Utah, Veterans with Federal Service Buried in Utah - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
These records cover the time period from the earliest territorial time to 1966.

Record Description
Card file consisting of thousands of cards arranged by county, then by city, and then by the veteran’s name. Only in Salt Lake City were the records filed by cemetery and then by veteran’s name.

Record Content


Key genealogical facts found in these records are:


 * Name of veteran
 * Serial number
 * Rank
 * Organization (military unit)
 * Branch
 * Date and place of enlistment
 * Date and place of discharge
 * Date and place of birth
 * Date and place of death
 * City and county of burial
 * Cemetery and plot location
 * Name, address, and relationship of next of kin (often blank)

How To Use The Record
Use date and place of birth to pursue birth records to ascertain parent’s names. Date and place of death may be used to locate death records which may also provide parent’s names.

Record History
These records were compiled by the Military Records Section of the Utah State Historical Society. Form letters were sent to the next of kin of deceased veterans and the information returned was transcribed onto printed cards. This process began about 1957 and continued until 1970. Beginning in 1969 the information returned was entered directly into a database and the transcribing of information onto cards was abandoned the following year. The database continued to grow and information formerly on cards was entered into the database until 1986. In 1990 the existing cards (and some form letters) were microfilmed and subsequently destroyed. The collection published here is derived from microfilming completed in 1966 and therefore excludes any of the subsequent additions to the collection. The records identify thousands of men buried in Utah who had served in the United States military.

Why This Record Was Created
These records were compiled to track veteran burial locations to assist veterans’ families in obtaining grave markers and help veterans’ organizations to place flags on graves on Decoration Day (later designated Memorial Day).

Record Reliability
The records are fairly reliable considering that they were compiled from responses to a form letter.

Related Web Sites
This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Related Wiki Articles
Utah Military Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from the record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you do not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched in found in the Wiki Article: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
"Veterans with Federal Service Buried in Utah, Territorial to 1966." index and images, FamilySearch : accessed 8 April 2011. entry for Kenneth Jones, died 27 August 1957; citing Veterans Records, FHL microfilm 485,503; Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Sources of Information for This Collection
"Records of veterans with Federal service buried in Utah, territorial to 1966," index and images, FamilySearch ; from Utah State Historical Society, Salt Lake City. FHL microfilm, 18 rolls. Family History Library Salt Lake City, Utah.