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

What Is in This Collection?
The collection consists of an index and images of membership records of the Utah Department Grand Army of the Republic which was organized October 8, 1883. The first post was organized a few years earlier in Salt Lake City. The "GAR" was an organization of Union army and navy veterans of the Civil War. The records include those Union veterans living in Utah and consists of registers, lists and and descriptive books of local post (chapters) of 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.

GAR Posts in Utah
 * James B. McKean Post 1, Salt Lake City
 * Maxwell - Mckean Post 1
 * Post 2, Milford
 * Dix- Logan, Post 3
 * Hancock,Post 4, Park City
 * George R.Maxwell Post 5, Salt Lake City
 * O.O. Howard Post 7, Provo
 * W.S. Hancock Post 22

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: • 2

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * The name of a parent or date of the event

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?
Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Look at the actual image of the record to verify the information and to find additional information.

I Found the Person I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death 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
 * Utah Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900

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

 * 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

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Utah.
 * US Military Basic Search Strategies
 * Beginning Research in United States Military Records
 * Beginning United States Civil War Research
 * Locating a Union Civil War Soldier (1861-1865)
 * Utah Guided Research
 * Utah Record Finder
 * Utah Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1850-1905 | 1900-Present

Family History Library Holdings

 * Grand Army of the Republic Utah membership
 * List of GAR members buried in City Cemetery and Mount Olivet Cemetery Salt Lake City
 * Compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the territory of Utah : (Capt. Lot Smith's Company, Utah Calvary)
 * Margaret M. Fisher, Utah and the civil war : being the story of the part played by the people of Utah in that great conflict, with special reference to the Lot Smith expedition and the Robert T. Burton expedition. Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book, c1929 FHL 979.2 H2f

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934
 * United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933
 * United States Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890
 * Veterans with federal service buried in Utah
 * United States National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Robert B. Beath. History of the Grand Army of the Republic.New York, New York : Bryan, Taylor & Co., 1889, c1888
 * Roster of Members Department of Colorado and Wyoming Grand Army of the Republic to 1895

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.