Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) – 3 – NY State Archives

This post is the third in a series of posts is about how to locate record the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). The first post contains information about the GAR.

The New York State Archives holds the organizational records of the GAR in New York State.

There are fourteen categories of records that a post might have, but the Archives are cautioned that all categories are rarely available for each chapter. We are also told that the focus of these records is the disbandment of posts from the 1920s to 1940s. Since there is no name index, you first have to find the chapter that to which your ancestor would have belonged.

You can use this list of GAR posts in New York State.

In Cattaraugus County, there was a Gowanda chapter.

Since Gowanda is in both Cattaraugus and Erie Counties, I checked the listings for Erie County, but found no other chapter.

So using the search at the NYSA.

 

I searched for: Gowanda and had 0 results.

Next I searched for the Chapter number, 359. I got 2 results, but was disappointed that items online was not one of them. There were 2 results, but it was disappointing that none was in items online.

 

 

Selecting Subseries 8

I saw that the Post Charter Application for Post 358 is held.

The next arrow took me to the next result in Subseries 9

I searched for Post 359, and they have it:

Since these are from 1922 – 1942, there are probably not of interest to me.

I did click on the Items Online to view what the NY State Archives had online about the GAR. There was one image, GAR photograph, William Murrell.

Look for your your state archives in this list from NARA, and check the archives for GAR information. Good luck with your searches!

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) – 2 – The GAR Museum

This post is the second in a series of posts is about how to locate record the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). The first post contains information about the GAR.

The Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library is located in Philadelphia, PA, and has limited hours of operation.

 

There is a research and archives library available at the museum that advertises over 6,000 books, magazines, pamphlets, newspapers, and original source documents. You must make an appointment to view them.

There are Finding aids for the Library.

 

 

Click on the record set to get more information, or download the pdf for the information.

Pay attention to the Abstract, The Scope and Contents.

 

 

The Museum’s Archive Library holds several collections of Post materials, and not all of the posts are located in Pennsylvania.

Good luck in your searching!

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) – 1 – Background

In this series of blog posts, you will learn where to look for Grand Army of the Republic  records.

The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization founded in Founded in Decatur, Illinois on April 6, 1866 by Benjamin F. Stephenson. It was open to Union veterans of the Civil War. The veterans served in the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Marines and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service (became the Coast Guard). There were hundreds of posts across the U.S., numbered in sequential order of as they were admitted. The GAR grew powerful politically. From 1866 to 1949. There were over 7000 posts with more than 400,000 members by 1890. There was a “National Encampment” annually; many states also had encampments each year. You may see a GAR insignia on a Union veteran’s tombstone, or a nearby marker.

Five U.S. presidents were GAR members: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley.

Its last member died in 1956, its mission was taken over by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW). The SUVCW was founded in 1881, and is dedicated to the preservation of the history and legacy of these veterans.

There are fourteen categories of records that a post might have. The materials may provide information about the members’ war service and postwar activities. The Post Descriptive books contain information about the members, including birthplace, residence, occupation, service information, discharge information, wounds and other remarks. There were also ledger books, cash books, letters books and minutes books. A brief description of the GAR records can be found at What is A GAR Record?

Your Civil War Union ancestors may have been members of the GAR. Unless you find indexed records, you will need to know the ancestor’s: 1) Name, and 2) Post Number. Knowing the regiment and company will also be helpful to make sure you have located the correct veteran. There are different ways to find the post number. Consider looking for a post located in your ancestor’s town; check the Mortuary tables for the membership; or check an obituary. Once you find the post number, you have to find where the records reside.

Read on to the next posts to learn how to look for these records.

Genealogy Education: BYU Independent Study Courses

Education is a key part of genealogical research. There are many online opportunities. This post will cover the BYU Independent Study Courses. They can be found at: http://is.byu.edu/site/courses/free.cfm.

Look for the offerings in the categories within: Family History / Genealogy

Some of the courses are several years old, but the information in them is relevant, Succinct, and useful. Because of the changing nature of the Internet, the links may not work.

Remember that the records that were difficult to find might now be digitized, and indexed.

 

Accessing the Courses

The first time you access a course, you will be asked for your name and city/state/zip. You will need to validate your e-mail address through an e-mail sent to the e-mail address you used. Just open the e-mail and click on the link in it.

From now on, you will use your e-mail address to access the courses.

The Mastery Checks that have blanks to fill in can have very detailed answers. Do not be put off that you have not listed all the steps; learn from the answers that are provided.

