Mysteries List. 
• Jacqueline Beard's Blog on writing includes her list of favorite "Genealogy Fiction", mostly British. 
• And Cyndi's List of genealogy related "Movies, Music, Fiction & Non-Fiction » Fiction & Non-Fiction"

First book in the Suzie Fewings series.

BOOKALIKES  is an in-house reader's advisory tool at MCDL. It had this series: Suzie Fewings Genealogical Mystery by Fay Sampson Another series set in England, but I have yet to read it.  It is an older series (2009-2014) that just hasn't caught on.

Novelist is a reader's advisory database that is available from the Library's web site. From Novelist:

• Genealogy (May 2006) By: Casey, Maud When Samantha Hennert suffers an aneurysm while all alone, it is up to a relative stranger, Thompson, to track down the two children and her husband to share the tragic news. 
• The Slow Way Back (Sep 1999) By: Goldman, Judy Thea, a Jewish woman married to a non-Jewish man who feels disconnected from her family and her traditions, finds a cache of 1930s letters written in Yiddish by her grandmother concerning her parents troubled and secrecy-shrouded marriage. 
• The Virgin Blue (Nov 2002) By: Chevalier, Tracy As she investigates her ancestors, the Tournier family, Ella Turner is drawn back 500 years to the sixteenth century world of Isabelle du Moulin. She is haunted by Isabelle, a woman who was brutally persecuted under suspicion of practicing witchcraft. Ella's search uncovers a long-hidden tragedy and reveals the shocking fate of her ancestor.  I have read and enjoyed this title (years ago) and am a huge fan of Tracy Chevalier's work. 
• In the Company of Others (Oct 2010) By: Karon, Jan, 1937- Arriving in western Ireland to research the Kavanagh ancestry, Father Tim and Cynthia are disrupted by a burglary, a sprained ankle, and local distress over the theft of a cherished painting. I have read a number of Jan Karon's Father Tim series, but not this book. I will add it to my "must read" list.
• Family Tree (Jan 2006) By: Delinsky, Barbara Dana Clarke has finally achieved the stability she has craved in her marriage to a man from an old New England family, but when her daughter is born with African-American traits in her appearance, her family life is thrown into turmoil.

Fantastic Fiction is a site that specializes in listing books in series. Once you find an author you love, look for other recommended authors or series.

Happy Reading Everyone!

*Genre:
1: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or contenta classic of the gothic novel genre
2: KIND, SORT
According to Merriam-Webster https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre

LIGHTING UP THE TOWN, cont'd...

Medina Square Light posts. These decorative historic looking lamp posts were replaced in 2015.
Photo taken 12 June 2019.

The research into the history of bringing electricity to Medina continues as I scour the newspaper microfilm to tease out snippets of news on the topic.So far, I have browsed 2 ½ years of The Gazette, out of a possible of 6 years. My search has been concentrated on 1892, when we know the light and power scheme was first proposed, and 1897 when we know that the light company finally started operations.

Some interesting things I have learned along the way:

1. When the village of Medina first started talking about bringing electricity to the village, it was always only with the thought to light the streets and businesses and private residences. There was no thought to bring in electricity to power homes and businesses. And why would there be? In 1897, homes were not filled with electrical appliances as they are today. Businesses used gas powered motors and dynamos to power their machinery.

2. Strangely, the power company never seemed to promote itself. I have yet to find an ad.

3. Most of the Medina County news came in the form of “letters” or articles sent in by correspondents from each of the villages and crossroads of the area. But the village of Medina did not have a separate correspondent as it was the home of The Gazette. Its local news was in the Local News and Personals columns of the paper, that usually appeared on pages 4 or 5.

4. Medina Village Council meetings were generally not deemed worthy of news print.

5. Prior to electric lights, Medina Public Square was lit by gas lamps.

This ad for electric fans appeared in the
Akron Beacon Journal 23 July 1896 p. 4 

Here is a timeline of events, as I have been able to reconstruct them:

1892

• 3 March – “Medina behind its neighbors” Mr Fred Bostwick of Thomson-Houston Electric answered many questions
• 10 March – finances of electric light plant

This excerpt shows the estimated cost of the electric plant.
Medina Gazette 3 Mar 1892 p.4 

