How to Track Civil War Vet

Question: From an obituary of my ancestor, Dr. D.A. White, I discovered information about his Civil War service. He enlisted as a private in Company C, 12th Regiment, of the Michigan Infantry and was made second sergeant of Company A, Mississippi Marine Brigade, in 1863. In 1865, he was commissioned second lieutenant of Company H, 151st Indiana, and later that year was commissioned captain of Company I of the same regiment.

What documents might be available about his service? Do photographs of his company exist?

--L.H., Eudora, Kan.

Answer: Request several copies of “Order for Copies of Veterans Records” from Military Service Branch (NNMS), National Archives and Records Service, 8th and Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20408. When you receive the forms, use two of them--one to request military records and one for pension records. Ask the National Archives to copy all the records pertaining to him (otherwise, they will send only selected records).

While you are waiting for the records (which can take a couple of months), track your ancestor through the census records from 1910 backward as far as you can. It is especially important that you locate him in the 1860 census along with his parents.

Then consult “Military Bibliography of the Civil War,” compiled by C.E. Dornbusch (Vol. 1 has information on Michigan and Minnesota units). You will find this book at most large libraries with Civil War collections and at university libraries. This will lead you to other sources about his regiments.

For information about photographs of him and/or his companies, contact the Reference Branch, U.S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pa. 17013.

Q: I am trying to find the parents of my ancestor, George Washington Thompson, who was born in 1851 in Benton County, Ark., and died in Mariette, Okla., in 1940. His mother’s maiden name was Treadwell. There are so many Thompsons in the 1860 census, is there an easier way to locate this family?

--D.T., Hermosa Beach

A: Start by obtaining a copy of his death certificate from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, P.O. Box 53551, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73152-3551 ($5). This document may give his exact birthplace.

A search of the marriage records in Benton County for a Treadwell-Thompson marriage circa 1850 should provide you with his parents’ names.