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Just opened up my Ancestry account. I’m a bit concerned. Myself, my dad, and my grandfather all served in the military. Only military records that came up was my grandfather’s draft card. My grandfather served in the Army in WW2 in France because he spoke Cajun French. My dad served in the Navy in Vietnam. I served in the Navy in Desert Storm and Bosnia. My grandfather died young (57) and I was hoping to learn more about him and his military service. My family tree stops at my great grandparents. Is this pretty normal for Ancestry? I wonder if the effects of the US Civil War effected local historical records creating some gaps locally? I’m a Cajun in south Louisiana. I was hoping to eventually trace my ancestry to Canada and then France as well as potential Native American branch.
Do any of your grandparents have living cousins or siblings? I suggest you talk to them and ask them questions about their family history. Ask them for names of their parents and grandparents (and even great-grandparents if possible) as well as date of birth, death and place. Also ask stories about them that they know. You might be surprised what you learn.
Keep in mind the free Ancestry account only goes back to great-grandparents. Generally you will need ot get a paid subscription to go back further
Also I would recommend having the oldest relatives in your Family do a AncestryDNA first.
I did not find my Dad's Draft card on Ancestry. Thought that very strange since I know he served and have his discharge papers which had information on his unit and countries where he fought.
I did a search on Family Search and came up with a lot of information, which I never knew. Dad had joined the Army National Guard in the years up to WW2. Family Search also showed that he had enlisted, not drafted, in the Army when War broke out. That gave the date of his enlistment and where.
Where did Family Search get this information? Was it just luck that he was in that 20% of records not destroyed? Maybe enlistee Army records were kept separate from draftees?
At any rate very grateful for the additional information, and Family Search Free searching.
Only personnel files were destroyed, there are other records with proof of service.
Would you happen to have blogged about how to use the card catalog or know of a good kindergarten type instruction on how to do it? I tried a few years ago but never had luck.
Do any of your grandparents have living cousins or siblings? I suggest you talk to them and ask them questions about their family history. Ask them for names of their parents and grandparents (and even great-grandparents if possible) as well as date of birth, death and place. Also ask stories about them that they know. You might be surprised what you learn.
Keep in mind the free Ancestry account only goes back to great-grandparents. Generally you will need ot get a paid subscription to go back further
Also I would recommend having the oldest relatives in your Family do a AncestryDNA first.
There is no free account that only allows great grandparents. My tree is about 4,000 without paying at ancestry. My Heritage has a family tree limit of 200 and something with a free account
Keep in mind the free Ancestry account only goes back to great-grandparents. Generally you will need ot get a paid subscription to go back further
I'm not really sure what you mean by this? Ancestry.com's tree builder has no limitations with a free account. The only limitations are access to most of the records on Ancestry.com, which has nothing to do with generations. The DNA test does have some limitations with a free account in terms of what you can see of your DNA match's trees, but I've never heard of it being limited to great grandparents.
Do any of your grandparents have living cousins or siblings? I suggest you talk to them and ask them questions about their family history. Ask them for names of their parents and grandparents (and even great-grandparents if possible) as well as date of birth, death and place. Also ask stories about them that they know. You might be surprised what you learn.
Keep in mind the free Ancestry account only goes back to great-grandparents. Generally you will need ot get a paid subscription to go back further
Also I would recommend having the oldest relatives in your Family do a AncestryDNA first.
All my grandparents and their siblings have passed. Mom passed last March and dad passed 9 years ago. The real mystery is my paternal grandfather’s family. I know nothing about his side of the family. He was a loner and we never saw any of his relatives. I know he and his family are from a parish (Louisiana for county) north of where I’m from. Both my parents had very dark black hair. My dad had very brown skin like a natural tan. My sister and I both came with red hair and freckles. We’ve heard its a trait that pops up in my mom’s side of the family and my paternal grandfather’s side of the family. This being south Louisiana there’s a good possibility of French, Spanish, Native American, and African ancestry. Other possibilities include Irish and German since some settled in parts of South Louisiana.
All my grandparents and their siblings have passed. Mom passed last March and dad passed 9 years ago. The real mystery is my paternal grandfather’s family. I know nothing about his side of the family. He was a loner and we never saw any of his relatives. I know he and his family are from a parish (Louisiana for county) north of where I’m from. Both my parents had very dark black hair. My dad had very brown skin like a natural tan. My sister and I both came with red hair and freckles. We’ve heard its a trait that pops up in my mom’s side of the family and my paternal grandfather’s side of the family. This being south Louisiana there’s a good possibility of French, Spanish, Native American, and African ancestry. Other possibilities include Irish and German since some settled in parts of South Louisiana.
Does your grandpa not have any living cousin you know of?
Does your grandpa not have any living cousin you know of?
I never knew ANYONE from his side of the family. It wasn’t until we were adults that my parents told us he was a very mean man and yet he was the sweetest person to my sister and I during those rare occasions when we would visit. He died when I was 12 and my sister 10. I don’t remember hardly anyone at his funeral except us.
You can get a copy of your grandfather's military record for a small fee from the NARA. https://www.archives.gov/veterans/mi...ervice-records
Sometimes there are letters or photographs in the files along with standard records.
Anyone can request a copy of a service record of someone who separated from the military 62 years or more ago. Otherwise you must be a family member to have access.
If you want assistance researching your grandfather's ancestry, you can post what you know in this forum. I found records back to Montreal for my FrenchCanadian ancestors who participated in the Canadian & Pacific Northwest fur trade. If your ancestors were Catholic, they will likely be listed in parish records.
Last edited by historyfan; 12-02-2019 at 05:24 PM..
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