 

The Courses

The courses that are currently listed Family History / Genealogy — Introductory are:

FHGEN 070 — Introduction to Family History Research

• This class has  four lessons, each with multiple pages. The lessons cover getting started, getting organized, discovering new facts, and using that knowledge.
• It discussed the five steps to the basic research process, and developing research objectives.
• There are links to the charts, forms and logs that you will need.
• There are mastery checks with automated feedback so that you can check your understanding.

FHGEN 075 — Writing Family History

• This course links to a manual that contains the whole course.
• Walks through the process of writing a family history.
• Discusses making a family history CD.

FHGEN 080 — Helping Children Love Your Family History

• This course comes in three lessons, each of which is a pdf document.
• The steps to gather, validate and record your family history.
• Bring your family history to life in comic and coloring books, plays and clothing, vacations and interviewing.
• Scrapbooks, autobiographies and videos are also included.

 

The courses that are currently listed Family History / Genealogy — Record Type are:

FHREC 071 — Family Records

• There is one ten-part lesson in this course.
• Use diaries, journals, letters, civil and military records are covered. Others are covered.
• This has been my favorite of the courses. It lists the records that might have people think out of the box in their research.

FHREC 073 — Vital Records

• There is one fourteen-part lesson in this course.
• It covers understanding and locating vital records, as well as locating substitutes for vital records.
• Links to websites of interest, and a blank research log form.
• There are mastery checks with automated feedback so that you can check your understanding.

FHREC 076 — Military Records

• There is one lesson in this course. The lesson has twenty-eight parts.
• This covers three types of records: pre-service, service, and post-service.
• This lists the eight series of service records in the National Archives
• There are six appendices (separate from the lessons)
• Remember that there are websites, such as the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database that can be used instead of indexes.

 

There are also several other courses that focus on Family History / Genealogy — Regional and Ethnic:

FHFRA 071 — French Research
FHGER 071 — Germany Research
FHHUG 071 — Huguenot Research
FHSCA 073 — Scandinavia Research

 

After Ancestry.com retires Family Tree Maker

By now you may have heard that Ancestry.com is retiring the Family Tree Maker (FTM) software line. Ancestry.com cites the diminishing desktop application market as the reason to retire the software. That can be translated as the software group is not profitable enough for them.

If you are like me, you have seen the usefulness of having an online tree at Ancestry.com. You might have searched for new records from the tree. You might have followed the hint leaves. You also might have attached the records and other media (e.g. pictures and stories) you find by merging them into the profiles of people on that online tree. The more detailed those profiles are, the better the quality of the records that Ancestry.com suggests. Ancestry.com made it so useful and so convenient.

So far, the only method download the tree complete with the attached records and media was to synchronize it to FTM using the TreeSync™ feature.

When you download an online tree, it is packaged as a GEDCOM with citations, but not with the attached records or media. This is done by selecting the “View Tree Settings”, then in the Manage your tree section, click on “Export Tree”. Then you would need to download the actual records individually. Of course, you can always download the individual records one at a time independently of the online tree, and add them to a family tree on your computer.

What we know:

• Ancestry.com will not sell Family Tree Maker 2014 after 31 December 2015.
• FTM will be supported until at least 1 January 2017.
• Currently, no other family tree software has the ability to synchronize (sync) with the Ancestry.com online trees

Read about it on the Ancestry.com blog: http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2015/12/08/ancestry-to-retire-family-tree-maker-software/

Here are some options for Family Tree Maker users:

• Call Ancestry.com and let them know what you think. 1-800-ANCESTRY.
• Investigate other family tree software companies. Each of these has a basic free version.
  • Rootsmagic has made a page with a transition plan: http://blog.rootsmagic.com/?p=2546
  • Legacy Family Tree can be found at: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com
  • You can sync your online tree at MyHeritage to a desktop program using their Family Tree Builder software: https://www.myheritage.com/family-tree-builder

The big questions yet to be resolved:

• Will Ancestry.com online tree users be able to download the media attached to their trees after 1 January 2017?
• Will Ancestry.com allow other companies to interface with the online trees to sync with other programs?

If were thinking of getting FamilyTreeMaker, it is only available as a download. It costs $69.99 and can be found at: http://www.ancestry.com/cs/apps/P-5194. If you have a previous version, you can upgrade for $48.99: http://www.ancestry.com/cs/apps/P-5195.

My history with FTM goes back to the Broderbund version of it in the late 1990s. After some experimentation, I moved on to Rootsmagic. However, I had been seriously considered buying FTM 2014 to sync with the online tree. Even though I have been keeping online trees at Ancestry.com, I have always kept a family tree with photos and other documents on my home computer in a desktop program.