• 10 March – a new stove plant in Medina is dependent on the light plant
• 16 March  – Ohio legislature passed an act, that while it did not name Medina, targeted Medina specifically, to allow the village council to issue bonds and levy a tax for the purchase and erection of an electric light plant.
• 17 March – editorial urging a yes vote for the lights
• 31 March – “example” lights set up by AI Root plant and run by his dynamo
• 7 April – slander is that village council members don’t pay taxes; lists taxes for T. Ferriman, J.S. Warner , W.H. Hobart, D. Hemmeter, W.B. Croft, R.S. Shepard
• 7 April – Dr. S. Hudson writes letter criticizing the electric lights scheme as too precipitous (and by waiting they could save half the cost), too experimental, that the village already had capital improvement debts totaling over $20,000, and that streets and sidewalks should be improved first.
• 12 April – new village council has a “Street Lights & Lighting” committee consisting of Hobart, Ferriman & Warner
• 14 April – Vote on electric lights passed with 70% of the vote. AI Root workers and other factor workers marched en masse to polling booths.

Election Results Medina Gazette 14 Apr 1892 p.6 

• 12 May – No electric lights this year; Herman Holmes filed suit against village council to prevent them from selling electric lights bonds; lawyer Spellman; be to be heard by Judge Nye (from Elyria)
• 19 May – Holmes suit claims that the price quoted by village council $18000 was way too expensive and should be able to be accomplished for half that price; and that the legislation passed to allow the village to issue bonds and taxes was unconstitutional.
• 21 July – J.M. Henderson, attorney for Village Council, asked to remove his previous filing and to be able to file a separate action by 15 Aug.; probably abandon of litigation & repeal of electric light ordinance recently passed by the Council; Medina will remain dark this coming winter.
• NO OTHER ARTICLES COULD BE FOUND IN THE INTERVENING MONTHS
• 22 Dec – Monies set aside in bank for the proposed stove factory sit idle because stove plant didn’t open because of NO ELECTRICITY.

1896 - October through December newspapers have been searched with no articles found mentioning the light and power company. However, 1896 was a very busy year:

• Medina was building a new waterworks plant.
• The Methodist Episcopal Church that was built in 1859 burned down. The women of church went into a flurry of fundraising.
• There was a lot of discussion of the electric railways that were being proposed for Medina.
• W.W. Pancoast, who had embezzled a great deal of money from the people of Medina, was arrested elsewhere on charges of murder. People followed his trial and sentencing closely.
• The Gazette had a weekly column dedicated to the care, maintenance and proper use of the bicycles that had become very popular.
• Several gentleman waged a war in the newspaper on whether bicycles should be allowed on the sidewalks.
• William McKinley was running for President of the United States. As an Ohio man, and a Republican, The Gazette dedicated a great deal of space in its papers boosting and endorsing McKinley and vilifying his opponent, William Jennings Bryan. McKinley won and the paper crowed about the victory. After being elected to his second term as President in 1900, McKinley was assassinated in 1901.

1897 - The October through December 1896 and January and February of 1897 newspaper microfilm was scoured, but nothing mentioned bringing electricity to Medina. But... 

• 13 March – Ozro Sanders granted franchise for erection of an electric light plant to be in operation inside of six months

Medina Gazette 11 Mar 1897 p.5

and from the big city paper...

Plain Dealer 13 March 1897 P.9

• 8 April – Electric bells have been put up in both the recitation rooms at the High school building. Powered by what?
• 22 April - attention to better street lighting; parties interested in obtaining a franchise at $1600-$2500 a year;deemed too expensive previous year spend $38 for lighting (from what source?); could add to water works; hope for Medina to enjoy lighting in the “not-distant time”
• WHAT CHANGED? WHEN? 
• 13 May – “when the electric lights brighten the streets (of) Medina”
• 27 May “Medina is…putting in electric lights”
• 27 May – Mrs. Sanders is purchasing materials; predict lights within 60 days; lot is purchase west of the N O depot; credit to Mr. O. Sanders for “taking hold” of this business for our town
• 8 July – Chimney and foundation in place
• 15 July – work of hanging the electric light cable was completed
• 12 Aug – engine, pump, heater & separator in position for electric light plant; cementing the floor has begun; already have orders for 500 incandescent lamps & 20 arc lamps; lighting for new Methodist church in place
• 2 Sep – dynamo arrived; expected that lights on during fair week

And finally...

• 16 Sep – engine of Medina Electric Light and Power Company started up; eight business houses had been equipped with lamps 7 4 arc lights, one on each corner of the park, illuminated the streets; soon most of businesses 7 private residences will be lighted by electricity;
• 30 “light there be light and there was light and the people rejoiced greatly”

Medina Gazette 30 Sep 1897 p. 5

1905 – Judge Fremont O. Phllips bought the Medina Electric light and Power Company

1915 – Company bought by Pennsylvania Power Company who sold it to Cleveland Southwestern Power Company who sold it to Western Reserve Light and Powere Company

1931 –Sold to Ohio Edison

And as much as I would like to track down exactly when Medina village council took up the lighting and power issue again, I cannot justify the amount of time it would take to do so.

