Washington, Army National Guard Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States  Washington

What Is in the Collection?
These are records of individuals who served in the Army National Guard. They were acquired from the Washington State Archives in Olympia, Washington. The records are arranged in alphabetical order and are generally typed on pre-printed forms. The enlistments took place between the years 1937 and 1952. However, they include individuals born as early as 1880.

The following types of records are included:


 * Enlistment
 * Service and discharge
 * Service and qualification

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The records contain the following details:


 * Name
 * Birth date and place
 * Residence
 * Occupation
 * Race
 * Marital status
 * Citizenship
 * Physical description
 * Education
 * Medical information
 * Enlistment date and place
 * Discharge date, place, and reason
 * Military rank or grade
 * Name, relationship, and address of person to notify in case of emergency

Sample Images
The National Guard, the oldest component of the Armed Forces of the United States and one of the nation's longest-enduring institutions. The National Guard traces its history back to the earliest English colonies in North America. Responsible for their own defense, the colonists drew on English military tradition and organized their able-bodied male citizens into militias.

In 1903, important national defense legislation increased the role of the National Guard (as the militia was now called) as a Reserve force for the U.S. Army.

The records are designed to track and preserve the service of the individual guardsmen and to determine eligibility for post-service benefits. These records are very reliable.

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search you will need to know at least some of the following:


 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The place where your ancestor lived.
 * The approximate dates of military service.

Compare the information on the image to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several images before you find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Pagethen ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type, File or Box Number, Date Range" link ⇒Select the appropriate "Name range".

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

What Do I Do Next?
If these are indexes, the original records may contain additional information than was not indexed, or the information might have been indexed incorrectly. You may want to search for the original record at the [Url link (space) Custodian Name].

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Copy the citation below, in case you need to find this record again later.
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find county or or Wiki link to local Vital Records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records.
 * Search for death or burial information in Wiki link to local Cemeteries and wiki link to local Newspapers or Obituaries.
 * Use the information found in the record to find wiki link to local Land and Property Records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find wiki link to local Tax or Probate Records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find wiki link to local Immigration Records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in the wiki link to local Censuses.   Witnesses were usually family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties and governments began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Washington, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the Washington Archives and Libraries.

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.

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