Military files and pension records can yield a bounty

By DONNA MURRAY ALLEN

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 5, 2000

McFurren Murray stood 5 feet 6 inches tall on that August day in 1864 when he became a soldier in the Union Army. He was 21 years old. His hair was black, his eyes were blue, and his complexion was fair.

He joined the ranks of a Pennsylvania heavy artillery company and got a $100 bounty when he mustered in. Years later he collected a military pension. When he died, his widow, Dorotha, continued to receive a small monthly check.

In 1818, Adam Snyder applied for a military pension at age 63. He had fought in the Revolutionary War and was wounded in the right leg by cannon fire during the Battle of White Plains. He suffered from rheumatism, presumably as a result of that injury, making him eligible to collect $8 a month in benefits.

This brief glimpse into the personal lives of two former soldiers was brought to you courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

Records exist for nearly every person who served in the armed forces. Not every file contains such detailed information, but many do. Pension files in particular usually contain valuable information such as proof of marriage and birth of children.

Military records and pension files prior to World War I are available to anyone who requests copies. The easiest way to get them is to complete a Form 80 for each file you want and send it to NARA. (E-mail inquire@nara.gov to obtain the forms or write to NARA, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20408. See Web site at http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/).

Each file costs $10, and the wait is about three months. (The cost is expected to increase to $40 or more in September, so place your order now.)

Pension files generally contain more personal information than military records, so they're a better buy. (Federal pension files for Confederate soldiers are almost non-existent. They were not authorized to receive benefits until 1959, which was a little late for most of them. Some states did award pensions. That information is kept in the states' archives.)

Even if your information is scant, there's a good chance the file will be located. The researcher who obtained Adam Snyder's file knew only that Snyder had served in the Revolutionary War and applied for a pension in Pennsylvania. Since you pay only if the file is found, it's worth a shot.

Military records beginning with World War I are kept at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. However, the Privacy Act of 1974 prohibits release of records for living veterans without their express consent. Usefulness of these records is limited anyway because nearly all of the Army and Army Air Forces records from World War I and II were destroyed by fire in 1973. (For information on obtaining these files, e-mail center@stlouis.nara.gov or write to the National Personnel Records Center, 8600 Page Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri, 63132. See Web site at http://www.nara.gov/regional/nprcinfo.html).

Bounty-Land Warrant Application files are another potential source of information. From the Revolutionary War until about 1855, the federal government offered public land as an inducement to join the military. Bounty-land applications are similar to pension applications and may be obtained from the National Archives.

How can you determine if one of your ancestors served in the military?

One way is to visit the grave site; many tombstones contain this information. So do obituaries. One researcher learned by reading the obituary of his relative's widow that her relative had been killed during the Civil War.

Collections of state archives and military histories, usually available in large libraries, contain some early records, and microfilmed records may be rented from NARA or through other interlibrary loan programs. Web sites such as http://www.usigs.org/library/military/index.htm offer more information.

Indexes listing the names of veterans who served during the various wars may also hasten your search. Some are online. Check the pertinent county genealogical site, or search the Web by entering "Civil War veteran index" in the subject line, or log on to http://www.rootsweb.com/usgenweb/ussearch.htm. An index for a specific war may be purchased online through such companies as Heritage Quest (http://www.heritagequest.com), previously known as the American Genealogical Lending Library.

Donna Murray Allen welcomes your questions about genealogy and will respond to those of general interest in future columns. Sorry, she can't take phone calls, but you can write to her c/o Home & Garden, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail her c/o floridian@sptimes.com.

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