Genealogy question

[melody1181]

I do not know if any of you guys are into this but I have a question for those that might be.

I am having an extremly hard time finding info on my grandma's father. He died right before she was born and she has no clue. The only information I have is his name and part of his discharge from the military. My aunt has his tags. He died in 1925.


Is there any tips to help find info? Just at a block here of some kind with this.

[JB Bouscher]

Melody
My wife, Elaine, is very big into genealogy. She's been doing it for 35 years. E-mail her at ElaineVia@comcast.net and she should be able to help you.
JB

[Tamaroa]

Sounds like he was either a Civil War or SpanAm war vet. Probably later though because tags were not Civil War issue. They started being used then but were personally ordered by the individual at their own cost. If you know his full name and branch of service, that may be enough to get you his military records. You need to fill out form natf-80 and send it to the national archives. If they have his records, you can expect them in 4 to 6 weeks.

Also if he was a Civil War vet and you knew where he lived or suspected where he lived in 1890, the Federal Government did a special census of Civil War veterans as part of the 1890 census. The 1890 census was destroyed in a fire, but the separate one for Civil War veterans survived.

If he was a WW1 vet or later, the records ar harder to get. Many of them still reside with the VA and not with the National Archives. It is difficult to get them from the VA unless you prove you are a family member and there is a specific need for them.

If you can get a copy of his military records that would be great. What would even be better is if he had a pension for a service connected disability. Veterans in those days had to produce reams of paper to prove their injury/disability was service connected so their files often contain great letters and affa davits from witnesses.

Good luck with your search. You will be a historian and detective at the same time. Its a blast!!

Bill