By the way, Dr. Hudson, who wrote the article criticizing Medina for wanting to install an electric plant in 1892 was right about one item. The price for building and operating the plant had dropped by almost 50% when the council took up the plan again in 1897!

Sources:

Medina Gazette

Historical Highlights of Medina(1966)

"Beyond the Storefronts" Medina Square http://www.medinasquare.org/  by Bob Hyde

Medina County Coming of Age by Joanne King
Summit County Beacon 18 May 1892 page 8
Akron Beacon Journal 18 1897 p. 5
Akron Beacon Journal 23 July 1896 p. 4
Plain Dealer 13 March 1897 p.9

U. S. Military Records

It seems appropriate in the days after Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day to learn about U.S. Military Records. Military records are some of my favorite to research. The documentation of an individual's life when it is intersecting with big historical events is intoxicating!

Here is some of the information you can learn from your ancestor's military records:

• Age, including date and place of birth.
• Dates and places of marriages.
• Dates of birth of children.
• Physical description, including any distinguishing scars or birthmarks.
• Residence
• Medical conditions and wounds.
• Military Unit membership.
• Participation in battles, campaigns, etc.

My Great Great Grandfather, James
Tanner on the right. He is in a Civil
War Navy Captain's uniform. His 
son, George Tanner is in his World 
War I US Army uniform.

How do you know if an ancestor served in the military?

• Family stories and traditions
• Photographs
• Published histories
• Cemetery markers
• Biographies
• Membership in a veteran’s organization

These sources could provide additional clues to possible military service:

• Age at the time of major conflicts - https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ages_of_Servicemen_in_Wars
• Census records that have military service information:
• 1930 Census asked if a person was a U.S. veteran who had served in any of the following wars: Civil War, Spanish-American, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer, Mexican Expedition, and World War I.
• 1910 asked if they were a veteran of the Civil War
• 1890 Census had special schedules that listed Union Civil War veterans or their surviving spouses.
• 1840 Census lists Revolutionary War pensioners, or their widows, on the second page.

Once you have discovered an ancestor who was in the military, you need to know what types of records are available and where to find them.

There are two major types of military records: service records document the day-to-day records of an individual's service; and pension records, which document the benefits a person takes advantage of after their service has ended.

Each type of record produces very different information that a genealogist would be interested in. The service record will tell where the person served and in what capacity, at what rank, if he/she had any awards or medals, what training was received and their medical records. It generally does not have any information about family members or the military members movements after they left the service. That is where the pension records come in. I LOVE pension records!

Military Service Records…

• Are the day-to-day records of a military members’s service.  
• They include enlistment papers, military rosters, draft records, payrolls, and hospital rolls. 
• They rarely contain a lot of family information, but do include vital information about the soldier, including a description. 
• Access to recent military service records are restricted for privacy reasons and are only available to the member or next of kin. 
• Enlistment papers record the soldier’s name, age, marital status and the date and place of enlistment. The soldier’s name then goes on a muster roll (attendance sheet) for the organization that he/she joined. 
• Draft, conscription or Selective Service records The federal government has been registering men for military service since 1863. Draft registration cards list name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, and physical description. 
• Discharge papers are not part of the military service records that the federal government maintains, but they do contain a lot of valuable information. Discharge papers, for service from 1865 to the present, include duty assignments (locations), training, any discipline or commendations received and date and location of discharge. Discharge papers are usually found with family members. Copies of veteran’s discharge records can sometimes be found in the County Recorder’s Office, but only if the veteran filed a copy. Otherwise, the discharge papers remain in the veteran's hands.

U.S. Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

Draft Registration list for Lawrence & Gallia County, Ohio from the Civil War.
This document DOES NOT mean that these men served. In fact, William TAGG (red arrow) is my 3X great uncle,
and he never served. Most likely he was deferred because of a physical disability or a "substitute" soldier was
paid to take his place.

U.S Naval Discharge From the Civil War:

James TANNERs discharge from the U.S. Navy 

DD-214 Modern U.S. Military Discharge Papers:

I found this DD 214 on Wiki Commons and thought it would be more interesting
than a copy with all the personal information redacted.
This person is deceased.

• Other service records that may exist are pay rolls, order books, hospital records, prisoner of war records, promotions, desertion records and records of court martial. 
• State Records would cover service in state militias, volunteer regiments or National Guard units. These are usually held by state archives, historical societies or by the state adjutant general.  

The set of the Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of 
the Rebellion (Civil War) was created in the late 19th century. It has been digitized and
is available online: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000454243

This page from the book listed above gives a brief history of the 91st Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

And this brief excerpt shows some basic information for my 3X great grandfather, Jame TAGG.

Where to find Military Service Records:

• Military Service Records have been microfilmed and are available from the National Archives: 
• Pre-World War I Military Service Records 
• Use NATF -86 to order.http://archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records.html
• Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm 
• DAR – Daughters of the American Revolution www.dar.org and http://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search/ 
• World War I Draft Cards lists the full name of the registrant, current address, age, birth date, if a U.S. citizen, race, location of employment, name and address of kin, marital status and how many dependents he supports. The back side notes the physical description of the draftee. The registrant did not have to register in his county of residence. 
• Access to some of these records are available on popular genealogy sites such as: 
• www.ancestry.com or AncestryLibraryEdition  (available through MCDL)
• www.footnote.com footnote.com (available through MCDL)
• Records relating to the following groups of military personnel are at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO: 
• U.S. Army personnel separated after 1956. Records for 1912 through 1956 were destroyed by a fire in 1972. Many of these records are being reconstructed from other sources. 
• U.S. Air Force personnel separated after 1956. Earlier records for Army Air Corps and the Air Force were destroyed by fire in 1972. 
• U.S. Navy officers separated after 1902 and enlisted men separated after 1885. 
• U.S. Coast Guard officers separated after 1928 and enlisted personnel separated after 1914. 
• Requests for information about veterans should be submitted using Standard Form 180 to the following address: 

                  National Personnel Records Center (MPR)

                  9700 Page Ave.
                 Louis, MO 63132

• The form is available from the National Archives web site: http://archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html or by writing to the above address. If the individual is still living, you will need an authorization signature from them to obtain their records. Turnaround time is 14-16 weeks. Due to Federal Law, all requests must be submitted in writing.

Fold3 and Ancestry Library Edition are databases that are available from the Medina County District Library
website: www.mcdl.info  under the Your Library 24/7  and the Online Learning Link. Ancestry LE is only
available from inside the Library, while Fold3 can be accessed from home. 

Pension records and bounty land records

• These records focus on the benefits that a soldier receives after his/her service. They often contain a great deal of family information, including names of spouses and children, places of residence, occupation, and health status. 
• If the service was for the Confederacy or for a state militia, the records will be held at the state level, not by the federal government. 
• Pensions and bounty lands were granted to officers, disabled veterans, needy veterans, widows or orphans and veterans for major military actions. 
• But not every veteran applied for or received bounty lands or pensions. Prior to the Civil War, the veteran had to prove financial need to receive a pension. 
• Most veterans who served in the Union forces during the Civil War did receive some kind of pension. 
• Pension records can include the soldier’s name, his rank and military unit, his wife’s name, date and location of the marriage, residence, age, children, occupation, health status and date and place of death.

Pension application for Christian Young for Revolutionary War Service. It continues for 8 pages giving a detailed account of his service. He listed his place and date of birth and death, but no other family information.

Bounty Land Warrants

• Land warrants were offered for service in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Mexican War and Indian Wars between 1790 and 1855. 
• Bounty land could be claimed by the veteran or by his heirs. 
• Often, the veteran never lived on the land, but sold it for profit. 
• Bounty land warrants and applications for the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 have been microfilmed.

This document was obtained from the Bureau of Land Management site:https://glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx

Where to find pension & bounty land records:

• Pension Records are held by the National Archives and can be ordered online using NATF Form 85. Turnaround time is 12-16 weeks. http://archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records.html 
• Access to some of these records are available on popular genealogy sites such as:
• AncestryLibraryEdition 
• www.fold3.com fold3.com (available through MCDL) 
• Heritage Quest - Selected Records from Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. 
• The Official Federal Land Records Site documents relating to the disbursement of Federal Lands including military bounty lands www.glorecords.blm.gov  
• Index to Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards 1907-1933 https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1832324

Other Sources of Military Information

• General Histories can give you detailed information on a particular battle or war and contain information on which military units participated. Histories of the war or the battles that your ancestor participated in can give insight into the conditions he/she endured.

Map of Fort Montgomery where Christian Young served during the Revolutionary War.

