{"id":11826,"date":"2015-11-06T11:50:25","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T16:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=11826"},"modified":"2023-06-05T07:51:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T11:51:00","slug":"how-to-find-ancestors-u-s-military-records-in-newspapers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/how-to-find-ancestors-u-s-military-records-in-newspapers.html","title":{"rendered":"How to Find Ancestors\u2019 U.S. Military Records in Newspapers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With Veterans Day approaching, people\u2019s thoughts are turning to their family members and ancestors who served in the U.S. military. A great resource for family history research is military records in old newspapers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>For a Soldier Died Today<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tp8z2yJWcEA?list=FLck2K47u-D4i3PL4q-sXXEA\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Source: YouTube. Just a Common Soldier. By A. Lawrence Vaincourt, narrated by Tony Lo Bianco.<\/p>\n<p>America has always honored its history and the men and women who served in the military, and newspapers have printed articles and military records from the American Revolutionary War to the present day. Here are examples of some of the military records you can find by searching newspaper collections such as GenealogyBank\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/gbnk\/newspapers\/?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=%20SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;s_referrer=social&amp;s_siteloc=blog&amp;s_trackval=%20SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;kbid=69919&amp;pq=1&amp;prebuy=no&amp;intver=&amp;CCPRODCODE=\">Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Veterans\u2019 Obituaries<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Newspapers printed obituaries of the nation\u2019s veterans. America\u2019s men and women left their everyday lives to respond to the call to serve. Often the details of their service were permanently recorded in their obituary.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11827\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11827\" style=\"width: 556px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/gbnk\/newspapers\/?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign= SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;s_referrer=social&amp;s_siteloc=blog&amp;s_trackval= SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;kbid=69919&amp;pq=1&amp;prebuy=no&amp;intver=&amp;CCPRODCODE=\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11827\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-military-obituaries.png\" alt=\"veterans' obituaries from old newspapers\" width=\"556\" height=\"346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-military-obituaries.png 556w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-military-obituaries-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-military-obituaries-482x300.png 482w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 556px) 100vw, 556px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11827\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: GenealogyBank.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>War Casualty Lists<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Newspapers reported on the wars and battles as they happened. War casualty reports were common in newspapers across America.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11829\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11829\" style=\"width: 636px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2:11210D409F608820@GB3NEWS-117BC87EB01F1398@2421812-117BC87ED36725D8@1-117BC87F8C256BB8\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11829\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-casualty-list.png\" alt=\"casualty list, Macon Telegraph newspaper article 6 August 1918\" width=\"636\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-casualty-list.png 636w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-casualty-list-300x189.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-casualty-list-477x300.png 477w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11829\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia), 6 August 1918, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sometimes the soldier might be listed as missing-in-action and not found until years later.<\/p>\n<p>Newspapers recorded information about the missing soldiers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11830\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11830\" style=\"width: 975px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/gbnk\/newspapers\/?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign= SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;s_referrer=social&amp;s_siteloc=blog&amp;s_trackval= SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;kbid=69919&amp;pq=1&amp;prebuy=no&amp;intver=&amp;CCPRODCODE=\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11830\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-missing-soldier.png\" alt=\"articles about Lt. Alvin Beethe\" width=\"975\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-missing-soldier.png 975w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-missing-soldier-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-missing-soldier-500x271.png 500w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-missing-soldier-900x487.png 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11830\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: GenealogyBank.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>U.S. Military Draft Records<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>War efforts require the mobilization of troops to serve. Newspapers recorded the draft details too. Genealogists often use these old newspaper articles as census substitutes, as they listed all eligible men living in the newspaper\u2019s area of readership.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11831\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11831\" style=\"width: 654px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2:11A4E76CB07FAA28@GB3NEWS-11A9E739B23ABFD8@2421436-11A9DB20F1DD6950@0-11F8A6531623CBE1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11831\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-draft-list.png\" alt=\"article about a draft list, Perry Republican newspaper article 26 July 1917\" width=\"654\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-draft-list.png 654w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-draft-list-300x212.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-draft-list-425x300.png 425w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 654px) 100vw, 654px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11831\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Perry Republican (Perry, Oklahoma), 26 July 1917, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>U.S. Military Reunions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After the wars were over, veterans would gather in reunions of local military units to remember their fallen comrades and to recall their permanent friendships.