Utah, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection consists of an index and images of membership records of the Utah Department Grand Army of the Republic. An organization of Union army and navy veterans of the Civil War. The collection consists of registers, lists and and descriptive books of local post (chapters) Records may include town of residence, military unit, date of enlistment, date of discharge, age and birthplace.This collection includes records from 1879 to 1934.

Record Content
These records generally contain the following information:


 * Member's name
 * Residence
 * Birthplace
 * Enlistment date
 * Discharge date
 * Rank
 * Organization served in
 * Remarks

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * Name of the soldier
 * Other identifying information such as birthplace or organization where served

Search the Collection
To search the collection fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

If you did not find the person you were looking for, you may need to search the collection image by image. ⇒ Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the appropriate "Post Number and Year Range" which takes you to the images

Look at the images one by one. Again you will need to compare the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor.

Be aware that with either search you may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

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

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. The following examples show ways you can use the information:


 * Use the name, enlistment date and organization to find the soldier’s military records.
 * Use the name and residence to find the soldier’s family in census, church, and land records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Continue to search the records to identify other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Search the records of nearby military units.
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Related Websites
Utah State Archives

Related Wiki Articles

 * Utah Military Records
 * Utah Societies

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: