The War of 1812 Records – Preserving the Pensions

Corporal Joseph King born on July 4 1776 served during the War of 1812. This cases study follows King before, during, and long after the war ends to his death in 1877.

Military maps have some obvious value to the family researcher. If our person of interest was in a military unit or fought in a battle we might want to understand the battle or locate his unit, knowing he was there at that time and place.

Land given as a "Bounty" for military service has been an American tradition from the Colonial Era up to the Civil War when the practice saw its ultimate discontinuance. The Spanish-American and Mexican-American Wars and the battle waged by the veterans for their bounty land tell the story of a...

The War of 1812, often called America's Second Revolution, left behind a valuable set of records that have proven valuable for genealogical research. Many of these records can help solve the "pre-1850 census" issues when only the head of household was named in the US federal census. Participants will learn…

Following the Civil War, when nearly 200,000 African American men served, the U.S. Army established 4 African American infantry (later modified to 2) and 2 cavalry regiments in 1868. They initially served in the West but fought in the Spanish American War and the two World Wars in segregated units. It was not until 1948 that Executive Order 9981 integrated the military. What was life like for these soldiers? Where do you find service and pension records?

Using case studies the lecturer builds on his previous lectures relating to the Revolutionary War tracing soldier Joseph L. Harper from before the War until his death.

After Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, thousands of Japanese and Japanese Americans were incarcerated in “Internment Camps.” German, Italians, and Latin Americans were also interned. The various sites of confinement and the records created will be examined, covering the period of time immediately preceding World War II through resettlement and redress.

Organized in Chicago, IL in 1917 by citizens who believed the United States Department of Justice was understaffed and not up to the task of fighting against espionage. They grew to a volunteer force of more than 250,000 members. The APL was given absolute power to stop ordinary citizens in the streets by checking whether men were legally registered for draft, or were sympathetic to the Germans, or those unregistered aliens living in the United States. Long believed to be a pseudo-patriotic organization. The APL documented both members and their activities in rich genealogical and historical details at the time the United States entered World War I.

Organized in August 1862, the First Kansas Colored Infantry was the first Black unit recruited in the North, the first to see and die in battle in the Civil War. Made up of both free and enslaved men, including those from the Five Tribes, its exploits were legendary. Yet, the lives of its rank and file outside of their service were prolific and unsung.