Posted on Mar 23, 2017
Does anyone have experience with becoming a member of the Sons of Union Veterans?
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If you have read some of my other posts, it should be obvious that I love genealogy. I have had experiences with the Sons of American Revolution and Sons of Confederate veterans.
What I wanted extra help with (from you gurus) is where to go find Civil War documents and pensions. My ancestor was in the National Guard and only served 100 days. It's making it much harder.
http://www.suvcw.org/
What I wanted extra help with (from you gurus) is where to go find Civil War documents and pensions. My ancestor was in the National Guard and only served 100 days. It's making it much harder.
http://www.suvcw.org/
Civil War
Genealogy
American History
Military History
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 9
I had a Civil War cap stone project in college and found that most of the Civil War records were maintained by the local municipality - either in the clerks offices or the historical society. If the town also had a GAR (likely now a donated building) see who runs that and then ask them. It could be a private non-prof organization or even the library. But your ancestor was likely part of the GAR and thus someone in the town would know what happened to those records.
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It can be a bit more difficult to obtain Civil War records for a National Guard Soldier, especially one who served such a short time. Unless he was wounded, he probably doesn't have a Pension File or Military Service Record on file with the National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/resources.html).
Identify the unit in which he served, then see what records are held by the State Archives and whether the state has a military museum. Also look for the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) lodge in the area where your ancestor lived. Their records may be available - either at a local town historian's office or at the State Archives or state military museum. Search Fold3, Ancestry, and FamilySearch to start, but also search the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm) and FindAGrave.com. Also, search for your ancestor in his local newspaper(s) to see if his service or GAR membership was ever mentioned.
Identify the unit in which he served, then see what records are held by the State Archives and whether the state has a military museum. Also look for the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) lodge in the area where your ancestor lived. Their records may be available - either at a local town historian's office or at the State Archives or state military museum. Search Fold3, Ancestry, and FamilySearch to start, but also search the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm) and FindAGrave.com. Also, search for your ancestor in his local newspaper(s) to see if his service or GAR membership was ever mentioned.
Our website was redesigned, and many items have moved during the transition. But we have some ways of helping you locate the information you're looking for:
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Give me his name, Sgt William Biggs, and I'll rummage around for what I can find. Email it if you don't wish to post his name in this thread. Cheers.
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Sgt William Biggs
Maj William W. 'Bill' Price - Thank you. I'm definitely trying to make sure I'm squared away before applying
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Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
You are quite welcome Sgt William Biggs. You need to post a photo for us here when you are inducted.
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Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
Sometimes the stars line up, SSG Carlos Madden. Other times they don't. Thanks for the update.
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I found the documents I needed on Fold3 through ancestry. I haven't applied yet because my mother wont pony up her birth certificate so I have no documents showing that she belongs to my grandfather lol.
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SP5 (Join to see)
SGT David T. Can you check the vital records in her county of birth to get a copy of the birth cert? As long as you know her birthdate you should be good to go. Good luck? Some of my ancestors are from a no-name location in Alabama - a great-great something-or-other who was in the Ala infantry during the 1861-65 unpleasantness, and survived.
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Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
SGT David T. Look for your grandfather in the Census records. That should be enough, but as SP5 (Join to see) points out, you can order the BC yourself. I presume you have your own, which would establish your relationship to your Mom and your right to order her BC.
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Now that sounds like an interesting task! If your ancestor was from Pennsylvania, I might have some ideas on where to dig up those records. I did my family tree a few years ago. Sadly, everything got a lot harder for me when I traced my family back to the boats in the 1920s coming from Germany.
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Sgt William Biggs
The ancestor I referenced was of German lineage as well. I was lucky and managed to trace them to 1690 or so in Brusselgraph Germany. Ending up passing in Fairfax county VA around 1760.
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I believe I have ancestors who served the Union, but I don't know how to confirm that. THere is an old genealogy book in the Library of Congress but I'm not sure if that's enough.
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Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
Star with your Mom and Dad, SPC (Join to see), go back to their parents, and keep pushing back. Entire families were listed starting with the 1850 Census. You should be able to confirm (or refute) things fairly quickly.
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Records wise on family I would recommend http://www.ansectory.com but you will have to pay membership and it can include going to the old land. Don't know if any of the documentation will show pensions or civil war documents unless someone else has gone there.
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