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

What is in This Collection?
This collection is a 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. The records cover the time period from the earliest territorial time to 1966.

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.

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). The records are fairly reliable considering that they were compiled from responses to a form letter. A helpful article about this collection is Judith W. Hansen " Records of Veterans Buried in Utah." Crossroads 4 (March 2008): 87-92. FHL 973 D25gj.

 Related Collections Utah State Archives 
 * Veteran's burial locations cards and forms. Series 5339
 * Veterans' burial locations Series 8490
 * Military Death Certificates, 1941-1953 Series 3769
 * Military separation forms and benefit records, 1917-1979 Series 2794

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Burial
 * Name of veteran
 * Rank and Serial number
 * Military unit in which served
 * 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
 * Next of kin including name, address, and relationship (often blank)

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the veteran
 * The birth date of the veteran
 * The death date of the veteran
 * The death place of the veteran

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select First Letter of the Surname
 * 2) Select Surname, Given Name(s) with Death Year to view the images.

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. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age to calculate a birth date and to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records,military discharge records and applications for a government headstone.
 * Use the information to find additional family members from a pension file or veteran benefit records.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900

I Can’t Find the Person 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 Utah, United States Genealogy
 * Search in the Utah Archives and Libraries

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Utah.
 * Utah Guided Research
 * Utah Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1850-1905 | 1900-Present

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.