<\/p>\n<p>These military reunions are recorded in old newspapers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11832\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11832\" style=\"width: 639px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/gbnk\/newspapers\/?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign= SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;s_referrer=social&amp;s_siteloc=blog&amp;s_trackval= SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;kbid=69919&amp;pq=1&amp;prebuy=no&amp;intver=&amp;CCPRODCODE=\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11832\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-military-reunions.png\" alt=\"articles about military reunions\" width=\"639\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-military-reunions.png 639w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-military-reunions-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/montage-1106-2015-military-reunions-470x300.png 470w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11832\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: GenealogyBank.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>War Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is common for veterans\u2019 families to say they asked their Dad or Grandfather to tell them what it was like during the war \u2013 but, the veterans never spoke about it.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, newspapers recorded their war stories.<\/p>\n<p>Here is an example story from the Revolutionary War from a veteran named Oliver Cromwell.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11833\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11833\" style=\"width: 418px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2:1236872C1F6A0AE3@GB3NEWS-1238A7E6CAC60A98@2416947-12389E2A70B567F8@4-12643AB1ECF55ABC\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11833\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/trenton-evening-times-newspaper-0411-1905-oliver-cromwell-stories.png\" alt=\"article about Revolutionary War veteran Oliver Cromwell, Trenton Evening Times newspaper article 11 April 1905\" width=\"418\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/trenton-evening-times-newspaper-0411-1905-oliver-cromwell-stories.png 418w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/trenton-evening-times-newspaper-0411-1905-oliver-cromwell-stories-235x300.png 235w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11833\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 11 April 1905, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As this newspaper article noted: \u201cthough feeble, his lips trembling at every word, when he spoke of [General George] Washington his eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In that interview, Cromwell told of his Revolutionary War service crossing the Delaware \u201cwith his beloved commander\u2026on the memorable Christmas night [in] 1776.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The old newspaper article adds that Cromwell: \u201ctook part in the battle of Trenton, and helped to \u2018knock the British about lively at Princeton.\u2019 He also fought at the battles of Short Hills, Brandywine, Monmouth and Springfield, where he was severely wounded, and saw the last man killed at York town.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Soldiers\u2019 Personal Letters Home<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes a newspaper published the last letter a soldier sent home, like this one Lieutenant Edwin A. Abbey wrote to his parents on Good Friday, 6 April 1917 \u2013 just four days before he was killed on 10 April 1917 in WWI\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Battle of Vimy Ridge<\/a> in France.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We are going up to an attack in a short time, and I am going to leave this note, to be sent to you, in case, by God\u2019s will, this is to be my final work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11834\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11834\" style=\"width: 283px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2:110C9BFA1F116650@GB3NEWS-113B35865593C208@2421586-113B358721908398@9-113B3590703EA5A0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11834\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/philadelphia-inquirer-newspaper-1223-1917-edwin-abbey-letter.png\" alt=\"article reprinting a letter from Lieutenant Edwin A. Abbey, Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper article 23 December 1917\" width=\"283\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/philadelphia-inquirer-newspaper-1223-1917-edwin-abbey-letter.png 283w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/philadelphia-inquirer-newspaper-1223-1917-edwin-abbey-letter-159x300.png 159w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 283px) 100vw, 283px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11834\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 23 December 1917, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Where else would you find this soldier\u2019s letter?<\/p>\n<p>Newspapers have been published every day of our ancestors\u2019 lives for the last three centuries. They record the stories of their lives in peacetime and wartime.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/gbnk\/newspapers\/?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=%20SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;s_referrer=social&amp;s_siteloc=blog&amp;s_trackval=%20SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;kbid=69919&amp;pq=1&amp;prebuy=no&amp;intver=&amp;CCPRODCODE=\">archive of old newspapers<\/a> in GenealogyBank is packed with thousands of these firsthand eyewitness accounts of military service, from the American Revolutionary War down to today, adding a personal touch to the facts of many of the military battles that they fought in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Military Records Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/researching-genealogy-with-military.html\">Researching Genealogy with Military Records and Lists in Newspapers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/military-records-in-newspapers-how-they-help-make-your-genealogy-complete.html\">Military Records in Newspapers: How They Help Make Your Genealogy Complete<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/researching-old-military-records-war-stories-in-newspapers.html\">Researching Old Military Records &amp; War Stories in Newspapers<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An article about researching your ancestor\u2019s military service by looking for military records that were published in old newspapers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12713],"tags":[12,2719,2460,2020],"class_list":["post-11826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-research-tips","tag-genealogy","tag-genealogy-search-tips","tag-military-records","tag-newspaper-archives"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/illustration-1106-2015-featured-graphic-dog-tags.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11826"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91999,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11826\/revisions\/91999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}