Colombia, Military Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Colombia

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes the military service records of Colombia from 1809-1958. They are housed at the Archivo General de la Nación in Bogotá, Colombia.

Such records include veteran benefit files from the Thousand Days’ War (Guerra de los Mil Días), service records, register of military promotions, and military correspondence (despachos) from the Colombian Army, Navy, and National Guard.

Reading These Records
These records are written in Spanish; see the section For Help Reading these Records for translation helps.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Draft registrations generally include:


 * Name and age of draftee
 * Birth date and place
 * Closest relation and residence
 * Date and place of registration

Deployments usually include:


 * Name of soldier
 * Regiment/battalion
 * Deployment date
 * Commanding Officer’s name
 * Specific duties

Military pensions were typically awarded to the spouse and/or children of a fallen soldier. Pension records generally include:


 * Name of person filing for pension (applicant)
 * Date and place of application
 * Name of deceased soldier
 * Applicant’s relationship to soldier
 * Date and place of marriage to soldier
 * Date and place of soldier’s death
 * Date and place of applicant’s birth
 * Applicant’s current residence
 * Number of soldier’s children still living at home
 * Names and ages of those children
 * Date and place of those children’s births
 * Transcriptions from baptism/birth, death/burial, and/or marriage records

Sample Images
This record set may contain draft registrations, deployments, and pensions.

How Do I Search the Collection?
As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Then, when you've found your ancestor, use these military records to find other records that will verify the information given; for example, birth/baptism, marriage, and death/burial records.

Search the Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page: 1.Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have. 2.Click Search to show possible matches.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page 
 * Select the appropriate "Record Type and Years" category which takes you to the images.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

For Help Reading These Records
For help reading these Spanish records, see the following wiki articles:


 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Colombia Language and Languages
 * Reading Spanish handwritten records
 * Script tutorial for Spanish

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.



What Do I Do Next?

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * When you have located your ancestor’s record, if possible, look at the actual image of the record to verify the information found in the online description, if possible. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.
 * Continue to search the indexes and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the military.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the death date or age along with the place of death to find birth records.

I Can’t Find The Person I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Check for variants of given names, surnames, and place names. Transcription errors could occur in any handwritten record; also, it was not uncommon for an individual be listed under a nickname or an abbreviation of their name.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation