U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938

The U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was instituted following the Civil War. These homes provided a place for disabled American soldiers and sailors to live. Admission to a home was voluntary, and soldiers could request the home they wanted to live in. They could also decide when to leave.

They generally contain sections for military history, personal (domestic) history, home history, and remarks. Here's what's included in each type of record.

Military history

Dates and places of enlistment and discharges
The type of discharge
Company
Regiment
Rank

Domestic history

A physical description (height, complexion, eye and hair color)
Age and birthplace
Occupation
Marital status
Religion
In many cases, the name and location of the nearest relative. The location might be a town or a complete address

Home history and remarks

The soldier’s history with the home
The name of the home, dates of admission and discharge (or expulsion), and the reason for leaving
(If the veteran died in the home) information about death and burial, an accounting of personal effects, and the name of the person who received the veteran’s money and belongings
Pension numbers

U.S. Navy Cruise Books, 1918-2009

U.S. Navy cruise books, also called souvenir books, date back to the late 19th or early 20th century. Cruise books are like yearbooks put together by volunteers onboard the ship to commemorate a noteworthy deployment or cruise. They became popular during WWII.

Cruise books contain pictures of sailors, officers, and other personnel. They often include their surnames and rates. Candid photographs of crew members at work and recreation—from gunnery practice and swabbing the deck to holiday celebrations and boxing matches—may also appear. You might also find ship details and history, short biographies of prominent officers, battle footage, VIPs, or even a ship’s menu.

Here’s some other information to help you locate your seafaring ancestors in U.S. Navy Cruise Books, 1918-2009:

Group photographs were often taken according to division, department, or some other classification
Use the slider to expand the picture and get a better look at the faces
Try searching for your relative in the U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls to track down their ship
Try searching with initials rather than a first name

If you don’t find a cruise book for your family member, look for a similar ship (for example, battleship, tender, or aircraft carrier) that was in service during the same time. You’ll still get some insight into what life was like for your relative.

War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815

The U.S. War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815 records the fronts of the envelopes that contained pension applications. These envelopes are arranged alphabetically according to the surname of the applicant. The amount of information shown on the front of the envelope varies. This index provides richer detail for some armed conflicts than for others.

The application files indexed in this collection relate to claims of U.S. military service between 1812 and 1815. Most of the applications were filed after legislation in 1871 and 1878 allowed veterans and their survivors to receive pensions based on service alone. Earlier legislation provided pensions only for service-related deaths or disabilities.

The index usually includes:

Veteran's name
Widow's name
Pension claim or file number
Service type or organization

Some envelopes contain data too. The top-right corner sometimes includes information about bounty land applications.

Look for copies of pension application files on Fold3.com. These images are part of the War of 1812 Pension Digitization Project, a joint effort of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the U.S. National Archives, Ancestry, and Fold3.com. If the pension you’re looking for is unavailable online, you can order it from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

U.S. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900

Pension records can include much more than just details about a veteran’s military service. Pensioners were required to prove service, relationships, and pension entitlement. To this end, they provided affidavits, depositions from family and friends, and records that supported their claims. Ancestry gives you access to the U.S. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900 collection.

Some of these files can be more than 100 pages long. They include a treasure trove of detail for a period that has few surviving records and census records that provide scant details.

Tips
You can use extracts to quickly identify pertinent facts in each document and get a summary of findings in a readable format.

In pension files, witnesses were often relatives or neighbors who had known the petitioner for many years. Compile a list of witnesses, including how and where the pension file references them. This information can be helpful in later research. If a relationship isn't stated, you might want to investigate those individuals to see if you can find a connection.

When you’re researching pension files, keep in mind that testimonies and many of the details were recorded years after the actual events. These are secondary sources. Take notes so you can follow up on information in the file by locating supporting information in other records.

Records of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was the largest organization of Union veterans. It was open to all honorably discharged veterans of the Union forces in the Civil War. Founded in Illinois in 1866, its membership reached nearly 500,000 by 1890.

The GAR was politically active. It was largely because of the group’s advocacy that pension requirements were changed from being based on disability and financial hardship to being based on service. Local GAR posts also provided financial aid and burial benefits for its members.

Local GAR posts kept various types of records. Description books, for example, detailed the member’s service, birthplace, residence, occupation, and injuries sustained during the war. Some entries include information about the veteran’s death. GAR muster rolls contain similar information. This information can help you fill in the gap created by the missing 1890 census.

Ancestry provides three large collections of GAR records:

These records include:

Personal and service details
Membership dates with the GAR
Whether the veteran was wounded in service
Remarks

Not every Union veteran joined the GAR. But you should explore GAR records if your ancestor served. The records could give you another glimpse into life in this period.