Atlas of the American Revolution Kenneth Nebenzahl

Washington’s Headquarters at Newburgh, New York

Washington's Headquarters in Newburgh (Images of America: New York) by A. J. Schenkman

• Unit histories may contain biographies of officers, rosters of soldiers and clues as to where the soldiers were living when they enlisted. 
• Army Military History Institute – Is the U.S. Army’s history repository. http://www.carlisle.army.mil/ahec/index.cfm  or
• http://www.carlisle.army.mil/AHEC/USAMHI/default.cfm 
• Their collection focuses on military units not individual soldiers. 

                      U.S. Army Military History Institute
                      Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013-5008
                      717-245-3611

• US Marine Corps - https://grc-usmcu.libguides.com/marine-corps-archives/main/about 
• US Navy https://www.history.navy.mil/research.html 
• US Air Force - https://www.afhra.af.mil/Archival-Requests/ 
• US Coast Guard - https://www.history.uscg.mil/

Veteran's Burial Information can be found at these sites:

• WW2 Casualties Database https://www.ww2research.com/ww2-casualties-database/  
• Cemeteries The first National Military Cemetery was created in 1862. The National Cemetery System has a card index that identifies most soldiers buried in the National Cemeteries. Write to:    

                 National Cemetery System
                Department of Veteran Affairs
                810 Vermont Ave. N.W.
                Washington, D.C. 20422
                Or go to: www.cem.va.gov

• Some states and counties have grave registration records that identify the graves of soldiers buried in local cemeteries. These are found at the in the county’s recorder’s office, the state archives or state historical society. 
• Findagrave - www.findagrave.com A volunteer web site that has transcriptions & some photos of tombstones. 
• Veteran’s Homes Congress established the first federal home for disabled veterans in 1866. In 1930, these homes combined with other agencies to form the Department of Veteran Affairs. Their records are held by the National Archives and their branch locations. Some states, like Ohio, also have established and still operate homes for disabled veterans. 
• If your ancestor's service was for the Confederacy or for a state militia, the records will be held at the state level, not by the federal government. Foreign military service records are generally available from the foreign government.
• 
  

So what kind of genealogical information have I uncovered in military records??

This spike from the Chevaux-de-frise was raised from the bottom of
the Hudson River and is on display at Washington's Headquarters in
Newburgh, New York. Perhaps my ancestor worked on this very spike?

1. My Revolutionary War Ancestor, Christian Young, in his pension application, reveals all the different places he served and the battles he participated in. He also mentions that he helped build the chevaux de frise (barrier made of spiked posts) across the Hudson River that was supposed to keep (it failed) the British from sailing up the Hudson from New York City, which they occupied. This was while he was stationed at Fort Montgomery. He goes on to tell how he and others from the fort escaped when the British over-ran the fort. They crawled through the trees and rocks to a ship waiting just off shore.


2. In James Tanner's (pictured at the top of this blog) Civil War pension records, I discovered that his rank was never higher than Common Seaman, despite the stories he told his grandchildren and the photo he posed for with his son. I also discovered why it was so difficult to pin him down in the census records. From his pension record, I learned he moved every 18 months. I later learned from a cousin that he worked for the railroad and that was why he moved so often. His record also revealed what ships -- actually,boats, river boats, he served on.

The Grampus

These are the two ships James Tanner served on. The Grampus was a training ship.



The Peosta was a steamboat outfitted as a gun boat. It patrolled the Tennessee River.

The Peosta

3. James McComas' pension record revealed that his wife, my 4X great aunt, Mary Ann, died of typhus, a disease quite probably brought home from the returning Civil War Soldiers. (I thought it likely that she died of exhaustion after giving birth to 11 children in less than 20 years!) 

4. Later in James' record, Mary Ann's brother, James Tagg, my 3X great grandfather, served as a notary, taking James McComas' statement for his pension record. After several pages of recording the statement, fatigue must have set in. The 73 year old slipped into the English accent of his youth by writing "he as ad"  when he clearly meant "he has had"!  

This Affidavit from the pension file for James McComas and is dated 1893. In it, George Corn is
attesting to James McComas' disability, but the writing is done by my 3X great grandfather, James Tagg.
He had immigrated from England to America in 1836, nearly 60 years before when he was 12 years
old. But from his writing, we can tell he still retained some vestiges of his English dialect.

James Tagg's signature is on the following pages and identifies him as the Notary Public that took the
testimony. I had thoroughly researched his life, but did not know he was a Notary until finding
this document!

That kind of personal detail you can't find in many records!!