Saturday, May 23, 2015

Memorial Day


was originally established to honor the dead from the Civil War and now is a day to honor all those who died in service of our country. Flags are flown at half mast, red poppies can be worn & flowers are left at the graves of our soldiers. Scouts, fire fighters and school band members march in small town parades. Red, white and blue are the colors of the day.

As a genealogist the day inspires me to uncover more about my ancestors who served our country. With that in mind, here are a few of my favorite resources for military research:



I begin with fold3 whenever I do military research. I have uncovered Civil War pension records here, World War draft cards, roster rolls of soldiers and more. Besides uncovering facts you can also create Memorial pages for your ancestors. This is not a free website but it is a valuable resource.


The US Department of Veterans Affairs supplies a free search for the graves of veterans.

Start here is your ancestor served in forming our country. Your ancestor might have been entered by another family member.

The National Park Service has a database that gives information on those who served in the Civil War for both the Union and Confederate armies.


As I uncover soldiers in my family I use these websites & others. Then I add the soldiers to my website, Our Leaves & Branches. I have other resources for military research there.


Happy Memorial Day!

1 comment:

  1. Happy Memorial Day, a great list for getting started with identifying your miltray veterans.

    ReplyDelete

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