Thank you for your invitation to 'talk' to you today by computer. This Virtual Lecture is an experiment begun by the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. The person who will run our question-and-answer session on Thursday is Kimberly Powell, the Genealogy Guide of About - The Human Internet.

My name is Jim Beidler and I am executive director of the GSP, as we call the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. I live in Jonestown in Lebanon County (near Hershey where the chocolate is made). My office is in Philadelphia.

Virtual Lectures let me help you with your project without either of us taking the time to drive to the other’s part of the state. GSP hopes that the other Virtual Lectures we hold will give our members – who live all across the country – a way of being a part of our educational programming.

During the question-and-answer 'chat' on Thursday, you will have an opportunity to ask me questions about the lecture that follows, or anything about genealogy in general. Instructions on how to do this will be posted on the About Internet site. Mrs. Powell helps us during the chat so that only one of you at a time may ask me a question. 

Instructions for Moderated Chats
Beginner's Guide to the Genealogy Chat Room

The topic for his chat is 'Searching for Civil War Ancestors.'  I hope it will help you understand the types of records that can help you find more information about the soldiers buried in your area.

First, I should give you a little background about genealogy in general. Genealogy is the study of relationships – it puts you in the middle of a 'web' of other people who are your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents (these are 'direct line' or lineal ancestors). Also part of the web are your brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles (who we call collateral relatives).

It is best to do genealogy 'backward' in time from the present day – that is:

·       Start with yourself and write down your birthday, where you were born, where you have lived, what your interests are;

·        Ask your parents and grandparents for their birth and marriage dates, where they were born and lived, what jobs and hobbies they have had;

·       Continue to your oldest living family member, asking them to share old photographs, diaries, and certificates of birth, marriage, death.

·       Go to a local library (sometimes a historical society library will be best) and try to find records that will add further generations to those you already know. The types of records you need to use will depend on the time and place in which your ancestor lived. This is because not all time periods and areas: 1) were the same records kept; or 2) have the same records survived for us to use today.

Most Civil War soldiers were born in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s. During this time in Pennsylvania, no birth certificates were kept. Of course, if you have found a tombstone for the soldier, that tombstone usually lists the soldier’s birth date. Some of the tombstones probably also list the names of the soldier’s parents.

If not, his baptism was probably recorded in a church record somewhere. But a better source for his birth date and for further information about the soldier would be his United States pension file.

Most Civil War soldiers received pensions from the U.S. government. The nation was grateful to these soldiers for having saved the Union. In addition, the soldiers organized themselves into the “Grand Army of the Republic.” This “GAR,” as it was called had many members. Politicians knew that GAR members would vote against them if they were not given good pensions – so they were!

We benefit from this because to receive a pension, the soldier had to prove his service. He also had to give information on his birth, marriage, and children. Some of this information cannot be found through other records.

Pension files are kept by the National Archives. If you go to Washington, D.C., you can look at the original papers and photocopy them. If you cannot go to Washington, they can also be ordered by mail for the payment of a fee.

Many of these files run more than a hundred pages. While some papers are duplicates, each one should be checked for additional information.

In addition to the pension files, the National Archives also keeps military service records for Civil War soldiers. These military service records mostly consist of payroll and attendance (“muster”) records. While they do not give much information about the soldier, they can give you an idea how faithful the soldier was to his duties.

The Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg also has records about Civil War soldiers. They have a card file (now kept on microfilm) that lists all the soldiers from Pennsylvania who served in the Pennsylvania Volunteers. On these cards are written much detail about the soldiers, even including the color of their hair and eyes!

This microfilm card file helps to index a set of books that you might be familiar with. This is Samuel P. Bates’ History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865. What is great about Bates is that when you find in what company and regiment a soldier served, you than can follow that soldier from day to day – the battles in which he fought as well as the times he marched for days and nights.

Pennsylvania is fortunate to have the Bates volumes. They do not exist for soldiers of many other states. This means you have to go to many more sources in other states for the information that can be found in one book in Pennsylvania.

Civil War Genealogy
Learn how to research your Civil War ancestor, explore online databases of servicemen who served in both the Confederate and Union armies, learn about Civil War military and pension records and how to obtain them, and research the history of the War Between the States.

National Civil War Museum
You may also want to make a trip to Harrisburg’s new National Civil War Museum, which is opening Monday, Feb. 12. There will be many artifacts of the Civil War on display. The museum intends to tell the story of both North and South as never before.

Hopefully this lecture has made you interested in further research. I look forward to your questions on Thursday.