Alaska, Pioneer Home Discharge Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Alaska

What Is in the Collection?
This collection will include records from 1913-1958.

The Alaska Pioneer Homes system was first established in 1913 when the territory established a home in Sitka for indigent men. The age requirement of 65 years was implemented in 1915. Women were first admitted in 1950. Additional homes were opened in Fairbanks in 1967, Palmer in 1971, Anchorage in 1977, Ketchikan in 1981 and Juneau in 1988.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
These court and pension records may contain the following information:


 * Name
 * Residence
 * Death date
 * Country of origin
 * Next of kin

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The date of the event or the name of a spouse or child

View the Images
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 * 1) Select Surname range

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.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Cite the record just in case you need to find it later. See below for help citing this collection.
 * Use the information found in the record to locate the actual death record. (Only keep this sentence if the collection is obituaries or cemetery records)
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to determine an approximate birth date to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and marriage records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in censuses.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

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

 * Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. You could get a copy of the original record from the Alaska State Archives, Juneau, Alaska.
 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

Citations For This Collection
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