Union Veterans' and Lineage Society Records

Union Veterans’ and Lineage Society Records
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). This was the major veterans’ organization after the war. It reached its largest membership in the 1890s with about 400,000 members. Below is a published history of the organization with biographical sketches of national and state officials:

Beath, Robert B. History of the Grand Army of the Republic. New York, New York: Bryan, Taylor &amp; Company, 1889. (FHL book 973 M2bea; film 1320710 item 2.)

By 1890, about 40 percent of Union veterans were members of the Grand Army of the Republic. The descriptive books of each GAR post usually indicate each member’s name, age, birthplace, residence, occupation, and enlistment and discharge information. Records of GAR posts and of other veterans’ organizations may be found in historical societies, state archives, and state libraries. The Family History Library has records for:


 * Iowa (FHL 69 films).
 * Michigan (FHL 76 films).
 * Nebraska (FHL 2 films).
 * Oregon (FHL film 2167206).
 * South Dakota (FHL film 1598224, item 1.)
 * Utah (FHL 2 films).

To find specific microfilm numbers, look in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

[STATE] ‑ SOCIETIES

The following publications contain deaths of GAR members:

Concannon, Marie. Grand Army of the Republic, Missouri Division, Index to Death Rolls 1882–1940: Taken from the Proceedings of the Annual Encampments. Columbia, Missouri: State Historical Society of Missouri, 1995. (FHL book 977.8 M22c.) Entries list name, post number and location, age at death, and the year and page numbers in which the death was reported.

Myers, Jane, compiler. Honor Roll of Oregon Grand Army of the Republic, 1881–1935: Deaths [sic Reported in Oregon of Members of the GAR, Extracted from Proceedings of the Annual Encampments of the Department of Oregon, Grand Army of the Republic]. Cottage Grove, Oregon: Cottage Grove Genealogical Society, 1980. (FHL book 979.5 A1 no. 53.) Alphabetically arranged. Entries contain the name of the veteran, company, regiment, date of death, and GAR post number in Oregon.

Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861–65. This organization was established in 1885. The address of their library and museum is:

Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 503 South Walnut Street Springfield, IL 62704 Telephone: 217-544-0616 Internet: http://www.duvcw.org/

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War . Established in 1881, this society has no permanent headquarters. The society has a grave registration committee. Check the current edition of the Encyclopedia of Associations described in the “Veterans’ and Lineage Society Records” within the “Types of Military Records” section of this outline.

The society’s Internet web site is found at:


 * http://suvcw.org

This site includes a history of the organization, membership information, coming events, a Civil War ancestor registration project, grave registration project, state department (chapter) web sites, and links to other related genealogical web sites.

The society publishes the following:

The Banner: The Journal of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Dwight, Illinois: Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1897–. (FHL book 973 H25ba.)

For a published history of the society and a roster of some current members see:

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing, 1996. (FHL book 973 C4suv.)

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS). This society was organized by officers of the Union Army in 1865.

Their address is:

MOLLUS 1805 Pine Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 Telephone: 215-546-2425 Internet: http://suvcw.org/mollus.htm

This website has announcements, membership requirements, and national and state organization information.

A roster of the society members are located in:

Aubin, Joshua Harris. Register of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Boston, Massachusetts: Commandry of the State of Massachusetts, 1906. (FHL book 973 C4a; 908066 item 4.) Arranged alphabetically by name of officer, rank, unit of service, state, commandery or relationship to officer if heredity member.